ã€ŠAscension: Strongest Fateless Mageã€‹


 Chapter 1 Love & Magic (1/3)

    [A/N: The first three chapters are prologue of the sort but not really prologue. However, they are important for the story and two main characters, Zevien and Vernisia. The start of the story is a bit slow but I hope you can read like twenty-something chaps or all the free chaps. Though it might note to that since you will be hooked before that as you specte the potential of this story :) Happy reading. ]

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    ''Ah...as beautiful as always. Oh wait, she had a hairdo.''

    Zevien thought as he looked at Vernisia sitting across from him at the table, both eating lunch in the cafeteria.

    "What?" Vernisia asked as she saw Zevien pausing to look at her.

    Zevien coughed and shook his head while smiling, "I was just thinking how beautiful you''re looking today as well. Did you cut your hair?"

    "So you noticed. Yep, I had a hairdo," Vernisia chuckled as she twirled a lock of her hair before putting it behind her ears, "anyway, it''s been a year, and we all passed the first year exam of this magic academy. So there ought to be a celebration with Dan and Erica."

    "Sure, we can go out tonight," Zevien grinned while thinking, ''should I tell her about my feelings today? Hmm, but then I will also have to tell her I am an orphan and have no family support like everyone else. Arghh¡­. What do I do?''

    Zevien was insecure about his chances because of his less-than-average life. In this world, where half of the people can awaken a connection with a magicbyrinth and be stronger by wielding magic, individual power and status were everything. Currently, he had no individual power as a ssless magician and no status as he was an orphan.

    But Zevien wanted a bright future for himself, so he worked hard to get excellent results and got admission into this fourth national magic academy.

    He met Vernisia on the first day of the academy as they were in the same ss, and their desks were beside each other. Since they were near each other, they became friends quickly.

    As Zevien spent more time with her, he came to like her more and more before finally falling for her. He had thought about confessing multiple times in the past six months but removed that thought as quickly as it surfaced.

    He saw no chance with her because of his background, which was non-existent. Heck, he didn''t have the means to earn money yet, so he couldn''t go on dates, nor could he enjoy after-school time like other kids, couldn''t pay for VR magic dungeon games or any other fun physical activities out in the city.

    He couldn''t even get a part-time job because he was spending his after-school time training in magic and learning more about his magic upation ¡ªJewelist¡ª as rmended by the academy. After training, he would go to the orphanage to help mother Helena daily.

    Mother Helena gave him some allowance every month, but he didn''t want to take that for granted, so he would domunity work with her to help her as much as possible. There were also those little kids at the orphanage, and as their big brother, he had to keep them happy and cheerful.

    Zevien knew how it felt to have an absence of parents and not be loved. It doesn''t feel good; it makes you gloomy and awful, especially when you see kids of simr age having fun and getting things they can only dream of.

    For that reason, Zevien would use half the allowance he gets from mother Helena for those little imps and never let them feel lonely or sad. Although it was not enough, he could still buy them little cheap toys and different snacks and y with them while giving out advice and life lessons that they must not envy others just because they have a better lifestyle than them.

    He wanted to make them mentally strong, just like how he was made so by a wandering old man who came to the orphanage four years ago when he was fourteen years old.

    That old man taught him martial arts but, most importantly, gave him advice that would help him for life. The world is cruel, and it''s over if you give up on yourself. The old man stayed for only five months, but those five months were probably the most important in Zevien''s life.

    So for their future, they will have to work hard as Zevien did for his. By getting himself into the fourth national magic academy, he didn''t have to pay for his education and could get opportunities that came with getting admitted into such a prestigious institution.

    The kids admired him for that, and he also became their target. They wanted to be like their lovely and cheerful big brother Zevien.

    Zevien was also immensely happy to get admitted into this academy and wanted to work hard to make a bright future for himself. But that was the talk about the future. For now, Zevien felt that people would look at him and judge him by his current status and situation, which made him feel hesitant about telling Vernisia and his other friends about his status as an orphan with not even foster parents.

    Although Vernisia was extremely kind, gentle, helpful, and a bit aloof in a different way as she wouldn''t take any offense to her heart, she would asionally have a deste dazed expression, which made Zevien a bit worried.

    But after thinking about it, Zevien decided to tell her about him right now!

    "Vernisia, I want to tell you something."

    Vernisia took a sip of juice from her ss before looking at Zevien, "yes? What is it?"

    "You know¡­I always dodged questions about my family, right? But I think it''s time that I tell you about it," Zevien said as his heart started beating faster and he felt nervous.

    "if you are not ufortable with it, then it''s fine. You don''t have to force yourself to tell me about it," said Vernisia with a gentle smile before she lightly chuckled, "though it does feel like I saw a new you today because I don''t remember seeing you getting nervous like this before."

    Vernisia thought that Zevien might have someplicated family matter, and that''s why he never told them about his family or where he lived before settling in the dorms of this academy. So she, Dan, and Erica didn''t mention this topic.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Eh, this is probably the only matter that makes me nervous," Zevien wryly smiled before he took a deep breath and adopted a straight expression.

    Vernisia also looked at Zevien with a somber expression and was ready to hear it.

    "Ok, so¡­, My name is Zevien, and I don''t have any surname. I was not hiding my surname from you, but I literally don''t have one," Zevien said before pausing for a second and continuing as he slightly stammered, "I¡­I am an o-orphan, and I lived in the Starlight orphanage, practically grew up there as long as I remember."

    "Oh~" Vernisia was surprised before her eyes started to fill with excitement, "are there cute little kids in the orphanage?"

    Zevien was not expecting this reaction and nodded with a slightly dazed expression, "actually, the orphanage only has cute little kids now. I am the eldest."

    Suddenly, Vernisia''s expression took a 180-degree turn as she became angry and pouted, "why didn''t you tell me before? Don''t you know how much I love cute little kids? Alright, I have decided! Today, we will go to the Starlight orphanage and celebrate with the kids!"

    Zevien was taken aback, "s-sure. Hahaha, alright! This is good." Zevienughed while inwardly sighed in relief and felt excited, ''it seems I have a chance! I can tell her about my feelings tonight when we return to the academy or after finding a good chanceter. Damn, I can''t wait!''

    "Actually, let''s go there right now," Vernisia stood up and mumbled something before nodding with a smile, "let''s go and bring some toys to the kids. We have finished all sses today, so let''s get freshened up in our dorms and meet up at the academy gate."

    "Alright," Zevien beamed a smile and nodded before standing up. ''I never thought Vernisia would be this happy, hehe. At normal times, she always has that slight gloominess around her. Ahh, I am bing too optimistic now! I think I might really have a chance with her!''

    Zevien didn''t have any prior romantic rtionship or even a crush. He had just turned eighteen this year and always spent most of his time training and studying. But after spending time with Vernisia and liking her more and more, he couldn''t help falling for this gentle soul.

    ¡­

    Both of them first went to Vernisia''s home in a taxi. She went inside her house and brought all the toys she used when she was small.

    "The kids will be happy seeing so many toys," Zevienughed.

    "I hope they do," Vernisia chirped happily.

    On the way, Zevien bought the favorite light food of the kids from a street stall.

    "Will this be enough? How many kids are there?" Vernisia asked.

    "It will be enough. It''s 4 pm, so they would not be hungry that much," Zevien nodded with a smile while thinking, ''and I don''t have Lopax credits to buy more.''

    When they arrived at the orphanage, the kids became excited to see so many toys in the big box and were also surprised to see their big brother Zevien bringing his friend from the academy for the first time.

    "Alright, cutie pies! Let''s eat the food before it gets cold," Vernisia said with a beaming smile as she uncovered card tes of steamy ttened rice with various spices fried with tiny potato cubes. "Line up! I''ll feed you all myself."

    The kids lined up while giggling as Vernisia fed them with her hand one by one.

    "Is this what it feels like to be fed by mum?" a little girl that was four years old asked innocently, "when I went to the park yesterday, I saw my friend''s mum feeding her like this."

    Vernisia''s eyes became moist, but she nodded quickly with a smile, "yep!"

    When Vernisia went to feed the next little boy, Zevien also lined up beside him and grinned, "feed me too; I am also an orphan."

    The kids giggled seeing him like this, and Vernisia alsoughed, "alright, little Zevy also gets a share from my hand."

    "Little Zevy!"

    "Big brother Zevien is now little Zevy, hahaha."

    The kidsughed and giggled as they found a new way to tease their big brother Zevien.

 Chapter 2 Love & Magic (2/3)

    After the day Vernisia visited the orphanage for the first time, she and Zevien went there every day. This made kids even more cheerful and happy as their big sister Vernisia dotted on them a lot.

    Sometimes, Dan and Erica also visited the orphanage with Zevien and Vernisia to have dinner with the kids and mother Helena. Mother Helena was usually busy, so she wouldn''t get that many chances for such asions.

    Today, Dan and Erica were here for the third time as everyone nned a dinner with the kids.

    ¡­

    "Say, Verny, are you going to ept Zevien''s confession? Because it''s obvious that he will do it sooner orter," Erica said as she and Vernisia on a bench under a tree in the orphanage''s garden.

    Zevien wasing there to call them, but he instantly stopped after hearing what Erica said and stood still. His face stiffened, and his breath lowered to non-existence.

    "I¡­sigh," Vernisia sighed as her face dropped, "I hope he doesn''t confess to me because my answer will likely be a no."

    "Eh, why?" Erica was startled, "do you think we are blind? You also like him! I meant to ask whether you two would be together now or after graduation?"

    "I can''t," Vernisia sadly smiled and continued speaking as she slightly stammered, "I can''t tell you the reason, sorry. But it is¡­not possible f-for now."

    After hearing her words, Zevien silently turned around and left with silent steps. He went out of the orphanage and dashed outside, ''why?''

    ''Why? Why can''t we be together? Oh god. I am d I didn''t confess earlier, or I wouldn''t even remain friends with her. Damn¡­but why?'' Zevien thought as he felt depressed.

    ''Sigh, maybe I amcking something?¡­fuck.''

    Zevien dashed outside on the footpath, but he calmed down after a minute and remembered something, ''for now¡­Yes! She said that we can''t be together for now. This means that I have a chance in the future!''

    ''Yep, this should be the case!'' Zevien thought as he became positive again. He clenched his fist tightly and grinned, ''I am already doing my best, and I will also reveal to Vernisia about my unawakened connection with the fairy spirit magicbyrinth. If we can create the spell I have in mind, we can be huge!''

    After overthinking for a minute, Zevien snapped out of his thought bubble and returned to the orphanage.

    Everyone had dinner together and enjoyed it a lot.

    After today, Zevien was not eager to confess his feelings to Vernisia and stayed like a friend. But since he was in love with her, he obviously couldn''t help but care for her more and asionally show her his loving side.

    ¡­

    At the end of the second year in the academy, Vernisia returned to her home today as she was excited to hear the results.

    "N-no cure found," Amon spoke as he stammered, his heart heavy as if someone had ced a boulder on it. He saw his daughter''s face falling as Vernisia lifelessly sat on the couch.

    *Sniff¡­*

    Tears appeared in Susan''s eyes as she hugged her daughter, "sorry, Verny. But don''t worry, we are already onto the next doctor. She is a 1st ss magician and one of the best alchemists on the Gaia continent! She is from the Seranix country, and the government has already cleared everything for us to go there."

    "Since you have a five-day vacation, we can go there immediately!" Amon said somberly, "there will be a cure for you out there. I am sure of it!"

    Vernisia''s parents worked in the government of Lopax country, but they were probably the poorest government officials as most of their money went to find a cure for Vernisia''s disease. They have even funded research to know more about this disease and find a cure for it but to no avail.

    Vernisia''s disease was unusual as there was a fault in her magic eidos body right after she manifested it. After checking it, all experts said that she would not live past the age of twenty-two to twenty-four.

    The fault was since her birth and appeared in her magic eidos body. Her magic eidos body was fundamentally wed with a very low lifespan; if the magic eidos body dies, the physical body also dies.

    So far, they couldn''t find the root or origin of this disease. Vernisia was the first-ever case carrying something like this.

    ''Zevien¡­, it seems that w-we...can''t be together,'' Vernisia thought as tears spilled from her eyes. After staying with him for two years, she also fell for him, but she had no choice but to suppress this feeling of love.

    Amon and Susan also couldn''t help but tear up when they saw Vernisia crying silently.

    "Don''t worry, honey. We will find the cure," Susan hugged Vernisia while sobbing, "we will book the flight tonight."<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    Third-year of the academy also passed, and everyone graduated. Dan and Erica were waiting for batting breath for Zevien and Vernisia to get together, but those two dumb birds still didn''t confess to each other.

    Zevien knew that he would have to wait for more time before confessing. Heck, his aim had changed from confession to directly proposing to her to marry him after three years and pursue a higher magic path with her in the Lankrena region, which was the most magically advanced ce on this Gaia continent. It was under no country and was operated by the Magic Guild.

    After the graduation ceremony, Zevien told Vernisia about his n to research fairy spirit magic and create a magic spell to summon fairies after researching the magic formations and magic intent whenever Zevien identally summons a fairy in spiritual form. In history, many people recorded had an unawakened connection with the fairy spirit magicbyrinth but none with an awakened connection.

    "But how will we find a research facility and funds?" Vernisia asked with doubt.

    "Hehe, don''t worry," Zevien grinned happily, "Touma-sir arranged it for us."

    "Touma-sir? Howe he can arrange something like that?" Vernisia was surprised.

    Zevien looked around and leaned towards her ears before whispering, "don''t tell anyone, but Touma-sir is actually a hidden big shot and a government scientist. He has multiplebs across the country and two in this city."

    "So he is giving us one? Wow," Vernisia was amazed before she smiled, "alright, I also got a job, but¡­I am not interested in it. I will spend more time with you in theb and at my home."

    "Another good news!" Zevienughed, "I also managed to get the job as a sub teacher in this academy."

    "T-th-That''s great!" Vernisia hugged Zevien into a tight squeeze, "haha, I knew you could do it. Now you are settled!"

    ''Zevien¡­,'' Vernisia hugged Zevien tightly for a second before quickly separating with a smile, "alright, we will catch up today evening. Right now, I have to go for an important thing at home."

    "See youter," Zevien nodded as he was jumping in joy inside because of Vernisia''s hug. He was practically on cloud nine as he felt so good.

    ''That felt heavenly! Ahh...wish I could get one more,'' Zevien wished to soak in her presence and embrace her forever, but he had to wait, ''three more years¡­.I will have to work hard! Vernisia, I will propose to you after three years!''

    ''I also have to bring gifts for the kids and mother Helena in the orphanage,'' Zevien thought after he reluctantly stopped overthinking his future with Vernisia.

    "Hey, Dan! If you are done, then let''s go! We got to buy some gifts for those little imps!"

    On the other hand, Vernisia quickly sat inside the car and curled up with tears in her eyes. The more she loved Zevien and longed for him, the more hurt she felt...knowing that she would not be able to live with him for life and would die soon.

    "Zevien¡­" Vernisia mumbled as her tears spilled continuously, "I want to live! I want to live longer and stay with you."

    ¡­

    Susan sobbed as she caressed her daughter''s head, "I''m sorry, honey. I am sorry¡­."

    "We will continue to fund research for this," Amon said with red eyes, "there should be a cure for her disease! If not, we will make one!"

    Vernisia wiped her tears as she sadly smiled, "mom, dad, you know¡­I¡­love someone. We became friends on the first day of the academy. He is an orphan, but he is very hardworking and good. He doesn''t back down from challenges even if they seem out of his reach. He is also funny and cheerful, always putting me in a good mood whenever I am down."

    "I-I really love him, you know. I want to live with him, hug him, kiss him, but..." Vernisia continued as she sobbed with tears from her eyes, "but how can I say that to him? I...I will not even... li-live that long."

    "I can see he has feelings for me too, and we graduated today. But he got a bright future ahead of him, and I¡­I don''t want to ruin it."

    Vernisia''s heart already broke before she could even say it. She had no choice but to kill her feelings, but....the time she spent with Zevien was the best time of her life. She so dearly wished to spend more time with him.

    She wished every day to live longer so that she could spend her life with Zevien in the future and also care for her parents just as they cared for her.

    Susan hugged Vernisia as she heavily sobbed at her daughter''s heartbroken state, "Sorry, honey¡­."

    Susan couldn''t say anything other than sorry because Vernisia''s disease was by birth, and she felt that it was her fault that Vernisia was born with this problem in her magic eidos body.

    Even Amon''s red eyes dropped tears as he couldn''t give his daughter a normal future like other girls, ''I will not give up! My daughter, I will not give up until I find the cure for you!''

 Chapter 3 Love & Magic (3/3)

    After three years¡­

    Their fruit of research was near, and they would soon seed. Zevien had also gathered money and stability. He had some connections, and he was also a powerful 4th-ss magician. Once their fairy summoning spell waspleted, their future would only get better.

    However, Zevien couldn''t wait anymore as he felt this was also the right time to confess. He had a strange feeling and urge to propose to her after waking up today, and he decided to do it!

    After getting a shower and eating breakfast, he dialed Vernisia''s number.

    However, the answer he got startled him.

    "You are still at theb? Don''t tell me you pulled an all-nighter again¡­sigh. Wait, I aming there right away," Zevien said through the Digi call and hung up before pulling out his bike from the house near the fourth magic Academy. This house was given to him by the government because of his job.

    After arriving at theb, he saw Vernisia lying on a sofa with an exhausted expression.

    However, she woke up after hearing the footsteps of Zevien and stood up as she sat on the sofa.

    "Vernisia¡­why are you working so hard? You are really pushing yourself past six months," Zevien said with a worried expression as he sat beside her. He checked her forehead and sighed, "you also have a fever. Sigh..."

    "Zev¡­," Vernisia gently smiled as she caressed Zevien''s cheeks, "I love you."

    Zevien was stunned and overjoyed after hearing that. What was this coincidence? He also decided to confess today, and Vernisia too?

    However, before he could speak after opening his mouth, Vernisia''s hand that touched his cheek reached his lips and sealed them.

    "I love you, Zev. But¡­we can not be together. I am sorry," Vernisia continued as tears streamed down her cheeks.

    Hearing her words, Zevien felt a buzz in his head. The words of Vernisia confused him and sent him into a spiral.

    Why can''t they be together? They were already inseparable!! At least, that''s what Zevien thought and felt while staying with Vernisia for years. On top of that, today was the day they would be one!

    Both of them had unconditionally cared for each other all this while, and Zevien was sure that Vernisia loved him just as he loved her because¡­she was showing him the same type of care as he showed her all the time.

    There was not even a need to confess; that''s how natural and genuine their love was.

    Zevien grabbed Vernisia''s hand and put it away from his lips before speaking hoarsely, "why can''t we be together? We¡­have always been together and will continue to stay together, no?"

    Zevien felt that he was sinking into the abyss. He felt heavy in his heart and was internally suffocating.

    Why did Vernisia say something like that?

    "I am sorry, Zev," Vernisia started crying as she suddenly hugged Zevien.

    "I am sorry that I hid things from you. I¡­I don''t have much time to live. My magic eidos body has had a fault since I was born¡­an incurable illness that no magic or magical medical technology could cure. Six months ago, I was told that I would die exactly six monthster, which is today. My brain will die, and my heart will stop beating."

    Hearing the despairing words, Zevien felt like the sky had fallen on him. Was this why Vernisia never confessed to him? Why? Why something like that has to happen to her?

    HE DIDN''T CARE ABOUT IT!

    His heart only had a ce for one person, Vernisia!

    Zevien looked at Vernisia''s tear-stained face as she hugged his chest. A suffocating feeling enveloped him.

    This¡­he couldn''t imagine how Vernisia would have, waiting for her death. He was sure that Vernisia was feeling more pain than him.

    "Was this the reason you''d never confessed to me before? But...you should have told me about your illness, "Zevien sobbed as tears streamed down his cheeks.

    "Yes. But¡­I wanted to tell you in words and actions that I love you," Vernisia said as she looked at Zevien with a tear-streamed face and kissed him.

    After staying together for six years, this was their first kiss, but Zevien couldn''t find the joy he wanted to feel in this special moment.

    "Sorry that I am leaving you, Zev..." Vernisia said while sobbing as she stayed in Zevien''s hug.

    "No¡­, you can''t," Zevien was heartbroken and was also losing his will to live. He couldn''t imagine living without Vernisia by his side.

    "Please, you can''t die," Zevien cried as tears ran down his cheeks like a river flowing. He hugged her tightly while speaking in a sobbing voice, "please¡­you can''t leave me alone. I can''t imagine my world without you¡­please."

    "Zev, I want to meet you again in my next life and stay with you forever next time."

    Vernisia and Zevien both cried in a tight hug. But¡­suddenly, all movements of Vernisia stopped.

    Her sobbing stopped¡­along with her heartbeat.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Vernisia?" Zevien grabbed Vernisia''s shoulder and shook her; however, Vernisia''s eyes were closed, and she was not moving.

    "No¡­," Zevien hoarsely spoke as he tightly hugged her again, "no¡­."

    "NO!!!" Zevien shouted in despair and unwillingness as he cried loudly.

    "Pleasee backe back, Vernisia!"

    Zevien cried loudly as his throat was tearing apart. WHY?!!!

    Space inside theb shook as golden particles suddenly conjured around Zevien out of nowhere.

    And at that moment, the entire world stopped moving. Time seemingly stopped as if someone had pressed a pause button.

    A little boy with a twelve-year-old appearance appeared and floated in front of Zevien inside theb. The boy had silver and gold mix hair and looked otherworldly despite wearing pajamas with starry designs.

    The boy looked at Zevien and snapped his finger, which caused Zevien to be the only person able to move in this time-frozen Magia realm.

    Zevien was shocked to see a boy suddenly appearing in front of him.

    "Yo, kid. Stop crying now because I have the power to cure her incurable illness and even revive her," the boy spoke with a grin.

    Zevien''s body shook hearing that, and he was ready to kneel and beg this mystical twelve-year-old kid floating in front of him if he could bring back Vernisia.

    "However, there are some conditions, options, and a price to pay," the boy continued speaking as he waved his tiny hands, causing a meter-square screen to appear on top of him.

    "I-I can pay any price if you can bring her back! You can even take my life!"

    "Chill and rx. She will likely die again because you two are too deep into each other. How would she feel if I took your life to bring her back? Just like how you are in despair right now and has no will to live in this world without her, she will also feel the same," the kid said with a faint smile.

    "Then¡­then what price do I have to pay? I am ready to pay any kind of price!" Zevien spoke with determination as he looked at Vernisia in his arms.

    "The price is your future, your destiny," the kid stated with a grin, "look at the screen above me. It will show you how magnificent your life will be after four months."

    "I am ready to give it up! I don''t want my future or my destiny! Whatever you want, take it. Just¡­bring Vernisia back to me."

    Hearing that, the kid formed a speechless expression and spoke, "look at the screen, boy. This world runs deeper than you have seen. The thing you were trying to research, yeah? Fairy-spirit magic. It''s long been discovered in Astralnd, and it''s orthodox. The world you live in is just a surface of a deeper world and you¡­are the heir of a powerful family in that deeper world."

    "They will discover you after four months and live a king''s life. There will be rows of beautiful maidens for you to marry. Even more beautiful than this girl. You can even marry multiple maide-"

    "I don''t want any of that!" Zevien shouted with tear-filled red eyes, "I just want my Vernisia back!! P-please...do it."

    "Fine, fine," the kid said with a sigh as he waved his hand and removed the screen.

    "Now listen to the conditions. You will time travel back to six years ago, right before the opening ceremony and before meeting Vernisia. However, your destiny will transfer to her. Her illness will disappear while your destiny will disappear from you as well. You will also be unable to wield magic normally, but Vernisia will be a prodigy. Of course, you will keep your memories, which is the only advantage."

    After saying that, the kid paused and looked at Zevien with raised eyebrows.

    Seeing that, Zevien nodded without hesitation, "I am fine with that."

    "Did you hear correctly? Your destiny will transfer to HER! Your king''s destiny! On the other hand, you will be a defective human, unable to wield magic normally."

    "DO IT!" Zevien said without the slightest shred of hesitation, "send me back and do this destiny transfer or whatever to cure her illness."

    "Are you sure? It''s uncertain that she will fall in love with you again. Her position and status will be vastly different," the kid asked again.

    "I am sure," Zevien said while nodding before he looked at Vernisia lovingly, "I will pursue her again and¡­make her fall in love with me again."

    "You have to DO YOUR BEST if you want to be with her again," the kid said with a wry smile before nodding, "alright. I am impressed that you decided to sacrifice such a magnificent destiny for a redo filled with uncertainties."

    The kid smiled as he pointed his hand upward and grinned, "get ready. You will have your memories intact, and that''s your slight advantage, but you won''t be able to wield magic normally. So...

    The kid paused before speaking with a glint in his eyes, "I can only say that¡­you must grasp every opportunity you encounter, whether bad or risky."

    Zevien nodded with determination before he hugged Vernisia and whispered, "I love you too, Verny."

    "Off you go, happy journey," the mystical kid said with a grin as he snapped his finger.

 Chapter 4 Oddball, Class

    Magia Realm of MyrWrux...

    Magia realm is divided into two sections: the Gaia Continent and the Astral Land. The majority of Gaia Continent residents are unaware of Astralnd''s existence, but this is not true for Astralnd residents.

    One cannot simply enter the Astralnd by traveling on the ground because a dimensional gap separates them.

    However, one thing that applies to both sides of this coin, known as Magia Realm, is that it''s a world of magic where powerful magicians rule the roost!

    Gaia Continent, Country Lopax...

    The Lopax country has four major Academies that students from all over the country want to attend.

    Since only one thousand students are epted each year, thepetition is very hard.

    The students who are not epted into those four national academies learn magic in private Magic Dojos. Naturally, they fall short of those four Academies in terms of resources, areas, and facilities.

    ...

    The year S.M 8008...

    At this moment, two young men in their seventeens were getting ready for the opening ceremony inside one of the many dorms at this fourth national magic academy.

    "Zev! If you don''t hurry, you''ll miss the opening ceremony."

    "Hehe, I am more excited about it than you, Dan. There''s no way I will miss it," Zevien said as he adjusted his uniform, ''the world really rewound in time, I am back to my 17-year-old self.''

    ''Vernisia, I can''t wait to meet you!''

    "Let''s go," Zevien said to Dan with a beaming smile.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Dan arrived at the hall shortly after and went inside. Every second, a new group of students entered the hall.

    The current student council president arrived five minutes after everyone else. The lovely youngdy took the stage and brushed her long sunset-colored hair before delivering a speech.

    Zevien was not paying attention to the ceremony and was looking around the hall from his seat, ostensibly looking for someone.

    "Haha, Zevien. Who are you looking for with such a face?" Dan said with a smallugh as he saw Zevien looking around.

    Zevien appeared to be both happy and anxious, with longing in his eyes for someone he cared about.

    ''Don''t tell me she''s not at this school? No way, that god-like being told me not to speak to her for ten days after he sent me back, so she''s definitely in this school,'' Zevien reasoned as he searched the hall for the person he cared about most.

    "Next up is a speech by the freshman representative, Vernisia Fate," the student council president said with a gentle smile as she returned to the stage.

    Zevien was taken aback when he heard the name and turned to face a lovely youngdy with long silver-blue hair.

    His stunned expression was reced by a face filled with unbridled happiness and tears in his eyes.

    Dan was taken aback, but he had no idea that this new friend of his...

    Had quite a journey already.

    "Vernisia...you are alive," Zevien spoke, his voice filled with relief as tears streamed down his cheeks with a big smile on his face.

    Zevien was eager to meet Vernisia, but he remained patient, ''I will meet her in the ss...hopefully.''

    He hoped their desks in the ss were the same as in his previous life, right next to each other.

    Soon, her speech was over as she left the stage, and after one more speech by the vice-president, the ceremony was over as everyone left the hall.

    ...

    "ss A-3, here it is," Dan said with a grin as he and Zevien stopped in front of their ss door.

    Both of them entered inside and tapped on their Digi-watch.

    Digi-watch was something that every student got from the Academy after they got epted by the Academy.

    Tapping the Digi-watch produced a small hologram.

    [Zevien]

    -ss: A-3

    -Desk No. 17

    -Rank: ~

    -Credits: 10

    ''My desk number is the same,'' Zevien thought as his hopes got high, ''if my desk number is the same, then Vernisia''s desk number should be the same.''

    In the previous life, Zevien''s desk number was 17, and Vernisia''s desk number was 16.

    "Ayo, my number is 3," Dan spoke wryly and sighed, "you are in thest row while I am in the first row, sadge."

    The ssroom had twenty desks. Five desks in each row, so a total of four rows.

    Suddenly, a smallmotion urred as the twelve students in the ss saw Vernisia entering the ss.

    "Woah, it looks like the freshman representative is in our ss."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Hehe, that indeed raised our morale."

    "She is really beautiful," a girl with rectangle sses and ck hair spoke with a smile.

    The boy behind her desk looked at her and grinned, "you not worse than her...Sophia, right?"

    Sophia was startled as her cheeks turned a bit red, and she put her hair behind her ears involuntarily in nervousness and turned her head to the front.

    Dan whistled and spoke with augh, "that guy is already trying to score a goal."

    However, Zevien was looking at Vernisia and elbowed Dan, "Hey, bro. Go to your desk."

    "Huh, why?" Dan was confused, but...

    "Excuse me," Vernisia said with a smile.

    Dan turned his head to the voice and saw Vernisia standing beside the desk.

    "Please," Dan gestured with his hand as he stood up and went to the right side of Zevien before whispering in a low voice, "bro, you got this. Hehehe."

    Dan knew that his friend apparently liked Vernisia from the way he looked at her in the ceremony hall.

    "Hi, I am Vernisia," Vernisia turned to Zevian and said with a smile, "Nice to meet you."

    Zevien had alreadyposed himself as he nodded and smiled, "I am Ze-"

    ''Wait...!'' Zevien suddenly stopped speaking as he remembered the words of that mysterious being, ''he said that I must not talk to her for ten days...damn! Why?''

    "Ze?" Vernisia was surprised, "is your name Ze?"

    Zevien looked at her and shook his head three times before wryly smiling and making a zip motion with his hand on his mouth.

    He tapped on his Digi-watch and showed her the hologram.

    "Zevien," Vernisia muttered before she chuckled with a smile, "but why are you not speaking?"

    Zevien''s face showed a helpless smile as he shook his head and once again did a zip motion on his mouth with his hand before opening theptop that was connected to the desk and opening a doc file before writing in it.

    ''Hmmm, this could be a good way to make her think that I am somewhat an oddball, which might increase her curiosity about me,'' Zevien thought as he wrote something on the document and showed it to Vernisia.

    [Sorry, but I won''t be able to talk to you for ten days. I can''t tell you the reason for it...yet]

    "Eh...,'' Vernisia raised her eyebrows before she spoke, "but you can speak, right?"

    Zevien nodded.

    "So you can speak with others but will not speak to me?" Vernisia asked with doubt.

    Zevien nodded again with a sad smile.

    "Hahaha," Vernisia chuckled as she saw Zevien''s face that had turned sad and like a puppy, "I take it as you want to speak to me but can''t speak?"

    Zevien hurriedly nodded with a helpless expression.

    "Sounds fishy, haha."

    *nk...nk..*

    A slim middle-aged man entered the ssroom at this time, holding a walking stick and a hat on his head. He was dressed up in a coat and formal pant-shirt.

    "Take your desks, everyone," the man said as he stood behind the teacher''s standing desk and spoke with a smile, "I am your homeroom teacher, Touma Ruther. If you have any queries or questions, look for me in the staff zone."

    He then tapped on his Digi-bang and pressed something in the hologram before saying, "I have sent my number to your ID ount."

    Everyone''s Digi-watch blinked slightly in a tiny slot. The blink was red, which meant that a mail had arrived.

    Zevien and others opened the mail and saw the simple content in it.

    Homeroom Teacher: Touma Ruther

    Contact number: +Z5,377AX8890

    "Everyone should be excited to finally awaken your magic Labyrinth, right?" Touma said with a smile.

    "Yeah!"

    "Hehe, we really can''t wait for it, Touma-sir. Let''s get going already," Dan said with a grin.

    "Alright then, follow me," Touma said with a faint smile, "we will go to the training ground and awaken your magic-typebyrinth there. After that, we can also assess your overall ability."

    The Academy was veryrge, with three big dome-like buildings in a triangle formation, and all three dome buildings were connected via several ss-tube paths.

    Aside from that, there were nine grounds in the gaps between these three dome buildings and onerge ground in the middle of these three dome buildings.

    The Academy was situated on the northwest side of Starline City. Behind the Academy was arge military camp with barracks because the area on the Northwest side outside of the city was a forest.

    The homeroom teacher, Touma Ruther, and the twenty students arrived at ground no.9 of the Academy.

    [Vote for the novel and drop a review for more chapters]

 Chapter 5 So This Is What He Meant By That? F...

    "All of you must have received basic knowledge about learning spells while you were slowly refining and purifying your Magic Eidos body in junior schools," Touma-sir said with a faint smile.

    Walking some steps with one hand behind his back and another holding the cane, Touma continued, "since you managed to get into the Academy, I take it that you all must have at least mastered one normal spell. Before Awakening your magic-type Labyrinth, I want you to show me your normal spells."

    "Vernisia," Touma said, "since you became freshmen representative, then it means you scored the highest in the test. Let''s see your most powerful normal magic spell."

    Touma gestured for her to leave the student group and arrive in front of him, "use it against me."

    Vernisia nodded as she walked out and stood ten meters away from the homeroom teacher.

    She took a deep breath and pointed her palm forward as it exuded mana. The mana soon turned into a two-meter long saber after condensation as she held the saber with her both hands.

    "Mana Saber? Hoh, that must have taken at least 70% of your mana, but that B-rank spell shouldn''t be your most powerful one. Could it be..." Touma said as he rubbed his chin before gesturing with his hand as he beckoned towards her with his palm, e on."

    Vernisia nodded, and the next thing did surprise everyone. Instead of dashing forward, she waved her saber in a sh motion as a mana sh was released towards Touma.

    "Split Mana sh!" Touma was surprised as he waved his palm and caught the sh before nullifying it as it disappeared, "no wonder you became freshmen representative."

    The students were also startled.

    "With that 3-second casting speed and A-rank normal spell, Fortified Split Mana saber, no wonder she took the 1st rank."

    "Her theory should be solid since she managed to weave this spell in her magic eidos body."

    The saber in Virnisia''s hand slightly shortened as well.

    "How many shes can you release?" teacher Touma asked.

    "Eleven shes before the saber disappears," Vernisia said with a beaming smile.

    "That''s a good mana efficiency and mana control," Touma was impressed as he nodded, "alright, next."

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Zevien fell into thought, ''I need to show something better¡­better than her. I need to weave a better magic spell. My current normal magic spell is a crude one; it''s just C-rank, Arms fortification.''

    Zevien hurriedly closed his eyes and decided to weave an A-rank normal magic spell, Exploding Bullets.

    He sensed his magic eidos body and started manipting mana.

    Magic Eidos Body manifested in everyone at the age of 9 or 10, and after that, they can sense and observe their Magic Eidos Body, which essentially looks like their real body but ethereal and ck colored.

    Once everyone can sense their magic eidos body, they can start absorbing mana from the atmosphere and use that mana to refine and purify their magic eidos body until not even a spec of ck is left, and it turnspletely white-blue.

    Zevien also sensed his magic eidos body. It was a sparkling white-blue colored one, just like everyone on the ground.

    Once it turnspletely white-blue, people can trigger an awakening with their thoughts. They just need to enter into a focused state and trigger that awakening by thinking about it.

    All students on this ground had yet to trigger that awakening since this Academy wouldn''t ept students who have awakened their magic-type Labyrinth beforehand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Naturally, some academies also ept students based on their magic-type Labyrinth because it''s the second most important thing next to their magic eidos body in a Magician''s life...but their magic-type Labyrinth is the most important source of strength.

    Before awakening their magic-type Labyrinth, people can still learn magic spells. These spells are called normal magic spells.

    Zevien was precisely weaving one such spell in his magic eidos body. Since he already has memories of his previous life, he knew about several normal magic spells and had mastered them.

    In the first step, he conceptualized the core concept of the A-rank spell, Exploding  Bullets, with his knowledge as he had already understood this spell.

    Afterward, he gathered mana and controlled them into a set of strings to create a spell formation.

    Afterprehending and understanding a spell''s concept, one can use mana to create spell formation based on that concept. This was the second step.

    Zevien quickly created the spell formation by using 15% of his mana. Once he was done, only thest step was left, Spell weaving. This step was very simple. He just needed to weave the spell formation he created into his magic eidos body.

    Hepleted the 3rd step in a jiffy and quickly opened his eyes.

    "Next, Sophia," Touma spoke as he nudged his sses a bit with his finger while ncing at Zevien for a second.

    "What were you doing, man?" Dan elbowed Zevien and spoke, "did you even see my cool B-rank spell?"

    Zevien knew what Dan''s B-rank spell was, but he still shook his head and wryly smiled, "my bad. I was lost in thoughts as I remembered some things. So? What was the spell?"

    "Hehe, since I have learned taijutsu, I mastered the B-rank normal magic spell, Piercing Palms," Dan said with a proud grin stretched on his face.

    "Oh? That''s impressive," Zevien acted as if he was impressed and patted his shoulder. But this spell was indeed good for people who had learned martial arts. More importantly, for weapon-less martial arts like taijutsu.

    Piercing Palms would create mana strings on both palms of the user and spin in an arranged formation with very thin but condensed output like a saber sh released by Vernisia. They can cut through the flesh and bones of the people like a knife through butter.

    Naturally, Normal magic spells of A-rank and below can''t hurt Grade-1 magic beasts. They are not enough to qualify even as the lowest-rank magician.

    "Next, Zevien," Touma spoke with a faint smile, "let''s see what you got."

    Zevien nodded as he cracked his index finger out of the habit of his previous life, where it had been damaged a bit and required constant cracking of his bones to feel good.

    Standing ten meters away from teacher Touma, Zevien stretched his palm towards teacher Touma and¡­

    *pop¡­pop¡­pop¡­pop*

    Zevien cast the magic spell, Exploding Bullets.

    But, as soon as his mana exuded outside and he cast the spell, those bullets exploded in front of him.

    Zevien was slightly blown back due to pressure and fell to the ground with a dumbfounded expression, ''why did those bullets turn vtile and out of control right after materializing?''

    ''Wait¡­so this is what he meant by I wouldn''t be able to wield magic normally?¡­fuck.''

    [Vote for the novel and drop a review for more chapters]

 Chapter 6 Magic-Type Labyrinth, Awakening Magic Spell

    Touma walked towards Zevien and looked at him weirdly, "Hey, are you okay? How did you fail to cast that A-rank spell?"

    Zevien looked at teacher Touma and sighed as he shook his head, "I don''t know."

    Of course, he would not say that he was a defective piece now. His mana loses control aftering out of his body.

    Standing up, Zevien dusted off and self-deprecatingly smiled, "I actually haven''t mastered that spell, and it was my first time using it, so I guess I failed. Anyway, can we start awakening now? I was thest one anyway."

    ''The execution and flow of his mana I sensed were perfect until it materialized and suddenly turned vtile...Strange,'' Touma thought as a glint passed through his eyes.

    "Fine. It''s time that you all awaken your magic-type Labyrinths and learn your first awakening magic spell," Touma said with a smile as he thought of testing Zevienter.

    He then told all students to sit down on the grassy ground in four rows with a distance of three meters between each of them on all sides.

    "Close your eyes and enter into your most focused state before triggering the awakening," Touma said as he bumped his cane on the ground once and floated in the air in a sitting position as if he was sitting on some kind of invisible chair.

    "We will hold a tinypetitionter, and I will reward the top three with a tier-1 magic spell of their choice from my personal stash," Touma said with a faint smile as he particrly looked at Zevien and thought, ''I''ll have to observe you more to see that strange problem.''

    Hearing the tier-1 spells, everyone''s eyes lit up with excitement.

    "Are you for real, Touma-sensei?" Michiru asked with sparkling eyes.

    "It seems that we can save some of our credits, hehe," John said with a snicker leaving his mouth.

    "One spot will go to Vernisia, but I don''t know about the other two."

    Touma slightly snapped his finger, and a powerful wind blew everywhere, "stop talking and focus now. If you fail to learn your first awakening magic spell in your first trip to your respective magic-typebyrinth, you are not participating in thepetition I talked about."

    Everyone shut their mouths and focused.

    The atmosphere became serene after five seconds.

    Zevien was the first one to trigger his awakening as a slight magic aura exuded around him.

    ''I wonder if I will awaken the same type of magicbyrinth?'' Zevien wondered before his consciousness traveled into his magic eidos body, and that magic eidos body disappeared.

    Zevien opened his eyes as he found himself under a starry night beside a riverbank that had a sparkling light purple water flowing in it.

    Theforting sound of a waterfall reverberated behind him as he stood up and looked around.

    "This is clearly different," Zevien uttered with wide eyes, "this is not the Infernal Parox Magic Labyrinth that I had awakened in my previous life."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The current Zevien didn''t look like a human. He was a white-blue humanoid without wearing any clothes. There was no skin, but his internals was clearly visible. There was a sparkling orb in the middle of his chest, and 1/4th part of that orb had entric patterns.

    Besides that orb, the whole magic eidos body was filled to the brim with mana. The mana Zevien used to weave that spell was instantly filled when he arrived here with his magic eidos body.

    Naturally, there was a time limit to staying in a magic Labyrinth, and that limit depended on each person''s endurance and willpower. The longer one stays in their respective magicbyrinth, the more they gain magic power. However, their endurance and will are also strained, and when their consciousness can''t hold on anymore, their magic eidos body returns to their physical body.

    People absorb mana from atmosphere or mana stones, their mana recovery and absorbing speed varies depending on their magic core''s capabilities, and after absorbing thatmon mana, it automatically enhances inside their body due to their magic core.

    So, the magic power gained by staying in their respective magic-typebyrinths reinforces their magic core in their magic eidos body. When their magic core is enhanced, their mana bes a bit more potent, resulting in powerful and more effective magic spells.

    Still, there is much more to these magicbyrinths than simply that because people don''t own these magicbyrinths. Instead, there are native beasts here, and people who awakened the same magicbyrinths can also meet each other. However, it is known that these magicbyrinths are seemingly boundless as nobody has reached their boundaries yet.

    One more thing to note is that everyone can only enter their magicbyrinth once every 30 days.

    Zevien first created crude clothes on himself using mana. In the magicbyrinths, people can do that just by thinking about it. The mana he spent was also recovered instantly.

    Afterward, Zevien sat down and closed his eyes to feel the power of this magicbyrinth so that he could get its information.

    Five secondster, Zevien opened his eyes and uttered with a frown, "Violet Spectrum Magic Labyrinth. Hmmm¡­I don''t remember having such Magic Labyrinth recorded."

    Shaking his head, now was not the time to think about it but to learn his first Awakening spell and stay as long as he could in this magicbyrinth to enhance his magic core as much as possible.

    Those who have entered their magicbyrinth the first time shouldn''t move one hundred meters because the one hundred meters zone around them is like a protection zone. Outside that zone, they can be attacked by others like magic beasts or some mystical phenomena, cutting their trip short.

    Zevien entered into full focus mode as he slowly inhaled and exhaled. He tried to feel the power of this magicbyrinth to learn his first Awakening magic spell.

    After ten seconds, violet sparks started to gather around Zevien and began whirling around him.

    Awakening magic spells are different from all other spells because they are like¡­innate spells. People can''t learn Awakening magic spells just because they want to. Normally, only those who awakened their magicbyrinth the first time can learn an Awakening spell, and after that, they can learn one each time their magic core upgrades.

    Time passed as violet-purple sparks increased in number every minute around Zevien before a one-meter-wide whirlpool was rotating around him.

    After a total of twenty minutes, the gathered sparks started to infuse into Zevien''s magic core asplicated violet-purple patterns appeared on it.

    After all of the violet sparks infused inside his magic core, Zevien opened his eyes as a sh of purple appeared in his eyes for a brief second.

    "Somatic Violet Four Vehemence!" Zevien muttered with a glint of excitement in his eyes because the awakening spell he learned was kind of unique, "I wonder what kind of physical manifestation it will take outside with such effects?"

    [Vote for the novel and drop a review for more chapters]

 Chapter 7 Somatic Violet Four Vehemence

    "But will I be able to use this spell outside?" Zevien was worried as he frowned, "if my mana turned vtile with this spell, it would spell trouble."

    Zevien decided to practice his first awakening spell in this ce. At least inside the magicbyrinth, he didn''t think his mana would lose control.

    Closing his eyes, Zevien muttered, "First Vehemence, Somatic Anger."

    His emotion of anger also affects this spell slightly.

    Stretching his hand forward, a purple orb materialized in front of him. He thought about the moment he lost Vernisia, which caused him great anger, and the purple orb got potent as it turned darker.

    He also added more mana into the orb until he reached the limit.

    The purple orb stopped growing after it became the size of an adult man''s palm.

    He willed the purple orb to shoot forward towards a boulder...

    *Boom!*

    The three-meter giant boulder was destroyed via that purple orb''s pure force magic attack.

    However, there was one more use of the First Vehemence. Zevien cast the spell again and initiated the First Vehemence, Somatic Anger.

    This time, he controlled that purple orb and infused it inside him.

    *shua¡­*

    A purple aura surrounded his body, and he felt his overall physical strength increasing. Although he was in his magic eidos body, it still had the same physical properties as his real body once inside a magicbyrinth.

    ''If I internally cast this spell, then it won''t go out of control,'' Zevien thought with a glint in his eyes. The internal-casting style was about casting the spell inside the user''s body. This type of casting is used for spells that buff the self, and Zevien could do the same with his awakening spell.

    Zevien''s Somatic Violet Four Vehemence awakening magic spell had four effects with dual applications:

    First Vehemence, Somatic Anger. (Pure magic attack power / Physical buff)

    Second Vehemence, Somatic Happiness. (Healing power / Spell-potency increase buff)

    Third Vehemence, Somatic Fear. (Mind attack / Fear & Pain suppression)

    Fourth Vehemence, Somatic Sadness. (Defensive barrier / Despair aura)

    After Zevien checked all the effects of his awakening spell, he sat down calmly and entered meditation so that he could stay in the Labyrinth longer.

    As it was his first entry here, there was no need for him to explore it.

    While in meditation, he suddenly thought of something, ''could it be that I awakened this magicbyrinth because of that mystical being? Although I haven''t seen records of this Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth, it''s pretty clear that it''s an all-rounded type magicbyrinth, and I can do internal-casting on my first awakening spell.''

    Zevien felt that he awakened this magicbyrinth because of his problem with mana. Since he could internally cast the awakening spell, at least he wouldn''t remain weak.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''But I have to fix this problem as soon as possible. Simply doing internal casting is not the way to go,'' Zevien thought with a frown, ''I can''t fight my way up just by using internally casted spells.''

    At that moment, Zevien remembered thest words that the mystical being said before he initiated time to rewind.

    ''I have to grasp all opportunities, whether good or bad, or risky¡­huh. Aside from that, I can do a lot of things. First, I need to earn a lot of money, and thatpany as well,'' Zevien thought as he opened his eyes. He would not waste the six years of memory advantage that he had.

    ''That project of fairy spirit magic as well. We were close to summoning our first fairy after reaching 99% progress in creating that spell formation.''

    Zevien had unknowingly summoned some fairies, and even though they only stayed for a few seconds before disappearing, Zevien and Vernisia had recorded data about them.

    Zevien also focused when he felt like the summoning was happening, which allowed him to understand the spell formation slightly each time. Both Zevien and Vernisia were close to creating a spell formation of a simr summoning circle that manifests when a fairy is summoned.

    He wanted toplete that spell formation as well. But for now, he had to focus on his current situation and must stay as long as he could in the magicbyrinth to increase his magic power.

    Time passed as Zevien reached the one-hour mark. After staying for a total of one hour, he was starting to feel faint fatigue, but he was not close to his limit.

    He had resolved his mind, and his will was formidable because of the drive inside him. He knew that the path in front of him was hard to walk, especially now that his and Vernisia''s destiny had changed.

    He would have to give not 100% but more than a 110% of his efforts on whatever he does.

    One hour thirty-minute mark

    One hour thirty-five-minute mark

    ...

    Zevien was feeling oppression in his will, and if he gave in, his magic eidos body would immediately leave the magicbyrinth.

    The magic power was slowly infusing into his magic core, and he knew that his magic core was more potent than before.

    Currently, his magic core was half-covered with bizarre patterns. Most of those patterns belonged to his awakening magic spell.

    ? From his estimation, he can probably learn three tier-1 magic spells. After that, he won''t be able to weave any more spells in his magic eidos body.

    Of course, that doesn''t mean he can''t cast a spell that he didn''t weave into his magic core.

    It''s just that, after weaving a magic spell, he only needs to cast it, and the spell formation will activate to release that magic spell since the spell formation is interwoven into his magic core.

    Otherwise, he can create the spell formation of a spell he didn''t weave but still know and cast it. But after that one cast, the spell formation is dispersed, and he will have to create its spell formation again, which takes more time and is not viable inbat.

    It is also possible to remove an interwoven magic spell and weave another spell instead. But to ultimately increase the limits of weaving more spells, one has to upgrade their magic core by consistently training in the magicbyrinth.

    [Vote for the novel and drop a review for more chapters]

 Chapter 8 Magic Power

    After Zevien reached the one-hour and forty-five-minute mark, his magic eidos body started trembling. This trembling indicated that he was pushing himself past his limit.

    Ten seconds passed,

    Twenty,

    Thirty,

    ...

    At thirty-fourth second, he finally lost it as his magic eidos body disappeared.

    ¡­

    Zevien opened his eyes and saw everyone looking at him. With a nk expression, he asked, "what?"

    "Damn, bro!! You stayed twenty-five minutes ahead of Vernisia and Tigger!" Dan smacked Zevien''s shoulder and spoke with augh. He didn''t know his friend was this tough.

    ''Tigger? Oh yeah. He was the most talented one in our ss before,'' Zevien remembered Tigger.

    Vernisia and all the other students were looking at him with impressed eyes.

    "Good job, Zevien," Touma said before smiling and continuing, "everyone has checked their magic power except you. Show us how much magic power you possess right now."

    Zevien nodded as he moved mana from his magic eidos body and channeled it internally towards his wrist before infusing it inside his Digi-watch.

    [Zevien]

    -Magic Power: 34.6

    -ss: A-3

    -Desk No. 17

    -Rank: ~

    -Credits: 10

    "Thirty-four! Awesome," Dan said with a beaming smile, "I guess one of the top spots goes to Zevien in thepetition."

    Vernisia and Tigger''s magic powers were 28 and 27, respectively.

    "Well, magic power is not the basis of everything inbat," Tigger, the boy with yellow hair, spoke as he rolled his eyes, bat ability is the most important."

    It was true, in a sense, because despite possessing high magic power, if one can''t hit their magic spells or can''tbat properly, like failing to defend, dodge, etc., one will lose against someone possessing lower magic power. Timing and fast reaction are also important.

    "What magicbyrinth did you awaken?" Touma asked with curiosity. Everyone was curious about it as well since the topic of magicbyrinths was always interesting.

    "Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth," Zevien said, "I have never heard of this magicbyrinth before."

    The students also started thinking and going through their memories.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Tigger frowned and thought, ''Violet Spectrum¡­I haven''t read about a magicbyrinth with this name. Did this guy really awaken a new one? It''s been four years since a new magicbyrinth was recorded.''

    Vernisia also fell into thought but failed to remember if such a magicbyrinth was recorded.

    However, the expression of Touma was different. His brows were slightly creased as he was thinking something and spoke, "I have read about this one. It''s in the original records since nobody had awakened this magicbyrinth for fifty-four years."

    Hearing that, everyone got surprised.

    "The one recorded had gotten an awakening spell called the Violet Kingdom upon awakening this magicbyrinth. I know that everyone gets a different awakening magic spell. So, what is your spell called?" Touma inquired as he rubbed his chin.

    "Eh, mine is called Somatic Violet Four Vehemence," Zevien said with a smile.

    "That''s one long spell name, hahaha."

    "I wonder what it does? From the name, it seems rted to emotions or something like that."

    The students started talking while Touma nodded after getting the answer and snapped his finger, "alright, everyone can take a break now. I am sure you all must be hungry after your first trip to your magicbyrinths. Meet me here after one hour."

    Touma left the area while the students instantly started bombarding Zevien with questions about how he managed to stay in the magicbyrinth for so long on his first trip.

    "Stop, stop!" Zevien said as he raised both of his hands and grinned, "the answer is straightforward. You want to know?"

    Everyone nodded, including Vernisia. Tigger also subtly nodded as he was curious.

    "First, make some distance," Zevien said as he started walking backward, "don''t worry, I am not nning to run."

    "Ahem, so the answer is¡­," Zevien smiled and spoke, "you have to spend at least one-hour doing meditation in the open air in the morning."

    Hearing that, everyone was dumbfounded. That was because what Zevien said was the most normal thing.

    "But we do it everyday¡­," someone muttered.

    "Oh? Really?" Zevien feigned surprise andughed, "sorry, then it only means that I am better than you all. Alright, goodbye."

    After saying that, he dashed towards the exit and left the ground.

    "Damn! He had no intention to tell us about it in the first ce!"

    "Hahaha."

    "Troll!"

    Some students startedughing. Vernisia chuckled and shook her head as well.

    Dan also shrank his neck and left, "wait for me, Zev!"

    [Vote for the novel and drop a review for more chapters]

 Chapter 9 Cafeteria, Slaps

    After leaving the area, Zevien directly went to the cafeteria with Dan.

    "Why didn''t you invite Vernisia with you to eat? I don''t think she would''ve rejected," Dan said while walking alongside Zevien.

    Arriving at the food court, Zevien ordered a grilled chili sandwich before answering Dan, "I can''t speak to her for ten days. But she will probablye to the cafeteria with Erica to eat as well after a few minutes."

    After saying that, Zevien nced at the wide doors of the cafeteria for a second.

    Dan also ordered his food before turning to Zevien, "why can''t you talk to her?"

    Zevien shook his head with a wry smile, "don''t ask me why. I can''t tell the reason. Anyway, which magic-typebyrinth have you awakened?"

    Of course, Zevien knew that Dan probably awakened the Blood Demon magicbyrinth, but he still asked as it was apparent to hold curiosity regarding such things.

    "Haha, I awakened the Blood Demon magicbyrinth," Dan said with augh before grinning, "the awakened magic spell I got is called Sanguine Body Armament."

    "Sounds very suitable since you are learning Taijutsu as well," Zevien said with a beaming smile, "I have also trained in Taijutsu to a certain extent so let''s have a sparter."

    Dan was confident about his Taijutsu level among his peers, so he patted Zevien''s shoulder and spoke with a faint smile, "don''t worry, I will hold back against a friend."

    Zevien shook his head slightly with a smile before they took their food and walked towards an empty table a dozen meters away.

    As soon as they arrived at the table, Zevien''s eyes lit up as he saw Vernisia entering the cafeteria with Erica.

    Erica was also a beautiful young girl with long red hair. She had light peach skin and a slim figure like Vernisia.

    "Eh, you were right, bro. How did you know that Vernisia woulde here with Erica?" Dan spoke with a surprised expression as he sat down at the table.

    Zevien sat down at the table and answered, "I wasn''t sure. I just took a wild guess about it because they seemed friendly to each other in the ss."

    Vernisia and Erica noticed them as well and waved their hands. Zevien gestured towards the food court and then pointed at his table.

    "Still not talking to me?" Vernisia chuckled with a smile and spoke, "let''s go and get our food before sitting there."

    Erica nodded before she and Vernisia walked towards the food court. While walking, Erica asked, "why is he not talking to you?"

    "I don''t know. Zevien said that he won''t be able to talk to me for ten days," said Vernisia as she shook her head lightly, "strange fellow."

    "Heh, maybe he just wants to impress you with this tactic," said Erica as she rolled her eyes.

    "Possible," Vernisia said.

    Erica narrowed her eyes and smiled as she elbowed her, "say, is it working?"

    This time, Vernisia rolled her eyes, "of course not. But he sounded truthful, so I guess there''s some reason why he can''t talk to me."

    They then ordered their food and walked toward the table where Zevien and Dan were sitting.

    But when they reached halfway, a man wearing a t-shirt and jacket with a cap on his head called out, "yo, freshman representative. How about you eat with us? We can teach you a lot of things, hahaha."

    "Vernisia, right? Come on; this senior sister will tell the ways of this academy," a girl sitting at the same table spoke. She was a busty girl with dark pink bowl-cut hair.

    They sat at a six-seat table, and it was packed¡ªa total of three boys and three girls.

    Hearing their words, Erica frowned, "there''s not even a seat there, and you are asking-"

    "Hahaha, who said there isn''t any seat?" the jacket boy who looked to be in his eighteen spoke with a loudugh, "myps are empty."

    *TINK¡­*

    The sound of a steel spoon hitting the metal table reverberated and captured everyone''s attention as they looked at the table of Zevien and Dan.

    Seeing Zevien''s reaction, Dan grinned and cracked his knuckles, "It will be awesome to beat some seniors up on our first day. Let''s go, brother."

    Zevien stood up with a cold glint in his eyes and walked towards their table. Dan also followed him with a grinning face.

    "Zevien, you don''t need to mind them," Vernisia said with a frown.

    Zevien didn''t answer her because, obviously, he was not allowed to do that.

    "Let them, Verny," Erica said with a smile, "I want to see what they can do to those seniors."

    Zevien arrived in front of their tables with a smile on his face. However, his eyes had a cold glint in them as he spoke, "I heard there was an empty seat here? Oh, so it is there."

    Zevien almost sat on hisp, walking towards the jacket boy called Jacky, but Jacky quickly pushed back with a dumbfounded expression.

    "What the hell, man? Are you nuts?" Jacky asked before he aimed to kick Zevien.

    However, Zevien''s hand moved like the wind as he caught his leg and dragged him out of the table as he fell onto the floor before swiftly kicking on his crotch.

    *Siiiii¡­.*

    Everyone in the cafeteria sucked in a breath of cold air.

    "Arghhhhhhhh¡­ FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!"

    "Fuck! Get the hell away, bastard!"

    The three other boys got out of the table as they shouted and attacked Zevien.

    However, Zevien calmly took a step back and used his right hand to redirect Kaleil''s punch toward Junshil.

    Dan also arrived and did a sweep kick towards the third boy before he could even form his fist to attack Zevien.

    *Thud¡­*<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien easily dodged their punches and kicks and pped them on their faces after each time he evaded.

    *Patak!**Patak!**Patak!**Patak!**Patak!**Patak!*¡­

    "FUCK YOU!"

    They were thrashed as their cheeks turned big due to Zevien''s ps. Even though those seniors knew some martial arts, it was not as good as Zevien, who had learned it with Dan from Dan''s master in his future-past life.

    On the other hand, Dan was really a prodigy in martial arts, and that''s why he was a student of one of the most powerful Taijutsu masters in this country.

    Nobody dared to use magic because using magic in a restricted area within the academy was like digging their own grave. The punishment was instant expulsion.

    One can only use magic under the supervision of a staff member or in an arranged duel between students.

    Those three boys backed off after they failed to hold against Zevien and Dan. The two fighting against Zevien were miserable because they were only hit on their cheeks. It was an absolute humiliation for them!

    ''Fucking hell¡­my cheeks are stinging!'' Junshil thought as he rubbed his cheeks with an angry expression.

    Fuming, Kaleil shouted, "If you dare, then ept my challenge to a proper duel!"

    Zevien was taken aback before he frowned, "Don''t you feel shame as seniors for challenging students who had just awakened their magicbyrinth?"

    At this moment, Jacky stood up with his hand over his crotch. Gritting his teeth tightly, his words came out from in-between the gaps of his teeth, "bastard, just wait!"

    "Ok," Zevien nodded with a beaming smile, "I will wait. When that seat on yourp gets empty, you can call me again."

    "Let''s go, Dan."

    "Hahaha. Way to go, brother!"

    Jacky and others looked at those two nonchnt girls sitting at their table and spoke, "Saki, why didn''t you help us? You know martial arts better than us."

    Saki sneered and leaned back on the chair, "don''t you feel pathetic losing against two newbies? Humph, why should I help you?"

    "Let''s go, Kira," Saki spoke as she and her friend stood up. Internally, she thought with a sigh, ''those two are not normal. They''ve put in more effort than others. I would''ve lost as well if I fought them. Especially that ck-haired boy.''

    Learning some martial arts was necessary because it is beneficial if one has good physical fitness and is swift. It would make it easier for one to have a fast reaction, good speed, dodging ability, etc., when fighting against other magicians or magic beasts. This was also one of the criteria for joining the academy, so everyone had good physical fitness and learned some martial arts.

    In that sense, Dan and Zevien were two abnormal freshmen because Dan was a martial artist-baka and Zevien had six whole years of experience under him. He had started going with Dan to learn martial arts under that renowned master just in the second month of their first meeting in his previous life.

    Usually, that master wouldn''t ept students randomly, but since Dan was his favorite student and Zevien was also hard-working and had an aptitude, he allowed it.

    ...

    "You really thrashed them hard, Zevien. I think they will take revenge on you one way or another," Vernisia said with a slight worry in her voice.

    "Yeah, they did look menacingly at you before leaving the cafeteria," Erica said with a smile, "but that was satisfying."

    "Anyway, I didn''t know you were that good in Martial arts. Those movements were slightly familiar as well," Dan said as he looked at Zevien, "haha, it seems that you also learned Taijutsu under some master."

    "Cough¡­Yeah," Zevien said with a smile, "it was a wandering master who came to our orphanage and taught everyone some martial arts for two years before leaving."

    What he said was true because such a master had indeed arrived at their orphanage and taught them.

    "It''s impressive that you managed to learn such fluid movements and battle ability in just two years," Dan said with a beaming smile, "we will go meet my master at five in the afternoon. After seeing your aptitude, I am sure he will also teach you."

    "Err¡­I have something to do today so let''s go tomorrow."

    On the other hand, Vernisia''s eyes were sparkling, and right after Zevien finished speaking, she hurriedly asked, "you lived in an orphanage? Are there little kids there?"

    Zevien was going to answer but held back and coughed and started whistling before he looked at Erica, "did you say anything, Erica?"

    Seeing him like that, Vernisia pouted, "you really can''t talk to me?"

    Getting no answers, Vernisia looked at Erica and helplessly smiled as she gestured with her hand, "ask him."

    "Am I like¡­being a proxy for you two now?" Erica rolled her eyes but still asked the same question.

    Looking at Vernisia with a gentle smile, Zevien said, "yeah, Erica. There are indeed many cute fellows between 3 to 6-year-olds at the orphanage. Naturally, they are not as cute as our dear freshman representative."

    Vernisia slightly blushed beforeposing herself.

    "At least look at me if you want to speak using my name," Erica scowled jokingly.

    "Ahem. Anyway, even if you won''t speak to me for ten days, I want you toe with me to your orphanage and introduce those cute little kids to me. We will bring some toys and food. It will be fun," Vernisia looked happy about meeting those little kids.

    After that, she remembered something and awkwardly smiled, "sorry, you had to go somewhere today, right? Then we will go tomorrow."

    "Alright, Erica," Zevien nodded with a smile. But he was still looking at Vernisia.

    "Hahaha, there''s no use, Erica," Dan said with augh, "Zevien is actually already head over...,"

    Zevien red at Dan and, seeing that Dan shut his mouth before he hurriedly changed the topic, "anyway, I can''t wait for the so-called littlepetition mentioned by Touma-sir. I wonder what kind of tier-1 spells he has."

    "Ahem. First, let''s exchange each other''s contacts," Zevien said before he stretched his hand with Digi-watch towards Vernisia before looking at Dan, "you first."

    Vernisia chuckled at his antics and added her contact number to his Digi-watch, "you better tell me why you are not talking to me after ten days."

    "What else? He just wants to be an odd-ball and put you in his pocket, heh," Erica smirked.

    ¡­

    Erica, Dan, Zevien, and Vernisia added each other''s contact numbers, and after eating, they left the cafeteria together.

 Chapter 10 Tiny Competition I

    After leaving the cafeteria and passing some corridors on the way to ground no.9, they suddenly encountered Tigger and his girlfriend, Kerolin. She was not in ss A-3 but ss A-1.

    However, they were not alone; in front of them were four senior boys¡ªthe same ones who Zevien and Dan thrashed.

    "Please go away; we are gettingte for Touma-sir''s ss," Kerolin spoke with a frown as she held Tigger''s hand tightly.

    Right at that moment, Zevienughed and spoke from behind, "eh, are those our dear seniors? What are they doing?"

    Hearing him, the four seniors looked at the corridor on their left side, their faces changing.

    Clicking his tongue, Jacky turned around and left, "fucking bad day today."

    Tigger and Kerolin were surprised and turned to Zevien and the group.

    "Hahaha, it looks like Zev''s ps were not enough," Danughed.

    "Or maybe because of his ps and that nut-bursting kick, they wanted to target someone else to alleviate their frustration?" Erica said with a snort.

    "You are right, Erica," Zevien said with a faint smile, "next time, I will let you sit on hisp."

    Erica rolled her eyes while Tigger asked with doubt, "you had a conflict with them?"

    "Yep," Vernisia nodded and chuckled before saying, "they must have gone to the infirmary and healed their puffed-up cheeks and other small injuries, so you didn''t see that before."

    The six of them started walking toward the ground while talking.

    "Well, you might have won against them physically but be careful from now on since they have been to their respective magicbyrinth 12 times as they are 2nd-year students; their magic power should be very high," Tigger said with a nod.

    "Well, who was the one who said that magic power is not the basis of everything inbat?" Zevien said with a yful smile.

    Tigger''s face turned a bit red, but he handled it quickly, "cough¡­I mean, the difference is kind of huge. We can only ess our magicbyrinth every month, and we have just awakened it while they have gone inside twelve times. That''s a big gap."

    "Argh, I want to reach 5th ss magician fast to enter the magicbyrinth in a shorter period and stay longer," Dan said as he threw some punches in the air.

    "Well, there is indeed a prodigy in this academy who is close to reaching 5th ss magician despite just entering 3rd year," Kerolin said with a wry smile.

    "Oh? Did his magic power reach the 500 mark? But even after that, he will have to pass the 5th-grade trial to get a 5th-ss magician certificate," Erica said as she raised her eyebrows.

    "Isn''t the trial just about defeating a 5th-grade magic beast?" Dan questioned with a nonchnt expression.

    "Indeed. However, the trial has the best 5th-grade magic beast possible, so it''s kinda hard. Their powers are overall higher than you, but you must still beat it with your wits and spells," Kerolin said while nodding.

    She then looked at Tigger and released his hand from hers, "I have to go to ground no.8 from here. See you after two hours when our day at the academy ends."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Tigger nodded with a coy smile, "I have reserved our spots at Martin''s Magic Potionb. He will craft the potion, Conundrum of Peace."

    Hearing that, Kerolin''s eyes lit up, and she hugged Tigger out of excitement before asking, "how did you manage to get two spots?"

    Vernisia and others were also surprised because Martin was a famous young magician proficient in potion-making in the city. He was thirty-two years old and a 3rd ss magician possessing superb talent in crafting magic potions. It''s hard to reserve spots when he opens a crafting disy of one of the potions.

    ''Oh, how hard it is for him?'' Zevien smiled internally, ''after all, Martin will marry Tigger''s sister in a month or two, I think.''

    Thinking of something, Zevien suddenly feigned surprise and spoke, "that''s impressive Tigger. It almost feels like Tigger has some kind of connection with Martin."

    Hearing that, Tigger awkwardly smiled and scratched the back of his head instinctively as he whispered after ncing around for a second, "actually¡­ahem. Martin is going to be my brother-inw."

    "Woah, seriously?" Dan was startled before heughed and smacked Tigger''s shoulder, "damn, that''s great news."

    Everyone was surprised and congratted Tigger.

    Afterward, Kerolin left while Zevien and others continued walking toward the ground.

    Forty-five minutes had already passed since Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan had spent more time in the cafeteria.

    While asking Tigger about his sister''s wedding, they eventually arrived at the ground after walking for five minutes.

    Once the one-hour break was over, Touma-sir arrived on the ground.

    "If all of you had your fill and sufficient break, then we will directly move to the smallpetition I spoke about," Touma said with a smile as he waved his hand and the ring on his right index finger briefly glowed.

    *thuk¡­**thuk¡­**thuk¡­**thuk¡­*

    Twenty full-body armors with a thick ck stic material and blue patterns appeared on the ground. The chest part of the armor had a digital screen with a powerful magic film.

    "Wear these training magic armors."

    Everyone knew about these armors and wore them swiftly. These training magic armors disy 100 points in the chest area. When spells hit them, instead of hurting them, the armor absorbs the damage and calctes the damage that spell would have done to their body or mind, and convert it into points before deducting that amount from 100 points.

    After everyone wore the training magic armors, Touma took out another thing from his storage ring.

    It was a ck ss with twenty sticks inside.

    "Pick a stick from the ss. Those with matching numbers carved on the stick will fight each other. So ten out of you twenty will be eliminated in the first round," Touma said with a grin, e on, take one each of you."

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library if you like it. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 11 Tiny Competition II, I Am Not Bullshitting (???)

    Everyone drew their sticks, and the duels were decided.

    Dan vs. Kurisu

    Vernisia vs. Tigger

    Zevien vs. Henrith

    Sophia vs. Warmos

    Erica vs. Michiru

    ...

    "First match, Dan vs. Kurisu," Touma spoke as he gestured both of them to go to the center of the ground while everyone had already moved to the borders.

    Kurisu had longvender hair, square frame sses, and a height of 5.7. D-cup, slightly chubby but beautiful nheless with her gorgeous face.

    Arriving at the center of the ground with Dan, she said with a smile, "Dan, I know you are a student of that taijutsu master, Konish Writh. However, don''t underestimate me because of that, or you will regret it."

    "Don''t worry," Dan said as he cupped his fist and bowed slightly before taking a stance as a red aura oozed out of him.

    Kurisu''s eyes also shed with a deep blue hue as she took a simple stance with her right leg and right hand in front of her as she becked at Dan toe at her.

    "Start after I count to zero," said Touma before starting a count down, "three, two, one, and¡­zero!"

    *shua¡­.*

    Dan dashed towards Kurisu as he was fully enveloped with a red aura as a faint image of a demon appeared behind him. He had also cast his [Piercing Palms] magic spell.

    Kurisu''s eyes moved fast as she pointed her palm towards the ce where Dan was going to attack, and a deep blue shark made of magical water suddenly materialized in front of her hand. Right after that, she also tapped her feet slightly on the ground.

    However, Dan didn''t stop his attacking just because of seeing the shark in front of his attacking palm.

    *Crreeeeeeee¡­*

    A burst of red aura gathered in his right as it cut right through the shark before hitting Kurisu.

    Thirteen points decreased for Dan, but after his palm hit Kurisu, she was pushed back three meters and was deducted 64 points.

    *Sha¡­*

    Suddenly, another shark emerged from the ground below Dan, and Kurisu grinned as she snapped her finger.

    *BOOM..*

    The shark exploded as Dan was sent flying in the sky while being dealt damage equivalent to 67 points.

    However, after Dan was sent flying in the sky, he consumed his mana and activated the second armament of his awakening magic spells as the demon mirage behind him glowed, and wings appeared as he zoomed towards Kurisu.

    *swoosh¡­*

    Kurisu was startled, but before her shark could fully materialize and hit him, Dan''s palm directly hit her head.

    -70

    She only had 36 points left, so this attack of Dan sealed the deal.

    "Winner, Dan!" Touma announced, "well, it will take time before you can fully master your awakening magic spells and use them to their best."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Kurisu dryly smiled before saying, "I set a trap, but you came flying. That was unexpected."

    "Yeah. Even for a short burst, gaining flying ability is really an advantage," Dan smiled as he rubbed his nose with his finger, "I can make a burst flight, and it''s suitable since I have learned taijutsu to a high degree."

    The other students also nodded.

    "That flight ability is really cool, man. A normal flight magic spell is a 2nd tier, tough to learn and master."

    "Lucky... I also wanted a flight ability with my awakening magic spell."

    Touma gestured for Dan and Kurisu to get back before speaking, "second match, Vernisia vs. Tigger."

    "This is going to be interesting. Both Tigger and Vernisia had a chance to get into the top 3, but now, only one will go to the next round," Warmos said with an amused smile. Warmos was a square-faced boy with a height of 5.7 and a dark peach skin tone. He had a muscr and thick body frame.

    ''If I remember correctly, Tigger had gotten sma Prism magic spell from his Heavenly Punishment magicbyrinth. All of the spells from his magicbyrinth are fully offensive,'' Zevien thought.

    Still, he was more curious about Vernisia because just like how he awakened a different magicbyrinth this time, she must have awakened something different from what he knew from his previous life.

    Turning to Dan, Zevien asked, "do you know the name of Vernisia''s magicbyrinth?"

    "Oh yeah, you don''t know about the magicbyrinth that others got since you were thest one toe out from your training," Dan said before he grinned, "well, Vernisia got one hell of a magicbyrinth. It''s also recorded as a top-tier magicbyrinth."

    "Stop being long-winded and tell me the name," Zevien said as he rolled his eyes.

    "Cough¡­well, she awakened the Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth."

    "Shadows of Hex¡­," Zevien was surprised and focused on the battle that had just started, ''Shadows of Hex is indeed one of the top-tier magicbyrinths recorded. It''s a den of control and offense spells.''

    There was no surprise in this battle. Vernisia had a clear upper hand because she had totally immobilized Tigger after dodging this sma beam by a nail''s length.

    Vernisia immobilized him via her shadow using her awakening magic spell, and with her lethal A-rank normal magic spell, Fortified Split Mana Saber, she depleted Tigger''s 100 points with just one sh as she used most of the saber''s mana in the first sh to make it more powerful.

    ''Damn¡­,'' Zevien was surprised, ''her casting speed, her reflexes¡­did this so-called destiny transfer really made her this good or¡­she was already this good, but the fault in her magic eidos body prevented her from giving her best? The mental pressure of knowing that death would arrive¡­sigh.''

    Zevien sighed before looking at Vernisia lovingly with a joyous smile, ''but you are fine now, Verny. You will soar high and live long¡­no, we will soar high and live long together until our end and even beyond our end.''

    "I legit got hesitant on which one of my three Nature sma spells should I hurl at you," Tigger self-deprecatingly smiled and shook his head, "but that shadow bind hex was really fast."

    "Well, better luck next time," Vernisia cheekily smiled before returning to the group and looking at Zevien proudly, "how was it?"

    Zevien craned his neck to look at Erica and spoke, "that was really good, Erica! Keep it up."

    "Pff¡­" Dan held his stomach and startedughing, "bro¡­seriously¡­hahaha."

    Vernisia face-palmed as she forgot about it and shook her head as she sat down with a slight pout.

    "What, what? Why did Zevien answer like that?" Sophia asked like a curious cat.

    The others were also curious, along with Touma-sir.

    Erica then told her about Zevien''s so-called not talking to Vernisia for ten days, causing everyone to snicker at him.

    Zevien raised his hands and spoke innocently, "I have some legit reasons. I am not bull shitting."

    Touma shook his head with a helpless smile and spoke, "alright, Zevien and Henrith. Come up to the center, it''s your turn now."

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 12 Tiny Competition III, Toumas Doubts

    Zevien and Henrith arrived at the center of the ground with a twenty-meter distance between them.

    Henrith was the shorty of the ss. He had the lowest height, 5.4ft, and a round chubby face.

    "Get ready. Five, four, three¡­," Touma started counting, and once he reached zero, the battle began.

    Zevien was ready as he internally cast First Vehemence, Somatic Anger as a purple aura enveloped him and increased his physical strength and also used Fourth Vehemence, Somatic Sadness internally to invoke [Despair Aura] around him.

    *Swoosh..*

    Henrith shot two spiky vines towards Zevien, but Zevien dashed forward to dodge one and side-stepped another vine before chopping it.

    With his superior reflexes and speed, Zevien dodged some seeds shot by Henrith as well and arrived right beside him before punching him.

    Henrith was also fast despite being slightly chubby as he put his guard on with his hands. However, Zevien''s punch was empowered with his magic.

    *Smack!*

    -46

    Despite guarding, Henrith lost 46 points and got pushed five meters away. After that, he felt a bit shaky and had negative thoughts as if he was despairing. Quickly shaking his head, he uttered, "Blood of Dreadscar."

    Zevien was once again dashing toward Henrith after punching him, but when he was just one meter away from him, his eyes changed as a dark flower with dark green patterns materialized right in front of Henrith and released two petals toward Zevien.

    Zevien''s eyes and body both moved fast as he jumped over the petals with his current superhuman strength due to his spell, Somatic Anger, and aimed a kick toward Henrith''s head while in the air.

    Henrith''s eyes showed despair as the aura of Zevien was affecting him, and he turned sluggish; because of that, he couldn''t react promptly, and the powerful kick hit him in the head.

    -79

    "Winner, Zevien!!" Touma announced before a glint passed through his eyes.

    ''Why didn''t he use his A-rank normal spell, Exploding bullets? With it, he could''ve won the fight using that spell directly after punching Henrith. He should have practiced it in his magicbyrinth if what he said was true.

    ''Also, he used two abilities from his awakening spell, and both were internally cast. I guess I did the right thing by sending him a message to visit my office after sses are over. Something is wrong with him.''

    ¡­

    After Henrith and Zevien returned to the group, Sophia''s and Warmos''s match started.

    Sophia won with just one spell attack after blocking the first attack of Warmos, which was the Spinning Wind des ability from his Wind Matrix awakening magic spell.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophia''s awakening magic was rted to earth and metal as she had both defense and attack. She had awakened Forgon''s Terra Firma magicbyrinth. It was a pretty famous one due to an existing 1st ss magician having the same magicbyrinth as her. Unfortunately, that magician was an enemy since he belonged to country Karhan, an enemy of Country Lopax.

    "Don''t worry, Warmos. You just failed to make the correct decision regarding your magic spell sequences. If you had nned ahead, you would''ve had a chance to win," Touma said with a smile, "your Asinshin of Wind magicbyrinth is pretty good from the records I read about it. Next time when you go into your magicbyrinth, try to learn a magic spell called Wind Ranger in it."

    "Wind Ranger?" Warmos was surprised and excited both, "although I know that we can learn different magic spells from our magicbyrinth, how do I specifically learn that spell?"

    "There were four instances recorded that says you have a chance to gain conceptual inspiration of that spell after killing grade-0 beasts, Wuffer Tiger and Peliok Sparrow."

    Sophia pouted and said, "you only advised Warmos. That''s unfair."

    Touma wryly smiled and shook his head, "I remember about that particr magicbyrinth due to an extensive research I did about it."

    "Why?" Warmos asked with a curious light in his eyes, "why has Touma-sir researched about it?"

    "Because I have fought against an enemy in field war who had the same magicbyrinth, and that Wind Ranger spell was troublesome once mastered to a very high level. She had upgraded her Wind Ranger spell from tier-0 to tier-3."

    "Who won?" Zevien asked curiously, "since Touma-sir fought against her, then¡­who won the fight?"

    "I won," Touma said with a smile before pointing at his crippled leg, "however, because of her, I lost this leg."

    "But why didn''t Touma-sir recover that leg? I am sure there are tier-5 magic spells and even magic potions to cure that leg," Sophia asked with doubt.

    "Because I didn''t want to, hahaha," Touma-sir said with augh, "anyway, enough about that. Let''s start the next match."

    Zevien felt that there was some profound reason behind it, but it was not wise to further ask about it when the person in question didn''t want to talk about it.

    Afterward, Erica and Michiru arrived at the center of the ground. This was thest match.

    "Touma-sensei. Before starting, I want to say something," Michiru said with her cute face. She had white skin stone, dark orange wavy hair, and was 5.9ft.

    "What?" Touma asked as he raised his eyebrows.

    "Umm¡­as you know, I am learning sword arts from Master Jornish, and my magicbyrinth is also rted to sword magic. I¡­ I still can''t perfectly materialize a sword with my awakening magic, Silver Sword Tomb. So can I get a regr sword weapon?"

    Instead of directly answering, Touma looked at Erica, "what do you say? If you want, then I can make an exception."

    Erica licked her lips and nodded with a sharp smile, "fine. It will be fun this way."

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 13 Occupation

    Erica and Michiru had a pretty close fight, but Michiru won. With the sword and sword empowering spells simr to split sh and others but more flexible and powerful, she had the upper hand from the start till the end.

    Erica''s magicbyrinth, Clouds of Nineveh, was mainly a support and defense type magicbyrinth. She didn''t have any offense in her first awakening magic spell, but her B-rank normal magic spell, Compound Sphere Strike, was pretty lethal, and she managed to hurt Michiru once.

    "Erica, your path is a good one, but you need to explore it more and learn more magic spells from itter," Touma said with a consoling smile before looking at the students and continuing, "alright, now Yelves vs. Kevin. Come at the center."

    ...

    There were still five fights left between ten students, and out of them, five students won and went to the next round. They were: Kevin, Ln, Michelle, Yushi, and Monika.

    "Now that we have ten winners, we will begin the next round after you have all recovered your mana," Touma said before adding, "you don''t need to overthink thispetition because I just wanted to see your adaptability and basic capabilities right after you just awakened your magicalbyrinth."

    He continued with an encouraging smile, "you have much more time in front of you and countless ways to improve yourself and master your awakening magic spells as you practice with them more and more. The realpetition will be in your final exam of the 1st year, and we got a full year before that starts."

    The students who lost nodded strongly with determination, while the other ten also knew what Touma-sir said was right and that the future was uncertain. Just because they won today doesn''t mean they will also win tomorrow. After all, they had just started their real journey with magic today.

    ¡­

    After half an hour, the second round began. Five won out of the ten remaining, who went to thest round.

    Zevien, Vernisia, Sophia, Dan, and Yushi won against their opponents.

    In thest round, Touma arranged a free for all, as all five started fighting each other, and the first two to have their 100 points deducted would lose, and the remaining three will be the winners.

    But a tricky thing happened, when Yushi and Sophia got eliminated, Dan''s armor points also turned 0 at the same time as Sophia''s. When Sophia was attacking Dan, she got attacked by Yushi; hence causing the three of them to get eliminated.

    Zevien and Vernisia were in their high-speed battle, but the other three lost before they got to finish their match.

    ''I need to fix this mana problem as soon as possible,'' Zevien thought with a frown.

    "Yushi got eliminated first while Sophia and Dan were eliminated simultaneously, so Sophia and Dan will fight each other to decide the 3rd winner," Touma said.

    "I don''t want the spot," Dan said as he rubbed his nose with a smile and gestured to Sophia with his hand and a courteous bow, "Sophia can be considered the winner."

    "Heh, what a gentleman," Erica said with a mocking smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "More like a simp, hahaha," Warmosughed.

    Studentsughed hearing that while Dan rolled his eyes and said his reasoning, "I am not interested in Touma sir''s tier-1 spells because my master already has perfect tier-1 spells ready for me."

    Dan puffed up his chest with a proud face and spoke, "it''s too bad you all don''t have a powerful master like me."

    "Ahem¡­so what, we¡­hah, we actually don''t need masters," Henrith said as he thought of a counter and grinned, "we will forge our paths ourselves."

    "Well said, brother Henrith," Kevin said with augh and patted Henrith''s shoulder.

    "Alright, alright," Touma said as he used his sound wave trick again by snapping his finger, "get back to your ss now. You will have to attend five sessions of twenty minutes each that introduce Alchemists, Enchanters, Magic Smiths, Mystic Chefs, and Jewelists."

    "As you know, it is a must to pick an upation that will increase your proficiency and control in using mana and magic," Touma said with a serious expression.

    Walking some steps, he continued, "Moreover, your upation will be your source of ie, so choose carefully and try all professions in the 1st year before choosing one. We rmend that you don''t choose your profession in your 1st year and practice all five before finally choosing one in your 2nd year. However, if you have a clear knack for one profession, you can attend the ss of that profession and ignore other sses. The choice is yours but make those choices carefully."

    "Understood."

    All the students nodded while Zevien already knew that he was a good Mystic Chef and Jewelist.

    In his previous life, he had chosen Jewelist as his magic profession. Jewelists were people who could create gemstones by condensing mana with exotic materials found in the forests and wilds. Gemstones could have various effects on the user or items. They also have expiry dates since they are limited to several uses; once someone uses a gemstone a certain number of times, it turns into dust. Jewelists also create essories like rings, bangles, etc., with gemstones embedded in them.

    Enchanters were a two-in-one profession, in a way, because they also dealt with tailoring and then enchanting their tailored clothes using their magic sigils. The enchanters create leather and other soft clothing, unlike the smiths, who create solid armors and weapons. Enchanters enchant their tailored clothes by infusing magic sigils in them, which have magical effects akin to magic spells and require good understanding.

    Mystic Chefs were people who could cook magical foods using various ingredients and meats of magic beasts. Their food can give a myriad of temporary benefits like fast mana recovery, increased magic spell potency, fast healing recovery, etc. Most importantly, their food always tastes exceptionally delicious, so they are famous.

    Alchemists are people who craft magic potions with various effects in all fields. Transformation, debuff, attack, buff, etc. Magic potions can get thrown as an attack or drunk for some effects, or both. But some of the potions taste awful.

    As for Magic Smiths, they can craft weapons and items using magical ores and solid materials. Not much to say about them.

    ''I chose jewelist in my previous life, but I was just as good in the Mystic Chef profession. So I will choose Mystic Chef this time,'' Zevien thought. He had a reason because Vernisia had also chosen the Jewelist profession, so instead of both selecting the same, Zevien decided to choose Mystic Chef this time so he could cook delicious food for his future wife.

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 14 Reward

    After the students returned to the ss, they all spent one hour and forty minutes on the introductions of upations for each profession: Alchemists, Enchanters, Magic Smiths, Mystic Chefs, and Jewelists.

    Overall, it took them two hours to finish all the introduction sses with little breaks and moving in-between.

    Afterward, everyone returned to their main ss, A-3, where Touma-sir was already waiting while sitting on the teacher''s chair.

    Seeing every studenting in, Touma smiled and spoke, "well, this concluded our first day at the academy. Tomorrow, we will hold a one-hour meditation session early in the morning, basic mana exercise for one hour, and then alchemy ss for two hours."

    After saying that, he stood up and continued, "Zevien, Vernisia, and Sophia, you three will follow me for the reward while others are free to do anything. Don''t use lethal magic spells in the city to harm someone, or it would get instantly detected with the magic sensors throughout the city. If you want to duel or fight magic beasts, you can go to the Arenas or Colosseums located in the city. Otherwise, just enjoy and have fun doing whatever you want. There''s a lot to do in the academy and the city."

    Zevien internally scoffed because, despite the measures, crimes still urred in the city. There were also many things forbidden to practice. However, they still happened, like experiments on humans using magic beast cores, magic eidos body tempering experiments, hical potion testing, and other morally reprehensible acts.

    ¡­

    Zevien, Vernisia, and Sophia followed Touma-sir to his private house provided by the academy.

    "Touma-sir, what ss of magician are you?" Sophia asked curiously.

    "Me? I am a 3rd ss magician," Touma replied with a small smile.

    Zevien knew the real strength of Touma-sir. He was a hidden 2nd ss-magician, one of the most powerful ones in the city. There are four major cities in Lopax country, and all those major cities have at least one 1st ss magician on standby officially. This Starline city was a major city, so there was also a 1st ss magician stationed here, but right after her, Touma-sir gets ranked as the second most powerful.<novelnext></novelnext>

    There are hidden magicians who are not known to the general public like Touma-sir. His surface record is that he is a 3rd ss magician, but in reality, he is a powerful 2nd ss magician.

    After walking for a while, they left the central academic ground and went to the faculty resident area. There were only twenty-five houses in this area, and only essential faculty members had the privilege to live here.

    After entering Touma''s residence, he took them to his small library consisting of three medium-sized bookshelves.

    "That 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rows in the shelf are all tier-1 magic spells¡ªa total of twenty-six spells. Choose one that is suitable for you," Touma said after pointing at some shelves in a bookcase, after which he went and sat on a couch.

    "Let''s go," Sophia said with excitement as she went to the bookcase. Vernisia and Zevien also checked it out.

    ''Touma-sir didn''t hold this littlepetition before the time rewind, but this time he did. It''s pretty strange, but if he sensed something wrong with me and did it to test me, I will have to choose an external cast magic spell here, or it will bloom more doubts.

    ''I can''t afford to let the academy find out that I can''t cast magic spells normally,'' Zevien thought with slight worry and started checking out the spellbooks.

    After twenty minutes, all three of them had chosen a tier-1 spell of their choice.

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 15 You Stay Here

    "I choose this, Bionic Beam," Sophia said with a cheerful smile.

    "I am going with this movement-type spell, Cushion Steps," Vernisia said before turning to Zevien, "what did you choose?"

    "I choose this," Zevien said as he turned his head away from Vernisia before looking at Sophia, "sh Curtain. It''s a vision impairment magic spell."

    "Oh...," Sophia nodded nkly, "but Vernisia asked you, not me....er, I remember now. You are not talking to Vernisia, right? Bummer."

    Vernisia''s lips twitched before she angrily smiled with eyes closed, "I always forget that. Damn, I am not speaking to you anymore."

    Hearing that, Zevien made a painful expression while grabbing his heart as he looked at Vernisia with pitiful eyes, "that hurts, Sophia. Please, don''t do that. You have to talk to me every day. Okay, Sophia? Pretty please?"

    "Ahem," Touma coughed, "you can flirtter. Anyway, good choices and good luck learning those spells," he then continued with a smile, "all of these spells can go up to tier-3 through suitablebination with other magic spells."

    Zevien and Vernisia nodded since they knew about the powerful tier-3 spell that required the tier-1 magic spell they chose as one of the bases.

    Touma seemed to have remembered something and looked at Sophia with a grin, "you wanted advice same as the one I gave to Warmos, right?"

    Sophia''s eyes lit up, and she nodded hurriedly.

    "After mastering Bionic Beam, you can learn the concept of another tier-1 magic spell, Metal Eater, and then a tier-2 magic spell, Metal Drive. After that, you should be able to learn a tier-2 magic spell, Earth Vein Amperite, from your magicbyrinth, Forgon''s Terra Ferma.

    "You don''t need to weave all four spells but only weave the ones that can be useful for you inbat. However, be sure to practice those four spells a lot by repeatedly creating their spell formations afterprehending their spell concepts."

    After pausing a bit, Touma continued with a sharp smile, "you can create a powerful tier-4 magic spell with the properbinations of these four spells'' spell formations. That tier-4 magic spell is known as Overdrive Metal Nexus."

    "Overdrive Metal Nexus¡­," Sophia''s eyes lit up in hyper excitement, and she hurriedly asked, "the name sounds cool, but what does it do, and are there any proper learning processes for thebinations of their spell formations to create that spell?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Hearing that, Touma released a hollowugh, "for that; you will have to betray this country and be our enemy because this peak tier-4 magic spell belongs to our enemy country. We only have name data regarding the fourbination spells, but how tobine them? We don''t know."

    Tapping lightly on the table with his cane, Touma continued, "However, since you awakened the same magicbyrinth as that 1st ss magician of our enemy country, you have a chance to create this spell."

    Zevien and Vernisia wryly smiled hearing that and consoled Sophia.

    "But at least tell me what that tier-4 spell does?" Sophia said with a pout.

    "That spell¡­ it''s terrifying. Its appearance is a floating five-meter big orb with eight mouths. It releases highly destructiveser beams with maximum level 5 prative power from those mouths. You can feed metals to the orb for more powerfulser beam attacks," Touma said with a slight dread in his eyes, "that level 5 pration power can be reached when you feed it powerful materialized metal from your magicbyrinth."

    "If that spell''s pration power was ssified as level 5, then It can destroy the most powerful artificial defenses developed to date," Vernisia said with narrowed eyes, "that is really powerful."

    Touma nodded as he looked at Sophia encouragingly, "that''s why I want you to seed in creating that spell, and I know you can do it."

    Sophia''s face turned red as she was hopeful and excited about this endeavor, "I will do it!"

    "Alright, since you have chosen, you can go now," Touma said as he gestured with his right hand for them to leave, e to the ss tomorrow on time."

    The three of them nodded and walked towards the exit.

    But suddenly, Touma spoke, "oh wait, Zevien. You stay here. I have something to ask you."

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 16 Problem

    At this moment, Zevien and Touma were in front of each other on different couches with a table in between them.

    Zevien''s expression was pensive as a drop of sweat trickled down from his forehead.

    "So? What is it? If you answer me honestly, I can try to help you, but if the academy finds out, you will get expelled," Touma said as he used his finger to prop up his sses with a genuine smile.

    "You know as well as I do that the academy won''t waste its resources on you if you are a faulty magician," Touma said as the smile vanished from his face.

    His face turned somber, and he continued, "if you can tell me what problem you have, I can try to help you and will even convince the academy to give you some time instead of direct expulsion because I see a lot of potential in you."

    Zevien''s expression broke as he released a sigh, "you are right. I have a problem with my magic eidos body. The manaing out from me turns vtile after leaving my body. It can stay in my control as long as it is inside me, but the moment ites out, I lose control over it."

    "I see¡­,'' Touma nodded as his brows creased slightly, "I expected something simr but didn''t know it was this straightforwardly serious."

    Tapping his fingers on his chin for a few seconds, Touma spoke, "show me. Release your mana and show me."

    Zevien nodded and stretched his hand forward a bit before releasing some mana. The mana looked white-blue with extremely light blue sparks.

    The moment mana came out of Zevien''s hand, it turned vtile as he lost control over it. The mana he released eventually disappeared as it got mixed with the invisible mana in the atmosphere.

    Touma observed from the start till the end with squinted and focused eyes as his lips twitched slightly, "fascinating¡­."

    "What?"

    "Ahem, nothing," Touma adjusted his sses as he leaned back on the couch and adopted a severe expression, "this is indeed serious. It''s really troublesome if you can''t cast an external spell. Such a disability is like crippling half of your magic capabilities. All upations also require external mana controlling, so if you came to the academy tomorrow to join the Alchemy ss and the ss teacher of that ss found out about this problem, you would have gotten expelled after determining that you really can''t control your mana outward."

    ''Well, it''s not like I have to attend the academy every day since I''ve already graduated once,'' Zevien thought internally before awkwardly smiling and nodding, "that''s why I was going to skip academy tomorrow."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Shaking his head, Touma stood up and spoke, "let''s go to my privateboratory in the city. After returning from the war field, I have only spent time in interesting magic theories and magic science. After reaching there, I will tell you about some things and then give you two options."

    "What options?" Zevien asked with a cautious light in his eyes as he also stood up.

    "I will tell you at that time," Touma said with a faint smile, "don''t worry. I am under the government contract and have legal papers for myboratory. I am not doing anything shady."

    ''Shady and government are two sides of one coin,'' Zevien thought, but he still nodded as he knew from before the time rewind who was Touma and his background so he could trust him. After all, he and Vernisia managing to own theirboratory after graduation was due to Touma-sir.

    ¡­

    After ten minutes, the two of them left the academy and arrived at Touma''sboratory in Touma-sir''s car.

    They spent one hour inside before Zevien left theb with Touma. "Should I drop you back to the academy?"

    Zevien answered without turning around, "no need." His eyes danced with nervousness, anxiety, hope, and several other emotions.

    "Give me your answer tomorrow morning, and we will start right away."

    "Ok," Zevien inly answered as he continued moving and arrived on the main road where cars were floating to and fro.

    After one and a half-hour of walking at the same pace, he arrived in front of the academy gates.

    However, he didn''t enter inside but activated his Digi-watch and sent a message to Vernisia.

 Chapter 17 Experiment?

    After five minutes, Vernisia arrived wearing the casual A-line skirt with a girls'' cotton jacket over a maroon t-shirt. Her long silver-blue hair ponytail made her look even more beautiful in this get-up.

    "What''s the matter, Zevien? Why did you call me?" Vernisia asked as she walked towards Zevien with a smile, "anyway, I have already assumed that we are going to the orphanage. So you have to take me there, even if it''s for half an hour since you called me out."

    Looking at the beautiful Vernisia, Zevien couldn''t help but reveal a loving smile towards her. His eyes spoke thousands of emotions as Vernisia slightly blushed after seeing him look at her like that.

    "The moon looks stunning," Zevien spoke as he looked at Vernisia.

    Looking at the three faint moons in the sky while it was still daylight due to the two suns, Vernisia rolled her eyes, "yea, I can barely even see them, but they are still beautiful."

    She internally felt happy at thepliment because she knew Zevien was talking about her.

    Zevien turned around without saying anything and started walking, "I really wish for that beautiful moon to follow me."

    Vernisia smiled and followed Zevien.

    With five steps distance between them, they continued walking.

    "The moon follows the sun without asking about the destination," spoke Vernisia while looking at Zevien''s back.

    "Destination is not important; the journey is," Zevien spoke without looking back. His face looked peaceful with a loving smile. Just staying in Vernisia''s presence made him happy, which again reminded him that he really couldn''t live without her.

    ''Zevien¡­who are you? Your eyes are so different when you look at me. It''s as if you''ve known me already, and¡­,'' Vernisia thought as her cheeks turned slightly pink. She would feel a slight tingle and strange feeling whenever Zevien looked at her, ''don''t tell me I like him? But it''s not even been a day since we met!''

    She looked at Zevien''s back with many thoughts whirling in her head, ''why am I even following him? Although I am curious about him but still¡­.''

    ''What mystery are you carrying, Zevien?''

    While in thought, she didn''t realize that they had arrived at theke view that was beside the academy after walking for fifteen minutes.

    Zevien leaned on the fence as he looked at theke, while Vernisia also did the same as she stood two meters away from Zevien and asked, "why did you bring me here?"

    She looked at Zevien as her heart slightly beat faster. She knew that the moment Zevien looked at her with his eyes, her heart would skip a beat.

    Zevien turned his head towards her and stretched his hand.

    "What?" Vernisia asked doubtfully, "you want me to grab your hand?"

    Zevien nodded with a smile, and his gentle eyes showed pure emotions of love that Vernisia was not yet familiar with.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While looking at his eyes, a blush slowly crept up on her face. She hurriedly turned her head away to look at theke in the front before snorting cutely, "no way."

    "Fine," Zevien stretched his hand back but continued looking at her, "don''t look at me. I just want to look at this beautiful moon."

    Vernisia felt evident disappointment when Zevien said ''fine'' and felt terrible and a slight regret. She wanted to hold his hand but was too embarrassed to do it.

    She turned her head towards him, and seeing his eyes full of love; she fell into a daze. She remembered her mother''s eyes when she was small seeing Zevien''s eyes. His eyes felt slightly simr to that, but there was still a difference between them.

    She felt her heart squeezing slightly looking at him.

    "I-if you have nothing else to say, then I am going," Vernisia hurriedly turned around, preparing to leave, "but I want to go to the orphanage tomorrow, okay? That''s a promise."

    After saying that, she didn''t wait for Zevien''s response and started walking back toward the academy.

    Zevien didn''t stop her and didn''t say anything, just looked at her back as his heart also squeezed slightly, ''ahh¡­ it''s the same feeling and the same thing.''

    Before the time rewind, both of them had great chemistry, and even without speaking intimate words, both of them knew that they loved each other.

    But at that time, Vernisia had no intention to speak her heart out because she knew that her death wasing. She didn''t want to get too intimate with Zevien and then let him suffer after she died. After she left this world, she hoped that Zevien would find a new life, apanion in his life.

    But Zevien had no intention of doing that.

    ''Vernisia¡­wait for me,'' Zevien spoke with burning eyes full of resolve as he started walking as well.

    He arrived at the academy but didn''t enter inside and continued walking.

    ''I can''t forget the words of that being, and this is the first of those so-called opportunities, albeit a risky one.''

    ''But I can''t miss it!'' Zevien thought with determination as he contacted Touma-sir.

    [I got my answer. I aming there right away.]

    After two seconds, Zevien received a message.

    [Hahaha, good! Wait wherever you are. I aming to pick you up right away since It will take time so let''s try to finish this experiment before morning. Let''s hope you can attend the ss tomorrow perfectly fine.]

 Chapter 18 Experiment!

    Zevien was sleeping on a bed with his hands and legs cuffed inside theboratory.

    Theboratory looked somewhat sci-fi, with various tools and objects all over the ce.

    Touma was floating around theboratory to and fro with various things in his hand; they were mostly colorful crystals and serum tubes.

    "How long, Touma-sir? It''s been an hour since I was bound to this bed," Zevien said with a wry smile. He was getting slightly nervous as the time passed because why not?

    He was going to be experimented on soon.

    "I am making one more solution. Kid, this is all top secret, and I have to handle it with care, or the government will kill me," Touma spoke with augh.

    "Yourughter and your words don''t match," Zevien rolled his eyes before he remembered some words from that 12-year-old-looking mysterious being.

    "Touma-sir, do you know of Astralnd?"

    Touma suddenly stopped and looked in the ss chamber where Zevien was sleeping on the bed, astonished, "how do you know about that ce? Your background is not high-profile, and you have lived a rtively simple life. I doubt anyone told about it to since it''s simply unnecessary for someone of your strength to know about it."

    "I can''t tell you how I know about it, but I only know its name and nothing more," Zevien replied calmly, "but since you know the name and thisb¡­."

    "I see, well. Since you asked me that, then I''ll answer you. Yes, the materials I have and some of the more things in thisb are from Astral Land," Touma continued his work while talking as he put some crystals on a machine and then used his mana to do something with it. After infusing mana for a minute, the machine spun with crystals embedded in its slots.

    Afterward, Touma arrived in the ss chamber and stood beside Zevien with a smile. His hand held a sparkling and mystical blue orb, "I will put this orb on your chest. It will manifest your magic eidos body outside, but this orb will turn it temporary into physical form from its ethereal form."

    Zevien was surprised, he had known about things that could manifest magic eidos body outside, but he had never heard of someone turning it into a physical form, even if temporary.

    "This orb is also from Astral Land," Touma spoke as he put the orb on Zevien''s chest, "the upper echelon people in our Gaia continent know about Astral Land, and they travel there often as well. Our nation also has a connection with an empire in Astral Land."

    "Is it okay for you to tell me about this information?" Zevien asked with doubt before his face suddenly changed, "this thing is absorbing my mana forcefully."

    "Don''t worry. Let it be," Touma said, "gotta empty all mana from your magic eidos body to turn it into a physical form so that I can do my experiment on it."

    "If it seeds, you will be very important to us, but if it fails, even I don''t know what will happen," Touma said.

    "Not even the faintest idea of what will happen if it fails?" Zevien asked with doubt.

    "No, because the possibilities are many, and the worst case is death," Touma said after scratching his throat, "I will use precious resources on you that our country only got three sets of it from Astral Land. I had to use one for testing purposes, so you came at the right timing."

    "I see¡­" Zevien''s heart started beating a bit faster after hearing that, but he had to take this risk for his future.<novelnext></novelnext>

    With his current situation, where he could not use his mana properly to use external magic spells, he would lose Vernisia. After all, his king''s destiny was no more as it got transferred to Vernisia. Her background became robust, and after six years, she will most likely be taken back to Astral Land.

    Even if Vernisia loved him back, he would only be a burden to her.

    "Listen, Zevien. The most important thing is your will, your determination," Touma spoke with utmost seriousness, "cling to your life no matter the situation, understand?"

    "It will also be painful, but you must endure that. Think about something you love the most and remain stubborn, never to lose it! If you die, it''s over. So, cling to your life at all costs!"

    Zevien''s eyes showed fiery determination and stubbornness, ''die? No fucking way! I will live through this! Vernisia, I wille back tomorrow, and we will visit the orphanage as per our promise.''

    After a few minutes, theboratory started trembling a bit for a second as Zevien felt intense pressure permeating the ss chamber. He nced at the door and saw Toumaing in with two serum tubes that looked mystical.

    One tube was shiny ck with white sparks in them. The other tube was deep blue with colorful sparks in them. Touma had covered both tubes with his mana, and his hands were trembling slightly.

    "One is going into your physical body. Open your mouth."

    Zevien opened his mouth as Touma poured the tube with ck and white sparks liquid into his mouth.

    As the liquid went inside his mouth, he didn''t even get a chance to swallow it nor puke it out as the moment it touched his flesh; it disappeared into his body.

    Zevien''s whole body turned ck as his thought process turned nil; his eyes showed a hazy look as if he was lost in some dream.

    His body constantly trembled for five seconds as it turned entirely ck, and even its structure changed.

    Touma touched Zevien''s hand, and his finger just went through his hand. His eyes glimmered intensely seeing this, "wonderful¡­."

    He then controlled the other tube and poured it into the open mouth of the magic eidos body.

    After he poured it inside, the magic eidos body flickered with intense blue and white sparks with a slight multicolored hue.

    After two seconds, it started sucking mana madly from the atmosphere and also sent strange undetectable pulses everywhere.

    "Zevien¡­stay strong," Touma muttered as he left the ss chamber and observed him from the outside. He also recorded the whole process with multiple cameras ced outside the chamber.

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 19 Success Or Fail? What Happened?

    *screeee¡­..*

    "Is this mana material phase?" Touma muttered as he looked at Zevien inside the ss chamber.

    Zevien was not in a human form right now. His skeleton was attached to the scuffs of the bed, but it also looked strange and was sparkling with ck and white.

    As for his body? One could hear painful screams from ck and white-blue energy whirling around in the ss chamber. Zevien had turned into something strange, and it was painful because of the clear aching sounding from it.

    At this time, the whole city and even past that was experiencing a strange phenomenon where the mana within 500 kilometers area was turbulent. People couldn''t absorb it and couldn''t control it.

    Touma didn''t know about that phenomenon outside, but he soon received a call and several messages.

    "Touma! Is this your doing?"

    "Why didn''t you inform the government that you weremencing the experiment!"

    "What is the situation?"

    Touma frowned in annoyance and sent everyone the same message.

    [Don''t disturb me and don''te into theb, or some mishap might happen. I am recording everything, and I need to focus.]

    ¡­

    After another ten minutes, Zevien returned to his human form, but his magic eidos body was still outside, floating on top of him and going through vtile changes.

    "What is going on?" Touma muttered as whatever was happening to Zevien was outside his knowledge.

    "Arghhhhhhhhhhh....."

    Zevien was screaming in pain after returning to his physical human body while massive changes were happening to his magic eidos body.

    "Don''t give up, Zevien¡­," Touma muttered. He didn''t know what was happening, but Zevien must not die. He wanted to see what would happen, and for him to see the changes, Zevien had to live.

    If Zevien died, his magic eidos body would disappear since once people die, their magic eidos body also dies.

    ¡­

    "Yo, we meet again, boy."

    Zevien''s mind arrived at a dreamy ce. He was standing on top of clouds with the night sky and sparkling stars in the background.

    His gaze was nk, but he soon heard a familiar voice and saw a 12-year-old kid wearing pajamas in front of him.

    "It looks like you really did take that risky opportunity, hahaha."

    Zevien regained his focus and remembered everything before looking around, "what is this ce? Why am I here? Did the experiment fail, and I died?"

    "You haven''t died yet, but your magic eidos body is going through changes and evolving. Anyway, since we met the 2nd time so soon, I suppose I should tell you my name, hehe."

    "What''s your name?" Zevien asked before he creased his eyebrows, "also, you said I haven''t died¡­yet? Does that mean that I might die?"

    "First, you can call me Euclion," Euclion spoke with a grin, "as for your other question¡­Yes. You might die if you give up. Because of the transformation happening in you, your consciousness arrived here. I sensed it and decided to meet you."

    "What is happening with my body and my magic eidos body? Since you could rewind the whole world''s time, you should also know the future, right?" Zevien asked with slight anxiousness.

    "Hahaha, of course not," Euclion loudlyughed while shaking his head, "can you see something strange in the sky? Focus and try."

    Hearing that, Zevien looked up and squinted his eyes to see. After looking for one whole minute, he didn''t see anything special other than just a starry sky.

    "I can''t see anything, but it seems strange that I don''t see moons or suns," Zevien spoke while shaking his head.

    "You can''t? It seems that this ident in the experiment didn''t elevate your consciousness enough to see outside of the Magia realm," Euclion muttered before smiling, "if you can''t see it, then forget about it. As for the time rewind, that was not purely my power. I borrowed it from the Fruit of Time."

    "What?!" Zevien was dumbfounded, "what do you mean Fruit of Time? Are you saying there is a tree that can grow fruit with the power of time? What the hell!"

    "What are you doing here, Euc? Come outside; we need to stop that rampaging bastard quickly. You know that the majority of my mana is being used elsewhere so I can''t exert my full power."

    Suddenly, a man wearing sunsses, shorts, and a colorful open shirt with a medallion hanging from his neck appeared.

    "Wait a few minutes, man. You all won''t die-"

    "Idiot, you angered it, and now it is following your aura. Get the fuck out of here before it hits the Magia realm!" the man spoke with a frown before ncing at Zevien and waving his hand, causing Zevien''s consciousness to disappear from this dreamy ce.

    "I wanted to say something to him," Euclion spoke as his 12-year-old appearance revealed a cute pout, "also, you could handle that bastard if you were not experimenting by creating that dimension. Ah yes, that guy you saw is also going through an experiment, hahaha."

    *crack¡­.*

    Suddenly a slight crack appeared in the sky, revealing a ck space with colorful dreamy motes and a giant red eye with entric ck patterns in its iris.

    "Shit!" Euclion cursed as he disappeared.

    When Euclion disappeared, the giant eye also disappeared while the remaining man, who looked to be in histe twenties, sighed and repaired the crack by using his power before disappearing as well.

    ¡­

    "Arghhhhhhhhhh¡­.."

    *thak¡­that¡­that¡­*

    Zevien continued screaming with his eyes closed as he felt immense pain coursing through his body and mind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    His body was constantly trembling while his magic eidos body had returned to its normal appearance outside, but its fundamentals had changed.

    It was slowly going inside Zevien''s body. Very, very slowly, as if it was adapting or adjusting to his body, and the more it went inside, the more pain Zevien felt.

    Touma saw that there was no rampage of mana or energies anymore as he entered the chamber and observed Zevien closely while muttering with a frown, "just what the hell happened?"

    He couldn''t see in-depth, but he was sure that Zevien''s magic eidos body hadpletely changed. He just couldn''t see past its outeryer.

    "Zevien, you must live!" Touma uttered as he grabbed Zevien''s hand, "if you don''t live, then I wouldn''t know what happened to you or what changes appeared in your magic eidos body after this experiment!"

    "You must live!"

    Zevien was only thinking about Vernisia, which kept him alive and prevented him from giving up.

    ''Vernisia¡­I wille back.''

    ''I wille back to you.''

    He imaged the ces he and Vernisia would go to, their adventure, their life together, and such things as he fought to survive and tried to ignore the pain.

    After one hour of constant pain, his magic eidos body finally entered his body, and right after that, he lost his consciousness and fainted.

    Touma checked his pulse and heartbeat for thirty seconds as his face changed.

    At first, he sighed a relief, but after several seconds, he frowned, ''why is it slowing down? No, this is abnormal!''

    He hurriedly called medical support from the government, and not even a minuteter, five people entered inside as they were waiting for Touma''s message outside of theb.

    They arrived and stood outside the ss chamber, "what happened?"

    "Was it sessful?"

    "Where is the medical support?" Touma asked as he continued checking Zevien and didn''t turn back.

    Right after he finished speaking, several doctors entered inside with big suitcases and took out several sci-fi medical items and equipment.

    They entered the ss chamber before checking Zevien, taking a bit of his blood and imbuing their mana inside his body for various checkups.

    "His own magic eidos body is overpowering his physical body. At this rate, he will die after one hour, his body will turn into motes, and his magic eidos body will disappear as it happens with all people who die," one doctor spoke with a frown.

    Touma looked at a middle-aged man in a suit outside the chamber, "Merax, use your magic spell, mana drain, and suck the mana out of his body."

    One of the doctors nodded, "good. We can temporarily extend his life after sucking all mana out of his body, but the fundamental powers of his magic eidos body will remain and put pressure on him."

    "But I think only he can save himself as we haven''t seen such a case before. It''s tough to get proper parameters and status of his magic eidos body," another doctor spoke.

    Merax entered inside and touched Zevien''s chest before absorbing his mana using his magic spell.

    "Are there any changes in his mana?" Touma asked.

    Max frowned and shook his head, "two answers: the magic power in his mana is approx 34. However, my gut tells me that there''s something mystical in his mana and his magic eidos body, but I can''t see or sense it clearly."

    "What materials did you use in this experiment?" A man standing outside the ss chamber asked.

    "All of them," said Touma before he stated, "Stone of Pristine, Mana Rever Crystal, Crystal Hex Mana Branch, Eidos Magic Roots, Requiem Resin, and that drop of Hi-Zyr."

    "Fuck¡­," muttered the man with short dark blue hair, "what was the ideal result you expected if the experiment seeded?"

    "Ideal result?" Touma shook his head with a wry smile, "I didn''t calcte ore to such a conclusion yet. I only followed the parchment we found in that location and mixed those materials and ingredients to create two serums."

    *dhoob*

    "Then why did youmence this experiment?!" the man spoke as he punched the ss chamber with an angry face, "we don''t have an abundance of those things you used in this experiment."

    "I found a chance and opportunity, so I decided to do it on Zevien. He had that conviction and fire in him that made me believe he would survive this ordeal," Touma replied calmly, "anyway, we will know the result once Zevien wakes up."

    "But he is dying! Can''t yo-"

    *Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...*

    Suddenly, everyone in the chamber was pushed away due to the unexpected burst of magic power exploding from Zevien''s body as his eyes opened and he uttered, "I AM NOT DYING!"

    "I REFUSE TO DIE!"

    "Zevien!" Touma''s expression brightened as he looked at Zevien, "how are you feeling? Can you like activate your power or some trigger? What changes do you feel happened to your body?"

    Zevien moved his head a bit as if he was groggy and his thoughts were not collected, "I-"

    *poof¡­*

    He disappeared.

    Everyone in theb was dumbfounded.

    "Howe he suddenly disappeared?!"

    "What the fuck?!"

 Chapter 20 Strange Phenomenon

    "This¡­," Zevien was startled when he looked around him. He then looked at his body and was even more shocked, "why am I here with my physical body?"

    "What''s going on?"

    *Growl¡­.*

    Suddenly, Zevien heard a low growl from behind him.

    A ck wolf with a purple crystal on its forehead came out of the bush and cautiously walked towards Zevien. Its ws glowed with a ck-purple gleam.

    Zevien didn''t turn around because whatever beast behind him would attack him the moment he did.

    When he connected it to his situation, drops of sweat started to fall from his forehead, ''since I arrived in my magicbyrinth with my physical body, then what would happen if I were to die here? Will I return outside like how magic eidos body returns to the physical body outside or¡­.''

    Generally, when people (their magic eidos body) train inside their respective magicbyrinth, there is a limited time on how long they can stay here, which depends on willpower. If their magic eidos body gets attacked, then that time is reduced depending on the severity of that attack.

    However, Zevien suddenly appeared inside his magicbyrinth with his physical body. He had never heard something like this happening.

    ''But for now, I will have to focus on that beast,'' Zevien thought as a glint passed through his eyes and executed his magic spell''s 4th Vehemence, Somatic Sadness, and erected a barrier around him before turning around and pointing his hand forward.

    *Rawr¡­*

    The wolf pounced on Zevien with glittering ws, but Zevien was ready with his hand aimed at the wolf as he used his A-rank normal magic spell, Exploding Bullets.

    He adjusted his aim slightly after the wolf jumped and aimed at its face.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Five bullets materialized with a red hue as they shot forward and hit the wolf''s face.

    *plop...plop...plop...*

    Its head exploded into bits.

    "Well, I guess normal magic beasts are of no threat to me," Zevien muttered with a sigh. He got nervous for nothing since his physical body arrived in the magicbyrinth, which was really too strange.

    But suddenly, he felt some strange sensation on his body as the dead wolf started to decay rapidly and turned into motes before entering his body.

    Zevien touched the motes, but they simply entered him, "what''s going on?"

    After a few seconds, the wolf disappeared while he felt strange in his body.

    "This¡­," Zevien swung his right arm around and jumped as astonishment slowly appeared in his eyes, "my body got stronger. Although not much, I can still feel it."

    ''Guess I will not have to refine my physical body using my mana to strengthen it like what normal people do,'' Zevien thought with a smile.

    He then closed his eyes to sense something and nodded, ''alright, despite being here in my physical body, my magic power is slowly increasing.''

    He slowly started walking towards the purple river flowing and observed it, "let''s see if I can catch a fish or two."

    His stomach was screaming hunger. He had never felt this hungry before in his life.

    After seeing that there were indeed fishes in the river, he went to a nearby tree and broke its branch before sharpening it at a rock.

    After sharpening it, he took a throwing stance while observing the river withplete focus.

    He infused a bit of his mana inside the branch as well. Just enough to not break it down.

    After three seconds, he threw the branch as it hit a fish and embedded it in the ground in the river.

    However, when his hand reached out to it, the fish started to decay and turn into motes before entering his body, "what the f¡­."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Wait¡­I do feel a bit less hungry," Zevien muttered after all of the fish''s motes went inside his body, ''now that I think about it, my hunger decreased slightly after the wolf''s motes entered inside me as well.''

    He then started killing fishes in the river using the empowered tree branch.

    Time passed as Zevien continued doing this for two hours before finally feeling his hunger subsiding and somewhat full.

    "Now, what is this sorcery? I''ve been here for two hours, and I''m barely even feeling fatigued," Zevien muttered before closing his eyes.

    ''My magic power is increasing slowly as well,'' Zevien thought before opening his eyes and checking his Digi-watch.

    -Magic power: 56.4

    Before awakening the magicbyrinth and purifying their magic eidos body to full, everyone reaches a maximum of 20 magic power.

    All students had 20 magic power before they awakened theirbyrinth.

    So after staying for one hour and forty-five minutes on Zevien''s first visit, his magic power reached 34.6 from 20.

    Now, after staying for two hours here, his magic power increased to 56.4.

    ¡­

    Zevien didn''t roam much and just explored the bit of jungle in the opposite direction of the purple river.

    He killed a few grade-0 magic beasts and felt his physical body slightly increasing.

    When he reached the two hours and forty minutes mark, he finally felt exhausted in both his body and mind.

    At 3 hours mark, the usual unique exhaustion kicked in, and Zevien knew that his time was up. Now, if he willed to leave, he should be able to leave instead of enduring here more. This typically applies to the magic eidos body, but he didn''t know if it would still apply now that he was here with his physical body.

    But he didn''t want to overstay here and decided to give up on staying here longer.

    ''Let''s hope I can leave. I also want to know if I can control my mana outside or not,'' Zevien thought as he closed his eyes and willed to leave. Although he was unsure, his gut feeling told him that his physical body was not the same as his magic eidos body here. He felt that if he died here, he would die for real instead of just returning outside.

    "He is back!!!"

    "Zevien, where did you go? What happened?"

    Zevien opened his eyes and saw that he was back at theb, standing on the bed.

    "I''m back¡­," Zevien muttered before sighing.

    "Kid, we will have to ask you some questions and hope you can answer them clearly," a man in a suit spoke. He had a white beard and white hair but looked middle-aged.

    Raising his eyebrows, Zevien sat down on the bed and shook his head, "first, I want to sleep. Whatever you have to ask, you will have to wait until I wake up."

    After saying that, his eyes rolled upward as he fell backward and fell asleep.

    Touma frowned and checked his pulse, "he basically fainted."

    "His body seems exhausted," a doctor spoke while the other female doctor continued checking Zevien as a surprised expression appeared on her face, "his metabolism is speedy. As for his physical body, it''s very active internally. His tissues and muscles are consolidating as if he recently increased his physical strength significantly."

    "I guess we can only let him rest for now," the first doctor spoke, "it''s not wise to disrupt this process happening in his body. We can''t check his mind, but from his eyes, it appears that his mind is also very exhausted."

    "Fine," the white-bearded middle-aged man nodded before looking at Touma, "I want you to make the same two serums you used on this boy again. Since he survived this, then it means that the experiment was sessful."

    "I will send a person to take those two serums tomorrow."

    After saying that, the man turned around and left before speaking, "don''t forget to tell me when he wakes up."

 Chapter 21 Problem Fixed

    Morning 5 AM¡­.Zevien woke up as his eyes opened slowly.

    All of his exhaustion was swept away, feeling refreshed like never before.

    "Oh, you woke up,"

    Zevien looked to his left, and he saw a nurse sitting there looking at him with a magazine in her hands. She stood up and left theb.

    In the hall outside theb, four people including Touma were discussing about the experiment when the nurse entered the hall and told them that Zevien had woken up.

    "Inform Cargil, or he will get mad," the man with short dark-blue hair spoke to the middle-aged woman with wavy blond hair wearing a coat while he followed Touma inside theb with another woman who had short ck hair and sharp eyes.

    ¡­

    "How do you feel, Zevien?" Touma asked as he sat on the stool beside the bed. Zevien was also sitting on the bed, crossed-legged.

    "I feel stronger," Zevien said as he moved his hand.

    "Bring that machine," the middle-aged man spoke as he ordered the nurse. He then looked at Zevien and said, "punch in the machine so we can check how physically strong you are."

    "Fine," Zevien nodded as he got out of the bed and jumped a few times, and stretched his body.

    The nurse arrived with the punching machine and put it in front of Zevien.

    After taking a deep breath and getting into the punching stance, Zevien threw a punch with the maximum physical strength he could exert.

    ''Nice form,'' the short ck-haired woman nodded. She wore a tight suit with high heels and a pair of ck-crystal earrings.

    *PAWW!*

    830 units

    "830 units of physical force. That''s 300 higher than average people who had just awakened their magicbyrinths," the middle-aged man spoke.

    "He knows how to punch perfectly, so that counts as well," the woman spoke with a nod, "but we can conclude that his body had indeed gotten stronger. The question is¡­how?"

    "Zevien, what did you experience after disappearing from here? How did your physical body get strengthened? There are strange elements in your physical body that we can''t grasp as well," Touma asked.

    ''Strange elements should be referring to how my body was changed that it now can go inside a magicbyrinth with magic eidos body,'' Zevien thought before he nodded and started speaking.

    "Wait!" a loud voice resounded before a white beard old man appeared, the one who told Touma to prepare two serums again.

    ''City Lord Cargil,'' Zevien thought as he looked at the old man, ''the officially known 1st ss magician of Starling City.''

    The old man entered the ss chamber before gesturing to Zevien with his hand, "now you can start speaking. Tell us everything without missing out on a single detail of your experience."

    "I''ll make it short and simple," Zevien spoke inly, "first, I disappeared from here and entered inside my magicbyrinth with my physical body."

    Hearing that, everyone was startled.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Continue," the old man nodded and didn''t let anyone interrupt by saying that.

    "The reason for my physical body getting stronger is that after killing normal magic beasts inside the magicbyrinth, they started to decay and turned into motes before entering my body, fundamentally making it strong."

    "That''s basically refining one''s body with mana, but now you can make it stronger by killing magic beasts," the old man spoke with interest, "we have to check if this phenomenon still urs when you kill magic beasts in our world. We will go to the forest outside the city after this. Now continue."

    Zevien stretched his hand forward slightly and poured out his mana in the hope that it wouldn''t go out of control.

    Touma looked on with an intense gaze while speaking, "this is another thing. Zevien had some problem in his magic eidos body, and his mana goes out of control once it goes out of his body. The effects of Mana Rever Crystal and Eidos Magic Roots had an effect on magic eidos body to increase the control of mana as well."

    Zevien nodded with a smile, "my control of mana is even b-¡­It''s perfectly fine now."

    "Great," Touma said with a joyous smile and patted Zevien''s shoulder, "now you won''t have to worry about getting expelled."

    Zevien grinned, "yep. Anyway, this is all that I know."

    "That''s all?" the old man squinted his eyes, "young man, I hope you don''t withhold any information because it is very important."

    "Of course, that''s all," Zevien smiled, "what would I gain by hiding information? After all, you will do the same experiment on other people as well, right?"

    "Indeed," the old man nodded with a somber face, "however, the effect might be different on different people because you had a problem in your magic eidos body, and it was fixed after this experiment. On the other hand, the next person taking part in this experiment is apletely normal 5th ss magician."

    "So try to think about more or whatever you experienced and tell us about it in case you forgot to tell us about it," the old man spoke.

    ''Damn, so persistent,'' Zevien thought before he decided to y with them and showed a thoughtful expression for full five minutes as they stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

    "Now that I think about it, there is indeed a slight feeling nagging me," Zevien slowly spoke as he looked at everyone and adopted a grave expression. He spent those five minutes cooking about a plot to shove them in their brain. A logical plot.

    "As you can see, my magic power didn''t increase after the experiment, right?" Zevien asked as he turned to Touma.

    "Indeed," Touma nodded, "the Stone of Pristine had the effect of increasing the potency of magic core, thus, increasing the magic power of the user by a certain margin depending on factors that I am still not aware of since we didn''t experiment on it due to limited amount of them."

    "Right," Zevien nodded quickly, "I felt my magic power increasing at first, but it reduces afterward."

    ''Although it probably reduced after the reaction to my body. The magic power was probably used with another catalyst to allow my body to enter the magicbyrinth just like my magic eidos body,'' Zevien thought.

    "So what?" the old man asked with a frown, "what does that entail?"

    "I feel like¡­.know that this is just my feels, gut feeling telling me that if someone with powerful magic power, like say 5th, 4th, or even stronger magician goes through this experiment then they will likely weaken and their magic power might get lower than 500, basically, less than 5th ss magician," Zevien said unhurriedly.

    "Look, this is just my feels, and I am not sure about it, okay?" Zevien spoke carefully, "you can proceed to check it with that 5th ss magician but don''t me meter if I am wrong since I have no proof of that. And this is all I have to say."

    Actually, Zevien doesn''t remember his encounter with Euclion at all. So he had indeed said everything he knew to them.

    [A/N: Vote with power stones and add it to the library for more chaps. Support is appreciated. Thank you.]

 Chapter 22 Done

    "Alright, onest time. You had already entered one time in your magicbyrinth yesterday, so usually, you can only enter a second time after thirty days from the moment you entered inside.

    "However, strangely, you went in again with your physical body, so I want you to try and see if you can enter again," the white-bearded old man spoke with his hands behind his back.

    "Let me try," Zevien nodded as he was also curious. Entering thebyrinth is just a matter of thinking after getting into meditation.

    He sat down on the bed, cross-legged and focused.

    Everyone looked at him as a minute passed, but he didn''t disappear. Zevien shook his head and opened his eyes, "I can''t enter again."

    "Mhmm. Anyway, you should get that familiar feeling where you can tell that you can enter inside yourbyrinth again. If that happens before thirty days, then be sure to inform Touma about it," the old man spoke before turning around and walking. "Let''s go. Now it''s time to check whether the phenomenon of strengthening your body happens here as well or not."

    "Touma, you will stay here and prepare those two serums again."

    "Alright," Touma nodded, "but I''ll leave for the academy after two hours, so send someone to get the serums before that."

    On the other hand, Zevien and the other four walked out of theboratory room and went upstairs into the building that was like a two-story house and arrived at the terrace.

    There was a helicopter on the terrace, and the five of them went inside before flying off towards the forest on the city''s northwest side.

    "Sir, you know that this experiment had some chances of dying, right?" Zevien asked as he thought of something.

    "No," Blondina, the blond-wavy-haired woman, spoke inly, "there was no indication that this experiment was life-threatening if it failed. The possibilities were many, and we didn''t have much time to explore all of them. Anything could happen, and simply the worst-case scenario is death. People die by choking on food as well."

    "Cough¡­," Zevien did a fake cough before he wryly smiled, "anyway, that 5th ss magician is a volunteer, right? After all, if you do this experiment on an enemy, he might not co-operate with you as I did by telling you everything I knew."

    "Boy, get to the point," Merax, the middle-aged man in the suit, spoke with a snicker leaving his mouth, "you want money, right? For the risk that you went through? How much do you want?"

    "Eh... no," Zevien shook his head, "I don''t want money, but instead, I just want some tier-1 alchemy materials and a single tier-3 alchemy material known as Nerfire Rose. I''m sure these are very easy for you to get, so if you don''t mind¡­."

    Raven, the ck-haired woman, activated her Digi-watch and waved her finger from her Digi-watch screen towards Zevien.

    *tin¡­*

    "I gave you my contact number. Send me the list of those tier-1 materials. I will send you two batches of those materials, including Nerfire Rose," the woman spoke with a faint smile, "If you managed to create something, contact me, and I will give you a good deal."

    "You really don''t let even the most bull shitting opportunity go by, right?" Blondina spoke as she rolled her eyes, "do you think he can make something brand new?"

    "Why do you want those materials," the white-bearded old man inquired, "is it rted to the experiment?"

    ''This old man only has that experiment on his mind, eh,'' Zevien thought before shaking his head, "It''s not rted to the experiment, but a wandering old man who once arrived at our orphanage gave me a recipe parchment that included those materials. It only had a list of ingredients and the details on processing them and crafting a potion. But there were no details about the potion or its name."

    "Must be an exile from another country or a wandering mercenary," the middle-aged man muttered before continuing, "well, with those tier-1 materials and a single tier-3 material, it won''t be a ground-breaking potion."

    ''Alright, the smokescreen has been set up,'' Zevien sneered internally, ''but I have to start working on those two things as soon as possible.''

    "Time to jump out. Boy, you can jump down without hurting yourself, right?" Merax asked Zevien.

    "No problem," Zevien nodded.

    Seeing him nodding, Cargil jumped out, and then Zevien jumped out of the helicopter.

    The other three also jumped and descended slowly, with wings materializing behind their backs.

    On the other hand, Zevien normally descended as he started creating a spell formation of a B-rank normal spell, [Spring Legs], inside him.

    Just as he arrived five meters away from the ground, Zevien executed the magic spell as the magic formation dispersed while mana entered his legs and some gathered under the soles of his feet.

    *Dhoof¡­*

    As hended on the ground, he bounced back five meters high before descending again and bouncing three more times before standing perfectly on the ground.

    ''Damn, this mana control is awesome,'' Zevien was excited, ''it''s better than my previous life. I guess I have already achieved stage-2 mana control.''

    "Hmmm, a recently awakened having that level of mana control is indeed good. The experiment was truly sessful," the white-bearded old man spoke, "you used a magic spell that was not weaved into your magic core, right?"

    "Yes," Zevien nodded with a smile.

    "Sir Cargil, is the government nning to get more of those materials once we test this experiment two more times and get a 100% result?" Blondina asked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Indeed," Cargil nodded, "once this experiment has been verified two more times with a 100% sess rate, we will name this as Magician Growth Boost treatment. It will be a military-ssified treatment for talented rising magicians below 5th ss."

    "Well, first, let''s hope that it can be sessful two more times," Merax spoke before waving his hand to his left side into the forest as a dark pink whip materialized and shot forward.

    After two seconds, he pulled his hand.

    *Chreoooo¡­*

    What came out was a magic beast with a rat-like appearance, two horns on its head, and the size of a dog trapped in the whip.

    Merax then put that beast in front of Zevien and gestured with his hand while speaking, "kill."

    Looking at the bloodthirsty red eyes of the grade-zero magic beast, Zevien pointed his hand towards it and used Exploding Bullets magic spell.

    *plop... plop¡­ plo..*

    However, after waiting for a minute, the beast didn''t decay or turn into motes.

    Everyone looked at Zevien, who shook his head, "I guess that phenomenon only works inside magicbyrinths."

    "Catch a grade-one magic beast, Merax," Cargil said to the middle-aged man in a suit.

    Merax caught another magic beast and put it in front of Zevien. This time, it was a chubby, round, circr beast with lightning patterns on its body and sharp teeth with long ears.

    ''Rakinpo,'' Zevien thought as he looked at the magic beast with a wry smile, ''a vicious little bastard.''

    Zevien pointed his hand towards the entirely immobile magic beast who was ring at Zevien as its body crackled with little lightning, but the dark pink whip binding it was sucking its power constantly.

    ''First Vehemence, Somatic Anger. Purple st,'' Zevien thought as he used his awakening magic spell.

    A purple orb materialized in front of him, and he also increased his anger by reminding himself of that situation in his previous life.

    He used all of his remaining mana as the orb got as big as the size of a basketball and...

    *BOOM..*

    It hit the magic beast''s head and injured it, but it didn''t die. After all, a Grade-1 magic beast possessed at least 500 magic power, and their bodies were also strong.

    "Drink it and recover your mana," Cargil old man gave a mana recovery potion to Zevien.

    Zevien caught it and pulled out the chug before pouring it into his mouth.

    But after a second, he puked most of it outside and looked at Cargil speechlessly, "old man, why did you give me such a high-tier mana recovery potion? I am just a recently awakened, not even a 5th ss magician. I almost went into an overload mana state."

    "To check whether this experiment increased anything else like additional mana reserve, a more durable magic eidos body, higher endurance for the sudden influx of mana, and simr things," Cargil spoke inly.

    Merax looked at Zevien with doubt and spoke, "boy, I''ve noticed that you don''t have that much respect, awe, or fear for us. I don''t think anyone would call city lord Cargil as an old man, especially those of your age or even more powerful magicians."

    Hearing that, Zevien was stunned and realized that his face turned nk, "you are right. I don''t think I would''ve spoken like I did until now. I wonder why?"

    "Haha," Raven chuckled and squinted her eyes, "maybe the experiment affected you mentally as well?"

    "Whatever it is, for now, proceed to kill that magic beast," Cargil spoke as he gestured to Zevien with his hand, "I sensed no rudeness in your tone or felt such intention, so it''s fine. Despite my tough manner of speaking, don''t take me as a stuck-up old man."

    "Mhm, mhm," Raven sneakily smiled and nodded, "he is a softie internally."

    Cargil nced at Raven but didn''t say anything as he turned to Zevien, "you attack and kill that beast."

    "Alright," Zevien nodded with an awkward smile and attacked one more time with his Purple Orb attack of First Vehemence, Somatic Anger at its head before it finally died.

    However, like the previous magic beast, this grade-1 magic beast also didn''t decay and turned into motes.

    "Guess there''s nothing more to see now," Blondina spoke as she materialized a pair of mana wings behind her back and flew up towards the helicopter.

    "Let''s return," Cargil nodded as he walked towards Zevien and grabbed his shoulder before flying up. However, the wings behind him were straight and sharp-eagle-like energy wings with abnormal dark gold patterns.

 Chapter 23 New Day

    Zevien was directly dropped at the academy after that and went to his dorm to shower and get ready because their first ss, which is about meditation, starts at 6:30 Am, and it''s 5:47 Am currently.

    After entering, he saw that Dan was not inside, ''hmm, he must have already started training.''

    ¡­

    He went out after showering and changing his clothes into a short-sleeved white t-shirt and track pants.

    His body hadn''t changed, but his muscles had be more refined after his body became stronger due to that phenomenon of motes entering his body.

    After jogging for ten minutes and entering the open ground beside the dorm houses, Dan and other students were training independently.

    "Hey, Dan! Let''s spar," Zevien said with a grin as he increased his speed.

    Dan turned to Zevien after hearing the voice andughed as he took a fighting stance with one leg and hand forward, e on!"

    Zevien suddenly jumped as he executed a flying kick, "yo, defend using mana, or your bones might crack!"

    Seeing Zeviening at him with a flying kick, Dan braced himself as he infused slight mana in his hands to the possible limit before he grinned, ''that is if I let your kick hit me.''

    Right when Zevien''s kick arrived in front of Dan, he flowed his right hand like water and spun as he grabbed Zevien''s ankle before he could get hit by his kick.

    "Not so easy, mate," Zevienughed seeing Dan grabbing his ankle to throw him sideways.

    Using Dan''s own hand grabbing his ankle as support, he swung his other leg while in the air and hit Dan''s shoulder.

    "Sh-"Dan was sent flying five meters away before he could finish cursing.

    This ground was in ground with no greenery, so dust rose as Dan was dragged on the ground.

    *swoosh¡­*

    Dan came out of the dust at full speed as he and Zevien started fighting each other.

    The other students who were training stopped and watched with amazement at their fighting capabilities.

    Dan and Zevien blocked and dodged each other''s attack while not leaving any chance tond a blow on each other.

    "Stop, stop, stop!" Dan jumped backward while rubbing his hands and legs with a speechless expression, "damn, man. Your physical strength is stronger than mine. How did you train? I for sure thought that I would have the highest physical strength among all first-year students."

    Dan fought for the first time against Zevien, so he didn''t know that Zevien''s physical body was weaker yesterday. But today, it had be stronger due to Zevien killing that wolf and many of those fishes, which automatically strengthened his body.

    Naturally, he also had to consolidate his body because of this newfound strength, and that''s why he decided to spar with Dan.

    "Well yeah, my physical strength is stronger than average, so you gotta train harder, hahaha," Zevienughed before he retook a stance, "alright, let''s fight again. I will only defend against your attack this time, so keep oning."

    "How about I take his ce?" Vernisia arrived on the ground with a sports t-shirt and leggings with a sports jacket over her body.

    "Anyone is free to take Dan''s position,e on!" Zevien said loudly.

    Hearing that, Vernisia smiled and dashed forward as she spread mana in her body to empower herself to the possible limit and jumped high towards Zevien with a direct leg strike.

    Zevien decided to do the same thing as Dan. When Vernisia''s kick arrived near him, he spun slightly and grabbed her ankle, intending to throw her with the spin.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Dan raised his eyebrows seeing and saw Vernisia doing the same thing as Zevien with a minor difference because she came toward Zevien with a flying high kick.

    When Zevien grabbed her ankle, she pushed her body to the side with Zevien''s hand as support and executed a sidekick.

    However, Zevien was prepared for it as he grabbed the other leg with his other hand before he spun and threw her high in the sky.

    Vernisia''s eyes danced with slight excitement as she dashed forward this time and started attacking Zevien.

    Zevien only defended himself, but he was happy nheless, very happy.

    A big smile was stered on his face.

    Vernisia tried all kinds of attack patterns, but Zevien managed to defend against all of her attacks with his hands and legs.

    Both of them were quickly moving on the ground as their footwork, and fighting capabilities were very impressive.

    Right at that moment, Zevien realized something, ''wait for a second¡­ Vernisia''s destiny changed, and her magic eidos body problem was also fixed. But¡­the fighting capabilities she is disying right now are vastly higher than before the time rewind.''

    ''How is that possible? The training and practice she did before arriving at the academy shouldn''t have changed due to the time rewind¡­oh wait, I get it now,'' Zevien thought of a possibility and felt that it made sense.

    Just like him, Vernisia was also a special case.

    He retained the memories, but the past before arriving at the academy was the same.

    However, this was not true for Vernisia.

    Her problem with magic eidos body was since she was born, so for her destiny to change and problem to get fixed, her whole life must have been¡­kind of re-written.

    ''That mystical being only did time rewind, but to fix Vernisia''s problem, he must have spent more effort and had her entire life changed from the start,'' Zevien thought.

    *Smack¡­*

    Suddenly, Vernisia''s kick hit the side stomach of Zevien as he briefly lost focus due to his inner thoughts and was sent flying.

    Vernisia was startled at that carelessness of Zevien, "are you okay? What happened?"

    Zevien felt a bit of pain since he hadn''t protected his body with mana to the possible limit, but it was not too serious as he smiled, "I''m fine, Dan."

    Vernisia stretched her hand and curled her lips before speaking, "how can you be so careless?"

    Zevien grabbed her hand and stood up as he beamed, "the moon was simply too beautiful and caused me some distraction."

    Vernisia blushed as she let of Zevien''s hand and turned around before wiping off some sweat on her face, "enough sparring for today. Let''s go back to the dorms and freshen up since the meditation ss will start soon."

    Dan hopped toward Zevien with a sneaky smile on his face while Vernisia left and poked Zevien, "damn bro, you are scoring high points one after another. Actually...ahem...

    "I also like Erica, hehe. I''ve known her before entering this academy because she and her master woulde to our dojo, and we have fought together a lot. But she has always lost to me and is a bit salty towards me."

    "What are you getting at?" Zevien asked as he raised his eyebrows.

    "Cough¡­What I mean is that. How about you invite Vernisia and Erica to dinner tonight? Both of them are good friends, so that we can go on an unofficial double date, hehehe."

 Chapter 24 Skeleton Alchemist-1

    After finishing meditation ss, the students went to the alchemy ss.

    Zevien was not interested in any sses except for the mystic chef because he had already learned whatever they were going to teach, and as such, he skipped the ss with Touma sir''s permission.

    "Sir, I have already chosen my magic upation. I want to be a mystic chef," Zevien said to Touma-sir.

    Both of them were currently in his office inside the academy.

    "Are you absolutely sure of it?" Touma asked as he drummed his fingers on the table, "some students have already chosen their main upation, but my advice still stands If you are good at multiple upations."

    "I know," Zevien nodded, "I am absolutely sure about having the mystic chef as my magic upation. I will also study basic knowledge about other upations via books, so I don''t really want to attend the sses."

    "You do you know that if you fail to reach the expectation set by the academy after six months, you will be directly expelled. There will be minor tests every six months and major every year for three years."

    "I know. Don''t worry," Zevien said with an assertive smile, "I will have high marks in all fields since it''s faster if I self-study."

    "Fine," Touma sighed before asking with a doubt, "so where do you want to go by skipping the ss today?"

    "I have to visit some ces in the city. Naturally, I wille back right before thest ss."

    "Alright, you can go but don''t cause any trouble," Touma resigned as he gave permission to Zevien.

    Zevien nodded with a smile, "I''ll be careful."

    ¡­

    After leaving the academy gates, Zevien stopped a taxi and sat inside.

    "Where do you want to go?" the old taxi driver asked.

    "Starhouse Orphanage," Zevien said before he activated his Digi-watch and started browsing the Inte for some information.

    "Alright," the taxi driver nodded as he started driving.

    ''Skeleton Alchemist, I aming,'' Zevien with as he internally grinned while looking at the address of an Alchemy workshop on the Inte.

    He then sent a message to Raven.

    [Ma''am Raven, are the materials ready?]

    *tin¡­*

    [I''ve already sent one of my men to deliver them to your orphanage.]

    [Thank you very much. I will give you the good news soon.] Zevien sent the message before he turned to look at the front.

    Some people were walking and jogging while cars overtook the taxi as the taxi driver was driving at average speed. Many cars were flying in the sky on the sky route, but not everyone could afford flying cars.

    *Screeeeee¡­.*

    *Dhoof¡­*

    "What the¡­.," Zevien was dumbfounded as the taxi hit a dog that suddenly arrived in front of it.

    "Are you blind!?" a granny looking in herte sixties shouted.

    The taxi driver got out of the car sweating and apologized, "I am sorry, madam. It was an ident, I-"

    "Sorry?!" the granny screamed, "look how injured my it is, oh my poor Timmy."

    The granny picked up the dog as it was slightly bleeding. She then looked at the driver angrily, "take out the money for its recovery! Now!"

    *Wince¡­* The dog winced in pain.

    "Wait," Zevien got out of the taxi as he spoke while raising his eyebrows, "olddy, stop bullshitting and move away. You clearly let go of the leash, and I also think that you deliberately let it jump on the road."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Y-you¡­humph, stop ndering the victim! If you have proof, then show it. Otherwise, take out money!" the olddy spoke stuttered at first, but she quickly snapped.

    Zevien smirked and approached her as he pointed his hand at the dog and activated his awakening magic''s 2nd Vehemence, Somatic Happiness: Healing wave.

    "I can also give proof, and doing that will shame you. So you better go now that I healed your dog," Zevien spoke in a low voice before he entered the taxi and also told the old taxi driver after looking at his namete, "Mr. Telion, let''s go."

    The taxi driver looked gratefully at Zevien as he went inside and started driving.

    "Mr. Telion, why didn''t you rebuke her? It was not your fault," Zevien asked with doubt.

    "There''s no camera on that road for two days, so I wouldn''t be able to get proof that it was not my fault," Telion said with a sigh, "that''s why I was driving slowly, but that bitch¡­hais~Anyway, thank you for the help, young man."

    The taxi driver then smiled wryly with reminisce and continued, "I had also awakened a magicbyrinth that was all about healing, but I didn''t appreciate it and lost the connection with it. My magic core was also destroyed due to my carelessness in a fight, so I can''t even use normal magic spells. Sigh¡­"

    Zevien was surprised, "that''s rare. Although many people can''t awaken their magicbyrinths, but it''s rare to lose the connection."

    "Hahaha, true. I was not satisfied with it, and I was more into fully offensive. I internally hated it and wanted something better, more offensive-oriented," Telion said before sighing, "because of my own mentality and thoughts, I lost the connection with mybyrinth."

    "I have learned one thing from my life: never let go of something good just because you are not satisfied with it and want something better. One must appreciate even the tiny amount of good things. Because, no matter how small of a good thing happening to you it is, it''s always better than bad things."

    ¡­

    After fifteen minutes, they arrived at the Starhouse orphanage.

    "Can you wait for a minute? After getting some things from here, I need a ride to Sun Post Mega za."

    "No problem," Telion nodded with a smile.

    Zevien nodded and got out of the taxi as he entered the orphanage and directly went to the main office.

    An olddy with a gentle expression was reading a newspaper in the office when Zevien entered. Seeing him, she was surprised but then smiled, "How was your first day at the academy?"

    "Very good, mother Helena," Zevien said with a beaming smile.

    "That''s good," mother Helena gently smiled with a nod before she pointed at the corner of the office, "that''s your parcel. Someone delivered it here ten minutes ago."

    "Ah, great!" Zevien said with some enthusiasm as he picked up a square box half a meter big. It was a semi-metal box and looked sci-fi due to its design.

    "Since you are here, then take this as well," said mother Helena as she stretched her hand with a rectangle cover in her hand after seeing Zevien picking up the box.

    Zevien turned to her after picking up the box and seeing the allowance cover, he wryly smiled, "mother, I don''t need it."

    "Shut up and take it," Helena raised her eyebrows, "you have just entered the academy and have no means to earn money for now. So take it."

    "But, gov-"

    "I know that academy covers your expenses but wouldn''t you need money when you go out with your friends or your girlfriend for a date?" Helena smiled gently as she said, "don''t argue and take it."

    Zevien put the box on the table and walked behind the table before hugging her, "mother, I will repay you soon and make this orphanage better than ever. Hehe, just wait for it."

    "Silly boy, I know you will be able to do it," Helena said with pride in her voice, "alright, now go, or those kids won''t let you go so easily if they know you are here."

    "Haha, I wille to visit soon with some friends and good news," Zevien said with a small happyugh as he put the cover inside his pocket and picked up the box before leaving.

    ¡­

    After entering the taxi with the box, he said, "let''s go, Mr. Telion."

    *wroom¡­*

    Inside the taxi, Zevien opened the box and saw a two-floor section inside the box with neatly arranged materials. At the bottom section of the box was a ss container, and inside it was a ck rose with a slight red my aura around it, which was the only tier-3 material in the box, Nerfire Rose.

    ''Sorry, but I will be stealing your potion, Skeleton Alchemist.''

 Chapter 25 Skeleton Alchemist-2, Bonecretto

    After ten minutes, the taxi finally arrived at the Sun Post Mega za. But instead of entering the za, he went to an alley right beside it.

    After he arrived at the other side of the alley and walked a few steps to the left side,  He saw a board [Skeleton Alchemist''s Workshop] on the ground.

    Besides the board was a door of this workshop, and Zevien entered inside with the square box in his hand.

    *chime¡­chime¡­*

    The bells chimed as Zevien opened the door and saw a man in histe thirties sitting on a stool behind the long desk to the side.

    "What business do you have here?" the man askedzily.

    "Where is Skeleton?" Zevien asked with doubt, "I want to talk to him about something rted to alchemy."

    "Go ahead," the man gestured at the door at the end, "he is inside his workshop."

    After saying that, the man continued reading the newspaper.

    Zevien was a bit speechless at the careless attitude of this man like¡­would he let any random person go inside the workshop?

    At least talk with the owner!

    He walked towards the door and entered the medium-sized workshop the size of 300 square feet.

    It had several tables and small containers filled with materials.

    Three big pots surrounded a man with red mes burning below them on a stand. He was mixing something inside the pots.

    He had worn a skeleton mask on his face, but his clothes were simple T-shirts and pants.

    ''Mass production? What the hell¡­,'' Zevien was surprised to see the work of Skeleton alchemist.

    "Yo, Skelly here," Skelly looked at Zevien and asked, "do you want to order a particr potion?"

    "Why are you mass-producing potions instead of researching and creating high-quality potions to better your craft?" Zevien asked with doubt.

    ? "Heh, what choice do I have? I am basically ving right now to pay for this workshop. That man outside is the owner, but once I pay the full amount and get this workshop truly under my name, then I will definitely be a renowned alchemist," Skelly spoke as he clenched his fist, "I just need to continue mass-producing potions and sell them for one year, just one year! This is also a way to improve myself."

    ''So he had this kind of background before bing famous,'' Zevien thought before he put the box in front of Skelly, "I want you to make a potion, and you only have two tries. I will give you step-by-step details on processing each ingredient and how to mix them."

    *thifff¡­..*

    The box opened as some cold air left it and revealed the ingredients. Zevien took out one section from it and revealed the second batch of ingredients included two Nerfire roses.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He took out one batch of ingredients and put them in front of Skelly before saying, "here, the first batch."

    Skelly looked at all ingredients with narrowed eyes for a minute before saying with a frown, "I don''t know any potion that can be made with thebination of these ingredients. What''s the potion''s name, and what''s the effect?"

    "The potion''s name¡­you can decide," Zevien said with a grin, "as for its effect. It is a tier-3 recovery potion that will cause the user''s bones to have extreme regeneration speed for five minutes. Your bone crushed? No problem, it will be fixed in literally a minute."

    "That Nerfire rose indeed have such drastic effects on bones, but the side-effects are too much as they turn the bones into a unique hot powder," Skelly muttered as he looked at other ingredients, "whisker of Grant, Moon-crystal dew¡­hmmm, these ingredients¡­."

    Skelly fell into thought as his eyes slowly started to shine.

    Seeing that, Zevien was internally impressed, ''as expected of a prodigy in Alchemy. He came out of nowhere and spent his early life absorbing all knowledge of alchemy before gaining mastery of the basics by mastering basic magic potions of each type and learning the pot handling using all three types of me control. Afterward, he continued to be famous with his first invention, the Bonecertto magic potion.''

    "Alright, tell me how to process them and give me instructions, fast!" Skelly spoke as his eyes showed apparent excitement.

    Zevienughed and nodded as he started working with Skelly.

    Time passed as seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours.

    After approx two hours andpletely wasting the first batch of ingredients just for experiment and stability purposes, Skelly sessfully crafted the potion.

    "It''s wonderful how we created a tier-3 magic potion using only one tier-3 ingredient," Skelly muttered with shining eyes as he looked at a vial in front of him filled with dark red liquid that was slightly burning with dark purple me.

    ''Well, you were the one who invented it in the first ce,'' Zevien wryly thought before he said, "ahem, now name this potion."

    "What! You were serious about it?" Skelly asked with bulging eyes, "I seeded because of your instruction, and you were the one who found the recipe for it. Where did you find it?"

    "Don''t sweat the small details," Zevien said with a faint smile, "first, let''s go to the alchemy association branch in the city and register it under my name. However, 50% of all profits will go to you, and you will also handle its production by discussing with that famous Umbra Raven Alchemist."

    Skelly was dazed and felt that he was dreaming. Did he step on a golden poop today? He could already see his life-changing.

    It was a tier-3 magic potion!!! Not a cabbage from the market!

    "Are you sure? 50% profits to me?" Skelly asked with a dazed expression as he still found it unbelievable.

    "Yeah, now name the potion," Zevien said.

    "Alright," Skelly nodded with excitement as he thought for a minute and spoke after pping his hand on the table, "It shall be named...Bonecretto magic potion! I mixed Tarkaonguage''s nirvana and bone, so the name basically means Bone Nirvana."

    Zevien fought theughing out of his mouth because Skelly named this same as before the time-rewind.

    "Good name," Zevien nodded with a faint smile, "now let''s go to the Alchemy association branch."

 Chapter 26 Blessed Craft

    After five minutes, Zevien and Skelly arrived at the alchemist association by taking a taxi.

    After entering the big hall of thisrge pavilion-like building with three floors, they walked towards the central desk.

    "We want to register a new magic potion," Zevien said to the staff member behind the desk with a polite smile.

    The staff member was ady with sses. Nodding her head, she asked, "what tier of magic potion?"

    "Tier-3 magic potion."

    "Tier-3!?" thedy was startled, "have you tested its effects and potency, or you justbeled it as tier-3 yourself?" shaking her head, she continued," never mind, we will need to check that before registering, so, go ahead."

    She pressed a button and gave them a piece of paper with some numbers and a pattern, "You will have to go to this room to measure your magic potion''s power. Once it is decided and confirmed that it is indeed a new potion, we can register it, and you will be given further options."

    Zevien and Skelly nodded before they looked at the ticket of a sort.

    Test room 04.

    After walking shortly, they arrived at test room 04 and pressed a red bell button. After a few seconds, a middle-aged man opened the door and inly spoke while stretching his hand, "receipt."

    Zevien gave the receipt to the man before he let them inside.

    "Take out the potion."

    Skelly put the box on the table and opened it before revealing the potion inside.

    "Nerfire rose?" the middle-aged man was startled before he turned to Zevien and Skelly, "what''s the effect of this potion?"

    "Rapid bone regeneration," Skelly said, "we have yet to test its effect, but ording to Zevien, who found the recipe for it, this magic potion is of tier-3 and can heal broken bones, bone crushed, and such bone injuries very quickly."

    "Tier-3 means that it should work to its full potential on 3rd ss magicians and lower," the middle-aged man muttered as he was amazed, "most of our army personnel are 3rd ss magicians, so if what you said is true and it works perfectly, this is going to blow up."

    Zevien and Skelly nodded.

    ''Well, that''s why Skelly spent time precisely researching Nerfire rose and other supportive ingredients to bnce it out. Inventing this potion earned him a lot of riches because of its effect.''

    The middle-aged man then opened the potion and poured a bit of it on a small device before he started checking it.

    After five minutes, he asked, while still looking through the ss and using his mana to check the liquid, "does it have any healing effect on skin injuries or internal bleeding? It should have some ording to what I am seeing."

    "It has some, "Zevien nodded, "but not as powerful as bone regeneration. They are at best on par with tier-1 healing potions."

    The middle-aged man nodded before looking at Skelly and Zevien with a smile, "this is indeed a legit new magic potion. Tell me the ingredients since you will have to craft one more."

    Zevien listed the ingredients while the middle-aged man called someone through his Digi-watch and told them to get the ingredients to thisb.

    After five minutes, someone brought all ingredients in a small box container.

    "Go and craft it in that pot," the middle-aged man pointed to a small spot in this workshop orb of a sort. There were four pots total in the big room.

    Skelly walked towards the pot with ingredients and started processing them at a different level of me control, ''Woah, the me stone below this pot is excellent.''

    Skelly poured in mana to fuel to me ording to his control and was doing great.

    "That''s an impressive judgment and control," the middle-aged man nodded before he turned to Zevien, "so what is your part in this? Judging by your age, you should still be studying."

    "Cough¡­I found the recipe for this potion," Zevien said after a fake cough, "although I will not be an alchemist, I was lucky to find the recipe."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s some luck you got there. Are you going to register it under your name?" the middle-aged man asked.

    "I was thinking of doing it at first, but now I have changed my mind. I will let Skelly register it under his name," Zevien said as he looked at Skelly.

    "Good," the middle-aged man nodded with a smile, "generally, it''s better if new magic potions are registered under an alchemist who crafted it first because it will be more useful for them."

    "Also, have you two decided on the name of this potion?"

    "Yep, the name is Bonecretto magic potion."

    "How is the profit share?" the middle-aged man continued asking.

    "Fifty-fifty, all the way," Zevien said with a grin.

    The middle-aged man was surprised, "all the way? That''s pretty generous of you."

    "Gotta think of a bigger picture," Zevien said with a pensive smile.

    *shua¡­..*

    Suddenly, both of them looked at Skelly as a golden-blue brilliance covered him along with the pot.

    "Blessed Craft!"

    Zevien and the middle-aged man uttered at the same time in shock.

    ''Damn, a blessed craft in his second attempt?'' Zevien thought before he smiled internally, ''well, he was the inventor of it in the first ce.''

    ''Either that guy umted a lot of magic merits, or this potion was crafted wlessly for the first time,'' the middle-aged man thought, ''hmmm, if that kid found the recipe in his magicbyrinth, then it should beter.''

    The golden-blue brilliance entered the pot after a minute.

    Skelly carefully poured the pot''s content into a vial before he walked towards Zevien and the middle-aged man while trembling slightly.

    "I¡­I crafted a blessed potion," Skelly spoke with trembling excitement.

    Blessed Craft was when one person of any magic upation created something with passion and wlessly. When that happens, a golden-blue brilliance would manifest around them and enhance the effect of the thing they created such that their effects are literally increased by one whole tier.

    So the magic potion in Skelly''s hand was a tier-4 Bonecretto potion. It could perfectly work on 2nd ss magicians as well.

    Naturally, one can''t continuously get a blessing even if they created the same thing wlessly again and with the same passion because blessed craft doesn''t ur often.

    Although it often urs on a new item crafted by the creator, nobody can continuously invent new things.

    The spection behind it is that the person has to be passionate in his magic upation and umte a certain amount of invisible magical merits. Once they are umted, and they create the same thing wlessly again and with passion, the blessing will trigger.

    Some people take five years to trigger their second blessed craft, while some take a year.

    The shortest time recorded is that of a cksmith from another country. He triggered his second blessed craft in just seven months from his first blessed craft on the tier-4 mace weapon, Rhino''s Crash. So despite not being a tier-5 cksmith, he crafted two tier-5 Rhino''s Crash weapons.

    "Hahaha, you can auction it after a year or two once this Bonecretto magic potion bes famous," the middle-aged man said with augh, "there are rich people who will buy it for a lot of money."

    The magic potion''s look had also changed as it was surrounded by golden-blue brilliance, clearly indicating that it was a blessed magic potion.

 Chapter 27 Deal, Money

    After registering the magic potion under the name of Skelly, they got the option to either receive 15,000 Gaia credits or 1,500,000 Lopax credits.

    Lopax credits were used in the Lopax country, while Gaia credits can be used everywhere in the Gaia continent. They are a sort of premium currency. That''s why their values are higher.

    In the end, Zevien asked if they could take 7,500 Gaia credits and 750,000 Lopax credits.

    Fortunately, they agreed.

    Afterward, they left the Alchemy association and waited outside.

    "What are we waiting for?" Skelly asked with doubt.

    Right after he finished speaking, a ck sedan car stopped in front of them.

    ¡­

    "I didn''t expect you to bring me this level of magic potion when I first gave you the ingredients," Raven said with a chuckle. She was impressed.

    Skelly was on his toes, both anxious and excited to be in front of the famous Umbra Raven Alchemist.

    ncing at Zevien, he was confused, ''how can Zevien talk with her so casually?''

    After Zevien and Raven talked about business for a while, Raven turned to Skelly with an amusing expression, "so you will be helming the main process, eh. Although I don''t know how good you are as an Alchemist, I will know soon."

    When it was regarding Alchemy, Skelly puffed his chest and spoke confidently, "I can assure you, ma''am, that you will not be disappointed by my skills in Alchemy."

    "Good, then the deal is done. You will stay here for a few days to handle the production of this magic potion. You and some other alchemist under me will start crafting this potion en masse. I want a batch of hundred in ten days," Raven said as she fiddled with her Digi-watch for a few seconds.

    *tink¡­.*

    *tink¡­.*

    Both Zevien and Skelly received 500,000 Lopax credits in their bank ounts.

    "This is the advance payment of those hundred potions," Raven said with a faint smile, "Skelly here can pay for his workshop, or¡­he can just work under me."

    "No," Skelly shook his head with determination, "once your alchemists learn the process, I will leave. I want to rise up to your level and even higher on my own."

    Raven raised her eyebrows before she smiled, "good luck."

    "Umm, so what is the price of the potion? I was kind of dazed when you decided it," Skelly said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

    "25,000 Lopax credits per potion," Zevien said with a grin, "early batches will go to the government, and they can fork out money easy and fast. We are the only supplier of this potion for now, so demand will be high but production low. This price is apt for it."

    "From the first batch of hundred potions, we will be earning 2,500,000 Lopax credits, so I gave you 1,000,000 in advance," Raven said in a clear cut voice, "I will be covering all expenses like ingredients, me stones, pots, and also pay other alchemists so I will be taking 1,500,000 Lopax credits. I still need to calcte the cost of making a batch, so depending on it, I will change the distribution of moneyter."

    "No problem, hahaha," Zevien said as he stood upughing and stretched his hand towards Raven, "you both should work hard so that I can earn money without doing anything."

    Raven shook hands as she yfully smiled, "boy, you will have to work when the timees, so for now, enjoy your academy life."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Umm, I don''t really have anything to do since I paid for my workshop just now," Skelly said as he rubbed his palms in excitement, "why don''t we just start working on crafting Bonecretto magic potions?"

    "Alright, better sooner thanter," Raven nodded with a smile.

    ¡­

    Zevien left the Umbra Alchemy House, a giant building and Raven''spany of a sort.

    After leaving the building, a ck sedan was waiting for him as Raven ordered one of her staff members to drop Zevien back at the academy.

    Sitting in the car, Zevien happily looked at the numbers in the disy of his Digi-watch, ''gotta enjoy today with everyone. Hmmm, I might as well take the kids in the orphanage with us to a high-ss dinner restaurant. That way, Vernisia will also not hesitate toe.''

    Currently, he has 3,750 Gaia credits and 875,000 Lopax credits.

    After reaching the academy, Zevien attended the sses with everyone.

    The academy time is from morning 6:30 AM to 11:30 AM.

    After that, students are usually free to do anything they want, but not a single student would waste their time as they would use academy facilities like VR Arena, martial art duels, and such activities for some hours. There are also challenging games in the academy like Race to the top, 360 defense, Killing Fiesta, Hell Path, and Magic Rumble.

    "Now that the academy is over, what''s your n?" Dan asked Erica while moving.

    Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were walking out as they had just finished theirst ss.

    Dan was signaling Zevien with his eyes to ask them about dinner.

    So when Dan asked the question, Zevien followed up before Erica could answer, "ahem, why don''t we go out?"

    "Out? Where?" Vernisia asked.

    "We should all go together to my orphanage, and then with the kids, we can go eat outside for dinner, but before that....," Zevien trailed off as he activated his Digi-watch and sent a message to mother Helena before he said to everyone with a smile, "the kids there shouldn''t have eaten yet, so we first bring lunch there and eat there. After that, we can train for some time, either at Dan''s dojo or back to the academy."

    "Let''s go to my Dojo," Dan said with a grin, "I also want Zevien to meet my master."

    "Fine, I will inform my master that I will be training with you today," Erica nodded as she looked at Dan before snorting, "prepare to lose this time."

    "Then what are we waiting for?" Vernisia said with slight excitement, "let''s go, buy food, and then go to the orphanage."

    ¡­

    Zevien and others left the academy, but none of them had any vehicle.

    "Wait, I will arrange a car for us," Vernisia said with a smile as she contacted someone through her Digi-watch.

    ''Arrange a car for us?'' Zevien was startled, ''Vernisia''s family was middle-ss before the time rewind, but the way she spoke doesn''t seem like that. Just¡­what else changed about her after the time-rewind? Something feels wrong...''

    A sudden anxious feeling assaulted Zevien, but he hoped that it was just him overthinking.

 Chapter 28 Orphanage

    "Stop it! I will pay for it. No more arguments," Zevien said with a stubborn expression, "you might not know, but I am a hidden boss with lots of money."

    "Yeah, right," Erica rolled her eyes.

    As they bought a lot of food, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan wanted to pay for it entirely.

    "Also, I will also pay for the dinner tonight," Zevien said stubbornly, "since I am going with the kids of the orphanage, then as their big brother, I must pay, humph."

    Everyone didn''t argue anymore and gave up after seeing Zevien''s stubbornness.

    They knew that Zevien was from the orphanage and he shouldn''t have a source of ie, so they were confused about how he got money to spend for this lunch and even dinner tonight.

    But they didn''t ask about it to him since it wouldn''t look good.

    After taking the food, they sat inside the SUV that Vernisia arranged.

    The driver left after delivering the car, so Vernisia was driving while Zevien sat beside her. Dan and Erica were behind with the food.

    "Oh yeah, Vernisia, what do your parents do?" Dan asked curiously.

    ''Nice question, I want to know too,'' Zevien thought, ''to know if she has the same parents as before or not.''

    "Both my parents are government employees, but I don''t know specifically about their work," Vernisia answered.

    ''Hmm¡­her parents before the time-rewind were also government employees. Maybe they are rich now because there was no need for them to be worried about Vernisia''s grave illness and spend their money on its research and cure,'' Zevien thought, ''but then how will destiny transfer work on her?''

    ''That mystical being indeed said that my destiny will transfer to her, but¡­, it might not be exactly the same way as my so-called king''s destiny,'' shaking his head, Zevien cursed himself for overthinking again, ''there''s no use specting about it randomly. I will know when the timees.''

    ''The only thing I have to focus on is making myself stronger and staying together with Vernisia forever.''

    ¡­

    They soon arrived at the orphanage after ten minutes.

    After Zevien left the orphanage when he got admission to the academy, only nine kids were left in the orphanage. Their ages ranged from 3 years old to 11 years old.

    "Come on, the kids are getting hungry," mother Helena said with a smile as she saw Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Daning with bags of food in their hands.

    The kids waited in the small garden with a vine roof, tired and hungry after ying around.

    When Zevien and others entered the garden with food, all of their faces shined.

    "Big brother, Zevien!"

    "Hahaha," Zevienughed as he put the food down since the kids hugged him, "today we are having a feast!"

    The kids cheered happily.

    A six-year-old cute girl with blue twin ponytails approached Vernisia and Erica before saying cutely, "these two big sisters are so beautiful."

    "Oww..," Vernisia bent her knees with a sweet smile and patted the girl, "but you are more cute. Come, give this big sister a hug."

    "N-no...I am dirty¡­," the small girl backed away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Who said that!?" Vernisia made an angry face as she warmly hugged the girl, "you are not dirty at all, okay?"

    ? The other small girls were very happy seeing Vernisia and Erica while the boys were clinging to Dan and Zevien.

    "Big brother, can you teach us martial arts? I will learn martial arts and protect everyone," the oldest kid of the group, an eleven years old boy, spoke as he rubbed his nose with a wide grin.

    "You are following that manual every day, right?" Zevien asked strictly.

    "Eh, we are, but it''s boring just to do those exercises and simple moves."

    "Alright, enough talking for now," Helena said as she pped her hands, "since the food is here, then start eating. Weren''t you all starving?"

    Vernisia and the other three opened the bags and arranged the food dishes before everyone started digging in.

    "Wow, this is so delicious!"

    "Mhmm¡­, mhmm, I have never eaten something delicious like this before."

    "Mother Helena, what are you waiting for? Come on, eat with us," Zevien said as he noticed that mother Helena was just looking at them with a happy smile instead of eating.

    Helena nodded and sighed happily as she looked at Zevien, "I am just feeling happy today. But you have to let me know how this happened, okay?"

    Zevien nodded with a grin.

    After eating, Zevien and mother Helena went to the office as Zevien told her about the potion thing and also transferred 200,000 Lopax credits to her.

    "Just today morning, I gave you 10,000 Lopax credits, and now you are giving me 200,000," mother Helena wryly smiled while shaking her head.

    "No worries, mother," Zevien said with a grin, "I will keep earning more money. We will transform this orphanage and give a better future to those kids."

    Mother Helena''s eyes turned tearful, "I feel like I am dreaming. Oh, Zevien, you really became big quickly."

    Afterward, Zevien told her that he would take the kids to eat outside tonight for dinner and have them enjoy some time.

    "Alright, but they have to sleep at 10, so bring them by that time. It also bes more dangerous at night, so be careful."

    ¡­

    At 2 PM, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan left the orphanage and arrived at Water Stream Taijutsu Dojo, which belonged to Dan''s master.

    However, it turned out that Dan''s master was not in the Dojo and had to go out for urgent work, so Dan couldn''t let Zevien meet his master.

    "Anyway, we can still practice, so let''s do it," Erica said as she went to wear the armor and gestured to Dan with her hand while speaking, e and die."

    On the other hand, Vernisia and Zevien also started a silent practice match against each other.

    Zevien didn''t speak to her but continuously smiled and made faces while fighting Vernisia.

    "Sigh, I need to spend eight more days without speaking to the beautiful moon," Zevien sighed, "how regretful."

 Chapter 29 Harassment

    They practiced until 7 PM before finally freshening up and leaving the Dojo.

    "Let''s book a big table at Cloud Heaven Restaurant," Zevien said with a grin, "we will go there with the kids after an hour."

    "Cough, brother, I am not trying to sound rude or anything, but Cloud Heaven Restaurant is very expensive. Since we are sixteen people going there to eat, the bill will easily surpass thirty thousand Lopax credits."

    "That''s cheap," Zevien said with augh, "we are going to eat normal delicious food, not the tier-1 or higher food since we haven''t even be  5th ss magicians yet."

    "How do you call that cheap?" Erica was speechless, "that is as expensive as a full course of tier-1 magic food."

    "Zevien, we need to save money as well because as we get stronger, we need to buy resources for our training and our magic upation," Vernisia said unhurriedly.

    "It looks like I have no choice, or you all will keep nagging me," Zevien sighed and showed them the numbers in his bank ount.

    "How did you get so much money?"

    Everyone was shocked.

    *screee..*

    "Focus on driving, Vernisia," Erica said.

    Vernisia weakly smiled, "I am. I was just slightly startled."

    "I might as well tell you that I will open a businesspany as well," Zevien said with a grin.

    "Businesspany? What will it be about?" Erica asked with doubt.

    "That''s a secret, but we will sell a very premium product and other products," Zevien said with a glint in his eyes, "I can''t tell you about it because the premium product hasn''t been sessfully invented yet."

    "Even if I failed to invent it, I have another use for thepany, so it''s fine," Zevien smiled.

    "What will be the name of thepany?" Dan asked curiously.

    "Gaia Lifeline," Zevien said with a grin.

    "Cool," Erina nodded, "let''s hope yourpany bes sessful."

    "It''s not mine alone," Zevien said as his face slowly became solemn, "work with me so we can start earning money early. This will be our financial backing for future spending, resources, and training. I will not force you, but you can decide once I tell you about all of my ns after eight days."

    "Alright," Erica, Vernisia, and Dan nodded.

    ¡­

    Soon, they arrived at the Cloud Heaven Restaurant and booked a big table that could amodate sixteen people. Ironically, this was not possible in medium and lower-ss restaurants due to their sizes.

    After booking the table, they went back to the orphanage and yed with the kids until it was time for dinner.

    Since the SUV couldn''t amodate everyone, Zevien called three taxis.

    After arriving at the restaurant, the kids were wide-eyed and excited. They had never seen such a big and elegant building.

    The smell of food already watered their mouths.

    "We are going to eat here? So cool...hehe, I can''t wait to eat."

    Zevien rubbed the kid''s head and smiled.

    The kids were really excited to eat here.

    Behind them, two young men looking around twenty or twenty-one years of age with two girls of the same age entered the restaurant.

    Seeing them, a middle-aged man at another table lightly moved his fingers and used a subtle magic spell on them.

    "It seems that big brother Zevien became rich after leaving the orphanage," a five-year-old uttered with a dreamy face, "will we also be rich after bing big and leaving the orphanage."

    "But this ce really looks expensive...," Nancy, the seven-year-old girl muttered and gulped.

    "Heh, who brought these beggars here?" the boy with short dark green hair heard Nancy and remarked mockingly.

    The group of four younger who just entered looked at them Zevien''s group with disgust in their eyes.

    "They must be nning to wash dishes after eating," the girl with thick make-up spoke. She was beautiful, but her eyes were mean.

    "Watch your mouth, dumbass, or I will break it," Dan snorted.

    "Huh? I am just stating facts," the young man spoke as he raised his eyebrows, "look at their clothes and drolling mouths. How unbing of this ce."

    Vernisia saw the kids getting nervous and slightly scared. She gritted her teeth and frowned, "shut up. They are far better than you bastards."

    "And your mouth only speaks rubbish," the girl with that boy spoke with a mocking smile, "get out from here and don''t disgrace yourselves anymore."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Says the ugly bitch with no real skin on her face," Erica spoke indifferently, causing the girl''s face to turn red.

    The young man also became angry hearing that and shouted, "Security! Get these beggars out of here!"

    "Big brother¡­," the kids were bing more scared, and mother Helena was also slightly nervous because of them, "Zevien...."

    "We have already booked our table here," Zevien spat coldly, "now, things will get ugly if you don''t shut up and go about your own business."

    Hearing that, the young man smirked, "so what?" He saw the security guards arriving and pointed at them, "give them back their reservation money and throw them out."

    The four security guards looked at Zevien and others, "please, go out. Your reservation money will be returned in a minute."

    ''Sigh, just what those bastards get by insulting normal people?'' the security guards sighed internally.

    They looked at Zevien and others with helpless expressions.

    Zevien and others understood that the young man who spoke was likely rted to the owner of this restaurant, maybe their son?

    "Let''s go," Zevien said as he looked at the young man coldly, "we will go to an even better restaurant than this."

    "Damn, I really feel like beating them to a pulp," Dan muttered angrily. Vernisia and Erica were very angry about this as well, but fighting here will only cause them trouble.

    As Zevien walked passed them, he paused and turned to them before asking indifferently, "are you happy now?"

    "Hehe, very happy," the young man sneered.

    "Good," Zevien nodded before he continued walking with a cold glint in his eyes, "let''s see how long you remain happy after this."

    Because of this, the kids were scared and insecure, and Zevien wasn''t about to let this pass by.

    After Zevien and others left, the young man scoffed, "even better restaurant than this? Hahaha, I''ll see how you go there."

    "Frad, don''t tell me you are going to¡­," the thick-make-up girl beside him spoke before she chuckled without finishing her sentence.

    Frad activated his Digi-watch and contacted some people.

    On the other hand, the middle-aged man who used magic on Frad and the other three looked at Zevien''s group leaving with a glint in his eyes, ''I hope you move ording to my expectation, youngsters with hot blood.''

    ¡­

    Zevien and others called taxis again before moving to another high-ss restaurant, but it was full.

    The manager told them with a straight face that it was full despite everyone seeing empty tables in the restaurant.

    They went to another restaurant, but they got the same response from it.

    In the end, they understood that it was nned by that bastard since those high-ss restaurants always have each other''s contacts, and they wouldn''t mind doing such little favors for each other despite thepetition.

    The kids were tired and hungry while Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were fuming because of this.

    Everyone had arrived back at the orphanage.

    Some kids were already tearful, but mother Helena consoled them.

    "It''s my fault," Erica said with a guilty face, "I insulted harshly, and that''s why he decided to cancel our reservation, and things escted. We could''ve eaten there if we didn''t say anything back. The kids were so looking forward to eating there."

    "It doesn''t matter," Zevien shook his head, "let''s go and eat at the riverfront. There are many small stalls, and the space is big as well. Enough to amodate all of us."

    "Yeah, the food there is good," Vernisia said as she forced out a sweet smile for the kids, "you are all hungry, right? We can eat there in front of beautiful scenery and fresh air. I have eaten there before, and they have a variety of food."

    "Really? Then let''s go; I am very hungry," the six-year-old girl rubbed her tummy.

    Zevien nodded with a weak smile, "this big brother really let you all down today."

    "It''s not big brother Zevien''s fault," the kids said.

    "Those are just bad people, humph. Mother Helena told us that just as there are good people, there are also bad people."

    Mother Helena smiled hearing that and patted the kid. She was d that these kids were very understanding.

    "Hahaha, well said. Now, let''s go! We shall eat to our heart''s content. As for those bad people? They will get punished soon," Dan said with augh to cheer up the kids.

    Everyone then went to the riverfront section where food stalls are established and ate there.

    Zevien and Dan looked at each other before nodding with a cold glint in their eyes.

    "Let us join in the n as well," Erica and Vernisia softly said as they looked at them, "we can''t sleep peacefully after seeing how they harassed us, especially the kids."

    "The kids wanted to eat there. It was clearly visible in their faces how happy and excited they were to go there," Vernisia said as she clenched her fists, "those four need a beating, a solid one."

 Chapter 30 Plan, Unplan, Noplan

    After eating and taking the kids and mother Helena back to the orphanage, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan left the orphanage in the SUV and drove back to the academy.

    "So, how do we do it¡ª?" Erica asked.

    "And what will we do to them?" Dan continued Erica''s question.

    Zevien coldly smiled and spoke, "I have already thought of what to do with him and the other three. It''s a matter of how we will do it."

    "What did you think of? It had better be something they never forget in their whole life," Vernisia said while grinding her teeth.

    "The n is to bind them and leave them in the middle of a road¡­totally naked," Zevien uttered icily, "since they like to humiliate others, they must taste the same thing."

    "But how do we do that?" Erica asked with doubt.

    "Don''t worry, I got a n, hehe," Zevien grinned as he contacted Skelly through his Digi-watch.

    Zevien¡ª, "Yo, Skelly. Are you still at the Umbra Alchemist House or back to your workshop?"

    Skelly¡ª, "I''ve already taught the crafting process to those alchemists, so I am back at my workshop. Also, Miss Raven has prepared the contract and wants your signature. I''ve already signed my part."

    Zevien¡ª, "I''ll go there tomorrow. But for now, I want your help. You can craft that tier-1 Dizzy Sleep potion, right?"

    Skelly¡ª, "I can. I have two on spare right now as well."

    Zevien¡ª, "Perfect. We areing to get those two while you prepare two more."

    ...

    After ending the call, Zevien looked at the others with a smile, "you should know about that Dizzy Sleep potion. We just need to throw it at them, and after it breaks, it will produce a burst of gas that will put them to sleep in a second. They were not even 5th ss magicians so this tier-1 potion will work on them quickly."

    "Their locations?" Vernisia asked, "how do we find that?"

    Zevien fell into thought before remembering a guy from before the time rewind, ''I wonder if he was still doing this thing at this time? Hmmm, guess I need to contact him and check it myself.''

    He activated his Digi-watch and put someone''s number before calling.

    Soon, Zevien heard someone''s voice from the other side.

    ???¡ª, "Who are you? How did you get my number? You are not on my contact list."

    But before Zevien could reply, the guy spoke again.

    ???¡ª, "Zevien, 17-year-old, a first-year student of the national academy. I am curious; how did you get my number?"

    Zevien wryly smiled while thinking, ''alright, this guy is already doing his work of espionage.''

    Vernisia and others could hear him since Zevien put it on a loudspeaker, and they were also startled.

    Zevien spoke, not startled at all, "Yowen Schrenia, 19-year-old. I know many things about you and things you might be interested in. But for now, I don''t have time to tell you about them."

    ...

    At some other ce in the city, Yowen looked at his nine monitors and several CPUs in his room while drinking soda. Yowen had long, messy ck hair and a beard as he wore a casual t-shirt and shorts. There were also some digital waves exuding manaing out of his cpu.

    When he heard the other party speaking his real name out loud, he spat his drink, and his face turned somber.

    He spoke hesitantly, "how do you know my real name?"

    Zevien¡ª, "That is not important, my friend. You need to know that I am not your enemy, and I called you for some business. I want information and the locations of four people. You can check the footage of Cloud Heaven Restaurant''s CCTVs, the footage of around 9:00 PM tonight, and you will know which four people I am talking about."

    After Zevien finished speaking, Yowen started typing on his keyboard, and some other keyboard-like devices before the footage of Cloud Heaven Restaurant appeared on three of his monitors.

    He checked the footage at around 9:00 PM and observed before understanding the whole matter.

    "Hmmm!¡­," Yowen suddenly saw something else in the footage and grinned, "interesting¡­."

    ¡­

    After five minutes, Zevien finally heard the voice of Yowen again.

    Yowen¡ª, "I sent you a live map, and the red dot on the map is the location of those four people. They are together right now. Do whatever you want. Oh, and I won''t take fees from you this time. Good luck."

    "Who is this guy, Zevien?" Dan asked while scratching his head, "sounds like he is some sort of a genius hacker or something."

    "Indeed, he is," Zevien nodded with a smile. ''But his future is bleak. If I can save him, he can be my wild card, especially because of his magicbyrinth.''

    "Let''s go and get the magic potions first. After that, we will tail them for some hours. Their current location is in a party club, and I think they will likely stay outside for some more hours," Zevien said with a cold glint in his eyes, "we can execute our n between 3 AM to 4 AM when there aren''t many people outside."

    "Then let''s go," Vernisia said with narrowed eyes as she cracked her knuckles and stood up.

    They left the academy again in Vernisia''s SUV and arrived at Skelly''s alchemy workshop.

    After twenty minutes, four tier-1 Dizzy sleep potions were ready.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien and the others left the workshop at a quarter to midnight after getting the potions and arrived near the party club. They stayed five hundred meters away from the club and just waited in the car.

    ...

    On the other hand, inside Touma''s researchb.

    Cargil, Raven, Blondina, Mexar, Tulip, and Touma were standing outside the ss chamber while observing the experiment.

    A person inside the ss chamber was going through the same thing as Zevien. His skeleton was attached to the bed and cuffed while his flesh body had turned into some sort of energy and was whirling around in the air. One could hear painful screams from it.

    "Is his readings the same as Zevien?" Cargil asked.

    "Not quite the same, but close," Touma spoke as his brows slightly creased.

    After a while, the man''s skeleton slowly turned normal from its mystical ck appearance. The mana-like energy whirling in the air also gradually returned to his skeleton before turning into a fleshy body.

    However, the man was not breathing.

    Everyone entered inside as Merax touched the man''s forehead and did something while closing his eyes.

    After three seconds, he opened his eyes and shook his head, "dead. His magic eidos body dispersed."

    "What went wrong?" Cargil asked with a frown.

    "The process appeared the same as what happened to Zevien from the start till the end," Touma muttered with a frown, "he indeed managed to endure to the end but then¡­.how did he die?"

    "Was it because he was a tier-1 magician? Or is it his age? Or just that he didn''t have any fault in his magic eidos body like Zevien?" Blondina asked as she spected.

    "We must find out why Zevien seeded, but this guy failed despite having no significant differences between their process," Tupil spoke thoughtfully. He was another middle-aged man in the group. He wore a tuxedo suit and hadbed ck hair with tall body stature.

    "Commence the second experiment right away," Cargil spoke indifferently, "bring Lopaz into theb."

    "Sir Cargil, please think one more time about it," Raven spoke with some hesitation, "Lopaz is your grandchild."

    *nk¡­*

    "So what!"

    A young man around twenty years old entered theb with a determined expression that hid tremendous frustration and shame.

    "I couldn''t awaken my magicbyrinth, and my magic eidos body''s initial mana capacity was low from the start! I would rather die than live my life as someone useless," Lopaz shouted with incredible frustration.

    He walked inside the ss chamber and picked up the dead man before putting him outside the ss chamber on the floor before hey on the bed, "do it!"

    Cargil didn''t say anything and kept a stoic expression.

    "Lopaz, think again," Merax said with a frown, "there might be some other ways in the future."

    "I can''t wait!" Lopaz uttered, "I don''t want to live uselessly while waiting for some uncertain future. If that Zevien guy seeded, then I can too!"

    "Start the experiment," Cargil spoke unhurriedly.

    "I will not disappoint you, grandpa," Lopaz said as he looked at Cargil with resolve.

    "You have never disappointed me," Cargil spoke as his eyes twitched slightly.

    Cargil also cared for his grandchild, and that''s why he was constantly bugging Zevien about the experiment and wanted as much as precise information about the experiment from him.

    The reason for that was none other than Lopaz, who also wanted to be part of this experiment.

    Raven looked at Cargil and spoke straightforwardly, "what if he failed?"

    The locked hands of Cargil behind his back tightened when he heard that. But his expression remained calm and stoic, "if Zevien seeded, my grandchild would also seed."

    "Old man, you should go out," Touma said to Cargil with a in expression.

    Cargil looked at Touma for several seconds before turning around and leaving theb.

    Afterward, Touma went out of the ss chamber to pick up the two serums and an orb before arriving beside Lopaz.

    "Are you truly ready for it?"

    "I am!" Lopaz uttered without a shred of hesitation.

    ¡­

    1:40 AM

    "They left the club," Zevien said as he looked at the map in the hologram of his Digi-watch, "follow them."

 Chapter 31 Unexpected Breaking News

    2:55 AM

    "They are really enjoying life, eh. From one club to another," Dan muttered, "they are nning to spend the whole night outside."

    "Which is normal for them," Zevien said before he continued.

    "Frad''s father is the owner of Cloud Heaven Restaurant and is a 2nd ss magician. His friend, Kato, has less powerful backing. His father is a 3rd ss magician and a famous cksmith in the city. His mother is also a 3rd ss magician."

    "Abily, the girl with thick make-up: her parents are government workers, and both are 3rd ss magicians. That second girl, Metrony: her parents are normal, but her big brother is a 4th ss magician and a talented enchanter."

    "Meh, so what? It''s not like we will be found out if we move ording to our n," Erica said with a snort.

    "True, let''s wear the robes and masks before starting our n," Zevien said with a nod, "this area doesn''t have any people as well."

    Vernisia nodded as she turned around the car and went one kilometer away from the club before parking the car in an alley with other cars.

    Afterward, four of them wore ck robes with silver patterns and beastly masks on their faces. Dan held a big rope within his robe around his waist.

    They bought these outfits in the night market an hour ago. Many people usually go to parties and clubhouses wearing outfits and masks at night.

    After preparing, the four of them started walking towards the clubhouse one kilometer away.

    After walking six hundred meters, Zevien said, "you all know what to do. We will enter inside, provoke them, and get kicked ou-,"

    Zevien suddenly stopped as he saw the four of them leaving the club.

    "Shit! They left the club," Zevien said with a frown, "back to the car. We need to follow them."

    The four of them turned around and started running back when Zevien suddenly stopped on the footpath again and turned around, "wait..they areing on this road."

    "Hehe, then let''s start," Dan said as he grinned and saw a caring on this road.

    Zevien, Vernisia, and Erica hid behind a shop fence while Dan walked in the road and stood in the middle.

    Zevien looked around for the cameras, and he only found one. It was the CCTV camera of the shop behind them. Pointing his finger towards it, he released a low-intensity exploding bullet and destroyed the camera.

    *vrooom¡­*

    "Get the fuck out, joker!" the girl with thick-make up looked out of the window and shouted at Dan.

    But Dan didn''t move and just stood there while muttering, "where is the elegance she spoke about in the restaurant? Fucking drunken hypocrite bitch."

    "Humph, let''s see if he stands still until the end," Frad snorted as he didn''t slow down the car.

    They were in a big dark purple sedan car.

    Seeing that they were not slowing down, Dan snorted and used his B-rank magic spell, Piercing Palms.

    Two extending palm projections appeared over Dan''s hands, exuding a sharp aura. He also infused mana in his body to strengthen it to the possible limit.

    One can infuse mana in their body and strengthen it to a certain extent depending on how powerful their body constitution is. If they went past their limits and infused more mana, it would instead damage their body''s foundation.

    Seeing that Dan was using magic, Frad frowned and slowed down because he knew that B-rank lethal magic spell and it could shred his car apart.

    "Who is this clown?" Kato spoke with an annoyed expression, "It would''ve been better if you brought that enchanted car tonight, Frad."

    Frad stopped the car five meters away from Dan and spoke, "there''s a gun in that box; take it out."

    "Damn, how do you have this gun? This shit can kill 4th ss magicians," Kato spoke with disbelief.

    "Father gave me for safety," Frad said as he grabbed the red gun with orange ming patterns and blue vein design beforeing out of the car, "by the way, which drink did you order? It''s fucking too strong."

    Frad shook his head a few times.

    Zevien and others saw Frad, Kato, Abily, and Metrony leaving the car, but Frad had a gun in his hand.

    "That''s a Red Hawk, Inferno Model in his hand," Erica whispered with a frown, "we can''t defend against that gun''s bullet."

    "Doesn''t matter now. They are all together, so two potions are enough," Zevien whispered before gesturing with his hand, "throw them now."

    Frad had his gun pointed towards Dan, who was sweating nervously because he also recognized that magic gun.

    "Why the fuck did you block the road? If you don''t have any legit reason, then I will not kill you but will cripple you for sure," Frad said as he pointed the gun at Dan''s legs and wobbled slightly.

    Suddenly, from the side, two potions shot towards them and exploded when they hit them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien threw the potion right at Frad''s hand, so he was also disarmed. He hadn''t even held the gun tightly as all four of them were drunk.

    Dan saw four of them slumping down, dead asleep, and sighed relief.

    "You threaten this father with a gun, damn you," Dan kicked Frad in the crotch.

    Afterward, they dragged four of them to the side and started stripping them.

    "Do wepletely strip them?" Vernisia asked as he looked at the two girls with only undergarments.

    Zevien nodded without saying anything.

    "Fine," Vernisia nodded as she used her Mana saber and started cutting off the undergarments of both boys and girls.

    "Be careful, and don''t cut his little brother," Dan said jokingly.

    "By the way, if we hang them in the middle of the road, they might note into the news tomorrow," Erica said with a cold smile, "someone will surely recognize them and contact their parents so before the media gets the hang of this thing, it will be covered up.

    "Hmmm, you are right," Zevien nodded, "what do we do?"

    "Hide them in this alley," Erica said as she pointed at a narrow alley beside the shop, "this way, they won''t be found so fast, and police and media will move to find them and spread the news that they are missing."

    "Hehe, let''s do it," Dan grinned as he started binding them with the rope.

    Zevien went and picked up the gun, "this will be useful."

    "It''s dangerous," Vernisia said with a worried expression, "if Frad''s father found out you have this gun, it will be easily linked to this situation."

    "No worries," Zevien grinned, "I will not use it. I got another n for it."

    ¡­

    After throwing Frad and others in the alley, naked and bound, Zevien drove Frad''s sedan car while Vernisia, Erica, and Dan followed him in SUV.

    However, after they left, a shadow passed by the alley for several seconds before leaving quickly.

    On the other hand, Zevien parked Frad''s sedan car ten kilometers away from the club and went back to the SUV before they returned to the academy.

    They went to bed and slept before waking up at 6 AM.

    The first thing they did was to check the news through their Digi-watch.

    However, when they saw the headlines and the breaking news, their faces changed drastically.

    [Four youngsters were found dead in an alley,pletely naked. Their cut-off heads were put on top of their bodies¡­]

    Dan looked at Zevien with a grave expression, "what the hell happened?"

    *knock¡­knock¡­.*

    "Should be Vernisia and Erica," Dan muttered as he went to the door and opened it.

    Vernisia and Erica entered with slightly pale faces, "how did this happen?"

    Suddenly, Zevien received a call from Yowen.

    Yowen¡ª, "how is the news? Pretty shocking right?

    The four of them inside the dorm looked at each other with shock.

    "This bas-," Dan was going to curse, but Zevien stretched his hand in front of him and shook his head before asking Yowen.

    Zevien¡ª, "did you have any part in this?"

    Yowen¡ª, "of course not! Hehe, but you might be interested in this short video clip. Good luck, my dear friend~."

    *tink¡­*

    Zevien received a video clip.

    "P-y it," Erica spoke, stammering slightly.

 Chapter 32 Second Awakening!

    Zevien yed the video clip, and it actually showed the restaurant footage when the conflict happened.

    The clip was edited as it focused on a man that was sitting at table no. 9 and looking at the conflict between two groups.

    Afterward, the video clip changed, and it showed the same man multiple in different clubs and ces, which matched the same ces that Frad and his friends visited that night.

    In the end, they hear Yowen''s voice from the clip, "I know that man as I have all information about him. To put it simply, he is an assassin. He was hired by the Dotlet brothers to kill Frad.

    "Dotlet brothers had a conflict with Frad''s father, and that''s why Frad''s father gave that gun to Frad for safety. He feared that the Dotlet brothers would harm his family. So...

    "Even if you didn''t go there, those four would''ve died because, in thest club, their drinks were mixed with a slow-acting poison. That assassin would''ve killed themter that night when Frad would''ve crashed his car due to the poison effect."

    "But you four made it easier for him, and if you left some clues, you four will basically be the scapegoats for this incident."

    After the video clip was finished, it was automatically deleted.

    "If this incident didn''t escte like this, police wouldn''t have investigated thoroughly," Zevien muttered before he shook his head, "but now that the four of them died, they will investigate very thoroughly."

    "Which means that they mighte to us after sniffing out something," Dan said with a sigh.

    Zevien stood up and spoke calmly, "don''t worry. Go and attend the sses as usual. Nothing will happen to us because we didn''t kill them."

    "What about you?" Vernisia asked, raising her eyebrows, "you sound like you are noting to the sses with us."

    Zevien looked at Dan and nodded, "I will not attend the sses as I have some work to do. In fact, I will not be much seen in the academy for the next seven days. Don''t ask me anything now, but I will tell you about it after seven days."

    Dan and the others didn''t say anything and nodded as they left the dorm.

    On the other hand, Zevien was going to contact Touma, but before he could, he received contact from him.

    Touma¡ª, "Zevien, a car is waiting outside for you. Enter ande to theb."

    Zevien¡ª, "what happened?"

    Touma¡ª, "juste here, first. It''s urgent."

    The contact was cut, and Zevien hurried outside since Touma sounded urgent.

    ¡­

    After arriving at theb, he entered inside and saw that Cargil was sitting on a sofa in the hall.

    "What are you doing here?" Cargil asked as he raised his eyebrows.

    "Touma-sir called me."

    Hearing that, Cargil''s face changed, but he took a deep breath and spoke, "go inside, fast."

    Zevien was confused, but he nodded and went inside.

    Touma, Merax, Raven, and Blondina were inside the ss chamber, and there was a young man around 20 years of age sleeping on the bed.

    Seeing Zevien, Touma hurriedly spoke, "Come here and infuse your mana in him."

    Merax was holding Lopaz''s wrist and checking something with his eyes closed.

    "Put your hand on his forehead and infuse mana slowly," Raven said to Zevien,

    Zevien rushed inside the chamber and did as told. He put his hand on Lopaz''s forehead and started infusing his mana.

    "Let''s hope this works because his magic eidos body is crumbling slowly," Blondina spoke as her eyes mysteriously were glowing as if she was using some sort of ocr magic power.

    "If something can work, then it can only be Zevien''s mana as he went through a simr process and had his magic eidos body transformed sessfully for good," Touma said as his brows were creased.

    *Zrrrrr...*<novelnext></novelnext>

    Suddenly, Zevien''s eyes went backward as he fainted, but his mana was still getting infused inside Lopaz. His hand was stuck to Lopaz''s forehead, and his mana was getting infused in Lopaz.

    "What happened?!" Touma asked.

    "His magic eidos body is getting repaired by Zevien''s mana!" Blondina eximed.

    "Check, Zevien! What happened to him?" Raven snapped.

    Merax grabbed Zevien''s hand to check his inner condition.

    After a minute, he spoke with an uncertain expression, "his body is perfectly fine, but his magic eidos body has some strain. His mana will be drainedpletely in the next five seconds."

    "So It''s only some strains and nothing fatal, right?" Raven asked.

    "Nothing as far as I see," Blondina nodded.

    "It''s really annoying to see things happening that are outside of our knowledge," Touma muttered frustratingly.

    After five seconds, when Zevien''s mana waspletely drained, Lopaz opened his eyes groggily, "my forehead feels heavy."

    He put his hand on his forehead only to touch another hand, "huh?"

    Seeing Logan waking up, everyone sighed a relief.

    "How are you feeling?" Merax asked with a grin.

    "His conditions are normal," Blondina nodded before she turned to Zevien, "Zevien''s conditions are also normal except that his magic eidos body is strained, and he has zero mana."

    "Zevien? Isn''t that the guy who seeded in the first experiment?" Lopaz asked before he wondered, "is the hand on my forehead belongs to him?"

    Lopaz turned to the side and saw Zevien hanging beside the bed while Zevien''s hand stuck to his forehead.

    "What happened to him?"

    "Nothing so far," Blondina said as she was constantly checking Zevien, "without him, you wouldn''t have survived, though."

    "Oh¡­," Lopaz was dazed before he nodded strongly, "I must repay this favor to him."

    "How are you feeling? Can you feel that faint trigger that you couldn''t feel before?" Merax asked with interest, "try and see if you can awaken your magicbyrinth now."

    "I¡­I can," Lopaz stammer due to excitement, "I can already feel that faint trigger that I previously couldn''t."

    He closed his eyes and focused. After several seconds, Lopaz disappeared.

    Everyone was startled, "what happened? Why did Zevien also disappear?"

    Indeed, Lopaz disappeared as he awakened his magicbyrinth, but Zevien also disappeared.

    "Lopaz awakened his magicbyrinth and went inside physically just like Zevien after the experiment," Touma said as he drummed his fingers on the bed, "so Zevien also likely entered his magicbyrinth¡­again."

    "Fortunate boy," Blondina wryly smiled, "generally, ssless magicians could only go inside their magicbyrinth one time every thirty days, but he had entered three times in three days."

    "Well, that''s good for him, hahaha. Anyway, let''s go and give good news to the old man," Touma said with augh.

    "Yeah, after seeing Zeiven, he should have be even more worried about his grandson," Touma said with augh.

    ¡­

    Touma and others were right about Zevien entering the magicbyrinth again, but¡­they were wrong about Zevien entering his awakened magicbyrinth.

    Zevien didn''t appear in Violet Spectrum Magic Labyrinth, but¡­he appeared in an entirely new magicbyrinth.

    He awakened a SECOND magicbyrinth, which was unheard of!

 Chapter 33 Inviolable Blood Garden

    "T-this¡­," Zevien was surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar ce.

    He looked around and saw that he was inside a cave of some sort, and it was creepy.

    There was a blood pond in front of him, some small trees with dark red trunks and dark green leaves with red veinous patterns.

    Blood-red flowers with white patterns all around him with strange red glowing rocks; all in all, the ce looked a bit creepy.

    After a few seconds of looking around, Zevien''s received information in his mind.

    "Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth¡­.," Zevien muttered as he became dumbfounded.

    "Wait a second! I¡­ Did I just awaken a second magicbyrinth?" A string of words left his mouth in total disbelief, ''also, I have never heard of this magicbyrinth before.''

    After disbelief came excitement, and then he calmed down and sat down cross-legged before closing his eyes and entering meditation.

    It was time to get another awakening magic spell.

    As time passed, blood particles started gathering around him.

    Approximately twenty minutester, a whirlpool of blood particles was seen surrounding Zevien before entering inside him.

    Mystical blood red patterns appeared in his magic core near the purple patterns, and they almost filled the rest of the space of his magic core.

    With two awakening magic spells, his magic core was almost full.

    Zevien opened his eyes and checked his magic core before deciding to remove Exploding Bullets magic spell from his magic core.

    After releasing the A-rank magic spell, Exploding bullets, Zevien checked the space and nodded, "now I should be able to weave the tier-1 magic spell, sh Curtain, in my magic core."

    He then stood up and walked into the passage in the cave because to try the newly awakening magic spell that he just got, he needed the blood of a magic beast.

    The awakening magic spell he got was known as Morphing Blood Art.

    This awakening magic spell had a pretty harsh requirement due to its strain on the body, but Zevien felt that it was really very versatile and could be useful in almost all situations as long as he was prepared.

    After walking for a while in the passage, Zevien arrived outside of the cave and saw a blood deer with dark red horns.

    The deer spotted Zevien and dashed towards him with glowing horns.

    Zevien remained calm as he internally cast the First Vehemence, Somatic Anger, and strengthened his physical body.

    Before the deer could hit him, he lightly sidestepped while grabbing its horn with one hand, and using the deer''s own momentum, he exerted his strength as he pulled the horn and rotated slightly before throwing the deer beast as it crashed into a boulder.

    Right after that, he pointed his hand towards the deer and externally cast First Vehemence, Somatic Anger.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    A purple orb shot towards the deer before it could stand up and killed it as its head got sted.

    Zevien moved beside it and pointed his hand towards it before quickly using his new awakening magic spell, Morphing Blood Art before the deer decayedpletely.

    His hand glowed slightly, and a tiny blood-red whirlpool was formed. Some blood drops from the deer flew towards it due to the suction force and got absorbed inside it.

    After a few seconds, the deer''s body decayed and turned into motes as they went inside Zevien''s body and strengthened him slightly.

    After absorbing some blood drops from the magic beast using his Blood Morphing Art, Zevien activated its Full-Morph effect.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Blood particles surrounded Zevien''s body for two seconds before dispersing, and what appeared was the same blood deer that Zevien had just killed.

    Exactly the same!

    ''Nice¡­,'' Zevien thought as he started walking slowly. He could also use the power that the deer possessed.

    "Let''s see how powerful it is¡­.," Zevien muttered from his deer mouth as he consumed some mana and used the deer''s power, causing his deer horn to start glowing.

    Afterward, he dashed towards the boulder at full speed.

    *BAAAM!*

    His glowing horn crashed into the boulder and smashed it into pieces.

    "Damn¡­.this power is equivalent of a lethal A-rank magic spell," Zevien muttered as she sighed, "d I didn''t try to take it head-on, or it would have made me half-dead at least."

    Afterward, Zevien started running around at full speed, and it was very fast. Its jumping power was also very high.

    He would never be able to catch up to the deer''s speed in his human form.

    He decided to try something and internally cast Somatic Anger to buff the deer''s body, and it worked!

    He was running like a speeding car in this enhanced deer form as he nimbly avoided blood trees and obstacles such as rocks and boulders.

    *Awoooooooo¡­..*

    Suddenly, Zevien heard a wolf''s howl and paused before looking in the direction from where he heard that.

    "Shit!" Zevien cursed as he rushed back to the cave''s direction quickly after seeing a wolf that was the size of a normal lion.

    It was a damn Grade-5 wolf magic beast, and¡­he would be courting death if he fought it without sufficient preparation or a solid n to kill it fast.

    ''Is this wolf alone?'' Zevien thought while running as if his life depended on it.

    He was here with his physical body, and even though he hadn''t tested yet but he had a feeling that if he died here, he would really die instead of returning to the outside world.

    He could stay longer in the magicbyrinth with aplete body here (physical body and magic eidos) and strengthen his body after killing a magic beast. But this benefit came with the risk of dying as well.

    Fortunately, he didn''t need to worry about depleting his mana inside the magicbyrinth as it would instantly recover whenever he used some of it. Naturally, it was also true for everyone here, including the magic beasts.

    So to survive longer and attain more power to kill magic beasts in a magicbyrinth, one must have a powerfulbat ability and a fine set of spells with a good mastery over them.

    After running for ten minutes straight, he finally lost the wolf.

    Good thing that his Somatic Anger magic spell increased his physical aspects, and with the deer constitution that let it run very fast, he left that wolf in dust and returned to the cave.

    There, he removed the Full-Morph mode and did Partial-Morphing.

    He returned to his human form, but there were two blood-red glowing deer horns on top of his head.

    Aside from Full-Morph, where he could entirely turn himself into the creature, he could also turn any aspect of his body into that of the creature that he used its blood to cast the Blood Morphing Art magic spell.

    So, this Blood Morphing Art magic spell was indeed versatile.

    ''It looks like I will have to collect blood vials of various magic beasts, hehe.''

 Chapter 34 Vampire?!

    Zevien didn''t roam much after that and instead learned the sh Curtain spell that he got from Touma.

    sh Curtain is a vision impairment magic spell. Upon casting, a thumb-sized white orb from the user conjures, which expanded into a square wall that releases intense bright light from its front side, affecting whoever is looking at it and in close vicinity and blinding them for a few seconds.

    After weaving this spell into his magic eidos body, Zevien started practicing it.

    ...

    AWOOOO¡­

    After almost two hours of practice, Zevien was startled and woke up from his trance due to a wolf''s howl.

    ''Hmm? That wolf arrived here?'' Zevien was surprised and peeked outside of the cave.

    ''Oh, although it''s a grade-5 magic beast, it''s not the same wolf that was chasing me earlier.''

    He wanted to fight, but fighting a wolf was a bad idea as he didn''t know if the wolf was in a pack or alone. If it were in a pack, then he would be courting death by going out of the cave.

    Suddenly, Zevien''s eyes straightened as he hurriedly went back inside the cave and stopped peeking because¡­

    The wolf was actually walking towards the cave.

    Zevien looked around before quietly but hurriedly moving towards a rtively big rock and hiding behind it.

    The wolf came inside the cave and walked towards the blood pond before smelling it. The wolf had blood-red ws with ck patterns, yet its body was pitch ck, while its eyes were a mix of red and ck.

    After seeing the wolf lower its guards a little while drinking from the blood pond, Zevien made a n to kill it.

    Before moving towards the wolf, he internally cast Somatic Happiness to increase his spell potency. Then he jumped out while casting Somatic Anger as a purple orb got released towards the wolf while Zevien stood on the rock he was using to hide previously.

    The purple orb hit the unsuspecting wolf as even though it noticed the attack, it was not fast enough to dodge. Poor wolf barely took a sip from the pond before it was hit.

    BOOM!

    The wolf was hit and was blown back as a hole appeared in its stomach where the orb hit.

    The purple orb took about half of the wolf''s health since it was enhanced by Somatic Happiness'' spell potency buff. Somatic Happiness increases the next spell''s potency a lot. So it was a one-time boost for the next spell.

    AWOOO!

    The wolf was injured, but instead of running, it became angry and pounced toward Zevien despite blood oozing out from a hole in its stomach.

    But Zevien was prepared as he dodged by jumping over the wolf from the big rock, and right afternding, he used sh Curtain.

    A white orb materialized in front of Zevien''s palm as it shot towards the ground in front of him.

    The wolf wanted to return to Zevien, but it couldn''t as it suddenly saw a three-meter-tall and four-meter-long wall releasing intense bright light for two seconds, causing it to squint its eyes from the light''s intensity.

    The wolf winced as it couldn''t see anything.

    Taking this chance, Zevien internally cast Somatic Happiness again and then cast Somatic Anger as he aimed the purple orb towards the already injured part of the wolf.

    BOOM!

    The attack was on-point, killing the wolf instantly.

    Zevien hurriedly dashed towards the wolf and used Blood Morphing Art.

    After absorbing a few drops of the wolf''s blood, Zevien initiated partial-morphing and turned his hands into sharp wolf ws.

    Interestingly, the ws adjusted to his human form and were bigger.

    ''Oh, this is nice¡­,'' Zevien was surprised looking at the big ws, and then he also decided to transform his legs.

    His legs also transformed differently from those of a wolf''s; they looked more like a werewolf''s legs.

    On the other hand, he suddenly felt a bit of pain in his entire body as the wolf started decaying and turning into motes before entering inside him.

    The pain increased every second as Zevien''s body trembled, "damn¡­."

    He fell to the ground and twitched as the motes entered him and strengthened his body. This time, the decaying was slow and gradual, unlike the previous times where it was instantaneous.<novelnext></novelnext>

    After a while, the wolf entirely decayed and disappeared as Zevien stayed on the ground for five minutes before finally standing up.

    "So powerful¡­.," Zevien muttered as he moved his limbs and felt way stronger than before.

    He went out of the cave and started running to see how fast he could move with his current physique and check his strength.

    It took some time to adjust to this moving posture, like with the deer, but he picked up the speed quickly.

    ''These legs feel very springy,'' Zevien thought as he jumped with his full power while running and was shocked to see that he actually jumped ten meters high.

    "Holy! These werewolf legs are awesome," Zevien muttered as he jumped again after descending andnded on a tree''s branch.

    Afterward, he tried using his ws as he consumed some mana to activate them. His ws glowed with a dark red hue, exuding power.

    Zevien hit trees and rocks with his ws as they went through them like a knife cutting through butter.

    "Too bad I won''t be able to use this form after going out of the magicbyrinth," Zevien muttered and released a small sigh.

    He then started moving back but suddenly saw a dead magic beast; it was a monkey with a blood-red star pattern on its head.

    Zevien arrived near it, expecting that it would decay and turn into motes before entering him, but nothing like that happened.

    "I see, so this only works on magic beasts that I kill myself," Zevien muttered, "that too, only in the magicbyrinth as it doesn''t work outside."

    Zevien touched the monkey and checked its physical strength, "hmm, it looks like it only recently became a grade-5 magic beast."

    Magic beasts can''t refine their bodies like humans, but their body strengthening process still happens, albeit automatically. Their mana automatically circtes around inside their bodies all the time, so as their magic power increases, their physical body also gets stronger gradually.

    He didn''t bother taking the blood of the monkey magic beast and returned to the cave before walking in front of the blood pond.

    ''This should be the blood of some creature, right?'' Zevien thought as he was curious and decided to absorb it.

    Blood Morphing Art.

    A few drops of blood from the pond were absorbed into the whirlpool before Zevien''s face changed.

    When he absorbs blood using his skill, Blood Morphing Art, he gets information about whose blood it belonged to; he could see the creature in his mind, like a vision of sort.

    ''Full-Morph,'' Zevien willed as the blood particles enveloped him for two seconds before he entirely transformed¡­

    And what appeared from that transformation was a vampire.

    He grew fangs and a pair of bat wings, and he felt his physical body getting stronger a lot and also¡­.

    "Blood Maniption?" Zevien was dumbfounded. In this form, he could actually feel some sort of connection with the blood in his own body and even the blood on the pond.

    He tried to manipte the blood of the pond with the strange connection he was feeling.

    But he couldn''t even pull out one drop of blood from the pond.

    "I guess this blood maniption is not that powerful due to my own magic power," Zevien muttered and guessed that as his magic power increases, so will this blood maniption power in this vampire form.

    "I have to secure this ce," Zevien uttered with a glint in his eyes as he looked at the pond, "I am feeling my strongest in this vampire form, and it''s a whole pond of blood. Hehe, I can use it all the time."

    "Wait, since I am here in my physical body, then the next time Ie here, can I put a vial in my pocket beforeing here to store the blood? Damn, that would be awesome!"

    Suddenly, Zevien started feeling the pressure; this pressure indicated that it was time to leave.

    However, this time, Zevien decided to stay as long as he could by enduring. He returned to his human form and sat cross-legged before closing his eyes.

    After who knows how long, Zevien disappeared and arrived in the ss chamber.

    "So you are finally here! Damn, howe you managed to stay for the whole two hours and thirty minutes there?"

    Zevien heard a voice beside him and saw Lopaz talking to him with an amazed expression.

    "Seriously...," Raven wryly shook her head, "I don''t think any ssless magician had stayed for more than two hours inside magicbyrinths. You are the first one."

 Chapter 35 Help, Visiting Yowen

    "So, how much magic power have you got now?" Merax asked curiously.

    There were only Cargil, Merax, Raven, and Lopaz in theb right now. Touma and Blondina had work to do, so they had left theb and returned.

    "Wait for a second. I''ll create myprehensive magic panel," Zevien said as he fiddled with his Digi-watch for a minute.

    Afterward, he activated a hologram so everyone could see.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Zevien]

    -Magic Power: 78.3

    -Mana: 783/783

    -Awakened Magic spells: <Somatic Violet Four Vehemence>

    -Magic spells: <sh Curtain>, <Exploding Bullets>

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Naturally, Zevien didn''t tell them that he had awakened a second magicbyrinth. So he didn''t add the new awakening magic spell, Blood Morphing Art in the panel. He had removed Exploding Bullets''s formation from his magic core, but the others didn''t need to know that as well.

    Also, it was just an A-rank spell, and even without weaving it, he could create its magic formation in two seconds and use it.

    "Seventy-eight¡­Crazy!!" Lopaz eximed before wryly smiling, "I only got twenty-seven right now."

    "Your body is giving off a more powerful aura," Cargil suddenly spoke as he looked at Zevien with narrowed eyes, "it''s clearly much¡­.much stronger than before."

    "Cough¡­.," Zevien fake coughed before cheekily smiling, "oh, it''s nothing. I just killed a grade-5 magic beast inside, so that allowed me to strengthen my body a lot. I think it''sparable to someone who has refined their body after reaching the 400 magic power mark."

    "This magic enhancement is excellent if you can strengthen your body a lot in one go by killing a stronger magic beast," Raven muttered with amazement.

    "No, it''s not that easy," Zevien weakly smiled, "I tested inside, and it seems that we can only absorb magic beasts that we kill. Also, there''s a limit as well, and I felt it. After I killed the wolf and it started to decay and turn into motes to enter inside me, the process was painful and slow.

    "I clearly felt a limit that even if I kill another grade-five magic beast, my body won''t strengthen. Naturally, even If I kill a grade-four magic beast, which I simply can''t in the first ce, but if by chance I killed it, my body wouldn''t strengthen."

    "I see."

    Everyone nodded.

    "Maybe it''s rted to magic power? Your body wouldn''t have been strengthened like that unless you had higher magic power. It''s the same as the usual process, but the ceiling caused by this enhancement is higher," Raven said.

    "Seems to be the case," Merax nodded, "despite having 78 magic power, Zevien''s body is as strong as a person who refined their body with 400 magic power. Even if it''s limited, it''s already good."

    "Ahem. So, Zevien, do you have anything else to tell us? Like, something very important?" Raven said as she smiled at Zevien.

    "Something important?" Zevien frowned as he started thinking about what it was, and then he suddenly remembered.

    "We didn''t do it," Zevien said with a somber expression.

    "We know," Merax said with a grin, "but you four were suspected as well because of your confrontation with them at the restaurant."

    "So, what happened? Are my friends okay? Were they taken into custody for interrogation?" Zevien fired questions one after another in a worried tone.

    "Rx," Raven said as she chuckled, "do you think anything will happen to you if you didn''t do it? Look at who is standing in front of you."

    Zevien looked at Cargil, who had a stoic expression with a hint of a smile on his face.

    Nodding his head, Cargil said inly, "I used my authority to investigate this thoroughly. Police have already found the perpetrator and the ones behind him as well. They should be reaching jail by now."

    "Mhm, mhm," Raven nodded smilingly, "Francik won''t easily rest since his son died. Those brothers wouldn''t get bail and will have to serve some years while that assassin will be beheaded since he had tens of murders on his hands."

    "That guy was very hard to catch because of his magicbyrinth''s awakening spells, and the other magic spells in his arsenal were also all about disguising, hiding, and such. But we got some information from an unknown person about his location and caught him," Cargil said before creasing his brows, "the one who sent information feels more dangerous. We couldn''t trace that message even using ourtest technologies and software."

    ''So, it was Yowen. But why did he help us?'' Zevien wondered before putting it aside for now, ''anyway, I was going to visit him in the first ce after leaving the academy, but instead, I had toe here. Guess I''ll go now and strike a deal with him.''

    "Thank you for the help," Zevien slightly bowed and thanked Cargil for his help.

    "No problem. It''s nothingpared to what you did," Cargil said with a nod as he looked at Lopaz, "if you didn''t seed in the experiment and then helped my grandson¡­."

    Cargil sighed, "I knew my grandson was determined and strong-willed, so I thought that my grandson would seed as well since you managed to seed."

    "Grandpa¡­," Lopaz''s expression became worn down, and then he looked at Zevien with a serious face, "thank you, Zevien."

    "Old man, everything is okay now," Raven said with a smile, "Lopaz indeed held on until the end, unlike the previous man. That''s why he managed to survive."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Another thing we might need to note is that this experiment might only work on ssless magicians, but we can''t be sure until we test further," Merax said thoughtfully.

    "We are out of necessary materials now, and it will take some time to procure them again as they are expensive," Cargil said with a frown, "I''ll inform the government about our results and ry to them that we need more tests."

    "Umm, since there''s nothing for me to do, can I go now?" Zevien said with a wry smile, "I need to go somewhere urgently."

    "Do you want me to drop you somewhere?" Lopaz said with a grin, "I am also going to a private magic dojo now that I awakened my magicbyrinth."

    "You both can go now," Cargil nodded before saying to Lopaz, "contact me when you reach the Wind Pir Magic dojo. The master of that Dojo is an old friend of mine and a hidden 1st ss magician of the city."

    "Okay," Lopaz nodded with a wide smile as his eyes showed excitement about finally getting a chance to get stronger in this path of magic.

    ¡­

    Both Lopaz and Zevien left in Lopaz''s silver-blue sedan car that looked a bit simr to a mustang.

    "So, where do you want to go?" Lopaz asked while driving.

    "A good bike store," Zevien said with a weak smile, "I don''t have any vehicle, but now that I have money, I can buy one."

    "Magic enchanted bike or normal bike?"

    "My budget is 500,000 Lopax credits," Zevien said with a grin, "If I can get a tier-2 magic bike at this price, then it would be great."

    "Hmm, alright. I know a good ce so let''s go there," Lopaz said with a smile.

    Afterward, both of them went to a bike store called Nitrus Bikes.

    There, Zevien took thirty minutes to buy a tier-2 magic bike called Silver Fox.

    Its price was 635,900 Lopax credits, but Lopaz knew the owner and got him a discount, so Zevien paid exactly 500,000 L.Credits to buy it.

    Afterward, both of them left the store walking as Zevien sat on his newly bought bike outside.

    It was a silver bike with slight ck-blue patterns.

    [Bike, Silver Fox]

    -Rank: Tier-2

    -Maximum speed: 450 mph.

    -Magic Gears: <Silver Barrier, Tier-2 spell>, <Doom Mist, Tier-2 Spell>

    The bike requires mana stones, and they came with this bike. Now Zevien needs to press buttons to use those two magic spells. Once those mana stones are exhausted, he will have to buy a new one.

    "Thanks, now I''ll be on my way," Zevien said to Lopaz as he smiled, "good luck in your training at the magic dojo."

    "Alright, let''s meet againter when the opportunity arrives," Lopaz said with a grin, "if you are in trouble, then the first thing you have to do is contact me. I will do my best to help you."

    "Hahaha, sure," Zevienughed and nodded before starting the bike and leaving.

    ¡­

    After ten minutes, Zevien arrived at a rtively normal house in a residency. He rang the bell, and he heard someone''s footsteps as they came to the door.

    The voice box started as Zevien heard a voice, "Hello, who are you, and what business do you have here?"

    It was a woman''s voice.

    From the basement of this house, Yowen was looking at another monitor aside from his nine main monitors. He could see Zevien through the hidden camera he had ced outside and was startled, "How does he know where I live? I helped him so that I could meet him and get some answers, but he is already here...."

    Outside, Zevien smiled and said, "hello. My name is Zevien, and I am here to meet my friend Yowen. He told me toe here for something important."

    Yowen told his mom to open the door as he left his basement and arrived in the hall.

    Both of them greeted each other naturally before Zevien followed Yowen to the basement.

    "How do you know so much about me?" Yowen asked with a frown, "I am getting too antsy after speaking to you. I want to know!"

    "First¡­" Zevien said before pausing a bit and turning to his monitor, "call Electra out."

    Hearing the words, Yowen almost pissed his pants with disbelief on his face.

    Zevien just fucking uttered the most important and valuable secret of his life!

 Chapter 36 Fairy

    "Y-you¡­how do you know about her?" Yowen stammered as he felt some fear. He had never revealed this to anyone; nobody knew about it. So how the hell did Zevien know about it?

    Chree¡­

    The monitor''s disy became slightly static as a humanoid creature appeared from it and floated beside Yowen.

    The creature looked cute, with its height being less than half a meter, lighting blue patterns on its dark blue body, big blue eyes, and a chubby face.

    It was a fairy! A female one. She wore lightning-cloudy clothes made from energy.

    "Rx, I am not here to hurt you or anything. As things stand, you can easily kill me because you are already a 5th ss magician," Zevien said with a faint smile as he looked at Electra.

    "Why did youe here?" Yowen asked with doubt.

    "To summon a fairy," Zevien said with a smile, "you are the only person ever to make a sessful contract with a fairy from a semi-awakened fairy spirit magicbyrinth."

    "Did you also semi-awaken a fairy spirit magicbyrinth?" Yowen asked.

    Zevien didn''t say anything but gathered some mana in his hand and started creating a spell formation in the air using his finger.

    "Eh... It''s kinda simr to the magic formation in the magic circle that appears when fairies are randomly summoned by Yowen," Electra spoke in a surprised tone.

    "Mhmm," Yowen was surprised as well, "how did you make it? If you know this, then you should also have a semi-connection with a fairy spirit magicbyrinth."

    "Right," Zevien nodded, "I am close topleting this magic spell, and I want toplete it with your help."

    Hearing that, Yowen raised his eyebrows and grinned, "what will I get in return?"

    Zevien smiled and leaned back on the chair with a carefree expression, "your life and a secure future."

    "Huh? What do you mean that?" Yowen asked as his brows creased. "Are you threatening me?"

    "Of course not," Zevien faintly smiled as he lied with a straight face, "You can say that my magic powers are rted to divination, and that''s how I found you. Naturally, I also know that something terrible will happen to you because of what you are doing."

    Zevien looked at Electra after saying that and smiled, "this fairy is good at collecting information for you, and you can stay safe with her powers, but she will be caught eventually, and you will also get caught. When that happens, I don''t think you want to imagine how many people will be after you."

    Yowen and Electra''s faces became dark as fear shed in their eyes.

    "W-we¡­we haven''t done that many illegal activities," Yowen stammered, "we only started this a year ago."

    "Whatever you did was enough for many people to kill you and your family, and the things you will continue to do will make it worse," Zevien shook his head with a faint smile, "I doubt you are going to stop using this power of your fairy and your hacking skills. You live for this."

    Yowen didn''t say anything, but he agreed.

    "How old are you this year?" Zevien asked.

    "Twenty," Yowen answered before taking a deep breath and speaking, "how can I trust you? How can I believe that I will get caught just because you said it?"

    "Oi, oi, you don''t really believe that Electra can escape forever, right?" Zevien was speechless, "don''t live in a misunderstanding that just because you are the first person to have a fairy by your side, you can do anything and use her powers without others being able to detect it or trace it to you."

    Yowen had nothing to say.

    He actually believed that he wouldn''t get caught because¡­Just see! Electra''s powers are awesome. She can put her consciousness on the inte! Go anywhere, take data, and return! His hacking skills made this possible, and he was improving every day.

    Seeing Yowen not saying anything, Zevien smiled, "trust me. If we work together, I can help you a lot. Like¡­a lot. I will secure your future, give you money and give you my trust. In return, you can use this power properly for our benefit."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And before that, you want me to help youplete this fairy spirit summoning spell?" Yowen asked with slight hesitation.

    "Indeed," Zevien nodded, "let''splete this in seven days. With Electra here, it will make it easier for us."

    "It''s possible," Eletra nodded, "although I am not that knowledgeable about fairy summoning just because I am a fairy, I can try to help identify the faults due to my nature of being a fairy spirit."

    "Fine, let''s do it," Yowen nodded, "Also, you should know that it was me who helped you and your friends."

    "Thank you for that," Zevien said with a grin, "trust me, you will not regret working with me."

    "You already know so many things about me, and it''s outside of myprehension how you did that," Yowen sighed before he nodded, "whatever. I am going to think about my future and work with you since you have already made some connections with powerful people; this seems the best option to me right now."

    "Good!"

    ¡­

    "Why is Zevien not here yet?" Vernisia asked with doubt.

    "He is safe wherever he is," Dan said with a relieved face, "I am really surprised by how the authorities quickly caught the real perpetrator."

    "True, that was too efficient to be true, but whatever," Erica said with a nod, her eyes showing relief as well. "It''s good for us."

    The three of them were attending the magic cksmith ss. Since it was their first magic cksmith ss, they were still only introduced to this concept as the teacher told information and basic theories about it.

    On the other hand, Touma was inside his office in the academy when he suddenly received a message from Zevien stating that he would be absent from the academy for the next seven days.

    Zevien also sent the same message to Dan, Vernisia, and Erica.

    They sent back a message asking why but Zevien only told them that he would exin to them personally after seven days.

    ¡­

    For the next seven days, Zevien stayed at Yowen''s house. There was a bed in the basement, and he slept there.

    He also ordered his daily necessities with his money so that Yowen''s family didn''t think that he was leeching off of them.

    Every day, they try to perfect the magic formation after using it.

    ...

    On the sixth day, Zevien once again created a magic formation and activated it, which caused a big magic circle to appear in front of them. It was a two-meter big magic circle.

    Electra observed the circle carefully with narrowed eyes as she tried to feel it with her innate perception of fairies that can sense fairy-rted powers.

    "Not a solid connection yet. Need to strengthen your intent and carve it properly at thest part," Electra said, "once the connection is formed, the fairy will be summoned based on the magic power they sense in your mana.

    "The fairies there can sense the summoning, but if they think you are weak, they will reject it. As such, you should pour your feelings into it. Consider including your passion, mindset, determination, and ambitions as well if you want to summon a fairy more powerful than you.

    "Otherwise, you will only summon fairies that are as strong as you. But that is fine as well because both of you can get strong together that way. Like Yowen and me."

    "I see," Zevien nodded before sitting down to take some rest and absorb some mana from the mana stones he bought using his money. "Let''s continue again after I recover my mana."

 Chapter 37 The Only One!

    "Today is the eighth day; it took one more day to finish it finally," Zevien sighed as he dispersed the magic circle he summoned before a fairy could arrive.

    ''Damn! I miss Vernisia. Seven days without seeing her,'' Zevien thought as he was feeling too much difort now. Ten days had passed since the time rewind, and now, he could finally talk with her.

    "What now? Don''t you want to summon a fairy? Why did you stop?" Yowen asked with doubt.

    Zevien walked towards the stairs while saying, "I''m done for now. Thank you for the help. I will contact you after a day, but now I have to go urgently."

    Zevien came out of the basement without waiting for Yowen''s and Electra''s responses.

    "Oh, Zevien,e, let''s eat. The breakfast is ready," aunt Rosey spoke with a caring smile; she was Yowen''s mother.

    "Thank you, but I am in a hurry today," Zevien smiled and nodded, "thank you for your hospitality over the past eight days, aunt Rosey."

    After saying that, Zevien left without waiting for her response.

    "Oh my, he seemed to be in a real hurry. Did something bad happen?" Rosey wondered as Zevien left the house in a hurry.

    ¡­

    Zevien turned on his bike and went straight towards the academy. It was a bit over 9 in the morning, so his friends should be on a break right now.

    ''Gotta surprise them, hehe,'' Zevien thought before contacting Vernisia.

    On the other hand, Vernisia, Dan, and Erica were sitting at a table in the cafeteria.

    "Geez, he said seven days, but it''s been eight days now," Vernisia grumpily spoke.

    "You really miss him, huh?" Erica said with a knowing smile.

    "Hehe," Dan snickered while also looking at Vernisia.

    "Why would I miss him?" Vernisia rolled her eyes, "I am just curious as to why he was absent for the past eight days, and since it''s been ten days since we first met, I also want to know why he didn''t talk to me directly in the past ten days."

    Suddenly, she received a contact from Zevien and snorted, "he finally contacted, huh."

    Vernisia¡ª, "who are you?"

    Zevien was startled¡ª, "didn''t you save my number? I am Zevien."

    Vernisia¡ª, "Zevien? I am sorry, I don''t know such a person."

    Zevien was speechless¡ª, "you are kidding me, right?"

    Vernisia¡ª, "please, why would I joke with you? Anyway, I don''t know any Zevien, and this is probably the wrong number. If you have nothing else, then I am hanging up."

    She then hung up and started eating a sandwich.

    Erica and Dan looked at each other with a sarcastic expression before looking at Vernisia.

    "Didn''t you say you don''t miss him?" Erica said with a grin.

    Vernisia pouted, "I don''t. What are you on about? You think I care enough to miss him?"

    "Hehe, if you didn''t care, then why did you talk to him like that?" Dan spoke while chuckling, "you should have just responded normally."

    "You¡­.," Vernisia''s cheeks turned red as she blushed intensely and stood up, "I am going back!"

    "Okay, okay, stop! We are just teasing you." Erica stood up, trying to stop Vernisia with a smile.

    Danughed but didn''t say anything and instead contacted Zevien.

    Hearing the first thing Zevien said, Dan stood up and went away from the table. After talking to him for a minute, Dan hung up andughed hysterically, causing everyone in the cafeteria to look at him.

    "What the hell? Did your brain turn into mush?" Erica was speechless.

    "I can''t, hahaha," Danughed as he returned and sat down, "Zevien was intensely worried and asked me if something bad happened to Vernisia that would cause her to lose her memories. I didn''t tell him the truth since he is rushing here anyway."

    "Hehe, let''s make this the truth then," Erica mischievously smiled before looking at Vernisia, "now you truly don''t know Zevien, okay? You lost your memories of him and only him."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Isn''t that quite weird? We should make it more realistic," Dan spoke as he rubbed his chin.

    "Nah, if we make it realistic, Zevien will really be worried," Erica said while shaking her head, "let''s just troll him like this, so he will figure that we are just joking."

    "Okay, get ready," Vernisia nodded with a yful smile, "since he kept us in the dark for eight days, making us worried. Then he should get punished."

    "Eh, didn''t you say you were not worried about him?" Dan snickered.

    "Y-you¡­I am just saying this generally! Generally!" Vernisia pouted. "Now, get ready. You all need to act your part. Don''t slip up with your expressions."

    ¡­

    Zevien was really worried sick because anything was possible.

    He hurriedly arrived at the academy and went towards the cafeteria as Dan said they were eating there.

    When he saw Vernisia, Dan, and Erica eating at a table, he approached them and slowed down after arriving near the table.

    Erica and Dan looked at him with a gloomy appearance and shook their heads. They looked sad.

    Vernisia also turned to Zevien and raised her eyebrows, "why are you looking at me like that? Do you want anything?"

    Zevien frowned and asked, "did you really lose your memories? Howe y-"

    "What are you talking about? I didn''t lose my memories," Vernisia frowned.

    ? After that, Dan spoke quickly but softly, "apparently, Vernisia lost memories of you only."

    "What?!" Zevien was startled, "how is that pos-"

    Suddenly, he paused and took some steps back with a pale face.

    ''Don''t tell me she lost memories of me because of what happened to us with the time rewind? She lost memories about me because I was not affected by the time rewind and kept my memories? Did something go wrong with the time rewind and cause this ident?''

    Zevien''s habit of overthinking kicked in as he thought of multiple possibilities.

    ''Fuck it! Even if she lost memories of me, I could start over again. It''s not like years have passed between us yet.''

    "..vien!"

    "Zevien!"

    Zevien snapped out of his thoughts afterposing himself and saw that Erica and Dan were calling him.

    However, he looked at Vernisia and smiled, "Hi, nice to meet you. You may not remember me, but the empty seat beside you in the ss belongs to me. I was absent for eight days, but we can get to know each other again."

    Looking at Zevien saying like that, Vernisia''s lips twitched while Dan and Erica were dumbfounded for a second before bursting out inughter.

    "Lol! Hahahaha. You can''t be real, bro!"

    Ericaughed while shaking her head, "my stomach hurts, man. How can you believe this bullshit that she only lost memories of you and not others?"

    Vernisia also broke her act and burst outughing, "dummy."

    "What?" Zevien got taken aback before creasing his brows, "so all of that was not true?"

    "Of course, humph," Vernisia snorted, "you disappeared for eight days right after that incident and didn''t even tell us anything."

    Zevien sighed as he took a chair from another table and sat beside Vernisia before grabbing her hand and looking straight into her eyes.

    "W-what?" Vernisia stammered at this sudden action of Zevien and tried to pull her hand, but Zevien tightly grabbed them.

    "Vernisia," Zevien spoke with the most severe expression, "even if you forget me thousands of times, I will start thousands of times anew and meet you as if we are meeting for the first time, but the feelings in my heart will never change. In this life and every other, know that you are the only one for me. The only one!"

    After saying that, he stood up and turned around before speaking to the three of them, "I''ve been awake the whole night, so I will go to sleep now. I will tell you about what I did in the past eight days and give you a pleasant surprise."

 Chapter 38 Tarto

    "Did Zevien just confess....?" Erica uttered with a dumbfounded expression.

    "Sure did," Dan nodded with a grin as he looked at Vernisia, that was just stunned on the chair with her mouth wide open.

    "Say, Vernisia, did you know Zevien before arriving at the academy?" Dan inquired.

    Vernisia snapped out of her daze as her cheeks turned slightly red, but she quicklyposed herself and shook her head, "no, I didn''t know about Zevien, nor did I meet him before arriving at the academy."

    "That''s strange¡­," Dan muttered.

    "Why?" Erica asked.

    "Because Zevien seems to have known you beforehand," Dan said thoughtfully, "he also started tearing up when he first saw you in the ceremony hall on the first day of the academy."

    "What? Really?" Vernisia was startled before remembering how Zevien would look at her and nodded, "the way Zevien looks at me every time is also one that is of great familiarity."

    "Anyway, what are you going to do?" Erica asked with a yful smile, "how will you respond?"

    "I-I¡­.," Vernisia blushed, but then she thought of something and said, "ahem, I will not respond until I know the truth. He seems to have some secret, and it obviously involves me from how he interacted with me from the start."

    "But you also like him, right? It''s pretty obvious," Dan cheekily smiled.

    "Like and love is different," Erica snorted before looking at Vernisia, "Verny, you shouldn''t jump to the gun. Zevien is a good guy and all. He is talented as well, but you should decide after spending more time with him with us as friends."

    ¡­

    "What?!" Dan was startled.

    "Then what was that if not confession?"

    Zevien rubbed his eyes and yawned, "chill, I just said what was on my mind at that time. Well, it did sound like a confession, and I don''t mind it. After all, I really do love her, and that is not going to change-"

    "¡­ever," Zevien grinned.

    "I see. Well, now that you woke up, should we call Vernisia and Erica for your so-called surprise?" Dan asked before looking at the time, "it''s four in the afternoon now, and we will have to go train at 6 PM at my master''s dojo. We will be done by that time, right?"

    "Easily," Zevien nodded before activating his Digi-watch and contacting Vernisia and Erica toe to his dorm.

    After a while, Vernisia and Erica arrived.

    "So, what''s the surprise?" Erica asked, "let''s see what you''ve been doing for thest eight days."

    "Mhmm," Vernisia nodded as she tried to act regrly, "show us what you got."

    Zevien smiled and told them to follow him to his room.

    After everyone entered, he closed the door and looked at them with a serious expression, "I have created a magic spell, and it''s a never before seen one."

    "Oh?!"

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were surprised.

    "So, for the past eight days, you were working on creating a magic spell?" Dan asked as he scratched his head, "although it sounds unrealistic for someone of our age to create a magic spell as we had just awakened our magicbyrinths and haven''t even gone too deep into the magic world."

    Vernisia and Erica nodded.

    "True," Zevien nodded with a faint smile, "but I have a secret, and I will tell you about it partially. The first part is that I am living this life with you for the second time."

    "Second time? What do you mean?" Vernisia was confused, and so were Dan and Erica.

    "In 8014, the whole world went backward in time. Everything rewound back to 8008, right before the opening ceremony of this academy," Zevien spoke shocking words, "the only difference was that I retained my memories of it because you can say that I was the cause of this time rewind."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And I have been working with this magic spell with Vernisia before the time rewind," Zevien said with a smile as he looked at Vernisia.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan had their jaw dropped to the ground.

    "You are kidding, right?" Dan asked with a dumbfounded expression.

    "Obviously, he became brain-dead," Erica said while shaking her head, "don''t tell me you were smoking some illegal stuff for the past eight days?"

    Vernisia was silent with her head down for a few seconds before she looked at Zevien and spoke in a worried tone, "do you want to see a doctor?"

    "Well yeah, it''s hard to believe, so screw it," Zevien said with augh, "let''s get onto the main business."

    Zevien started creating spell formation internally by controlling his mana for a minute. After he was done with it, he closed his eyes and poured his feelings into his intent.

    His wish, his ambition, his stubbornness, his determination, he poured everything when he activated this spell so that the fairies would feel this intent.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan saw a meter big magic circle forming with a strange whirlpool portal and colorful sparks.

    "Woah, what is that?" Dan said as he raised his eyebrows.

    "How beautiful and mystical," Vernisia was surprised.

    "And dangerous as well," Erica narrowed her eyes.

    Vernisia and Dan nodded.

    Zevien''s eyes were closed, so he couldn''t see. But from the magic circle, a paw came out.

    The paw that came out was ck and furry.

    Vernisia and the other two gulped as they felt a suffocating pressure from the magic circle, and some invisible power bound their bodies.

    They couldn''t even move their lips to speak while sweat fell like a waterfall on their faces.

    On the other hand, Zevien finally opened his eyes and saw a creatureing out.

    A ck furry creature with ruby-ck eyes, furry ears, and perfect whiskers.

    ''A cat?''

    Zevien was not feeling any pressure like Vernisia and others since the cat didn''t direct it at him.

    ''Not even a humanoid spirit like Yowen? Damn, did my intent not even attract that level of a spirit?'' Zevien was speechless.

    However, when he heard muffled groans, he looked at Vernisia and the other two before he was startled to see them sweating like pigs and having a fearful expression, "what''s wrong with you?"

    "Meow~ I have restricted them."

    The magic portal that appeared in the magic circle disappeared as the cat fully came out and sat down in the air as if there was a floor of air below its feet.

    The cat stared at Zevien while sitting elegantly, "do you want to form a contract with me, human?"

    Zevien wasn''t feeling anything from the cat but seeing how it restricted those three and the mysteriousness he felt, he agreed, "yes, I want to."

    "Meow~ good," the cat nodded with a satisfied expression, "Before going into the details of the contract, I will introduce myself. I am not a regr spirit but a Shaman Fairy Spirit. I have many names like Styxian, Hell Crian, Erebuxin, Umbra Shaman, Tartagust, but most fairies call me Lord ck. You can call me Styx or Tarto for short."

    "Tarto," Zevien smiled.

    "Meow~" the cat nodded as its ruby eyes gleamed, "this contract will be slightly different. It willst for five years only. In the next five years, I will let you borrow my power ording to your limits but will not help you directly. If I deem you not worthy in the next five years, I will leave you. Simple as that."

 Chapter 39 Contract, Limit

    "I''m fine with that," Zevien nodded and finished forming a contract with Tarto by dropping his blood on the scroll that Tarto materialized in front of him.

    "Hehe, now let''s see how much of my power you can endure for now," Tarto turned into a dark cloud and dashed towards Zevien, after which he disappeared inside him.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan could also talk now as the restriction on them were removed.

    "Holy smokes! Don''t tell me that you had an unawakened link with the fairy spiritbyrinth?" Dan asked while wiping the sweat from his face.

    "That was a scary experience," Erica muttered, "I felt utterly helpless when bound by that power."

    "Yeah," Vernisia agreed as she sighed a relief.

    On the other hand, Zevien started feeling something strange.

    "I am feeling a bit strange, t-this¡­.," Zevien was startled as he felt new organs.

    Vernisia and the others also noticed Zevien slowly changing as his hair became a bit longer, and a pair of furry ears appeared on his head with a tail protruding from the lower end of his back.

    His eyes also turned ruby with ck patterns.

    ''Zevien, as a shamanic fairy spirit, I can directly channel my power in you by forming a connection with your magic eidos body. Now I will slowly infuse my powers in you and stop when you can''t bear it anymore.'' Zevien heard Tarto''s voice in his head.

    ''So you can also hear my thoughts directly?''

    ''Yeah,'' Tarto replied, ''I have basically possessed you but didn''t take control of your body. Anyway, channeling my power into you will increase your magic power and mana pool. You will also be able to use some more advanced magic spells rtive to the increase of your magic power.''

    ''Ok, I am ready,'' Zevien replied with his thoughts.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan saw Zevien''s aura slowly increasing.

    "He summoned a fairy spirit and even made a contract with it¡­wow," Vernisia was amazed.

    "Well, there were many incidents of other people summoning fairy spirits, but due to the half-assed connection, those fairies wouldn''t appear physically but just in a spiritual form. Hence, returning quickly without forming a contract," Erica said as she adjusted her sses after wiping the sweat with her handkerchief.

    Yowen was pretty lucky because, unlike Zevien, he summoned a different type of fairy known as Arc Spiritual Fairy. That type of fairy doesn''t have a physical body in the first ce and is purely a spiritual energy being. That''s why Electra could enter into hisputers and the inte.

    Even though Yowen identally summoned her, since coincidently he was in his basement where all his electronics were located, and Electra was a spiritual energy being, she stayed longer and decided to form a contract with Yowen.

    ¡­

    ''Keep on going,'' Zevien spoke through his thoughts to Tarto while checking his Digi-band.

    -Magic power: 189

    "How much is it now?" Dan asked curiously.

    "191...193¡­," Zevien grinned, "it''s increasing every second."

    ''Alright, this is going too slow. I am increasing the output,'' Tarto stated as he suddenly increased his output.

    In the next second, a burst of powerful aura got released inside Zevien, changing his face before he fell onto the ground, twitching.

    "What happened?" Vernisia and the other two hurriedly approached Zevien and checked him.

    Zevien grit his teeth and endured while hissing, "t-that cat¡­.sudden burst¡­.p-power."

    "Arghhh..."

    Zevien suddenly screamed painfully as his whole body was on the verge of breaking down with his magic eidos body.

    ''Stop, stop!''

    ''This is it, huh?'' Tarto spoke, ''well, not as bad as I assumed, so good for now. 624 magic power is your current limit, and to increase this, you will have to hone your will and strengthen your body and magic core as well.''

    Zevien''s body was constantly trembling as he tried to stand up.

    ''Should I remove some of the power?''

    ''No!'' Zevien replied stubbornly, ''I''ll adjust to this state of power.''

    "What are you doing, man? Quickly tell that fairy to remove some power," Dan said with a frown, "your body is straining too much, and I don''t even want to know the state of your magic eidos body."

    "Zevien, stop this now," Vernisia creased her brows.

    "Tsk, stop telling him that and have some faith in him," Tarto appeared in front of the trio and spoke while licking its cat paws.

    The three of them were startled to see Tarto and backed away.

    "Don''t be scared, idiots. I am not going to eat you," Tarto rolled his eyes.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan looked at each other and gulped before asking some questions to Tarto, while Zevien had barely sat down and had closed his eyes in meditation to adjust to this temporary power-up.

    "Can we call you Tarto as well?" Vernisia asked as some hesitation appeared on her face, but she still continued anyway, "a-and¡­can I p¡­pat you?"

    ''The cat is so cute! I really want to pat that smooth fur,'' Vernisia thought internally.

    "Are you a male cat or a female cat?" Erica asked.

    "How powerful are you?" Dan also asked curiously.

    Tarto flew towards Zevien and sat down on his shoulder, which caused Zevien''s body to shudder, and a frown appeared on his face.

    ''Damn¡­it hurts. You could sit down anywhere in this room.''

    ''Humph, I will sit wherever I feel like. You can order me when you be more powerful than me. For now, shut up and focus,'' Tarto snorted and replied to Zevien before looking at Vernisia.

    "You can call me Tarto, but you can''t pat me," Tarto puffed, "not worthy enough."

    "Also, I am not a female nor a male cat because I am a unique being. I don''t reproduce. All fairies are like that; we are born in a different way than animals and humans. But if I have to say what gender I am inclined to, it would be male."

    After that, Tarto looked at Dan and grinned, "you want to know how powerful I am?"

    Dan repeatedly nodded.

    Vernisia and Erica also nodded as they wanted to know.

    "I am more powerful than Derhon the Devourer since I recently beat that bastard," Tarto spoke proudly.

    "Eh¡­. don''t you have any ranks or something so we can know how strong you are?" Dan asked with a wry smile.

    "Ranks? I am a Lord rank fairy," Tarto said before shaking his head, "however, it''s very vague, I guess. Derhon is also a Lord-rank fairy, but I beat him. I know a Supreme rank fairy that I can''t defeat, so¡­. that''s how it rolls."

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan could only wryly smile since it seemed that they wouldn''t be able to know the exact strength of Tarto for now.

    "Anyway, you don''t need to know my strength because I will not be using it here," Tarto said while yawning, "I will be mostly staying in my fairy realm. But Zevien will be able to borrow my power from now on, so that''s that. Goodbye."

    After saying that, Tarto disappeared.

    On the other hand, Zevien opened his eyes and tried to stand up.

    "How much is your magic power now?" Erica asked.

    "624.7," Zevien replied while frowning, "this is very hard."

    ''I have put a seed of my power in you, and you can use it anytime to borrow my power ording to your limit. That seed is directly connected to me, and I will be observing you all the time.''

    Zevien heard Tarto''s voice and indeed saw a seed inside his magic eidos body. It was hovering around his magic core.

    He thought of deactivating this power-up, and suddenly, the seed absorbed the additional power as he returned to his normal form. His cat ears and tail disappeared while his hair also returned to normal.

    "So the surprise was that magic spell and¡­since you created it, I guess we can also use it, hehehe," Dan said with an excitedugh.

    "You can," Zevien grinned, "but this will be our secret, and only use your fairy as your trump card. Alright, now give me your foreheads so I can channel you the spell formation. You can use it after learning it and summon a fairy."

    Zevien arrived in front of Vernisia first and put his finger on her forehead, "close your eyes."

    Vernisia''s heartbeat slightly increased, but sheposed herself and nodded before closing her eyes.

    After a minute, it was done.

    Zevien proceeded to do the same to Erica and Dan while Vernisia checked out the spell formation.

    After three minutes, she opened her eyes with a frown.

    "Hmmm, this is a bitplex but no problem. However, this magic intent is vague," Vernisia spoke with doubt, "I can''t sense it properly in that spell formation."

    Erica and Dan also opened their eyes after a while and nodded.

    "Well, that''s the catch," Zevien said with a wry smile, "for now, just focus on re-creating the spell formation, and it will summon a random fairy corrting to your strength. But to do a summoning like me with intent, it will be almost impossible if you haven''t understood the summoning intent."

    "But how can you understand it?"

    "Because I also have an unawakened connection with fairy spiritbyrinth. On top of that, Vernisia and I had worked on this for a whole three years, and every time I summoned a fairy, we recorded that, and I also focused hard at that time to sense the intent," Zevien said with a smile.

    "But isn''t that time rewind thing bull shit?" Erica raised her eyebrows.

    "Of course not," Zevienughed, "it''s true."

 Chapter 40 Second Time I

    After Zevien gave everyone the spell formation, they went to train at the dojo of Dan''s master.

    Once the training was over, Zevien visited Skelly and then signed the contract that Raven prepared about the Bonecretto potion at the Umbra Alchemy House.

    The next day, the academy started, and for the first time, Zevien went to the sses regrly since he wanted to spend more time with Vernisia. He acted normally despite saying those words the day before.

    He stayed just like in his previous life, where both he and Vernisia were attracted to each other. Though in this case, Zevien was already clear about his feelings.

    Vernisia was a bit reserved, but she wouldn''t hesitate on certain things and would speak clearly. Zevien had a lively personality; he would make everyoneugh and create a good mood.

    After the academy, their schedule was fixed; academy time was from 6:30 to 11:30. After the sses, the four of them would go to the orphanage and eat with the kids.

    After eating, they would take a short nap for an hour before going to training at either the Water Stream Taijutsu dojo or the me Dance dojo of Erica''s master.

    Zevien would usually train with the seniors at Water Stream Taijutsu dojo because he had already learned many things before the time-rewind for six years.

    They would train until seven in the noon. This training session included physical training and magic spells training to increase control and efficiency of their magic spells to master them. Especially their newly acquired awakening magic spells.

    After 7, it was their free time.

    In their free time, the four of them would go out to enjoy in the city, just doing random things for the sake of doing it since they have been either studying or training in the morning.

    There were many enjoyable games to y of every type in the city, and they can be pretty helpful as well. For instance, Magic Dungeon VR game where they would fight in a dungeon with a set of spells they can choose before starting.

    There were many types of magic-rted games, but there were also normal games; bowling, which is always fun, racing games, and other fun sports activities. There are also some magic upations programs if someone is interested in participating and many other ces to enjoy in the city.

    Zevien would go with them every evening, but he didn''t attend the academy daily. He would only attend the academy every two days.

    Naturally, there was a reason for this, and it was about building his ownpany. He approached some excellent individuals, offered them deals, and negotiated about some products that are notunched yet.

    He knew what they werecking, and with his knowledge of the future, he was securing products and tying them to hispany.

    Zevien needed a source of money because having a steady source of funds would make a lot of things easier in the future.

    ¡­

    In the meantime, at Vernisia''s house,<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It seems that Vernisia is getting too close to a boy at the academy. Yesterday, he even came here to drop her on his bike," Susan said with a slight frown, "let''s tell her about the arrangements before it''s toote." Susan was Vernisia''s mother.

    Amos, Vernisia''s father, creased his brows and spoke, "the final decision will be up to her, got it? We are not going to force her."

    "Fine, but that Zevien boy is not suitable for her. He got no background and power, which is a must. He might be able to rise high in the future, but that is uncertain, so I am not going to give Vernisia to him," Susan said with a stubborn face before she sighed, "Galen''s family is one of the most prominent in the country, and Galen himself is very talented. Vernisia''s future is set if she marries into that family."

    Amos put the newspaper down and spoke inly, "whatever. You and Hry are friends, so you had decided this, but if Vernisia disagrees, then it''s a no."

    Hry was an academy buddy of Susan, and she had married into the prominent Gio family. Her son was Galen and since both Hry and Susan were friends and their kids were also the same age, they had decided on this arranged marriage.

    "Anyway, it''s been thirty days since she awakened her magicbyrinth," Amos spoke with a smile, "her fruit of training in meditation in the past thirty days will be shown today when she enters her magicbyrinth. Haha, I am sure she will stay way longer than her first-time entry. Ten minutes improvement would be best."

    "Hope so," Susan nodded, "Galen had stayed for one hour and thirty-four minutes in his first attempt. That''s more than Vernisia."

    Amos nced at Susan and spoke, "then do you know how long Zevien stayed for? You only searched about his background but not his academic performance?"

    "Humph, all I know is that he has been skipping academy way too often. He''s been absent more than he has attended."

    "But his record of entering was one hour and forty-four minutes or so as far as I know," Amos said with a faint smile, "that''s like one of the best if not the best."

    ¡­

    It was 6:30 in the morning, and all the students had arrived at the ss, including Zevien.

    "It''s been thirty days since you allst entered your magicbyrinth," Touma said with a smile, "and today, you will enter once again. Unlike the first time, you will likely encounter some magic beasts but remember not to falter against them. I also hope that you have practiced your awakening spell every day and mastered it already."

    The students were excited and eager.

    Touma and the students left the ss and went to the ground except for Zevien. Touma told Zevien to wait in his office, but it was just an excuse because Zevien couldn''t enter his magicbyrinth with the others.

    After all, unlike the others, he enters inside with his physical body.

    Vernisia and the others also didn''t know about this because he was not allowed to tell anyone about the experiment he went through.

 Chapter 41 Second Time II

    [A/N: A quick info dump since I made a bit of a mistake regarding grades.

    From Weak to Strong, it goes like this:

    -ssless Magician= Normal magic beast (Weakest)

    -5th ss Magician= Grade-5 magic beast (approx. 500 magic power)

    -4th ss Magician= Grade-4 magic beast (approx. 1500 magic power)

    -3rd ss Magician= Grade-3 magic beast (approx. 5000 magic power)

    -2nd ss Magician= Grade-2 magic beast (approx. 10,000 magic power)

    -1st ss Magician= Grade-1 magic beast (approx. 20,000 magic power)]

    ]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After the students entered their respectivebyrinths, Touma waved his hand and used a tier-3 defensive barrier-type spell, Spectral Aegis, that covered all students in a green-blue half-transparent barrier.

    After doing this, he returned to his office, where Zevien was sitting on a chair, looking through his Digi-watch.

    Seeing Touma-sir arrive, Zevien nodded and said, "I''ll be entering now."

    "Go ahead," Touma said as he sat down on his chair.

    Zevien closed his eyes and entered meditation.

    After ten seconds, his body disappeared from the office as he appeared inside his Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth.

    This time, he started moving and crossed the purple river, but after that, he didn''t move and just went near a glowing purple tree with dark-purple branches and light-purple leaves.

    There, he started training by using his spells while waiting for a normal magic beast to appear.

    After thirty minutes, a magic beast finally appeared from the bush. It was a meter-long scorpion, not ounting for the length of its curved tail. It had dark-gold skin with purple patterns, and right after seeing Zevien, it pointed its tail towards him and released an attack from its stinger.

    Zevien saw the venom stinger shooting at him, but he was ready and calmly erected a barrier around him using Somatic Sadness.

    After blocking that attack, Zevien dashed towards the scorpion while releasing a purple orb attack using Somatic Anger.

    The scorpion dodged the attack; however, Zevien had already arrived near it and dodged another attack and kicked it right below its head like kicking a football.

    The scorpion was sent flying in the sky as Zevien quickly followed up with another purple orb while it was in the air and hit it.

    The scorpion couldn''t dodge the attack in the air and was hit in the belly.

    *st¡­*

    Zevien moved towards its sted body, but the scorpion didn''t decay and turn into motes since Zevien had reached the limit of strengthening his body. To make it more powerful, he has to increase his magic power.

    ''Let''s see if it works here,'' Zevien thought as he pointed his hand towards the scorpion and used another awakening spell, Blood Morphing Art.

    After absorbing the scorpion''s blood, he did partial morphing as his hands turned into giant pincers, and a scorpion tail was produced from his back.

    He consumed some mana and released a venom stinger from the tail towards a tree.

    *crack¡­siiiiii¡­*

    A hole appeared in the tree while the acidic properties of the venom stinger spread outwards before eventually melting the whole tree.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He then returned back to his human form as he just wanted to test something.

    Also, he did not want to roam and kill magic beasts, so he stayed in the magicbyrinth as long as possible.

    He stayed for two hours and five minutes beforeing out.

    Opening his eyes, he saw that Touma-sir was not here anymore.

    "Must have returned to the ground," Zevien muttered before he saw a sticky note on the table that was not there before.

    He picked it and read it.

    [Come to the ss after you are done.]

    Zevien left the office and returned to the ss, feeling the surge of magic power in him, "I guess it increased about 23 points this time."

    [Zevien]

    -Magic Power: 102.3

    -Mana: 1023/1023

    "So the increment was 24, nice," Zevien muttered, and while walking on the way, he coincidently encountered those four seniors that he and Dan beat up in the cafeteria.

    Seeing Zevien, their faces turned foul.

    "Bastard, don''t think that we have forgotten about you," Jacky coldly said.

    Zevien spoke with a bored look on his face, "whatever. But it''s in your best interest that you forget about it. What if I said to your sister to sit on myp? Or Mother? Or your wife when you get one?"

    Hearing that, Jacky and the others'' faces turned dark.

    "Eh, getting angry?" Zevien scowled before he went near them and arrived face to face with Jacky, "the anger you are feeling¡­.multiply it by a thousand times, and that was what I was feeling. So, a beating was obviously necessary."

    "We were just joking at that time! Dumbass."

    Zevien raised his eyebrows and smiled, "then I was also joking just now. But¡­, you still got angry, right? Come on, man. Why couldn''t you take a joke that you yourself considered just a second ago? If you say it, it''s a joke, and if I say it, it''s not a joke?"

    Jacky and the others became speechless, but Zevien leaned towards Jacky''s side and whispered into his ears, "you cane at me whenever you want, but if you think of doing something to the people around me, then¡­ I''ll make it such that you''ll wish for death."

    The cold whisper of Zevien didn''t make him look like he was joking at all.

    Zevien left while those four were stoned for a few seconds after hearing Zevien''s words.

    "Forget about him," Jacky sighed, "It was our fault in the first ce."

    "But that bastard really pped me hard," Junshil spoke as he pulled a long face.

    Kaleil nodded as he was also against Zevien at that time and received many ps.

    Yemith wryly smiled, "I was pretty lucky in that case since his friend beat me, and it was not as hard as you two."

    "Let''s go and forget about him," Jacky said as his eyes turned determined, "there will be an exchange program of national academies and two seats to go into Skyward Union Academy. I want to try at least getting into the exchange program, even if I don''t get one of the seats. Those freshmen beat us easily, and it shows their hard work. Even in a real magic duel, they have a chance to beat us because of their physical skills."

    "Jacky, are you serious? Is that why you''ve been cutting the hangout time after the academy?"

    "Where are you training?"

    "I''ve joined Mist Meadow dojo," Jacky said with a nod, "you three should alsoe with me there."

 Chapter 42 Spots, Nasty Exchange, And Call

    Zevien returned to the ss, and everyone had already reported their magic powers.

    Vernisia: 42.4

    Tigger: 41.7

    Dan: 40.9

    Erica: 40.9

    Aside from those four who reached the 40 mark and up, all the others were below 40.

    "What about you, Zevien? You must have a much higher magic power than us," Sophia asked curiously.

    Zevien nced at Touma, who shook his head lightly.

    "My magic power is close to fifty-one," Zevien said with a smile.

    The students all wryly smiled.

    "Alright, now I have to announce something today," Touma said as he lightly tapped on the table.

    The students look at the front, ready to listen.

    ''Is it about the exchange program and seats? I''m sure Touma-sir announced this exactly today before the time rewind,'' Zevien thought.

    "As you know, there are ten major countries in our Gaia continent, and we have an additional union body known as the Magic Guild that handles magic eruption spots and areas of our continent."

    The students nodded excitedly after hearing that.

    "The special academy where only top-notch talents from all countries study, Skyward Union Academy, is at the headquarters of the Magic Guild in the Lankrena region. After eleven months, there will be apetition among all first-year students of this academy and the magic dojos of this city. We have gotten two spots, so among eighty first-year students, only two of them will go to the Skyward Union Academy. The other two spots belong to magic dojos."

    "Only two spots? Damn, it will be a hardpetition."

    "Nah, only one spot because I can already see Zevien snatching one for him."

    "True. Geez, we''ll have to work harder. I wonder if I will be able to master my trump card magic spell by that time. I am working on a tier-1 fusion spell, Candle Gust st. I already learned its basic A-rank spell and now learning the required tier-1 spell, so I canbine them."

    "Increase your physical skills as well."

    The students entered a heated discussion for a minute before Touma snapped his finger as the sound reverberated.

    "Thepetition is indeed tough," Touma smiled, "that''s why you all will have to work harder for this opportunity. Once you go to the Magic Guild, you will see new horizons opening up to you that 90% of the people in this Gaia continent are unaware of."

    ''Previously, Tigger managed to get one spot, and this time, I already have a n to get a spot for myself via another method,'' Zevien thought, ''I''ll try to get a spot for Vernisia, but if I can''t then she can always get one from the academy with how hard she is working on getting strong.''

    However, Zevien didn''t know that something was being arranged for Vernisia regarding the entry into Skyward Union Academy.

    "Another thing is the exchange program among the four national academies of our country," Touma said as his face turned somber, "this thing is a bit nasty, but that''s how it rolls. There will be an exchange of two students after six months from each academy, and the chosen students are either the most talented or slightly below the most talented of their academies. Do note that they can also participate in thepetition for seats."

    Hearing that, all students gasped as they realized the matter.

    Touma nodded, "so, two very talented students will be arriving here to contend for the spots of Skyward Union Academy. Naturally, we can also send two students from here so they can also get a chance to get a spot in another academy."

    "Fuck!" Warmos clenched his fist and said with a grin, "sir, let''s send Zevien into this program, hehe. He is sure to snatch a spot of another academy."

    "Yeah, sir! Please do that." All the students mored about it.

    Zevien wryly smiled seeing this.

    Vernisia turned to him and slightly stuck out the tip of her tongue smilingly before saying, "they are not wrong, heh. You should take part in this exchange program."

    "Stop, stop," Touma said, shaking his head, "this will be decided after your first six months of term-end exam."

    "Okay, but we still believe that Zevien should be chosen for this program," Erica said before snickering, "this will also save one spot for us."

    "Ahem, we will likely do that but let''s not discuss it now. It''s time for your second ss, so be on your way," Touma said with a smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah! Let''s go!"

    "You are awesome, Touma-sir."

    After hearing that Zevien would likely get chosen, the students cheered.

    "You are noting?" Vernisia asked Zevien as she saw him not standing up.

    "Nope. I am not attending the academy today after this," Zevien grinned, "don''t miss me too much; we''ll be meeting in the afternoon anyway."

    Vernisia blushed slightly before turning her head away with a snort and left.

    "What''s the n? Am I really going to the exchange program?" Zevien asked.

    "Most likely," Touma smiled and nodded, "anyway, what''s your real magic power now?"

    Zevien activated his Digi-watch and showed him.

    Seeing the number, Touma sighed, "you are definitely going into the exchange program. Get a spot from another academy so we can save two spots for our students."

    "How many spots did the 2nd-year and 3rd-year students get?" Zevien asked.

    "The 2nd-year students got two spots while the 3rd-year students got three," Touma said as he rubbed his chin and looked at Zevien, "are you dabbling in some business recently?"

    "You investigated me?" Zevien asked wryly.

    "Well, since you participated in the experiment and seeded, we gotta check your status. You spent 1,250,000 Lopax Credits just yesterday after getting your cut from Raven."

    "I am not privy of how much you received from Raven, but that Bonecretto potion is selling like hotcakes. The government has asked for arge batch of 100,000 potions," Touma wryly smiled.

    "Cough¡­the total I got was 5,000,000 Lopax CreditS," Zevien smiled.

    "Raven paid you from the advance she got, huh," Touma muttered, "well, that''s generous of her. But it should be because she also knows that you are building yourpany."

    "How much advance did she get?" Zevien asked as his throat dried a bit after doing some calctions.

    100,000 Bonecretto potions means Raven will receive 2,500,000,000 Lopax Credits in total.

    "She got one billion Lopax credits in advance. The rest of the 2.5 billion will be given to her in a period of one year."

    "That''s nice," Zevien grinned, "Guess I will be receiving money periodically as well."

    "Now, I''ll be going because I need to build apany andunch the products before this year ends," Zevien said as he stood up, "I want to create our own n after going to Lankrena, and I will need a lot of money for that so thispany will be my backing at that time."

    "You''ve really thought things thoroughly and ahead, huh," Touma wryly smiled and nodded, "well, good luck building your business."

    ...

    After Zevien finished visiting his workce that he had just bought yesterday and ordering the workers he hired to set up all the necessary things like the office and furniture, he visited some people he recruited to aid them.

    At one in the afternoon, he was finished with this and met up with Vernisia and the others at Dan''s dojo to train.

    After some physical training, all of them practiced new tier-1 magic spells that they chose so they could fuse them with a base A-rank spell to create a fusion tier-1 magic spell. Dan was closest to doing this as he wanted tobine his Piercing Palm A-rank spell with a tier-1 magic spell, Scyth Wave.

    After finishing their physical and magic spells training at seven in the noon, Vernisia received a call from her mother.

    After talking to her for a minute, her face became confused.

    "Mom told me to bring you all to my house."

    "Why?" Erica was confused.

    "She said I should invite my friends to the house once. She is already preparing dinner for us."

    "Well, then let''s go after freshening up," Zevien smiled.

 Chapter 43 Dinner? Pfft

    Zevien, Erica, Dan, and Vernisia arrived at Vernisia''s house.

    Vernisia rang the doorbell, and her mother opened the door shortly after with a smile, "you have finally arrived. Come inside."

    "Hello, auntie," Zevien smiled and greeted her, "thank you for having us."

    Dan and Erica also greeted her as all of them entered.

    Susan lightly chuckled, "the dinner is almost ready. But before that, we also have another guest here, so let''s meet them."

    "Guest? Who?" Vernisia asked as they walked into the living room.

    "Here they are," Susan said with a smile, "my friend''s kids."

    Two people were sitting on a couch inside the living room¡ªa boy and a girl, both seventeen years old.

    The boy had short, dark orange hair and orange eyes. His body was fit like Dan and Zevien.

    The girl had long wavy orange hair and brown eyes. She was also fit and had a well-developed figure.

    Erica''s eyes flinched when she saw them because she recognized them.

    Erica and Vernisia sat down on a couch, while Dan and Zevien sat down on a different couch.

    Susan sat down on a single-seat couch as she smiled and spoke, "the dinner will be ready in thirty minutes, so before that, we can talk about some things."

    "Hello, my name is Galen," Galen said with a smile as he looked at Vernisia, "I heard many things about you from auntie and my mother. It''s so nice to finally meet you."

    Vernisia inly smiled and nodded, "hello."

    "Nice to meet you, Vernisia. You can call me Sia," Sia said with a smile, showing her dimples.

    "Hi," Vernisia nodded with a smile.

    "These are Vernisia''s friends at the academy," Susan said as he pointed her hand at Zevien and others.

    Galen and Sia nodded at them with polite smiles.

    Zevien, Erica, and Dan also introduced themselves before Susan stood up and went back to the kitchen.

    "Galen Gio and Sia Gio," Erica said with narrowed eyes, "it''s surprising to see you two here."

    "Oh? You know about us?" Galen was surprised before he smiled, "well, my mother and Vernisia''s mother have been school buddies, so that''s how we got this connection. Also, we will be arriving at your academy after six months."

    "Exchange students?" Zevien raised his eyebrows, "which academy are you from?"

    "The second national magic academy," Sia answered.

    "I don''t mean to be rude, but why are you two here?" Vernisia asked, "mother didn''t even say anything about this and just told me to invite my friends here."

    "Of course, it''s because of your engagement with my brother," Sia spoke with a smile, seemingly unaware of the magnitude of the bomb she had just dropped.

    Zevien''s smile froze, but heposed himself while Dan stood up with a wide mouth, "what?!"

    "Sit down," Zevien said as he pulled down Dan''s hand.

    "What engagement? I don''t know anything about that, "Vernisia was stunned and said before ncing at Zevien involuntarily.

    "Ahh, haha," Galen chuckled awkwardly, "I also found out about this just a month ago when you finally entered the academy. It seems that our parents had decided this. After hearing about you and seeing how beautiful you are, I also agreed."

    "But I disagree," Vernisia frowned, "I have no intentions of participating in this."

    "I knew you would say that," Galen smiled, "but it''s fine. We will be going to the Skyward academy together because I am sure you and I can get a spot. You know it''s a verymon and good thing to get a partner early. It makes many things easier. Especially in the ce where we will be going, the Skyward academy. All the students who get a spot in the Skyward academy will-"

    "Cough¡­," Sia coughed before her brother would speak more, "anyway, I am sure you wille to like my brother sooner orter. I can assure you that."

    Zevien was just silent with a deadpan expression.

    "It seems that you know many things about Skyward Academy," Erica spoke with narrowed eyes.

    Vernisia stood up and went to the kitchen. Galen and Sia saw that as a glint passed through their eyes.

    "Indeed, we know many more things than other people," Sia said with a in smile, "the Magic Guild holds more mystery, and the Skyward Academy is where the elites among elite magicians are born. If you can''t keep up there regrly, you will be sent back."

    "Ahem, so, Zevien, right?" Galen said as he smiled at Zevien, "I hope you throw away whatever thoughts or ns you had for Vernisia. She will be a part of the Gio family in the future."

    Dan fumed and snorted, "humph, that''s not for you to decide."

    "Come out for a bit; I want to talk to you," Zevien smiled at Galen and stood up as he walked towards the balcony.

    Galen raised his eyebrows, ''well, since he wants to talk alone, then I''ll show him his ce so that he can stop interacting with Vernisia.''

    He then followed Zevien as both of them entered the balcony.

    Dan, Erica, and Sia just stayed there and watched them leave.

    "Well, it''s better that your friend stop being a toad lusting after a swan," Sia said with a fake smile.

    "Shut up, bitch," Dan sneered, causing Sia''s face to turn red. Erica nced at Dan with a surprise, ''lol.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Low-ss vulgar plebian," Sia calmed herself before scoffing.

    ¡­

    "Zevien, you better not have any thoughts about Vernisia because this has been decided. Once you go away, I can surely-"

    "Zip it," Zevien nced at Galen, "you are here to listen to what I say."

    Galen frowned, but then he rxed his eyebrows and scoffed, "alright, speak."

    "You have never met Vernisia before, and I am sure you must have had previous rtionships with some girls, so why did you agree to this?" Zevien asked inly, "I can already guess that Vernisia''s mother doesn''t like me. She must have invited you here to show me my ce."

    "Heh, so what?" Galen grinned, "I have seen her photos, and she looks even more beautiful in the flesh. She is the most suitable to be my partner and a part of my family."

    "But you won''t have a family if you do that!" Zevien walked to and fro on the balcony while staring at Galen, "you won''t be fucking alive!"

    Galen was startled at the sudden outburst.

    Shaking his head, Zevien took deep breaths and calmed himself before looking at Galen with heated eyes, "leave her alone, and I will leave you alone. I can give up everything for her and can take everything for her. You are simply attracted by her beauty, but I... My whole fucking life is meaningless without her, do you get it?!"

    Putting his head down, Zevien muttered something inaudible and shook his head, ''idiots can''t even begin toprehend how much I love her, and here they are, being blocks in my path.''

    Galen burst outughing and shook his head while clutching his stomach, "you can''t be real! Are you serious? Why the hell would I care about your feelings? I don''t even know you, man. Who are you?"

    After a fit ofughter, Galen adopted a cold expression, "as for threatening me. Do you even know who you are threatening?"

    Zevien icily uttered, "it seems that you can''t understand it. Well, if you want the hard way, then the hard way it is. As for your identity, I don''t give a fuck about that, but you wille to know about me very soon."

    After saying that, Zevien''s expression did a 180-degree turn as he smiled, "now let''s return and eat the dinner."

    He left the balcony without waiting for Galen''s response.

    "Humph, bugger. Your threats ring hollow in my ear," Galen snorted before a cold glint passed through his eyes, and he activated his Digi-watch and called someone.

    "Sunderer, I want you to keep an eye on a person. I will send you his photo and other details tonight so before that,e to Starling City with your squad."

    ¡­

    "Mom, what is this crap engagement or whatever? Why did you decide that?" Vernisia uttered with a frown.

    "Mind yournguage, brat," Susan red.

    "Whatever, but I am not going along with this, get it?" Vernisia red back before asking, "where''s dad?"

    "He had to go for a two-day trip on a government project this noon," Susan answered before she focused on the kitchen while saying, "anyway, you will stop hanging out with that Zevien, that''s decided. Also, Galen is a good kid. He is also very talented, and his family is very prominent. You will definitely live a happy life there with nothingcking."

    Vernisia got angry, "No! I will not stop hanging out with my friends, including Zevien. I am also against this engagement thing!"

    Susan sighed as she looked at Vernisia and said, "honey, I think for you. I don''t want you to have a hard life as I had. Anyway, what do you even see in Zevien? He may be a bit talented, but that''s it. The future is long, and we don''t even know what will happen. He doesn''t have parents, no proper home, no backing.

    "He is not even focusing on studies. I checked in the academy, and he has been absent more than he attended. He will likely fail the first test after five months and won''t even be eligible to study further at the academy, let alone get a spot to enter the Skyward academy," Susan shook her head, "how can I be relieved when you are with such person."

    Vernisia scoffed, "you don''t know anything about him, mom."

    "He is very, very, very impressive," Vernisia said strongly, "I can''t even say certain things because I am not allowed, but he is different, and I...I am special to him! There''s something mysterious about him that I can feel, and it also feels like he had known me for ages.

    "I can feel his love for me from miles away! Every time he looks at me, I feel like he is looking at someone he holds most dear! That look, It''s so simr. I remember you and dad looking at me like that!" Vernisia let out her feelings as her eyes welled up a bit.

    "What?!" Susan was shocked, "don''t tell me you already got together with him?"

    "No," Vernisia shook her head, "I didn''t tell him what I feel, but¡­.I am hopelessly attracted to him. I look forward to meeting him every day and spending time with him. Please, I want you and dad to support me on this. So, don''t force me on this engagement bullshit."

    Susan looked at her daughter''s eyes and sighed, ''she has fallen for Zevien.''

    "You hung out with Zevien every day this past month, so, naturally, you feel attracted to him, but that''s not love. I want you to keep a basic distance from Zevien or anyone, including Galen until you finish your studies. I invited Galen today to introduce him to you, and he will soon be attending the same academy. You two will also likely go to the Skyward academy, so you will naturally forget about Zevien."

    "You think Zevien won''t get a spot?" Vernisia raised her eyebrows, "anyway, I will do as you say and won''t make a decision. But if I still don''t change my mind after a year, then you won''t force me into this arranged marriage."

    "Fine," Susan nodded.

    s, things are going to get nasty soon¡­..but for the better.

    ¡­

    After the dinner was ready, everyone ate it with pretense smiles on their faces and hollow talks.

    Susan didn''t know Galen had put his people to keep an eye on Zevien, and naturally, how would she know about Galen? All she had heard were shallow words that Galen''s own mother said, and she took it at that.

    After eating, Vernisia also left with Zevien, Erica, and Dan, while Susan sat down in the living room with Galen and Sia.

    "What happened? Did he back off?" Susan asked.

    Galen wryly smiled and shook his head, "he was very rude and full of himself. I hope Vernisia can see the true face of Zevien and that he is only with her for your wealth and her beauty."

    "Indeed, having inws like you two who are in government will also make things easier for him," Sia sighed.

 Chapter 44 Realm Of Spirits

    [Join Discord for exciting event games with rewards! There will be an event game today, after approx three hours, and the winner will get a nitro sub. Link of discord in the synopsis and in my profile.]

    ------

    "One more!" Vernisia mmed the ss on the table with a drunken face.

    "Take it easy, girl," Zevien wryly smiled as he rubbed her back while shey on the table.

    "Those siblings are from the powerful Gio family that lives in Restenlub city, where the second national magic academy is located," Erica said with narrowed eyes, "They have one first-ss magician and two second-ss magicians in their family.

    "Galen''s father is a second-ss magician, while his grandmother is a first-ss magician. His grandfather is no more, so the family head is the grandmother, Mephia Gio."

    "Who is the other second-ss magician?" Dan asked.

    "Galen''s uncle, his father''s blood brother," Erica replied.

    "It looks like she fell asleep," Zevien said as he saw Vernisia''s headid on the table with her eyes closed.

    "What are you gonna do, bro?" Dan scratched his head, "even a blind person can see that you love Vernisia. Even she knows that."

    "It looked forced by you initially, but I can see that you two are made for each other by now," Erica sighed while smiling.

    "Vernisia said that her mother gave her one year time, and if she still doesn''t want this arrangement, she will not force her," Dan said.

    "I think auntie Susan doesn''t know what she brought," Erica shook her head, "that Galen already thinks that Vernisia is his. Even if auntie Susan rejected thister, he wouldn''t give up easily."

    "Zev¡­ beat that... bastard... chase.... him....," Vernisia muttered in her sleep.

    Zevien looked at Vernisia and smiled as he rubbed her head, "I will."

    "What will you do?" Dan asked with a frown, "I would very much like to beat him, but his background seems terrifying. You will have to be careful."

    "No worries," Zevien grinned, "he can''t touch me. But it seems that I will have to hurry up with thepany."

    "What can we help with?" Erica asked straightforwardly.

    "I was about to ask for your help," Zevien nodded, "tomorrow, we will go to the site I bought. It will be the main site where executives will handle all products."

    "What products? Did you create them already?" Dan was startled.

    "Not yet, but they are in the middle of being researched," Zevien grinned, "I''ve already funded money for those researches, and I will be the main owner of those products, and they will beunched through mypany."

    "It seems that you haveid the groundwork already," Erica nodded, "what''s thepany''s name?"

    "Zenith Corp."

    "So what are the products beings researched?" Dan asked curiously.

    "The first one to beunched is Realm of Spirits; it''s a game," Zevien said with a grin, "I didn''t decide on this at first, but after summoning Tarto, I got an idea and started working on it. When I am not in the academy, I spend my time on this with Yowen because only we can do this."

    ? "Game? What type of game? Sounds interesting," Erica and Dan were curious.

    "It''s a card-based game where people have to create a deck of fairy spirits and fight against each other. With the help of Tarto, we have already created seven hundred and sixteen different cards. There are two main types of cards: Fairy-type cards and Spell-type cards."

    "Eh, but isn''t it like some other cards game already on the market? Although they have monsters and magic beasts while your cards are fairies. Hmm, but with the precise information you got from Tarto, this card game will gain poprity as well," Erica said.

    "Hehe, nope," Zevien shook his head, "I will take over the whole gaming market with this because this card game is not that simple. Yowen and I are inputting hologram animation that appears when people use cards and attacks. Even when the effects of fairies'' powers are activated, theye out in a hologram and disy them with action.

    "Yowen is also working on designing an application that is some sort of a hologram dueling tform where people can duel digitally in front of each other on a small stadium by using that app or through VR as well, while connected to the inte so they can y at home.

    "For now, I have stopped creating more cards and am currently working on inputting animation actions in those cards. So far, I havepleted fifty-nine cards. Once I finish action animations of all cards, I will set production to copy those cards, market this game, pack five cards in one card pack randomly and then distribute thousands of card packs throughout all stores in the country," Zevien grinned, "once marketing is sessful, and people''s appeal to this game bes worldwide, money will continue to pour in because people would want to buy card packs for better cards at a higher rarity."

    "Of course, I will also create more new cards and set them to beunched seasonally every year."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Gacha¡­damn, this will be a real addiction for people," Dan muttered, "seriously, this idea is awesome. Fairy cards with real animation actions, even I am tempted to y it when ites out."

    "But since this will also be avable on Inte, how will it work?" Erica asked.

    "Nah, all cards will have a unique code, and they have to put this code in their inte VR version to add cards. They will have to buy cards physically even if they want to y while sitting at home. They can order card packs as well, so there''s that."

    "This card game will blow up for sure, but the question is, how will you get the money to do all this? The production set-up and marketing alone will require tons of money," Erica asked with doubt.

    "Eh, didn''t I tell you?" Zevien asked with a surprised expression.

    "Tell us what?"

    "That, I am a secret big boss with lots of money?" Zevienughed.

    Erica and Dan looked at each other because they couldn''t take it as a joke anymore.

    "Are you serious?" Dan asked as he scratched his head.

    "Eh, I am not a big boss or anything, but I get a lot of money, that''s for sure," Zevien smiled, "have you heard about Bonecretto magic potion?"

    Erica and Dan shook their heads.

    "You will know soon," Zevien grinned, "that magic potion will soone out on the market after the government procures arge batch of it. It can heal internal injuries, but bones especially, in a matter of minutes; even crushed bones."

    "What does that potion have to do with you?" Erica asked with narrowed eyes.

    "I am the half owner of that magic potion," Zevien rubbed his nose while smiling.

    "What tier?" Dan asked.

    "Tier-3."

    "Fuck!" Dan cursed in shock, while Erica was also startled, "a tier-3 potion that can heal bones in a matter of minutes¡­.wow."

    "What are the other products?" Erica asked about hispany before saying, "although I would suggest that you only run thispany for this card game, I feel you got some solid ideas on those products since you seem confident."

    ''Well yeah, the other three products becamergely sessful before time rewind, so I made sure to get my hands on people working on them.,'' Zevien thought.

    "What are you all talking about?" at this time, Vernisia opened her eyes and rubbed them as she woke up.

    "I''ll tell you after returning to the dorm. You''ve drank too much today; it''s time to go," Erica said as she stood up and supported Vernisia, "use your mana and cleanse the alcohol in your system."

    "Meh," Vernisia snorted, but she still used her mana and became sober.

    The four left the bar club and returned to the academy before returning to their dorms.

    Vernisia and Erica returned to the dorm they shared. Erica told Vernisia about Zevien''spany and the card game, making Vernisia surprised and impressed.

    "So we are going to his workce tomorrow? Haha, great. If mother knew what is Zevien doing, her jaws would drop for sure," Vernisia grinned.

    "Yeah, we''ll go tomorrow. Now let''s sleep. We will have to increase our training intensity because I want to get a spot," Erica said as she clenched her fist before going to bed after changing.

    Vernisia also did the same as she went to sleep.

    ¡­

    In thete night, Touma, Raven, and Merax got a message from the agent that keeps an eye on Zevien.

    [A group of people has been following Zevien and his friend since 9 PM. They are a well-known mercenary group that lives in Restenlub city and have a connection with the Lion Fang n in Lankrena.]

    "Lion Fang n?" Touma was startled, "if I remember correctly, the Lion Fang n''s current leader is Thomas Gio, right? Why did Zevien attract their attention?"

 Chapter 45 Entering Again

    Zevien woke up at 4 in the morning, and after checking that his room was adequately locked and the windows were shut, he took out a vial from his cupboard that he had procured from Skelly and sat down on his bed.

    He clutched the ss vial in his hand while entering a meditative state.

    After ten seconds, he disappeared¡­

    When Zevien opened his eyes and saw the scenery in front of him, heughed in excitement, "Alright! I can enter both of my magicbyrinths every thirty days!"

    Today was the 31st day since he awakened his 2nd magicbyrinth, so he tried to enter, and it worked.

    He looked at his left hand and saw that the vial was also brought in with him and grinned, "time to store that vampire blood."

    He looked at the blood pond in front of him and walked towards it before storing the blood.

    He was confused as to why there was a whole "pond" of vampire blood here because a single body can''t hold this much blood. However, it was a world of magic, so anything was possible.

    ''Maybe the vampire had some sort of power to convert other blood into his blood type and gathered it here? However, if that''s the case, then the vampire might be alive,'' Zevien thought as he frowned a bit, ''Guess I''ll just bring a lot of vials next time and store this blood .''

    After storing the blood in the vial, he used Blood Morphing Art while pointing his hand at the pond and absorbed a couple of drops before turning himself into a vampire.

    "Meow~ interesting ce."

    Suddenly, Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and looked around curiously before stopping his gaze on the pond, "there''s something below that pond."

    "Eh, you can appear here as well?" Zevien was startled.

    "I guess I can," Tarto nodded, "so this is another magicbyrinth. Interesting, It''s my first time being in another magicbyrinth."

    "You said something is below the pond, right? What is it?" Zevien asked curiously.

    "I don''t know, but it''s something half-living, half-dead," Tarto said while licking his paws, "better not disturb it, or you will die, and I won''t even save you since I told you that I won''t use my power to help you."

    Zevien wryly smiled hearing that, "can you at least tell me how strong that half-living, the half-dead thing feels?"

    Tarto rolled his eyes and didn''t answer. Instead, he changed the topic, "check your magic power. It has increased after you transformed into this so-called vampire form."

    Zevien nodded as he already knew that his magic power and physical body attributes increase when he transforms; that''s why he was excited to store this blood the previous time. However, the increase in his physical power is a lot more than magic power.

    -Magic power: 209.3

    However, Zevien was slightly surprised when he checked his magic power, "the increase is more than the previous time."

    "I guess you get more power as your magic core bes more powerful," Tarto saidzily.

    "Yeah, previously, my magic power was 78, and the increment I received was 69 magic power. But this time, the increment was more than 100."

    "Try using my power on top of this," Tarto said with narrowed eyes, "let''s see if you can superimpose my power on top of this."

    Zevien nodded as he willed the shaman seed to activate.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The boost that Tarto''s power gives currently doesn''t include pure physical power. With the current power of the shaman seed Zevien can harness, he gets ess to two magic spells, magic power and heightened senses. Tarto said that once he is able to harness more power from the shaman seed, he can gain more spells and boosts.

    Inside his magic eidos body, Zevien''s magic core was veiled by a red particles cover. It was the enhancement brought upon by the vampire form.

    However, when he activated the seed, a ck aura poured in and destroyed the enhancement as the veil disappeared.

    Outside, Zevien also returned to his human form before his hair turned pitch ck and became a bit longer while his pupils turned into a ''+'' shape. Two cute fluffy ears appeared on top of his head and a tail behind his back.

    "Failed," Zevien shook his head as he checked his magic power.

    -Magic power: 653.3

    "Mhmm," Tarto nodded, "it''s you who failed because I judged that it is possible to superimpose these two powers. You will have to try when youpletely master your awakening spell and practice more. For now, use my spells."

    "Alright," Zevien nodded before pointing his hand forward and using a magic spell.

    *shuaa¡­.*

    A pair of dark ws materialized, both one meter long and swiped in the air.

    "Nyxite ws," Tarto nodded, "this magic spell is a pure offensive spell with a certain trait, which is that it can pass through things ording to your will."

    "Oh?" Zevien was surprised and tried again. He conjured the ws and attacked a rock, but he willed it to pass through, and it passed through the rock before hitting another rock behind it and cutting it into pieces.

    "Check out the second spell," Tarto said with a snort, "you haven''t practiced my spells for many days since you are busy making that game and keeping me busy by asking so much about fairy spiritbyrinth, humph. But now that you are in thisbyrinth, you have to practice these spells and improve yourbat ability of magic spells executions by fighting."

    "You must remember that our contract will onlyst for five years, and if you fail to impress me, you will lose these powers, and I will leave," Tarto snorted.

    "How about I give you a cat massage?" Zevien grinned, "I am sure you''ve never experienced this in your fairy spirit magicbyrinth."

    "Cat massage?" Tarto asked in doubt.

    "Eh, just let me do it, and you will know," Zevien said before he started gently scratching Tarto''s ears and the neck.

    Tarto suddenly felt very good as his eyes rolled backward, but he snapped out of it and flew off from Zevien''s shoulder, "Meow~ Hisssss! How dare you!"

    "Eh, you didn''t like it?" Zevien asked as he raised his eyebrows with a small grin on his face.

    "This lord felt veryfortable by it, but you can''t use this to make a permanent contract with me, humph," Tarto snorted before disappearing.

    ''I wille back for this cat massage again.''

    Zevien heard Tarto''s voice inside his head andughed, ''sure. Do you remember Vernisia? She can do this better than me. When we go to the office today, I will tell her to do it, and she will also love it."

    However, Tarto didn''t respond anymore.

    "Welp, time to get back to training," Zevien stretched his hands and neck before he started training.

 Chapter 46 Strange Things Happening

    After training for one hour, Zevien decided to explore as he went out of the cave and unfurled his bat-like wings before flying for the first time.

    With this vampire form, he could fly freely!

    "Wow, it feels so good," Zevien eximed in excitement as he flew freely in the skies of this world of blood moons and dark suns.

    *Screeeee¡­.*

    Suddenly, Zevien saw a Blood-Bone Eagle flying towards him at a fast speed, clearly intending to attack him.

    "Grade-5 beast¡­," Zevien paused as he narrowed his eyes, ''my physical body is almost at the level of 5th ss magician, and with this vampire form, it should have increased by a significant margin.''

    The iing Eagle''s talons glowed red before it opened its mouth and let out a sharp cry.

    Zevien resumed his flying and continued towards the Eagle at full speed with both hands in a w form as if intending to grab something tightly. The dark red patterns on his wings glowed as he flew like a jet towards the Eagle.

    Right when the Blood-Bone Eagle and Zevien were about to sh, with the Eagle''s w aiming at Zevien, he controlled his wings slightly and went past the Eagle while quickly grabbing the right wing of the Eagle.

    He dug his fingers in its wing with a powerful wing grip and spun in the air using his wings before forcefully throwing the Eagle straight down to the ground using the Eagle''s own flying momentum and force that he created by spinning.

    *Booom¡­.*

    The Eagle crashed onto the ground like a rocket, and before it could get up, Zevien also arrived like a rocket with both of his legs aiming at...

    *St!*

    The Eagle''s head burst into pieces.

    A satisfied smile appeared on Zevien''s face as he executed his moves perfectly.

    The Force Flowing martial arts was all about using the force of motion, external factors, and the opponent''s own force to attack appropriately. Naturally, this martial arts requires a very high sensory perception to dodge and make decisions quickly. But it goes well against magic beasts who usually attack head-on.

    Although the physical requirement of this martial arts is not as high as others since it''s all about using other borrowed forces, there still needs to be a specific strength against certain things. If Zevien''s physical strength was that of an average student, he would''ve failed to stop the Eagle''s flying momentum even if he managed to grab its wing and just went along with the Eagle before courting his death.

    ...

    The Eagle''s body slightly decayed, and some motes entered Zevien''s body as his body got a little stronger.

    ''Hmm, I guess that''s a 5% increase in physical strength,'' Zevien spected after he sensed the physical strength of his body increasing slightly.

    After staying for one hour in thebyrinth and having his magic core enhanced gradually, Zevien checked his Digi-watch and saw that his magic power also increased by 10.

    After this one kill, Zevien didn''t fly up again and continued moving forward cautiously.

    After twenty minutes of moving and crossing a mountainous path, he actually saw a field.

    The field had fences, and there were small sections filled with different types of flowers growing.

    Suddenly, Zevien became wide-eyed as he saw a house materializing out of nowhere, connecting to the fences on the left side of the field.

    A middle-aged man wearing farmer clothes and a plowing tool came out of the house before working in the fields. He started collecting flowers.

    A few secondster, a middle-aged woman with a basket in her hand materialized near the middle-aged man and started collecting flowers as well.

    "Haha, it seems that we will be able to earn a lot after selling these flowers in the town," the middle-aged man heartilyughed while collecting the flowers.

    "Yes. It''s good that all three seasons went well, and we got high-quality flowers all the time this year," the middle-aged woman with long brown hair nodded with a smile, "where is jack? He''s taking longer."

    Zevien was bewildered and rubbed his eyes, ''what the fuck is going on?'' He had never heard of something like this happening.

    "Hey, big brother, what are you doing?"

    Suddenly, Zevien heard a childish voice from behind him and was startled as he hurriedly turned around and saw a twelve-year-old boy looking at him curiously.

    "Eh, big brother doesn''t seem like a human, hehe, what''s with those pointy ears and those fangs," the boy giggled, "are you here to scare me? But too bad, I am not scared."

    Zevien silently looked at the boy with his mind in a mess. He stretched his hand towards the boy, causing him to back off warily, "what are you doing?"

    However, he managed to touch the boy''s hair, and it felt real, ''so they are not ghosts¡­but what is going on?''

    He didn''t encounter this phenomenon before the time rewind! Something very strange was happening!

    "Who are you? Where have you been living for the past years?" Zevien asked.

    " Of course, I have been living here, in that house, since I was born," Kohan answered as he looked at Zevien as if he was an idiot.

    "Kohan? Y-youe back here," the middle-aged man and woman arrived there and said to Kohan while looking at Zevien with some fear.

    Seeing them like this, Zevien returned to his human form, making those couple shocked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Human and Vampire both? Could you be a magician?" the middle-aged became a bit relieved before asking. But wariness was still present in his eyes.

    "Indeed, I used a magic spell to transform myself into a vampire," Zevien nodded with a harmless smile before asking, "by the way, where have you been living yesterday?"

    "Yesterday?" the couple looked at each other, clearly startled at Zevien''s¡­.stupid question.

    "Erm¡­of course, we have been living here, in that house," the woman said as she pointed at their house.

    Zevien pped himself and closed his eyes for a second before opening them again and seeing the couple looking at him with a bewildered look, ''ok, so¡­.I am not dreaming or anything.''

    ¡­

    Not just Zevien but every person present in their magicbyrinth at this time was experiencing these things, be it people of the Gaia continent or the Astral Land.

    They suddenly saw buildings, towns, people, paths, structures, and many other things appearing in their magicbyrinth.

    ¡­

    "So much soul power, Woah. I just took a nap, and this much happened?"

    Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and suddenly spoke with eyes closed as if sensing something.

    "Whaa! What a cute cat," Kohan and his sister, Jenna, became excited seeing Tarto.

    Zevien was sitting inside the couple''s house as he was trying toprehend the situation and get some information from them for thest half an hour. The middle-aged man''s name was Henry, and the woman''s name was Rezia.

    "The fairy magicbyrinth is also changing drastically. I''ll have to return and see," Tarto opened its eyes and ignored everyone before disappearing.

    "Who was that? How can a cat talk?" Henry and Rezia were confused.

    "Eh¡­, that cat is not simple, better not anger him," Zevien wryly smiled, "Tarto is very powerful and can kill us in a blink of an eye."

    "But isn''t it big brother''s pet?" Jenna asked innocently.

    "Shsssss," Zevien put his finger on his lips and hushed sweatily before weakly smiling, "Tarto is not a magic beast but a fairy spirit. He is from another world, different from this world."

    "Oh¡­," Henry and Rezina were surprised, "so there are other worlds as well?"

    "Yeah, I am also from another world," Zevien nodded with a smile, "anyway, thank you for telling me about the town and other things that you knew. I wille to visit againter."

    "Ah, wait," Rezia stood up and smiled before chuckling, "it''s rare to see a guest from another world. Why don''t you stay for dinner and then leave? I will prepare it quickly in just twenty minutes."

    "Hahaha, indeed. This year, we had good yields and got high-quality flowers all three seasons," Henry grinned widely, "we can afford to eat better food now."

    "Yey! Better food!" Kohan and Jenny cheered.

    ''Well, I''ll stay and get some more information,'' Zevien thought before nodding with a gentle smile, "thank you and sorry for the trouble."

    "It''s fine, young man, don''t sweat it," Henryughed.

    The food was ready after twenty minutes, and it was rice with curry and two meat dishes that they were eating carefully as if it was expensive.

    Zevien didn''t eat much of it knowing that and mostly ate rice and curry.

    "It''s delicious," Zevien nodded smilingly. Naturally, the food didn''t match what he was eating daily. It was not even as good as what he ate in the orphanage, which showed the condition of this family.

    After quickly eating in ten minutes, he bid them farewell and left. He promptly flew up after using some drops of blood from the vial and transforming himself into a vampire.

    On the way back to the cave, he was shocked by many things as he saw small viges, lots of people, new buildings, structures, carriages, and many more things. The area near the cave was rtively empty, however.

    After returning to the cave, he filled up the vial again and sat down in meditation since he was already feeling the pressure of leaving thebyrinth.

    After a while, he disappeared, marking his record for staying inside as two hours and thirteen minutes this time.

    ¡­

    *knock...knock¡­knock¡­*

    "Are you there, Zevien?"

    "Ah,ing,ing," Zevien said as he quickly put the vial inside the cupboard and opened the door.

    "Your prettyte. Come on; it''s time to train," Dan said as Zevien opened the door and turned around before leaving.

    "Eh, I felt a bit exhausted, so I wanted to sleep half an hour more," Zevien wryly said as he followed Dan out of the dorm as both went to the training ground.

    ''It looks like this is going to blow up soon since all magicbyrinths should have this phenomenon,'' Zevien spected since Tarto also said that the fairy magicbyrinth was changing.

 Chapter 47 Revelations

    [A/N: I was unsure whether to write this chap the way I wrote it or not. I still am. But I decided to publish it. I hope that all of you who haven''t read my other two stories and only read this one can tell me what they feel after reading this chap. Please let me know in thement section how you feel after reading this. Thank you.]

    ----

    There were two exquisite wooden tables on peaceful and rxing grassy ins. One table had four people sitting on it, and another had three.

    "It looks like Magia Realm finally moved to phase 2," Euclion spoke while sitting at a table. If one looked closely, one would also see a faint image of something shaped like a leaf in the sky that was filled with tiny colorful lights. However, the said leaf-like thing''s shadow was so vast that it covered half of the sky and disappeared into the horizon without showing its end.

    "Mhmm, now people should be able to get stronger faster with more opportunities," ady with dark orange hair in drill style said before taking a sip from the tea, "I wish to see more people reaching here so our workload can decrease."

    "By the way, Euclion. Why did you time rewind Magia realm?" asked a bald man with a perfect physical body, slim and shredded. He wore a headband (hachimaki) on his head, and his upper body was bare, while he only wore cotton-like loose white pants.

    "The fruit of time was getting overripe and was oozing out its power. So before it messes up things, I decided to use it properly. Since I often observe the magia realm, I used it to fix some people''s problems."

    "Tsk, If only that Insane Sane King didn''t release his power towards Magia realm, it wouldn''t have separated into two by a dimensional gap and wouldn''t have taken this much time for the magia realm to move to phase 2," a youngdy with witch-like get-up spoke before clicking her tongue.

    "Don''t call him that. Call him by his proper title because he deserves it. He is the Sane King," said an old man wearing a loose white robe while shaking his head, " we can''t me him when he experienced such things in his realm. Now we just wait for his death signal or find a cure for him."

    "Yui is spending all of her time on finding a cure by traveling to Enders Leaves. But we don''t know if he willst long until then. Haiz¡­. it''s one problem after another, and that bastard is still stuck on his experiments."

    Suddenly, a man wearing shorts and a flowery open shirt appeared and sat down at the table before sneering, "it looks like you all were thinking that my experiments are a waste of time, huh?"

    "Yo, L," Euclion grinned, "everyone''s talking about your experiments."

    "We will only believe if there are results," said a middle-aged woman wearing a noble dress with a hint of magical fantasy spoke.

    "Geez, how long have you been not observing people of Magia realm?" L made a disgusting face, "the seven people I took out of my experimental world are making breakneck progress. In just forty-eight years, they are close to bing Unbound Magicians."

    Hearing that, others were slightly surprised and observed Astral Land before quickly finding those seven.

    "I knew it," Euclion grinned, "I observe their progress asionally and their works in Astral Land. It''s interesting how ruthless they can be."

    "Hmm? One of them has six wives with him, and their souls are unique. Did you give them a basis of reality?"

    "Ah yes, Athan," L nodded with a smile, "he is my favorite among them since he is very passionate regarding his family, and his wives also have their own differences, which caused him to have a better outlook overall, and he matured tremendously in the past forty-eight years. It''s enviable how his wives love him all the same and still support each other."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It looks like his journey from the start was very rough and still is because of his family," said the man wearing a headband with gleaming eyes as if he was observing something.

    "Exactly. And in those situations, he still managed to hold on and rise up gradually. His wives attracted trouble, but they also tremendously supported him every single time," L sighed enviously, "their determination and love for Athan in those trouble situations made them exceptional magicians as well since they are working hard."

    "Except for him, the other six are a bit¡­," the old man frowned slightly.

    Luna wryly smiled and nodded, "out of the other six, four of them lived too long doing nothing with no particr goal, which caused their mentality to be entric. The other two are rtively fine."

    "Alright, it seems that we were wrong. If those people from your experiment don''t die halfway, they will indeed reach here. However, now that the Magia realm moved to phase 2, we will also see explosive growth like that darn Ond High realm experienced."

    "Well, their Path Nexus is different from our magic. They managed to use it very efficiently to explore minor realms in MyrWrux and impose their powers on those mortals to send them into a ruthless world with opportunities and despair" L nodded.

    "Humph, the number of mortal worlds they destroyed is higher than the number they recruited. Absorbing so much soul power by killing billions¡­.I get angry every time I think about it," Euclion spoke with red cheeks, his baby face disying anger.

    "Ahem, let''s not talk about them," the drill-hair style woman said before standing up, "and it''s time for some of us to leave."

    ¡­

    [A/N: what you read in this chapter is a revtion of essential characters, slight world-building information, and my other two novels. The novels are not sequels to each other, so it''s fine if you don''t want to read them.

    My very first novel, The Tale Of The Void Emperor, is set in the so-called experimental realm that L created using his magic and the fruit of potential''s power. The main character is Athan. This novel ispleted, and Athan is in Magia Realm now, which you know by now. You don''t need to read the first novel to understand who and how he is since¡­spoiler. But you can read if you want to and are curious about his journey in that world. (Disimer: The early part of my first novel''s grammar is....cough, not as good as 2nd and 3rd novel since it was my very first novel, and I didn''t know two hoots about writing :P )

    My second novel is set in Ond High Realm. More precisely, it''s an ongoing novel, and right now, the mortal world where MC lives is in the process of their ruthless recruitment, where everyone in that mortal world has to get strong in the Wild Expanse to defeat the despair. They only got a three-year deadline before despair hit them, but the recruitment result is slightly more tricky than their usual recruitment results because of our MC, Aren. (I haven''t reached that point in the story yet tho :P)

    Again, the novels are not sequels, but the characters will meet each other in the future since they are in the same "big world" (so-called multiverse), but here, it''s known as MyrWrux, and it''s a unique world, unlike the universe withs and gxies. I won''t spoil more about it since you will know about it as this story progresses. :D

    ]

    Back to Magia Realm, Gaia continent¡­

    Zevien and other students were doing their routine morning practice on the outer ground of the academy, and after that, Zevien attended the sses instead of skipping since he had skipped them for the past two days.

 Chapter 48 Work, News, And....Trouble?

    After the academy was over, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan left the academy together in Zevien''s newly bought car that cost him 748,000 Lopax credits. It was a tier-1 car, so it cost less. Tier-1 means it only had one spell gear enchanted in it. His bike was tier-2, so it had two spells.

    Zevien drove to his office site, which was not too big but not too small either. It was an eight hundred square foot area. Its construction work was still in the process except for one part, where a two hundred square feet room was perfectly ready with furniture since Zevien wanted it to be made in a hurry.

    Yowen''sputers and others things were shifted in that room, and he basically stayed here. Zevien would also work there when inputting magic formations in the cards for action animations.

    "You''re here," Yowen said as he turned to look at them and was surprised to see Zevien''s friends this time, "so your friends will join as well? Great. We need more workforce anyway."

    "Yep," Dan nodded with a grin, "let''s make this sessful."

    "So those are the cards," Vernisia said with sparkling eyes as she looked at arge table in the room and walked towards it.

    There was arge rectangle table in the room, touching one wall to another. Cards were arranged in rows on the table, each within a rectangr ss container.

    "Eh, why do you have jewelist tools? do you know about their work?" Erica was surprised to see some tools on the table.

    Zevien internally sweated as he forgot about this. Suddenly, he got an idea as he smiled at Vernisia, "it''s for Vernisia. She and I will work together on these cards since she got a knack for bing a good Jewelist and already know a bit more than the basics. I am putting a tiny gem in each card with the magic formation to disy the action holograms, and Vernisia can help me with that."

    "How do you know?" Vernisia was surprised as she looked at Zevien.

    "I know everything about you," Zevien said with a loving smile.

    "That''s kinda creepy...to know everything about someone else," Yowenmented while looking at his monitors and typing quickly.

    Everyone looked at him speechlessly.

    "You are in no position to say that," Zevien rolled his eyes, "a literal illegal spy."

    "Alright, since we are here, then let''s start working," Dan said as he pumped his fists, "tell us what to do."

    Erica nodded, "yep. Let''s start working."

    "You two will have to go out at this location," Zevien said as he sent them the location via Digi-watch, "a product known as Spell Gauntlet is being researched there. It''s the second most important thing after this card game."

    "Sounds interesting, but what do we do there?" Erica asked with doubt.

    "Just learn more about that product and supervise the research. There is no need to spend a lot of time there but devise some strategy to market it after learning about it. Also, since you two are interested in Enchanting and Magic Smithing, you will be able to learn by watching pros doing their work," Zevien smiled.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh, that''s great!" Dan said excitedly, "alright, we will leave right away."

    "Take my bike," Zevien said as he threw him the key, "it''s parked in the alley east of this site."

    "Unfortunately, we won''t be eating with the kids at noon from now on. So, let''s go there for dinner daily instead," Vernisia said, "after training at the dojo, we will go there."

    "Alright," Zevien nodded with a smile.

    Afterward, Dan and Erica left while Zevien and Vernisia started working on the cards as Yowen designed the animation codes before handing them to Zevien and Vernisia, where they inputted them on cards using their mana and carved their formations on them.

    They worked from 12 PM to 4 PM before calling Dan and Erica back. Afterward, they went to the Dojo for training until 8 PM and then went to the orphanage to dine with the kids.

    A whole day passed, but Zeiven didn''t hear any news about the phenomenon he experienced in the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth.

    However, every country''s government had gotten this information and decided to contain to confirm before this news exploded like wildfire the next day.

    Everyone found out that the magicbyrinths are changed forever from now on.

    ...

    The next day, at Zevien''s office...

    "Is this for real?" Dan asked with wide eyes while looking at the TV beforeughing, "hahaha, I can''t wait to enter the magicbyrinth again."

    Zevien was also surprised when he read the whole news, ''magic quests? Relic embryos? Spell stones? This....''

    ording to the news, he was surprised by many new things appearing in the magicbyrinth that he didn''t experience yesterday. This honestly sounded very mystical, fun, and interesting.

    Zevien didn''t know that this whole process was yet to bepleted when he was there yesterday. Otherwise, he would have at least encountered the magic quest phenomenon when he interacted with that family.

    Suddenly, he got a call from Touma and picked it up.

    Touma--, e to theb, quick. you are in trouble."

 Chapter 49 Worried

    After arriving at theb, Touma told Zevien about the people that followed and kept an eye on him 24/7.

    "Do you know why they are after you? It''s better if we know about it," Touma said as he rubbed his chin.

    After learning about their origins, Zevien raised his eyebrows, "Gio, huh? I know why they are following me."

    "Why?"

    Zevien proceeded to tell Touma about things that happened when he went to Vernisia''s house.

    After hearing everything, Touma clicked his tongue before saying with a grin, "well, you don''t really have to worry about it because your safety is our concern until we can achieve a 100% sess rate in the experiment. The ingredients just arrived yesterday, and we willmence more experiments pretty soon. The government procured five more batches of ingredients since we got two sessful experiment results."

    "Weren''t they rare and expensive?" Zevien asked with doubt.

    "They are in our eyes. They areparable to top-grade tier-5 materials and some even more, but all countries'' governments have connections in the Astral Land and also have money to buy them. Naturally, this is our country''s secret, so it must not leak to outsiders," Touma said.

    Zevien nodded, "so if there''s nothing else, I will leave."

    "Yeah, we found out why they are after you, and if they try something funny, we will deal with it," Touma smiled.

    ¡­

    Zevien returned to the work office and continued working with Vernisia. He sat on a rotating and moving stool beside Vernisia, who also sat on a simr stool while working on the cards.

    Dan and Erica had also gone to work in the researchb of Spell Gauntlet.

    "We''ll finish all these cards near the end of this month and then mass-produce the cards by setting up production," Zevien said.

    "In this site?" Vernisia asked.

    "Yeah, in five hundred square feet hall beside this office with proper tools and workforce to copy these cards," Zevien nodded.

    "By the way, where did you go just now?" Vernisia asked curiously.

    Zevien didn''t answer directly but looked around the room, especially at the closed transparent window.

    "Yowen, can you tell Electra to scan this whole site and its surroundings to find something suspicious?" Zevien asked.

    "Alright," Yowen nodded as he talked to Electra mentally, and after a few seconds, she appeared and floated beside Yowen.

    She closed her eyes and released faint pulses of strange waves before disappearing.

    "She is checking," Yowen said.

    "Why, what happened?" Vernisia asked with confusion.

    Yowen was also curious, "did something troublesome happen?"

    In just a few seconds, Electra appeared again and said, "there is one thing suspicious outside. The Eagle sitting at a tree one hundred meters away from this site is not normal but made of machine and magic. It was constantly looking at the site, and after tracing its electric waves, I found out that some people in a van are observing this site through its eyes."

    "So they can''t see us or hear us, right?" Zevien asked.

    "They can''t," Electra shook her head.

    "Alright, then it''s safe to talk about it," Zevien said with a smile before he continued while looking at Vernisia, "it''s about Galen Gio."

    "Him?" Vernisia frowned, "what about that bastard?"

    "It seems like you really don''t like him," Zevien grinned.

    "Humph, of course. I didn''t tell you that since I didn''t want to let it bug you, but after we left that day, that bastard said to my mom that you were after my family''s wealth and connection in the government," Vernisia said with anger evident on the face, "how disgusting that he says something like that without knowing anything just to spew venom in my mom''s ears."

    "Ehh¡­," Zevien was startled, "so he is that kind of an asshole."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But what has he got to do with these people keeping an eye on you?" Yowen asked as he guessed that the Eagle was probably keeping an eye on Zevien.

    "It''s the work of that Gio Galen. He put his people to keep an eye on me all the time," Zevien said wryly.

    Vernisia''s face changed as she became worried and grabbed Zevien''s hand, "t-this¡­this is not good. They are a powerful family, and they might be able to get away with crimes as well."

    Vernisia became so worried that her eyes trembled, and even sweat appeared on her face and hands, "this is my fault. They might do something to you, this¡­.we have to do somethi-"

    "Rx," Zevien smiled as he put his other hand on her hand and said gently, "nothing will happen to me because that Gio family don''t have the power toy their hands on me."

    "But how?" Vernisia asked anxiously, "you know as well that they are powerful!"

    She bit her lips and spoke, "I''ll have to call my father now and my mom too¡­.Damn, how can she be so stupid? She didn''t know the true face of that bastard and invited him. I ha-"

    "Look at me," Zevien said as he put both of his hands on her shoulder and shook her slightly.

    Vernisia looked at Zevien as Zevien put his hands from her shoulder to her cheeks and said with a reassuring smile, "nothing will happen to me."

    Zevien was internally overjoyed to see Vernisia bing this worried for him. He really wanted to hug her and reassure her but held himself back.

    "Gio Galen and his family don''t have the power to do anything to me; you have to trust this statement, okay?" Zevien said as he took his hands back from her cheeks, seeing her turning a bit red.

    Vernisia took a deep breath andposed herself before speaking, "o-okay, got it. I don''t know how or why you are this confident, but¡­I trust you."

    ''Even if I trust you, I will have to do something because I am the cause of this problem,'' Vernisia thought internally.

    "Good," Zevien nodded with a smile, "now let''s get back to work. No need to worry about anything."

    ¡­

    After the day ended and everyone finished training and eating at night, they returned to the academy.

    However, Vernisia left the academy and went to her home.

    ''Father should have returned as well,'' Vernisia thought as she rang the bellte at night.

    12:04 Am.

    Amos opened the door and was surprised to see his daughter, "what are you doing here sote?"

    "We have to talk," Vernisia said.

    ...

    Galen was sitting in a hotel in Starlight city. His sister had returned, but he actually stayed in the city.

    He was looking at some photos and videos that his team sent when he received a call from one of his men that he put to keep an eye on Zevien.

    "Sir. By chance, we saw Vernisia leaving the academy. We sent another Eagle after her, and it seems that she went to her home."

    "Went to her home thiste?" Galen frowned as he spected, "it''s obvious that she doesn''t want to marry me, but that doesn''t matter. She must be a part of my family."

    "Sir, If you don''t mind, I have an idea."

    Galen looked at the hologram of a middle-aged man with a muscr body and a scar on his face. Looking at the grin on his face, Galen thought, ''what sick idea does this bastard have? Well, let''s hear it.''

    "Speak," Galen nodded.

    The middle-aged man cracked his lips into a wicked grin and proceeded to tell his n.

    After hearing everything, Galen nodded with a glint in his eyes, "alright, but I don''t want any of you to touch her. Tell ck Witch to do it."

 Chapter 50 Missing!

    Vernisia and her parents sat down on couches in the living room.

    "Mom, that Galen is not good. He sent his men to observe Zevien, and I am sure he is nning to do something," Vernisia said severely while looking at her mother.

    "You came thiste to tell us this?" Susan frowned, "why would Galen do something to Zevien. He probably doesn''t even put him in his eyes. His status is way higher."

    "How do you know this, Verny?" Amon asked thoughtfully.

    "We have a clear proof of it," Vernisia said inly, "also, I might as well tell you that Zevien is not what he seems on outside. He is building apany at this age, and he even has several products being researched. I have seen them, and two of them are going to bring major changes in the lives of everyone."

    "What? How can he start apany? Humph, you need a lot of money for that. He probably fooled you," Susan said as she shook her head.

    Vernisia stomped her feet and said with slight anger, "how can he fool me when I see everything with my own eyes? He also has ess to a unique magic spellparable to tier-5 or even higher, depending on who uses it. I am close to learning it after a month of daily training as well."

    "Another thing: He can remain absent from the academy because he is handling his business and is smart enough not to fail the test despite that. Our homeroom teacher also believes him and lets him do as he pleases," Vernisia finished speaking before she took a breath and looked at her parents, "you have to stop that Galen from doing anything to Zevien."

    "He won''t do anything," Susan sighed, "I already told him that you need one year of time to think about it. You will see how he is when hees to the academy here as an exchange student."

    Amon shook his head and spoke, "stop dreaming, Susan. With how our daughter currently is, do you think she will change her mind? Also, I don''t fully agree with you on that Galen being a good boy or whatever. That is simply impossible considering his status."

    "But that family is-"Susan said, but she was interrupted.

    "Enough," Amon said with a serious expression, "just tell your friend that we won''t ept this marriage."

    Susan became tearful and spoke, "why are you two like this? I was just thinking of Vernisia! She can have a good life there!"

    "I have a good life right now! And I can have a good life in the future by being with someone I want to be! Not with someone that I don''t like and forcing me!" Vernisia raised her voice agitatedly, "why can''t you understand something so simple? Didn''t you and father marry because of your choice? Or someone forced you?"

    Susan opened her mouth but closed it again as she had no words to say.

    "Indeed," Amon nodded before he turned to his wife, "Susan, tell your friend that this marriage will not happen and end this matter."

    Susan sighed and nodded, "alright, I will tell her tomorrow."

    Seeing her agreeing, Vernisia was overjoyed and hugged her, "I knew you would understand!"

    "Silly girl, even if I understand this, I won''t understand you being together with that brat unless I firmly believe he is capable."

    "Let the time tell that," Vernisia grinned before she walked back, "alright, but tell Galen to stop his men from observing Zevien right now. You have his number, right? Give me; I will talk to him."

    "Fine," Susan nodded as she gave Galen''s number to Vernisia.

    "Bye and good night. I will talk to him on the way," Vernisia said before muttering as she left, "because you won''t like thenguage in which I will speak with him."

    Amon and Susan wryly smiled. Susan locked the door before she returned to the bed with Amon, "was she speaking the truth about Zevien building hispany?"

    "I don''t know, but I will check it tomorrow," Amon said with a smile, "I believe that Vernisia wouldn''t lie about such things."

    Vernisia drove the car back, and while driving, she called Galen.

    On the other hand, Zevien suddenly opened his eyes and frowned. He suddenly had a nightmare as he saw Vernisia fading away even though they were together while he was dreaming.

    Even after waking up, he had a bad feeling gnawing at him.

    "I don''t usually feel like this," Zevien muttered as he stood up from the bed.

    He decided to call Vernisia just in case since he had a bad feeling and the nightmare he saw was regarding her.

    However, his face changed after a few seconds since the call didn''t connect, ''even if she is sleeping, the call should wake her up.''

    His worry increased as he called Erica next.

    Erica¡ª, "urgh¡­what is it thiste? You know that we have to wake up early in the morning."

    "Where is Vernisia? Check her room and tell me if she is there," Zevien said quickly with a worried voice.

    Erica was startled at Zevien''s grave and worried tone as she got up from her bed before the room next to her.

    Even after knocking a few times, Vernisia didn''t answer. She opened the door as it was not locked and saw that Vernisia was not there.

    Shocked, she quickly replied back to Zevien, "she is not here!"

    *beep¡­*

    Zevien cut the call and hurriedly called her Yowen.

    Yowen¡ª, "what''s up, boss?"

    Zevien¡ª, "track Vernisia''s Digi-watch now!"

    Hearing the grave tone, Yowen jumped from his bed in the office and summoned Electra, "Electra!"

    After a few seconds, Yowen frowned and replied to Zevien, "her Digi-watch ispletely off. Thest signal I tracked was three kilometers away from her house, just five minutes ago."

    "Something is wrong, Yowen! Something is wrong!" Zevien panicked before he thought quickly and asked, "check her call logs from the database! You can check them even if her Digi-watch is off!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yowen¡ª, "On it!"

    Zevien went to Dan''s room and knocked it loudly a few times before groggy Dan opened the door, "what''s up, bro?"

    "Vernisia is missing. We have to go," Zevien said with a severe expression before he turned around.

    All sleep vanished from Dan''s eyes as he followed Zevien while saying, "don''t tell me that bastard Galen did something?"

    "I don''t know," Zevien shook his head as he and Dan left their dorm, "take my car and go to our office. I am going to her house."

    When they reached their academy gate, it opened after scanning their ID.

    They both left the academy as Dan went to the office while Zevien drove to her house on his bike since thest signal of her Digi-watch was near her home.

    On the way, Yowen sent Vernisia''s list of contacts to Zevien.

    Zevien didn''t check the whole list, so he didn''t see Galen''s number and his name since he wanted to call her parents.

    He found her father''s number on top and quickly called him.

    When the call connected, Zevien hurriedly said, "uncle Amon, I am Zevien. Did Vernisia visit you a while ago?"

    Amon¡ª, "she indeed came here some ten minutes ago. Why? Did something happen?"

    Zevien¡ª, "she is missing! Vernisia didn''t reach the academy, and her Digi-watch was off. I couldn''t contact her. Please take some measures while I try to find her."

    Amon¡ª, "wait! Before leaving, she took Galen''s number and wanted to talk to him because he was keeping an eye on you."

    "What is it, Amon?" Susan asked with a frown.

    Zevien cut his call after hearing what Amon said.

    On the other hand, Amon got up from the bed as he tried to contact Vernisia but failed.

    Getting up from the bed, he answered Susan, "Vernisia is missing. She didn''t reach the academy, and even her Digi-watch is fully off. No way to contact her."

    "What!" Susan was shocked as she hurriedly got up from the bed and contacted her police colleagues in the government. Amon also did the same as he contacted the secret police.

    ¡­.

    Zevien stopped his bike on the road as he didn''t want to go to her house. Instead, he checked the contact list that Yowen sent him and found Galen''s name beside one number.

    He then hurriedly contact Yowen.

    Zevien¡ª, "Yowen, Track this number. Find his location as soon as possible!"

    Gritting his teeth, Zevien started his bike and drove towards his office.

    After entering the office, he took out the vampire blood vial from the cupboard in the room while Dan asked, "what do I do, Zev?"

    "Found his location, and I also started live tracking him. Electra is basically inside his Digi-watch right now.

    "He is in a hotel''s parking lot right now and seems to be preparing to move out," Yowen said as he essed the CCTV camera of the parking lot and saw Galen entering his car.

    "Send his live location to my Digi-watch," Zevien said without looking at the monitors and used Blood Morphing Art to suck the maximum amount of blood drops he could. In the end, he managed to suck five drops of blood.

    He also didn''t know how long the transformation wouldst until his mana ran out here because he would never run out of mana inside thebyrinth and could stay in Vampire form forever.

    From his testing, the amount of blood he could absorb indicated how much power he would gain in the vampire form.

    "Dan, you stay in the car and get ready to move anytime."

    At this time, Erica also entered the office with a somber expression.

    "She insisted, and I called her," Dan quickly rified.

    "Good. You both wait in the car. I am going to meet that Galen," Zevien said as a cold glint passed through his eyes.

    He put the blood vial back in the cupboard before looking at Dan, Erica, and Yowen.

    He looked at Dan, Erica, and Yowen before saying with a severe expression, "don''t tell anyone about anything that you are about to witness. Just forget about it."

    Even though he had absorbed blood, he didn''t transform into a vampire yet and was holding back. However, he unleashed the transformation as he didn''t hold back anymore.

    "What?" Dan asked with confusion, but that confusion was swept away in the next second as they saw blood particles surrounding Zevien.

    After two seconds, they saw a transformed Zevien with his handsomeness increasing several times along with a new look.

    His hair became shoulder length, and two fangs appeared out of his mouth with majestic bat-like wings behind his back. The wings unfurled to be four meters long with curved shape as he opened the window and flew out with a zoom, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.

    "Vampire?!"

    Yowen, Erica, and Dan were shocked.

 Chapter 51 Anger & Death

    The government agent who was keeping an eye on Zevien at night time was surprised to see a shadowing out of the office''s window. He couldn''t see it clearly since it was dark, and it quickly flew in the sky.

    The agent was at his home, and his sparrow was not fast enough to follow that shadow, so he still recorded this anomaly as he will have to report this tomorrow.

    On the other hand, Zevien flew towards the live location of Galen in just a minute.

    He looked below to see Galen driving his car on the road with a cold glint in his eyes.

    In the car, Galen was talking with his group, "I have mailed every active official in the police and secret police department with money. They won''t start investigating Vernisia''s disappearance until morning, and I only need that much time."

    "ck Witch has bound her inside the room. She can''t escape."

    "Good, I''ll be reaching there in ten minutes," Galen said before he cut off the call and muttered, "tsk, although the vi is a bit far, at the outskirt of the city, the location is perfect."

    *swoosh¡­*

    Suddenly, he heard the sound of ss breaking and was jolted out of his car with sudden pain assaulting him.

    ¡­

    A few seconds ago¡­

    Zevien swooped down quickly as his wings covered his body like a cloak and directly crashed into the car from the back ss before grabbing Galen anding out of the front ss.

    Zevien flew high into the sky while digging his sharp nails into Galen''s neck.

    "W-who are you? Release me before you regret being born!" Galen threatened despite not knowing who targeted him. He knew he had to put a strong front and try to scare whoever this was using his background.

    "Release you? Are you sure?" Zevien spoke in a sinister voice as he was already one thousand meters high in the sky and was still going up.

    Zevien tightly bound Galen''s neck with his right hand so that he couldn''t turn his neck, and Zevien''s left hand''s nails had also dug inside his neck slightly, so Galen was also scared to move his head, but the scenery in front of him caused him fright as he was too high in the sky.

    "Don''t¡­ don''t release me! Why are you doing this? Who sent you? I will give you double the mon-"

    "Arghhhhhhh!!!"

    Galen screamed halfway through speaking as Zevien dug his nails deeper and blood oozed out.

    "P-please release me. I will give you anything you want! But if you do something to me, your death is certain!"

    Zevien flew three thousand meters high in the sky before releasing Galen from his tightly locked grip and grabbing his chin with one hand and letting him float in front of him.

    The sky''s cold air and pressuring atmosphere literally caused Galen to piss his pants involuntarily as a pungent smell spread.

    Galen felt intensely humiliated and wanted tosh out, but his life was in danger, and he had to get out of this crisis before handling this bastard.

    "You don''t recognize me? Look carefully, idiot," Zevien said icily.

    "Y-you¡­.Z-Zevien?" Galen was shocked, "h¡­how are you so powerful? What is this, a v-vampire? How is this possible?"

    Galen was a first-year student like Zevien, and he even had a powerful gun that could hurt 3rd ss magicians and an item that could produce a defensive barrier to defend against a few attacks of 2nd ss magicians and many attacks of below sses. However, both of those items were in the car, and this Zevien just scooped him up like a chicken from the running car before suspending him three thousand meters high in the sky.

    "Where is Vernisia?" Zevien asked with red eyes, "if something happened to her, I swear that you will beg for deathter!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I-I....," Galen stammered.

    Zevien''s red eyes trembled as he shouted, "you will experience literal hell, and I won''t even spare your family! So just fucking pray that nothing happened to Vernisia and tell me where she is RIGHT NOW!"

    Galen was scared shitless seeing Zevien like this, and with his life in Zevien''s hand right now, he didn''t even blink before hurriedly giving the address to Zevien and telling him about the situation. But internally, he saw a chance. If Zevien told him to contact his men to release Vernisia, he could reverse threaten Zevien.

    s, that hope of Galen¡­.vanished in the next seconds.

    "So she is safe?" Zevien muttered, but his anger reached a peak when he heard what Galen was about to do, and after that, Zevien only wanted to do one thing:

    Make Galen disappear from this world and quell all present and future troubles that wille from him.

    "Enjoy the trip," Zevien icily said before he looked below and raised Galen up while grabbing his chin¡­.

    "NOOOOOOOO-"

    *swoooooosh¡­*

    Zevien threw Galen down with his full force and saw his death before flying towards the outskirt of the city. He also sent the address to Dan and Erica as they started moving to the vi.

    ...

    A bloody mess had appeared on the road as Galen''s body was turned into mush upon hitting the ground with shit, blood, shattered organs, and brain fluid spreading everywhere. In Galen''sst moment, he could only do one thing, regret. But there''s no medicine for it. He regretted underestimating Zevien''s bond with Vernisia and her importance to him.

    The locals in that area heard the sound and a couple on a bike passing by the road stopped after seeing the bloody mess. They held back the puking before hurriedly contacting the police.

    ...

    ''Vernisia...nothing must happen to you, nothing! I aming to save you,'' Zevien thought while flying towards the vi. His anxiousness and worries had reached a peak but he was d that nothing would happen to her without Galen there after Galen spilled everything about his n.

    Soon after, Zevien arrived at the vi''s location and floated there. He calmed himself down before rationally thinking.

    ''One 3rd ss magician, two 4th ss magicians, and four 5th ss magicians,'' Zevien thought as he saw the vi from the sky. Galen told him the information about his men''s strengths, so he knew that he wouldn''t be able to handle them himself.

    Zevien could tell Galen to contact his men and release Vernisia by empty promising Galen to spare him, but Zevien didn''t want to take the risk of doing that. Who knows if Galen would reverse threaten him by threatening to kill Vernisia if Zevien didn''t release him?

    Zevien was not courageous enough to put Vernisia''s life in danger like that. He didn''t want to take that chance and then regret itter. Galen was from an influential and powerful family, and he had that arrogance in him, so he could indeed reverse threaten him. It was a possibility, and he didn''t want this possibility to be a reality.

    ''I need to contact Touma and Raven for help.''

    Just as he was about to contact them¡­

    "Meow~ I will not allow that, brat. Do it yourself!"

    "Kill them," Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and spoke inly, "kill them yourself, or I will remove the contract between us right now. Your current status will allow you to take more of my power at some price, and you must do it.''

    "But-"

    "No But! I have judged that it is possible so it is possible for you to take on more of my power in your current status and kill them!" Tarto uttered in a firm voice, "you must seed!"

    Zevien frowned before his eyes turned cold, and he spoke while gritting his teeth, "do it!"

 Chapter 52 You...Will...Live!

    Tarto lightly hit Zevien''s cheek with cat paws as the seed inside him was activated before Tarto started controlling the flow of power infusion.

    Zevien''s vampire form disappeared as cat ears appeared on his head, his nail became longer, sharp, and metallic ck, while his hair became a bit shorter from the shoulder-length hair he had in the vampire form.

    He lost his wings, but he plunged straight down towards the vi.

    "Vernisia is at the vi''s end room. Break straight in the middle of the vi without worry," Tarto spoke while infusing more power, "you must kill them or die trying."

    ''Die trying? NO! They dared to kidnap her for that bastard! They will have to die!''

    "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zevien shouted as he felt immense pain, but his anger overshadowed it. Just thinking about losing Vernisia caused him to wish for the destruction of everything and felt the wisp of despair looming around him, and that bastard¡­that bastard dared n that?

    Zevien internally screamed with red eyes as he took on Tarto''s power while ignoring the pressure and pain, ''Kill!''

    His magic power increased crazily.

    600

    700

    800

    900

    ¡­

    1500

    1550

    1600

    ¡­

    The five men and two women were sitting in the vi hall, talking about some matters. One of them tried to contact Galen but failed.

    "What''s going on? Why is young master Galen not picking up the call?"

    "It''s not been ten minutes yet; he should be on the way."

    "But that girl is really a beauty, hahaha. I wonder if Galen will-"

    *BOOOM¡­*

    Suddenly, they heard a boom and saw something crashing through the roof before entering the hall as dust spread everywhere.

    All of them became instantly alert as they didn''t even hesitate to use their spells.

    The 3rd ss magician used the Lightning Net spell before anyone else, attempting to trap whoever it was that crashed here.

    Zevien''s eyes were red, and wildness was oozing out of him as he moved speedily.

    *swoosh¡­*

    Only Zevien''s afterimage was left in that position after the dust was settled by a 4th ss magician releasing a gust of wind.

    "Wher-" the 3rd ss magician couldn''t finish his sentence as he caught with his eyes a pair of long shining wsing straight towards his neck at a despairing speed as he found no way to dodge it or block it.

    "N-!"

    *sh!...dhoof...*

    His head separated from his body before rolling down on the floor.

    "KILL THAT BEAST!" A bulky middle-aged man shouted. He pped his hands loudly and used a spell as multiple waves shot toward Zevien.

    Zevien was really a beast right now. His thinking process had lowered, and he was basically in a berserk mode. He was fighting on a wild beast''s instinct as he was unable to control the power but his innate stubbornness didn''t want to let power go as well.

    *sh¡­.sh¡­..*

    Not a single spell hit him as he dodged them quickly like a wild cat. He jumped around the whole hall as he stuck to pirs, ceiling, and floor, and one by one killed everyone in the hall with extreme cruelty as their limbs and heads spread on the floor.<novelnext></novelnext>

    In the end, seven heads were rolling on the floor, with the whole hall painted with traces of blood and blood puddles on the floor.

    He barely gained some sentience with immense exhaustion washing over him and pain flooding everywhere in his body.

    But he still moved his body towards the room where Vernisia was bound and barely opened the door.

    When he saw Vernisia''s hands and legs bound by chains, Zevien dragged his body towards her with an intense urge and wished to release her.

    A suppression sigil stuck on Vernisia''s forehead prevented her from using magic.

    "Mmmm!!...Mmmmm!!," Vernisia couldn''t speak as her mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth, and she let out muffled groans. But her eyes went wide and teary as she saw blood-soaked Zevien entering the room while dragging his body with weary half-opened eyes.

    s, she didn''t know that this blood was not his, but it was of the enemies.

    "Ver¡­ni¡­.sia¡­." Zevien barely reached her before he cut off the chains on her legs and hands. Zevien''s mind was not in the right state right now as he was on the verge of losing his consciousness, but when he saw chained Vernisia, he hallucinated and saw the Vernisia before time rewind, who was bound by chains of imminent death due to her disease.

    "Y-you¡­wi-will¡­live," after saying this and breaking her chains, Zevien sumbed to sleep as he fainted and returned to his human form.

    Vernisa removed the sigil from her forehead and the piece of cloth from her mouth before putting Zevien''s head on hisp as drops of tears fell from her eyes, "Zevien!"

    She checked his breath and pulse with intense worry gnawing at her, but she sighed a relief after checking that he was not in that kind of danger.

    "Meow~ He didn''t evenst a minute, but I guess hepleted the task," Tarto floated in front of Vernisia while looking at Zevien, "not bad. But next time, he should stay a bit more sane when going over his limits."

    ¡­

    Dan and Erica were waiting outside of the vi''s border for Zevien''s call.

    in thisrge region, all vis upied big areas. Each vi had its own amplend around them with a garden and two-three house structures.

    "Try contacting Zevien," Erica said with creased eyebrows.

    Dan nodded as he contacted Zevien.

    "Dan? Where are you?"

    "Vernisia?" Dan was surprised, "so Zevien is inside the vi?"

    "Vi? Yes! Come inside, quick. We have to take Zevien to the hospital!"

    Dan and Erica were startled as Dan hurriedly drove the car inside and stopped in front of the vi''s door before quickly entering inside.

    Their stomach churned when they reached the hall and saw such a bloody scene. They barely held back the puking with such an intense, bloody smell and sight.

    ? Though before they moved forward, they saw Vernisiaing out of a room''s door at the very end of the corridor in front of them.

    Vernisia saw them but pointed her hand at the wall as she conjured Split Mana de and released a sh before destroying the wall.

    Dan and Erica understood as they turned around and went back to the car before driving to the east side of the Vi, where Vernisia was breaking out from inside while supporting Zevien.

    But just when Dan stopped the car and Erica opened the door so that Vernisia could put Zevien inside the car, they saw a helicopter rapidly approaching.

    "Someone ising! They might be enemies; we have to leave!" Dan said quickly, "get in the car, fast!"

    "Rx, younglings, and don''t panic. The onesing are not enemies but allies."

    "Who?!"

    Dan, Erica, and Vernisia were startled to hear the voice but couldn''t see anyone.

    "It''s me, here, the desperate sparrow pping its wings to float one hundred meters in front of you."

    Dan narrowed his eyes as he indeed saw a sparrow floating at a 45-degree angle in front of him in the sky.

    "d I followed those two here," the agent controlling the sparrow sighed in his room, "the mess inside Vi is really¡­.did that kid Zevien do that? But how?"

    ¡­

    Dan didn''t believe the sparrow, but before he could drive the car, he saw two people flying out of the helicopter, and one of them was Touma-sir.

 Chapter 53 Bring It On!

    The next day¡­.

    "What?! Br-brother is dead? How!" Sia was shocked as she hurriedly checked the Inte for news in Starline city while fully naked on the bed as her twin peaks trembled at the shocking news.

    [A very gruesome death has been witnessedte at night on the 4th street of B.A Avenue. We have yet to know who that body belonged to since nothing is recognizable, but experts have linked it to a car ident that happened nearby with its driver missing. After investigation, it is found out that the car was bought under the name of Harry Scott, the son of chairman Lawen Scott.]

    Suddenly, Sia saw another article live posted below the first one, which finally disclosed everything.

    [After asking Harry Scott, who was safe and sound, he shockingly revealed that he had lent the car to his friend, Galen Gio. After further investigation of various cameras, it is confirmed that the sttered body indeed belonged to him. Galen Gio is¡­]

    Sia didn''t read further as fear enveloped her whole body. Her mom and dad were not here but at the Lankrena region where Magic guild headquarters was located. They went there to train and hunt some rare magic beasts for ingredients in Blue Swamp Forest near the Lankrena region. So, they will find out about this soon.

    ''Grandma¡­if she found out, it''s going to be hell,'' Sia thought as she trembled.

    The main problem was her grandmother. She was also not at home right now but in Astral Land. Once she found out that Galen died, she might just go berserk. The reason? Galen was her only "male" grandson. He was going to inherit the wealth and legacy of the Gio family.

    Sia''s uncle had two daughters and no son, so Galen was literally the only direct male descendant of the Gio family in this generation.

    "What happened, babe?" Sia''s boyfriend, Kanel, woke up as he rubbed his eyes, "is it morning already?"

    Kalen had a slim muscle-built body like most of the male students, and his height was 5.8ft. He had short dark blue hair and was good-looking.

    "Galen is dead," Sia said as she quickly got up from the bed and wore clothes.

    "What?!" Kanel was shocked but seeing Sia, he doubted, "he is dead, and you are not even spilling a single tear?"

    "Humph, must I shed tears for him? He is dead, his story over. But now, new troubles will begin because of this," Sia spoke frustratingly.

    "Eh, I thought you two had a good rtionship with each other," Kalen said with a miserable smile as he got up and wore his clothes while thinking, ''damn, no wonder I never saw her worrying for me. Is she that apathetic?''

    ¡­

    Zevien groggily opened his eyes as he saw a familiar ceiling above him, but it seemed bluish. He felt numb all over his body and felt very ufortable.

    After a few seconds, he finally noticed that he was inside a tube filled with light blue liquid, and his whole body was covered by some kind of soft jelly-like dark blue material.

    Suddenly, he saw Touma''s face appearing in his view.

    "Nice, you woke up pretty fast," Touma wryly smiled before asking, "now tell me, what the hell did you do to be like this?"

    After learning about the whole situation from Dan, Erica, and Vernisia, he was positive that Zevien killed the people inside the Vi. The question was, how? How did he do that?

    "Whatever you did to achieve that strength, it had cost you dearly. Literally, every bone in your body is cracked, your organs are injured, and your overall physical body''s cell activity and vitality are totally exhausted. On top of that, your magic eidos body is overexerted. It''s better that you don''t use mana for at least a month."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien couldn''t even nod, let alone move his body. He just blinked his eyes in response.

    There was a mask over his mouth with a pipe going inside his body for treatment of his internals.

    ''Good job, Zev. But I wanted you to be more sane in that situation,'' Tarto appeared over the tube, causing Zevien''s eyes to widen, ''What are you doing by revealing yourself?!''

    ''Rx, they can''t see me,'' Tarto spoke with a smug smile on his cat face.

    Indeed, Zevien noticed that Touma was not registering Tarto''s existence and internally sighed a relief before thinking, ''anyway, I will have to reveal to them about this fairy summoning magic sooner orter and benefit from it.''

    "Just take a rest for now. You will likely be able to speak after a day, and we will get you out of this tube after two days. But your treatment will continue," Touma smiled before he left.

    ''Treatment, my ass,'' Zevien internally rolled his eyes as he knew that they likely wanted answers and research on his body due to this new incident.

    ''So, what are you going to do about what you did? As you told me before, nobody has ess to fairy spirit magicbyrinth here, and even in Astral Land, advanced magicbyrinths like fairy spiritbyrinth have conditional awakenings. That''s why most people only gain an unawakened connection with it and can''t fully awaken it.''

    ''Oh? So there''s something like Advance magicbyrinths as well?'' Zevien was surprised.

    ''Yep. It''s a bitplicated in fairy spiritbyrinth due to its live nature of magic, but you will know about it if you manage to go to Astral Land,'' Tarto said as hey on the tube.

    ''Oh yeah, there are also random fairy summoning magic spells as you created. People can summon random fairies, but the one with an awakened connection can benefit more with awakening magic spells exclusive to only those who awakened the fairy spirit magicbyrinth.''

    ''I see,'' Zevien nodded before wishfully thinking, ''wish I could fully awaken the fairy spirit magicbyrinth.''

    Suddenly, Zevien thought of something and asked, ''by the way, I managed to awaken two magicbyrinths. Is this possible in Astral Land? Because I have never heard of it happening before.''

    Tarto rolled his eyes, ''Of course, it''s possible. Although none awakened their 2nd magicbyrinth as you did because there are proper steps and conditions to be met to awaken another magicbyrinth. Your magic core hasn''t even evolved once, so its capacity and utility are low. However, due to it already having two awakening magic spells, it is magically fortified.''

    Tarto then stared at Zevien before continuing, ''I also sensed something that I couldn''t grasp in you. It''s like some higher power touched you.''

    Zevien became alert, but then he thought of something andughed in his mind before saying telepathically, ''yep. I am indeed touched by a higher power, but I don''t know much about it. Just continue to apany me, and you will eventually find out.''

    Tarto nced away before licking its paws, ''nice try. But I don''t go back on my words. You fail to impress me in five years, and I will leave. Anyway, all magicbyrinths have drastically changed, and it has be much more interesting now, hehe,'' Tarto grinned, ''you will be surprised when you go inside next time.''

    ''I will know that when the timees, but I am stuck here now with nothing to do,'' Zevien internally frowned, ''such a huge waste of time because of you.''

    ''Humph, I wanted to see if you could do that or not,'' Tarto snorted, ''if I deem something possible to do by you, I will tell you to do it. And if you fail to do it, I will say farewell to you.''

    ''Fuck!'' Zevien cursed his misfortune to summon this cat, but then he was also fired by the challenge, ''I acknowledge your power, which is why I will ept this. If you deem something possible to do by me, then I will fucking do it! Bring it on!''

    ''Meow!! Good, I like this spirit!''

 Chapter 54 Vision, Truth

    Dan, Erica, and Vernisia were released from the investigation at 7 in the morning. After being released, they returned to Vernisia''s house with her parents.

    Sitting inside the living room, Susan had an angry face with regret in her eyes, while Amon was fuming after hearing about everything.

    In the night, when Vernisia called Galen, he told her that he was OK with her rejecting her marriage, but then, his men quickly arrived there, and a woman attacked at speed she couldn''t react. She quickly knocked out Vernisia and brought her into the Vi, where they bound her and sealed her before telling her to wait for Galen.

    She was horrified upon learning what would happen to her and struggled to escape, but it was futile.

    But then, she saw bloodied Zevien opening the door, and that moment was when she felt her heart pierced. When Zevien spoke, "she will live!" she felt such strong emotions from Zevien that she had never felt from anyone before.

    She felt as if she had found her world, her fate, her life''s meaning! From that moment, from those strong and resolute words from him, she knew that Zevien would do anything for her, and she¡­ would also do anything for him!

    ¡­

    "Why? Why do I have this fate?" Vernisia cried in Susan''s embrace. Susan sobbed as she caressed her daughter''s head, "I''m sorry, honey. I am sorry¡­."

    "We will continue to fund research for this," Amon said with red eyes, "there should be a cure for her disease! If not, we will make one!"

    Vernisia wiped her tears as she sadly smiled, "mom, dad, you know¡­I¡­love someone. We became friends on the first day of the academy. He is an orphan, but he is very hardworking and good. He doesn''t back down from challenges even if they seem out of his reach. He is also funny and cheerful, always putting me in a good mood whenever I am down."

    "I-I really love him," Vernisia continued while sobbing as tears spilled from her eyes, "but how can I say that to him? I will not even li-live that long."

    "I can see that he has feelings for me too, and we have graduated today. But he got a bright future ahead of him, and I¡­I don''t want to ruin it."

    Vernisia''s heart already broke before she could even say it. She had no choice but to kill her own feelings, but....the time she spent with Zevien was the best time of her life. She so dearly wished to spend more time with him.

    Susan hugged Vernisia as she heavily sobbed at her daughter''s heartbroken state, "Sorry, honey¡­."

    Susan couldn''t say anything other than sorry because Vernisia''s disease was by birth, and she felt that it was her fault that Vernisia was born with this problem in her magic eidos body.

    Even Amon''s red eyes dropped tears as he couldn''t give his daughter a normal future like other girls, ''I will not give up! My daughter, I will not give up until I find the cure for you!''

    ¡­

    "Vernisia? Verny? Hello," Erica waved her hand in front of Vernisia''s nk gaze as her eyes dropped tears.

    Erica shook Vernisia''s shoulder a few times before she finally snapped out of her daze.

    "What happened?" Amon asked worriedly, "why are you crying?"

    Susan also worriedly looked at Vernisia with tearful eyes, "Verny, you don''t have to hide anything; just tell us. That bastard Galen is already dead."

    "N-no," Vernisia shook her head as she creased her eyebrows, "I suddenly saw some visions about me where I was older than currently. We also had a smaller house, and I had some sort of disease that guaranteed my death."

    Everyone was confused hearing this.

    "Forget it; it''s not true anyway," Vernisia shook her head, "in that vision, I appeared to have that disease since I was born, but it''s not true. Maybe I just had illusions due to this incident."

    Sighing, Vernisia stood up, "I need to sleep. We all need to sleep since we haven''t slept at all."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah, go to sleep for now," Amon said as he stood up and looked at Erica and Dan, "you two should also get some sleep here; we got more rooms upstairs."

    ¡­

    In the magnificent pce of Devil''s Bane Kingdom in Astral Land¡­

    The pce had two thrones where the king and queen sat.

    The king had a thick ck beard and shoulder-length ck hair. His eyes would give formless pressure on anyone looking at him. His name was Sargon. His title, Devil yer Sargon.

    The queen''s aura was gentle but majestic. Her long, light golden hair cascaded down behind her, and her blue eyes with a slight golden hue caused her beauty to go up a notch. Her name was Avery, also known as Pearl of Aurelian.

    "Magus Merlin, what is the result?" King Sargon spoke as he looked at the middle-aged man in the center of the pce. The man had long dark purple hair and wore a light purple starry robe with a staff in his hand.

    A young man was standing a few meters away from Merlin. His name was Rudian. He was the sole son of Sargon and Avery.

    Rudian had short dark blond hair with brown eyes. He was eagerly looking at Merlin, who was looking through a watermelon-sized crystal orb using his magic.

    The orb dimmed, and looking at that, Avery asked, "did you find one?"

    Merlin grinned, showing his white teeth, and nodded, "I indeed found her. A child bearing magnificent destiny but also high rise troubles. Only she can solve your son''s problem. You have to rece his heart with her heart after exactly seven years, any month in the year 8015, and he will survive the cursed wave."

    However, no one noticed a cold glint passing through Merlin''s eyes as he spoke.

    "Where is she?" Rudian asked eagerly.

    ''Tsk, why would I tell you that now? I wouldn''t be able to see the results I want to see if I do that,'' Merlin coldly thought while he smiled wryly outside and spoke, "I could only find that she exists for now. Her location is unknown to me currently."

    "When will you be able to find her location?" Sargon asked with a somber expression.

    "After three years," Merlin replied with a smile while caressing his beard, "I will present you her location after three years. Until then, I will have to stay here."

    ''Humph, you have to serve me for three years properly,'' Merlin thought coldly, ''anyway, that girl had indeed a strange destiny. She was also apanied by a Dark star phenomenon. Let''s see If can see the results I want to see by using her.''

    ...

    In an unknown location in Astral Land, an organization known as Shadow Sanctuary was doing a ritual.

    A group of Shadow Acolytes was looking through mirrors that disyed various girls.

    In a total of seven mirrors, seven different young girls were disyed and one of them was Vernisia.

    "ording to Shadow Codex divination, we have found seven girls with qualifications of bing the Shadow Priestess. All of them have awakened top-notch shadow-type magicbyrinths."

    "We can''t assess their strength yet or location but once they make more progress in their shadow-type magicbyrinth, we can activate codex once again."

    "Good, let''s report this to Shadow Empress."

 Chapter 55 Incoming Storm

    Zevien spent a whole day inside the tube thinking about his approach regarding this incident and how he would use the fairy magic spell to his advantage.

    After thinking for a day, he finally thought of an idea, but to make this idea a reality, he would need to spend a lot of time and also need the help of Tarto.

    ''The idea is not bad, and I also feel that it can be realized sessfully,'' Tarto nodded before grinning, ''alright, I deem this possibility to be realized, so you must seed.''

    ''I will do it even if you didn''t say that,'' Zevien said with a snort before continuing, ''anyway, I will need your knowledge regarding the fairy summoning.''

    ''What you are going to do is not really that difficult. You just have to contain someone else''s intent in your summoning spell. So basically, you need a magic formation of an ethereal-type containment in your summoning magic spell''s formation,'' Tarto said casually.

    ''Thank you for making it sound easy,'' Zevien rolled his eyes, ''if you have knowledge of such containment magic formation, then pass its magic intent to me. I got a month here, and I will spend it learning its magic intent and magic formation before infusing it in the main magic formation of fairy summoning magic spell.''

    ''It is not thatplicated, so you must seed,'' Tarto said firmly before letting Zevien feel the magic intent of the ethereal-type containment magic formation.

    ''Ok, I just created a magic symbol containing that intent in your magic eidos body. When you want to learn the intent, you can sense it by meditating,'' Tarto said before disappearing. ''I''m leaving now. I wille back after a day.''

    Zevien closed his eyes and started training without wasting time. He entered meditation and sensed the symbol to feel its magic intent to understand and learn it.

    After three hours, he heard some sound and opened his eyes to see Touma, Blondina, and Merax looking at him.

    Seeing him finally opening his eyes, Touma smiled, "You should be able to speak now, right?"

    Zevien nodded as his head was not dipped inside the liquid-like his body. He could move his head and speak now that he was healed slightly.

    "I can speak now but this small pipe going inside my body through my mouth is ufortable; how long will it stay like this?"

    "Ten more days to fully heal your internals and revitalize them," Touma said wryly.

    "Then you can ask me questions after ten days," Zevien grinned, "I will answer everything and tell what happened, how that happened, why that happened."

    Merax, Blondina, and Touma became speechless.

    "You are taking full advantage of your temporary VIP status, I see," Blodina said inly.

    "That is a given," Zevien cheekily smiled, "don''t worry, I n to extend this VIP status pretty soon by other means."

    Suddenly, he acted as if he was in pain and spoke weakly, "alright, I can''t speak more. See you after ten days."

    "Fine, but we need to know one thing, did you kill Galen?" Merax asked with a slight frown, "that old hag will soon find out about it, and trouble will begin."

    "Galen? I only met him once," Zevien made a confused expression before he revealed a shocked face, "Don''t tell me he died? How?!"

    Before they could answer, Zevien spoke, "oh, and also tell me who killed him so I can thank that person," Zevien''s expression turned angry as he continued, "he was really infuriating as he wanted to get between Vernisia and me. I would have killed him myself if he was not already dead."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Merax, Blondina, and Touma stared at Zevien''s angry expression and were doubtful.

    The three of them went back without saying anything and discussed softly outside the ss chamber.

    "I told you that he couldn''t have killed him," Touma said as he rubbed his chin, "Galen was thrown from approximately three to four thousand meters high in the sky. Zevien doesn''t even have the ability to fly moderately, let alone fly that high."

    "But obviously, he has some hidden cards," Merax said thoughtfully, "if he caused the bloodied mess we saw in the vi, it is possible that he killed Galen."

    "There''s no use specting about this ourselves," Blodina shook her head before saying indifferently, "whether he killed Galen or not doesn''t matter because that old hag can''t do anything to him while he is under our protection."

    "Alright, we will be leaving since we are busy, unlike you," Merax said as he looked at Touma, "everyone will gather after ten days to ask Zevien about the whole situation. We will see what he got up his sleeve at that time."

    ¡­

    Galen''s parents, Hry and Lucas, were seated at a table in the lounge of a hotel in the Lankrena region. The hotel was no less extravagant than a 7-star hotel.

    Two more people were at the table, both middle-aged like Hry and Lucas. Those two people were also a couple named Thizer and Enya.

    The state of Hry and Lucas was not very good as they had red eyes filled with anger and sadness.

    "You two go back; we will abort this task for now," Thizer said with a frown, "if your mother finds out about Galen''s death, she might just bring the Gio family down by taking some unwise steps."

    Lucas clenched his fist such that his palm started bleeding due to his nails, "whoever is it that killed my son¡­must die along with everyone close to him! I have to do this before motheres back from Astral Land."

    "He went to Starlight city because my friend called him for an arranged marriage with her daughter. I told you about it," Hry held back her tears as she spoke with some anger still in her voice, "he already liked her after seeing her photo and wanted to meet her but didn''t expect this would happen to him after going there."

    "Lucas!" Hry looked at her husband while gritting her teeth, "let''s go to the Starlight city right away! We must find the perpetrator, so I can kill them with my own hands!"

    "Be careful," Enya said with a frown, "if someone dared to kill the sole son of Gio, then that person either must be very powerful individually or have a powerful background."

    "We will know about that once we reach there," Lucas grunted coldly, standing up, "we are leaving now; you can take care of the n."

    Thizer and Enya nodded.

    After Hry and Lucas left, Thizer sighed, "this task was pretty important for us, but now it failed. We even bribed that official in the Magic Guild to get this task for ourselves but now that we failed, that ck Panther n or Storm Wind n will definitelyplete it."

    "It''s because that bastard went to Starlight city and courted death," Enya snorted, "old hag Mephis had spoiled him too much just because he was her sole grandson."

    "Leave it," Thazir shook his head before standing up, "let''s hope they can resolve this soon and return here. It''s a pretty important time right now as eruption spots have increased since that incident regarding magicbyrinths two days ago."

    "Yeah, who knows if the numbers will still remain this high in the future," Enya nodded with a frown, "let''s gather all other members and start working on it."

 Chapter 56 Gio Visits

    Vernisia, Dan, and Erica skipped the academy one day for obvious reasons.

    But the next day, Susan called them toe home after they finished attending the academy.

    When they reached home, they saw Hry and Lucas sitting in the living room with Susan and Amon.

    Amon introduced Galen''s parents.

    Lucas and Hry looked at Vernisia and nodded before slightly ncing at Dan and Erica. They had just arrived here and exchanged some talks and shared their grief.

    Hry and Susan had slightly red eyes as if they had cried a little due to Galen''s death. Amon also had a somber expression with an understanding face that showed sadness regarding Galen''s death.

    Naturally, Amon and Susan didn''t disclose anything about the incident to them.

    Both of the adults had kept their facade very tightly.

    However, After seeing Vernisia, Lucas''s stance changed. He had investigated something from his side, and he wanted more details.

    "Vernisia, you were one of thest people Galen talked with that night. Can you tell me what did you talk about?" Lucas asked with some pressure in his voice.

    "I wanted to tell him that I don''t agree with the marriage, and he also said that he is fine with it," Vernisia said before she sighed, "he told me to meet up, but before he gave me his location, he cut off the phone abruptly."

    "Did he say something that can connect to this incident?" Lucas asked as he narrowed his eyes.

    "No," Vernisia shook her head as her eyes twitched slightly. Internally, she got angry and wanted to tell about their scummy son''s actions.

    "After talking with you, he talked with his bodyguards but¡­after that, there was no more contact," Lucas muttered before he looked at Vernisia again, "that night, he also transferred a lot of money. Do you have any idea what he did with that?"

    ''Humph, of course, he used it to bribe many officials that night,'' Erica coldly snorted, ''but too bad, you will be in the dark regarding it because the government has suppressed everyone who was bribed and had a connection with the Gios so that they don''t disclose anything about this to anyone.''

    After the police and some government agents asked them about the situation, Touma told them everything. Also, he told them what Galen did that night: Galen bribed officials to not investigate anything about Vernisia''s kidnapping until the morning.

    So, after connecting the dots, Touma and another man with him told them that this news would not be disclosed to anyone. So they also shouldn''t spill any beans.

    The police and government of Starlight city wanted to buy time and also keep them safe in case Galen''s parents pulled out a wild card and attacked them after knowing that they might know about the culprit behind their son''s death or were connected to it.

    Touma and others guessed that Galen likely died because he made a move on Vernisia. Still, there was also a possibility that an enemy of the Gio killed him by taking advantage of Galen''s antics of kidnapping Vernisia.

    So until they find out who killed Galen, they can''t let anyone know that Vernisia was kidnapped by Galen''s people upon his orders. If Galen''s parents and that old hag Mephis find out about it, they will think that Galen died because of Vernisia and take it out on her.

    There werews and order, so if they killed someone, they could be put in jail and get punishment, but it would be hard if they used someone else''s hands to do dirty deeds and didn''t leave any evidence.

    Another thing, if they directly gave protection to Vernisia and her family, Galen''s parents would be even more suspicious of them. They would think that Vernisia and others were rted to Galen''s death.

    They might kill them without leaving proof, and if that happens, they also won''t get punished.

    As such, Vernisia didn''t tell them anything rted to her kidnapping.

    "What were you doingst night?" Lucas asked.

    Amon frowned hearing that, and Lucas noticed that. But what Amon said next caused Lucas to frown.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Are you being suspicious of us?" Amon asked before shaking his head with a sigh.

    "It''s fine, father," Vernisia said before answering Lucas, "that night, the police called all those who met with Galen to investigate. They kept us for some time and asked about everything to find out about the killer. We have already told them everything we know. The police are searching for the culprit, so I suggest uncle Lucas and aunt Hry go to the police station as they might be able to help you more in finding Galen''s killer."

    "We went there already and will go there again. We just thought that we should ask you about this since Galen came here for you," Hry said before she sniffed, "we thought you might know something more regarding this¡­like¡­

    "Zevien¡­," Hry finished her sentence before looking straight at Vernisia.

    "The police didn''t mention anything about him," Lucas spoke in a deep voice as he continued, "however, ording to what I know. He sent some men to keep an eye on this Zevien guy."

    "Do you know who he is?" Hry asked with razor-sharp eyes.

    "Zevien, that brat?" Susan quickly spoke while raising her eyebrows, "he is just a poor boy from an orphanage. I think Galen did that because Zevien and Vernisia are close. Galen told me personally that it''s fine if Vernisia rejects this marriage proposal, but he wanted to see what type of person Zevien was and, as such, sent some people to keep an eye on him."

    "So you like that Zevien guy?" Hry asked.

    Vernisia revealed a hesitant expression. She wanted to nod, but that might irk Hry, so she spoke hesitantly, "I-I am not sure. We are close friends for now."

    Vernisia wanted to squash anything that might make Lucas and Hry suspicious.

    "I see," Lucas nodded with slightly creased eyebrows and stood up promptly, "we will be leaving now since we have a meeting with some people regarding this case."

    Hry also stood up and said firmly as her lips slightly trembled, "no matter what, we have to find the person responsible for my s-son''s gruesome death! Police will have to catch them and punish them for this crime!"

    Amon and Susan stood up while nodding vehemently.

    "We will help you as much as we can," Susan said as she hugged Hry, "call us anytime."

    Afterward, Lucas and Hry left, and Susan properly locked the door and signaled Vernisia, Dan, and Erica by making a zip motion at her lips.

    Basically saying not to speak anything.

    Vernisia, Dan, and Erica nodded.

    "Since you have finished today''s academy sses, why don''t you go train at your usual ce?" Amon said.

    "Indeed. Police will handle this case, and since you were not involved in it, you don''t need to fear anything," Susan said with a nod.

    At this time, they need to go out and prove that they are not hiding anything. They have to act naturally, which is why Amon and Susan said.

    "Then let''s gather at our usual ce after freshening up," Dan said to Vernisia before turning to Susan and Amon, "uncle, auntie, we will be leaving now."

    "Have a good day," Susan nodded with a smile.

    As such, Erica and Dan left. They arrived here in a taxi, so they took a taxi again and returned to the academy.

    Vernisia went upstairs to freshen up since she was at her home.

 Chapter 57 Profiles

    After an hour, Dan and Erica left the academy on Zevien''s bike while Vernisia took her car.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan arrived in the Zenith Corp''s office and asked Yowen about Zevien''s condition.

    Yowen had already found where Zevien was kept for treatment and disyed his current status on his monitors.

    They saw Zevien inside arge ss tube with his body covered in blue jelly liquid, small pipes attached to his body, and one even going inside his body through his mouth.

    "Is he still unconscious?" Vernisia asked worriedly as her eyebrows creased together into a frown.

    "Don''t worry, he woke up a day ago while you three were sleeping in Vernisia''s house," Yowen said with a smile, "he also woke up four hours ago and talked with Touma-sir, a person named Merax, and a woman named Blondina. Both of them are government officials."

    Yowen pressed some buttons, and two of his monitors disyed information about Blondina and Merax.

    "Blondina, the chief of secret police and vice-leader of Witch Doctor organization. She is a powerful 2nd ss magician," Yowen said as he pointed at the woman with blond hair.

    "Merax, the intelligence & information department chief, is also a powerful 2nd ss magician."

    After saying that, Yowen removed Merax and Blondina before showing Touma."

    "Interesting fact, your Touma-sir is not a 3rd ss magician but a peak 2nd ss magician. He was a war veteran and one of the people titled War Hero seven years ago in the war for a big magic eruption spot between Lopax country and Pernol country. Right now, he is the leader of some top-secret government research and also teaches at the fourth national magic academy."

    Vernisia, Dan, and Erica were surprised to see the true information about Touma-sir.

    "Wait, is Zevien a part of that secret research thing?" Vernisia asked as she connected dots.

    "Yes, most likely," Yowen nodded as he pointed at Zevien, "I couldn''t hear their talks, but he seemed pretty close to those big shots the way he made expressions."

    "I feel like the thing that Zevien said about himing from the future or knowing about the future seems more and more true," Dan said with a wry smile, "the products, the people behind those things that he secured and even that magic potion. I think he knew all of this beforehand."

    "Sounds like some sort of protagonist from a novel, but yeah, the thing he said about knowing the future of six years seems right," Erica nodded.

    "I¡­I actually saw a vision about an alternate future. You remember when I was dazed yesterday morning?" Vernisia spoke as she rubbed his temples, "I convinced myself that I saw illusions, but it felt too real when I saw those visions. Anyway, since Zevien was willing to trust us with this, and it''s most likely true, we shall not disclose this to anyone."

    "That is given."

    Yowen, Dan, and Erica nodded.

    "He said there is another part, so we can ask him about this whole thing when he returns here after getting treated," Vernisia said before she walked towards the table of cards, "let''s get back to work now. We can''t pause the progress just because he is not here."

    "On it," Yowen said as he continued working on the codes, "I have sent seventy-eight cards'' data. Need to create the gems by carving magic formations on them for respective cards."

    "Let''s go, Erica," Dan said as he and Erica had to participate in the Spell Gauntlet''s research as well.

    Erica nodded as both of them went to the researchb of Spell gauntlet on Zevien''s bike.

    ¡­

    Time passed as minutes turned into hours and hours into days¡­

    After ten days¡­.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lucas and Hry were doing everything to find the culprit, but they felt they were constantly being blocked from getting essential information.

    In thest ten days, they only got frustration and nothing else.

    Vernisia, Dan, and Erica continued working in thepany while attending the academy and training at the dojo.

    As usual, the three of them gathered at the office after the academy.

    "Did he wake up today?" Vernisia asked Yowen.

    "Nope," Yowen shook his head, "he didn''t open his eyes even once in the past ten days."

    Vernisia frowned in worry, "should we ask Touma-sir about Zevien''s condition? Why he didn''t open his eyes in the past ten days?"

    ''Open your eyes, damn it. I am dying of worry here,'' Vernisia cursed in her mind while looking worriedly at the screen disying Zevien.

    As if to grant her wish, Zevien indeed opened his eyes.

    "Oh, he finally woke up after ten days," Dan said as he and Erica sighed a relief.

    ¡­

    In the past ten days, Zevien was in the deep meditation aside from necessary sleep and put all of his focus onprehending the magic intent of Ethereal-type containment. That''s why he never opened his eyes.

    He was actually doneprehending this magic intent in seven days and wanted to work on creating its magic formation and then infusing it in the magic formation of the fairy summoning spell.

    However, his magic eidos body pulsed with intense pain when he used mana.

    Tarto told him it would still take seven to eight days before he could use mana again after checking his magic eidos body.

    But today was the day he needed to answer some questions, and he was ready.

    ¡­

    Vernisia and others also returned to work while hoping quick recovery for Zevien.

    On the other hand, Touma, Merax, Blondina, Raven, and even Cargil arrived at the ss chamber.

    Yowen had just opened an energy drink can and was drinking it when he almost spat the drink after looking at this scene, "what is this line-up? Even City Lord and Umbra Lady Raven also came to meet Zevien?"

    Vernisia turned her head to monitor after hearing that and was startled as well.

    But after hearing no sound, she shook her head disappointingly, "wish we could hear what they are saying."

    Suddenly, the feed they were getting from Zevien''s chamber room disappeared, and the monitors turned nk.

    Electra appeared from the monitor and said with a weak smile, "that ck-haired woman is sharp. She deactivated all cameras of theb."

 Chapter 58 Truth Reveal With Benefits

    "Why did you deactivate all cameras? Any anomaly?" Touma asked.

    Raven nodded as she looked at the two cameras inside the ss chamber, "I felt some strange electric waves. You know that I have three types of lightning powers due to my awakening magic spells, due to which I am sensitive to electric waves."

    "Hmmm, it could be that unknown person who sent proofs about real culprits behind those four younglings'' deaths," Cargil spected with a frown. "If that person is powerful enough to hack thisb and even get live feedback from the cameras, then we have to find this person."

    Zevien was hearing everything from inside the tube, and his throat turned dry after what Cargil said, ''it''s better that I tell them about Yowen before they catch him. But not now. First, I''ll have to execute my idea of fairy summoning magic and extend my VIP status.''

    "I will work on it with Raven," Merax nodded to Cargil before he looked at Zevien, "but first, let''s ask this brat what he''s got up his sleeves."

    Zevien grinned at him.

    "So tell us, Zevien," Raven smiled, "what did you do that night in the vi? We are curious because it''s unreal for you to kill them, yet we are sure that you did it."

    Cargil, Touma, Blondina, and Merax also looked at Zevien, waiting for his answers.

    "I indeed killed them," Zevien nodded calmly, "I also killed Galen, and if his family touches anyone close to me, I will also kill them."

    "Do you know this is enough to put you behind bars for years?" Merax said with a straight face. Though he only wanted to scare Zevien by saying that.

    Zevien rolled his eyes, "are you interested in putting me behind bars or knowing how or why I did that?"

    "Because Vernisia was kidnapped?" Touma asked before he nodded and spoke with a cold smile, "you did the right thing by killing Galen. If anyone harms my student despite them not being at fault, then I would''ve killed them myself."

    Zevien angrily gritted his teeth and nodded, "that Galen wanted to ruin Vernisia''s life and bind her to him using forceful measures and hypnotize magic that one of his people had. I would damn myself and curse this entire world if something happened to Vernisia."

    "It''s been just a month, and you are already so deeply in love with your ssmate?" Raven chuckled.

    "For you, it may seem like a month, but for me, she is the beginning and end of everything, "Zevien said as he smiled cheekily, "I want to be with her until the end of eternity."

    "Until the end of eternity? I see what you mean there," Raven grinned and chuckled, "with that smooth tongue, why would she not fall for you? hehehe."

    "Back to the topic," Cargil said indifferently, "how did you manage to kill them? ording to the investigation, there was one 3rd ss magician, two 4th ss magicians, and four 5th ss magicians."

    "One 4th ss magician and that 3rd ss magician were bodyguards of Galen that came with him here while he called more peopleter on the same day hended in the Starlight city," Merax said as he had investigated everything, "to keep an eye on you."

    "Yeah, I bet he wanted to beat me up and scare me to stay away from Vernisia and forget about her. I would have handled everything, or you would have if he made a move on me after finding an opportunity, but he went for Vernisia," Zevien coldly grinned, "he courted death."

    "And we need to know how he courted death from that high in the sky," Touma said with a wry smile, "you did it personally, or do you have someone powerful who works for you?"

    ''Since Tarto said that people can awaken 2nd magicbyrinth in Astral Land, then these big shots who know about Astral Land should also know about it. Hmmm¡­,'' Zevien thought for a moment before he decided to reveal this. By revealing this, he could actually get help from them to be powerful.

    He could procure the blood of various magic beasts from them since they are powerful and could have ess to more magic beasts and even some unique, rare magic beasts. There are some unique magic beasts with strange power and they are also hard to spot since they are very low in number. If Zevien could get his hands on their blood, he could be very versatile.

    "Ahem, so¡­.the reason I could fly is rted to a lucky coincidence on that fateful day when I helped someone," Zevien spoke long windily as he looked at Cargil.

    Seeing Zevien looking at him, Cargil guessed, "the day you saved my grandson?"

    "Did you awaken your second magicbyrinth that day when you disappeared instead of entering your first magicbyrinth?" Blondina asked as she spected.

    On that day, Raven was not there, but she heard about what happened thereter. Nodding her head, Raven agreed with Blondina, "that could be the case."

    "Eh, you are right," Zevien nodded, "I awakened a second magicbyrinth called Invible Blood Garden. The awakening magic spell I learned in it can allow me to transform into any creature if I have that creature''s blood."

    "So you got a flying magic beast''s blood and transformed into it? Interesting¡­" Touma rubbed his chin with his eyes glinting, "I have some blood of various magic beasts stored. Let''s experiment with this magic spellter."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But with just that, you can''t kill 3rd ss or even 4th ss magicians," Merax said with a frown, "your magic power and body are not powerful enough to acquire the strength of high-grade magic beasts even if you transform into them using their blood.

    "Your mana also can''t invoke their true power. You will likely get a small boost overall and get the same or simr physique of the beast you transform into using that awakening magic spell," Touma said as he agreed with Merax.

    Cargil and others also nodded.

    "Cough¡­I know. I told you how I killed Galen, not how I killed those people in the vi," Zevien fake coughed before speaking with a wry smile.

    "Then tell us already how did you kill them," Raven rolled her eyes jokingly, "that is the thing that we are most eager to know."

    "Short answer: By using a tier-1 or even higher tier magic spell," Zevien grinned, "long answer is too long, and I can''t even demonstrate the magic spell to you right now. The interesting thing is, you can also¡­.non-technically use this spell and quite possibly increase your strength by 50% or even higher."

    Touma, Merax, Cargil, Blondina, and Raven were startled hearing that. They also deemed this as bull shit but what Zevien said next caused them to think twice.

    "This magic spell was why I got such a huge boost in power, which allowed me to kill those people in the vi. Naturally, this time''s boost was unnatural because I went way past my limits to acquire more power to save Vernisia, resulting in my current body condition," Zevien finished speaking as he saw everyone staring at him with various emotions: doubt, curiosity, shock, disbelief, etc.

    Zevien continued speaking after a short pause, "Normally, I can have enough power to kill 5th ss magician or 5th-grade magic beast without suffering consequences like this. But since you are all stronger, you can have a boost equivalent to your level."

    Zevien didn''t want to reveal fully regarding fairy summoning magic right now. So he justbeled it as some tier-1 or more powerful spell and didn''t even tell them the name.

    Cargil recovered earliest and spoke with a nod, "If you indeed killed them, then we can believe that such a magic spell really exists and can even be used by you, who is not even a 5th ss magician yet."

    "If we can use such a spell¡­." Merax muttered before his eyes gleamed, "what is the magic spell''s name?"

    "I will tell you when I disy the magic spell to you," Zevien said with a smile.

    "I guess we will have to wait for a week or two more if we want to know about this spell from Zevien," Touma sighed, "because he can''t use mana right now, and as such, he can''t disy it to us."

    "Exactly. So, see you after two weeks," Zevien smiled, "I hope nothing happens to Vernisia and other closed ones to me during this time."

    "Is this magic spell your chip to extend your VIP status?" Blondina asked as she raised her eyebrows.

    "Indeed," Zevien grinned, "trust me, you will be pleasantly surprised when you see it."

    "Fine," Cargil nodded indifferently, "we will return after two weeks. Also, even without you using this as some sort of chip, I wouldn''t let anyone harm people that are close to you."

    After saying this, the outside cold but inside softie city lord Cargil left the ss chamber.

    Zevien also sighed a relief hearing that before he fake coughed and said, "can I talk with Vernisia and my friends? I am literally dying since I haven''t seen Vernisia for more than ten days now."

    "If I die, then you won''t get to see this mystical magic spell," Zevien spoke with an utterly serious expression.

    Touma, Merax, Raven, and Blondina became speechless.

    "Fine, I''ll bring them here tomorrow," Touma said with a helpless smile, "after all, we can''t have you dying now."

    "Right?" Touma asked as he innocently looked at Merax, Raven, and Blondina.

    "Do as you wish," Merax said as he turned around and left the ss chamber, "just don''t reveal too much to them."

    Blondina also left after rolling her eyes.

 Chapter 59 Zevien, Touma, Raven

    After Blondina and Merax left, Raven neared Zevien and said with a smile, "say, Zevy, that person who helped you in those four kids'' murder case...you know that person, right?"

    Touma raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is that true, Zevien?"

    Zevien was startled, ''how did she know about this? or is it just a guess?''

    ''Should I reveal it now?'' Zevien internally frowned, ''originally, I wanted to tell them about Yowen after I disyed the fairy summoning magic spell to them, but now...''

    After thinking for a few seconds, he came to a decision.

    "I know," Zevien said as he decided to reveal it, "you can say that he works for me. The electric wave you felt was also from him as he likely wanted to check my status."

    Raven and Touma looked at each other before wryly smiling at Zevien.

    "Can you guarantee that he won''t mess things up? Because the level of his current hacking skills and whatever magic he is using can do a lot of damage to the system of this city. That''s why old man Cargil had put him on top priority list ever since that message we received from him regarding proof about those four murders," Raven said as she crossed her arms below her melons with a serious expression.

    Touma also nodded.

    "Don''t worry," Zevien shook his head slightly inside the ss tube before grinning, "he will never do that. He will not harm innocents or this city''s system. He will only work on my projects and help me in some situations¡­.for instance, how he helped me find Galen. Ahem, of course, you can also ask for his help through me."

    "For now, he can catch any person you want to find in this city," said Zevien as he meaningfully smiled.

    Raven narrowed her eyes before sharply smiling, "now that is some good news. We have a few rats to find in this city, and they need to be exterminated as quickly as possible."

    "Consider it done," Zevien beamed, "send any information you have of those people or people around your targets to Vernisia. She will pass it to Y."

    "Y? Won''t you tell us his real name?" Raven pouted.

    "Not yet," Zevien pouted back, "it will be my loss if you take him away."

    "I sent those rats'' information to Vernisia along with a message that said that it is for agent Y," Touma said as a cold glint passed through his eyes, "those trash need to be burned as soon as possible."

    "War Hero has left the battlefield but not the intent to protect this country, eh," Raven smiled.

    "Naturally," Touma grinned.

    "Also, if you need more funds, hit me up," Raven said before she turned around to leave. However, she didn''t expect Zevien to open his mouth instantly.

    "Then please send two million Lopax credits to Vernisia. Since I can''t move for a while, I need to store some funds in case there is an emergency need in thepany," Zevien opened his mouth without reserve.

    "I sent her contact to you," Touma followed up with a grin.

    Raven turned around with a speechless expression, "I was just joking! Hmph, shameless teacher and student robbing a poordy!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Despite saying that, she still sent two million Lopax credits to Vernisia after getting her contact from Touma.

    "What about the five million I sent you fourteen days ago?" Raven casually asked, "all finished?"

    "I still have half a million left," Zevien answered before asking, "what about my next pay? Will it still be five million?"

    "Yep," Raven nodded before sighing contentedly, "We just finished thest one thousand Bonecretto magic potions of the government''s order yesterday. And since the news about this potion has spread to major Adventurous Dojos of the country and mercenary organizations, I got so many orders that I had to order extra batches of ingredients from Astral Land."

    "The number of 3rd ss magicians is highest in magic forests and eruption spots, so this tier-3 potion''s demand should be very high," Touma nodded before sighing, "although I am notcking anything but the amount of money Raven is earning is still making me envious."

    "You will see real money pouring in when Zevienunches his product called Spell Gauntlet¡­.if it can be sessfully created," Raven sighed with a wry smile, "the idea is good but hard to achieve."

    "It will be sessful," Zevien grinned, "might need a month or two at most."

    "Spell Gauntlet? What does it do?" Touma asked with curiosity.

    "It is for people who couldn''t awaken their magicbyrinth," Zevien answered, "the spell gauntlet uses spell stones as a source of magic spells and mana stones as a source of mana. Spell stones are created from a special material that can only be found in a certain magicbyrinth which I can''t disclose for obvious reasons."

    "Finally, its use is to allow normal people to wield any type of magic on a daily basis."

    "Well, this is how Zevien wants it to work, but neither gauntlet nor spell stone''s structure is properly created yet."

    "What''s the problem?" Touma asked.

    "The spell gauntlet can''t execute magic spells from spell stones properly due to chaotic magic formation reading on the gauntlet''s part and unstable spell weaving method on spell stone''s part," said Zevien before he spoke confidently, "but as I said, this product will bepleted within a month or two at most."

    "If it is sessfully created, yourpany can earn lots of money by selling spell gauntlet and, more importantly, spell stones," Touma nodded thoughtfully, "it is brilliant because normal people can also use it, unlike those magic weapons like guns and swords that requires practice, mana control, and are set to certain uses while spell gauntlet users can use myriad of magic spells upon buying spell stones¡­.awesome."

    "Yeah. Although it won''t be as smooth as natural magicians, it will now allow normal people to y with magic too," Zevien said with a grin as he continued, "this can lead to new activities and make people''s lives easier if they use support-type magic spells in their daily life or during an emergency when danger befalls on the poption."

    "Well, I hope you can create this sessfully. For now, I am leaving as I have tons of work to do," Raven said with a smile before leaving the ss chamber.

    After Raven left, Touma rubbed his hand before grinning, "I want to see the transforming magic spell that lets you transform using blood but unfortunately, you can''t use mana right now."

    "Ahem, I leave the blood collection to my dear Touma-sir," Zevien smiled eloquently, "we can experiment since I also have yet to fully know the limit of that magic spell. By the way, the spell''s name is Blood Morphing Art."

    "Apt name," Touma nodded before saying, "alright, I will also leave now. You continue to take rest and recover."

    "Wait! Can you call Vernisia here? I am truly bored not being able to move my body or do anything. Just let her in for half an hour at least," Zevien said with a miserable expression, "I want to talk to her."

    "Fine," Touma said with a wry smile.

 Chapter 60 Red As Tomato

    "What?!!"

    Yowen was startled hearing the shocked voice of Vernisia and turned around only to see her standing stunned while staring at her Digi-watch.

    "What happened?" Yowen asked.

    "I-I just received two million Lopax credits from Umbra Raven, and¡­.there is only one Umbra Raven," Vernisia said as she slightly stammered, "how did such a big shot get my number?"

    "First, we got information regarding some people, and now mon-"

    "Wait, there is a note with it," Vernisia said as she read the note, "it seems that this money is for emergency if any research rted to thispany requires some funds. Oh yeah, I remember Zevien saying that he has a business deal with the Umbra Raven Alchemy house."

    "And here I thought it was money for my work on finding those people," Yowen said with a weak smile before turning back to the monitors, "It will take a day or two to find those people. From the links Electra and I found, those people have connections with other countries. I also found a hidden underground route with arge base under the ground but not the crucial people yet."

    "Yeah, finish that task first before getting back to creating animation actions for fairy cards. I also have lots of gems to craft," Vernisia said as she returned to work on the table to craft gems and embed them on the cards.

    However, after a while, she got a message from Touma, asking if she wanted to meet Zevien.

    Vernisia quickly replied back that she wanted to meet him and stood up with a happy smile, "I am going to meet Zevien."

    "Oh, by yourself or with the others?" Yowen asked while looking at the monitors.

    "Don''t know about that, but Touma-sir gave me the address, so I am going," Vernisia spoke as she left the building that was halfpleted already with five floors ready.

    From getting saved by Zevien to helping him leave the vi, she hasn''t seen him even once since he was taken away by Touma in the helicopter.

    After fifteen minutes, she arrived at the address that Touma sent her and entered theb. A nurse took her inside the mainb before she finally saw Zevien in a ss tube.

    "Yo," Zevien grinned, "did you miss me?"

    Vernisia blushed slightly before covering her mouth with a fist and coughed topose herself, "thank you for saving me."

    "Hehe, you''re wee to get into trouble again so I can save you again."

    Vernisia rolled her eyes before saying with a smile, "you can also get into trouble so that I can save you. Humph, I don''t want to be saved by you continuously."

    "I look forward to that moment," Zevien beamed.

    "How long will it take you to recover?" Vernisia asked as she sat down on a stool beside the ss tube.

    "Fifteen days more or less, I guess."

    ''Should I talk about it with him?'' Vernisia thought about the vision she saw and what Zevien said about knowing the future and living with them again. However, after thinking for a while, she decided not to ask about it here in case they were being observed. This was a secret and private matter. So it would be better if they talked about this in the office at Zenith Corp.

    A brief silence passed. Just as Zevien was wondering what Vernisia was thinking about, she said, "umm, Zevien, do you have anything you want me to do while you are here? I also received two million Lopax credits from miss Umbra Raven."

    "Ah, yes. I told her to transfer that amount to you," Zevien said, "since I will still be away for around fifteen days."

    Zevien thought of the orphanage and asked, "what about the orphanage? What did you say to mother Helena about my absence?"

    "We didn''t tell them the truth," Vernisia shook her head, "we told mother Helena that you went out of the city for some matter that even we don''t know about."

    "Good. We can''t tell her the truth now," Zevien nodded, "I will tell her everythingter."

    "Okay," Vernisia nodded before asking with a yful smile, "guess how many cards Ipleted?"

    "Hmm, around four hundred?" Zevien guessed after thinking for a few moments.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh, pretty close," Vernisia nodded with a grin, "three hundred ny-one. You can soonunch this game."

    "Yep, can''t wait to see everyone ying it and the money pouring in," Zevien softly chuckled inside the ss tube.

    "That aside, what about our sry," Vernisia said as she crossed her legs and looked at Zevien with a faint smile, "since we helped you, you have to pay us."

    "Naturally," Zevien grinned, "Dan and Erica both will have 10% of thepany''s shares because they will help more regarding other productster."

    "What?!" Vernisia was startled, "a 10% share in the wholepany?" Shaking her head, she said, "I don''t think they will ept that much. After all, the funds, ideas, resources, and every important thing was done by you."

    "Nah, 10% is good. I will make them ept it so they can regrly get money in their bank ount," Zevien said with a smile, "I have some other ns, and if everything goes ordingly well, we will be on a long and tough journey after a year."

    "As for you¡­," Zevien said with a loving smile, "I am not going to give you any share of thepany because-"

    "Wait, let me guess," Vernisia chuckled, "because everything yours is mine?"

    Zevien was startled before he alsoughed lightly and nodded, "exactly. I see that you are learning from me."

    "How many girls did you pick up with your cheesy lines?" Vernisia rolled her eyes.

    "Zero," Zevien smiled before speaking sincerely, "the current situation and ce is not a good ce to say it, but¡­ I''ll tell you now, for the first time but notst one, that I...love...you."

    ''I finally said it to her!'' Zevien thought as his heart beat faster. He really wanted to confess his feelings as soon as possible. He had held them back ever since the time rewind. But not anymore.

    Even more so since he didn''t see Vernisia in the past eleven days and his longing for her increased during this time. That''s why he couldn''t help but want to blurt out his feelings for her in raw, simple, but impactful three words.

    "Y-you¡­," Vernisia was speechless, and her face turned red like a tomato. She was not expecting this!

    Zevien internallyposed himself and smiled cheekily, "You didn''t expect me to say it here, in such a situation, right?"

    Grinning from ear to ear, Zevien continued, "but I''ll say it every day, so you shoulde to visit me every day, or I will be bored to death in this ss tube."

    Vernisia''s heart started to beat faster. She abruptly stood up and opened her mouth a few times but didn''t say anything.

    ''Should I say it? I-I like him too, but I don''t know what love is or how it feels¡­ maybe it is what I am feeling now?'' Vernisia''s face got hotter, and her heart beat even faster as she thought about what to do.

    To make Vernisia less awkward, Zevien had just closed his eyes with a gentle smile on his face. In his mind, he was reminiscing about the time he spent with Vernisia before the time rewound.

    He expected Vernisia to leave, but he suddenly heard her speaking in a very tiny voice. He didn''t open his eyes but listened closely.

    "I-I¡­l-like you," Vernisia quickly left after saying this because she felt that her heart would explode if she stayed any longer.

    Her face was red, and her heart thumped fast like a horse racing through a field as she left theb.

    She went to her car and rested on the steering wheel as she buried her face in her hands. Her ears had also turned red as if someone had squeezed them.

    However, she very much liked the sensation she was feeling inside her. After calming down her breath, a stupid grin appeared on her face, ''Zevien¡­he really said he loved me, and I¡­damn, I can''t believe I said that. Should I have said I love him too instead of just like him? He wouldn''t feel bad, right?''

    Vernisia suddenly felt worried and activated her Digi-watch. She wrote [I love you too] but then erased it, ''should I really send him a message like this?''

    After agonizing over this choice for a minute, she took a deep breath and pressed the send button after writing it.

    Unfortunately, Zevien couldn''t move his hand or fingers, so even though he could activate Digi-watch with a bit of his mana, he couldn''t open the message Vernisia sent him as that required his touch.

 Chapter 61 Magic Spell Modified, Calling Everyone

    Days passed as everyone did their things¡­

    Vernisia, Dan, and Erica visited Zevien, and Vernisia also realized that Zevien didn''t read the message yet. But they started to be less awkward and morefortable around each other even after what happened when she visited him the first time.

    After five days rather than eight, Zevien could use his mana without feeling pain or difort and started to infuse the ethereal-type containment formation in the spell formation of fairy summoning magic.

    On the other hand, Lucas and Hry were pulling their hair in frustration. They had exhausted expressions and weary faces that showed anger and helplessness.

    Blocks after blocks after blocks after blocks were the only thing they encountered regarding their son''s murder.

    Inside a top-ss hotel room¡­

    "Mother ising after a week. The moment she arrives on the Gaia continent, she will know everything," Lucas said with a frown before sighing and leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.

    Hry had red eyes as she spoke while gritting her teeth, "let''s meet with city lord Cargil. That''s the only way to know about this matter."

    Lucas nodded with his eyes still closed and spoke, "I wanted to solve this on our own, but now we have no choice. Let''s hope that old man gives us what we want with some price."

    ¡­

    The next day, they requested to meet City Lord Cargil, but they were refused because apparently, city lord Cargil went somewhere out of the city for some matter.

    After knowing he would return after a week, Lucas and Hry returned to the hotel and contacted some people.

    "That Vernisia''s friend¡­.Zevien, was it? I have a feeling that he is involved in this big time," Hry said with a frown.

    Lucas nodded as he agreed with his wife, "the strange thing is he disappeared ever since that incident, and police or anyone in government doesn''t have information about him which I think is bull shit. Anyway, I have contacted some people to find him so let''s see what happens."

    "We have to question him, even if forcefully, to spit out everything he knows," Hry said with a cold expression.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, a few more days passed before Zevien finally managed to modify the fairy summoning spell that would help him seed in his n.

    "Nice work, Zev," Tarto nodded calmly with a faint smile on his cat mouth. He caressed its whiskers one time before speaking, "now, since you are going to reveal them about fairy powers, then might as well use my power right now and transform. Keep it up until you reach 600 magic power because doing so will speed up the recovery and heal your body quickly.

    "Alright," Zevien grinned, "since I am done modifying that magic spell, it''s time to call everyone, and this is the best way to do it, hahaha."

    After saying that, Zevien willed the seed to activate as it started infusing power inside his magic core.

    Previously, he couldn''t transform or do anything because his magic eidos body and physical body were significantly damaged. If he transformed again in that state, he would likely die instead of recovering. But now that his magic eidos body''s foundation had returned to normal with expensive care by the government, Tarto told Zevien to transform and speed up his overall recovery.

    ? ¡­

    Since it was early in the morning at 7 AM, Touma was not in theb, but there was a woman asionally observing Zevien through cameras from anotherb room while working.

    This woman was Touma''s assistant assigned by the government just recently. Her name was Jinny. She was twenty-six years old with a bit chubby body and big cheeks.

    A short turquoise-colored ponytail dangled behind her head as she walked towards a cupboard to put the vial she had just finished processing.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While walking, Jinny nced at the monitor that showed Zevien and was so startled that she almost dropped the vial.

    She saw a pair of ck furry cat ears on Zevien''s head, three whisker marks on his cheeks, and a cat tail moving like a snake vertically from his back. His nails also became longer, and his eyes had changed to crystalline ruby irises with ck patterns and a vertical slit in the middle.

    "T-this¡­what happened to him?" Jinny was confused and shocked, but she didn''t waste time and quickly contacted Touma and sent live footage of the camera to him.

    Touma was in the ss, but after looking at the video footage, he left the academy while sending the messages to Merax, Raven, Blondina, and city lord Cargil.

    City lord Cargil was indeed out of the city but not too far. He didn''t want to meet Lucas and Hry before learning about the trump card of Zevien that he would reveal.

    So after seeing Touma''s message, he also returned to the city.

    ¡­

    "Hey, what''s going on?" Touma asked as soon as he entered the ss chamber. His gaze was filled with intense curiosity as he looked at transformed Zevien, "this shouldn''t be your Blood Morphing Art''s power since you require blood for it, and you can''t get it here."

    "Yep," Zevien grinned.

    "So what it is?" Touma asked while ncing at the status of Zevien''s body on the disys and was startled to see that he was recovering quickly.

    "Wait for everyone to arrive, so I only need to exin once," Zevien said, "also, can you drain the liquid and open this ss tube since there''s no need for it anymore?"

    "Right," Touma nodded, as there was indeed no need for it now that Zevien was recovering quickly after transforming into this humanoid cat form.

    Touma opened the ss tube after draining the jelly liquid, which was one of the best healing solutions to recover the foundation of the magic eidos body.

    Since arriving here, Zevien''s physical body was recovering slowly in contrast to the fast recovery of his magic eidos body because Touma and others focused on healing his magic eidos body first to allow him to use mana. His physical body needed delicate recovery due to how damaged it was.

    As such, Zevien''s physical body was still a bit strained as he slowly stood up in the ss tube and sat down.

    But now that he had transformed, he started recovering his physical body quickly.

    *pop¡­pop¡­*

    One could hear popping sounds as Zevien stretched his arms and neck, "ahh, it feels good to move my body after so many days finally."

    Soon, Merax arrived, and then Raven and Blondina, after half an hour.

    "Old man is on his way to here. It will take half an hour more, so let''s wait," Blondina said while looking at a transformed Zevien curiously.

    "Hey, can I touch those ears? I want to see how they feel," Raven curiously moved towards Zevien and stretched her hands towards his ears.

    Zevien was speechless and took his head back, "no! You can''t touch them. Even Vernisia haven''t touched them yet, even though she very much wanted to touch them but couldn''t bring herself to say it before."

    "Tsk, fine," Raven clicked her tongue, "but you have to let me touch and examine them after your cat-ears lose their virginity by your girlfriend''s touch."

    Zevien weakly smiled at how Raven worded it, but it sounded strangely suited to the situation.

 Chapter 62 Fairy Spirit Summoning I

    "Your magic power is over 600 right now," Merax said with slight disbelief in his voice, "is this the spell you were talking about? Transform into a cat-like humanoid to boost magic power?"

    "Eh, nope," Zevien shook his head and grinned, "this is exclusive to me. For you all, it will vary. There''s also no guarantee that you will personally get a boost like me, but nevertheless, your overall power will certainly increase."

    "Too vague and so much suspense; at least tell us something about the spell," Blondina said with slight dissatisfaction in her voice.

    "Wait for the city lord to arrive," Zevien grinned.

    ¡­

    Half an hour quickly passed as everyone spoke about some essential things and things regarding Lucas and Hry.

    They told everything to Zevien as it concerned him.

    "Sorry for troubling you, but there is no way I would have let that bastard live. If I had let him go, he would only bring more future troubles," Zevien said with a somber expression, "at least, they had yet to find out that it was me, thanks to you. But if I had let him go, he would havee directly at me or people around me."

    "Don''t worry; you are our valuable asset now," Touma grinned.

    "Humph, you are also my business partner. As long as it''s within my reach, I will help you. Also, I can''t wait to get some shares in yourpany," Raven grinned, "I am fairly sure you will need more funds as just the money you get from Bonecretto potion won''t suffice."

    Zevien nodded with a smile, "you don''t know about my main product, but I will call youter one day and show you. After that, you will know the true value of Zenith Corp."

    "Interesting, I can''t wait, hehe," Raven chuckled before looking at Merax and Blondina, "aren''t you two interested?"

    "Interested, but no time," Blondina shook her head, "though we can give you money in exchange for some shares. Passive ie is always wee."

    At this time, city lord Cargil finally arrived.

    "Interesting," Cargil said as he looked at the transformed Zevien, "will you show the spell here, or do we change locations?"

    "We should change locations and go to a vaster ce," Zevien nodded.

    "Then let''s go," Cargil said before turning around, "I have arrived here on a helicopter so we can go to the Starlight forest quickly."

    While walking, Cargil said, "I have high expectations because of what you said thest time. Let''s hope you do not disappoint us."

    Zevien ruefully smiled while walking and undid his transformation as he had almost fully recovered in the past half an hour, "I said that because of my experience and theory on how it might work on others. But, as I will be trying this for the first time, it may not go smoothly. Nheless, you will not be disappointed after learning about the spell."

    ¡­

    Everyone sat down in the helicopter before moving towards the Starlight forest.

    Everyonended on top of a vast hill with only a few trees. The hill mainly had grassynd and was vast, so Cargilnded the helicopter here.

    Afternding, Zevien stood in one ce while Touma, Raven, Cargil, Merax, and Blondina stood five meters away from him and looked at him, waiting for him to start.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Tarto," Zevien said.

    Touma and the others saw a ck cat appearing on Zevien''s shoulder out of nowhere.

    "A¡­fairy spirit?" Cargil narrowed his eyes as he tried to sense Tarto, but after a second, a shocked expression appeared on his face with dread shing past his eyes.

    "Chix, old guy," Tarto said, "I may be more powerful than you, but I have no interest in using my powers here. Not even to help this guy as I only have a five-year contract with him, and if he fails to impress me, ta-ta bye-bye~"

    "Ahem," Zevien smiled weakly before saying, "Tarto is a fairy spirit that I summoned."

    "Wrong, I am a fairy spirit that answered your summon; you have no power to summon someone as powerful as me," Tarto said.

    Touma and the others looked at each other with a dumbfounded expression.

    "Sir, is that fairy spirit really more powerful than you?" Blondina whispered.

    "You doubt my words,dy?" Tarto narrowed his eyes.

    Cargil nodded solemnly while thinking, ''I have seen fairy spirits in Astral Land, but none like this one.''

    "So, how did you get the fairy summoning magic spell?" Raven asked with a slight shock, "each of those kingdoms or families with fairy summoning spells have kept it tightly bound. Even after much work, we didn''t manage to get our hands on one."

    "I can''t tell you how I got it, sorry," Zevien said with a smile.

    "Didn''t you create it?" Tarto said while licking its nails.

    "Cough¡­cough, no," Zevien red at Tarto before looking at Cargil and the others,ughing hollowly, "how can I create such a magic spell? Haha... Anyway, the important thing is that only I can use this magic spell properly because I have an unawakened connection with the fairy spiritbyrinth."

    "That, I know," Cargil nodded, "only people with unawakened or fully awakened connection with fairy spirit magicbyrinth can use the spell properly.

    "But other people can also use it to get random fairy spirits instead of nned or royal fairy spirits as long as they learn the summoning magic intent and the spell formation."

    "We have been trying to get one, but no one was willing to give this magic spell to anyone on the Gaia continent. There are some conditions such that all fairy summoning magic spells connect to different regions inside the fairy spiritbyrinth and summon fairies of that type," Merax said, "that''s why those who have this spell don''t give it to outsiders."

    "I see," Zevien nodded, "I didn''t know about that, but the spell I have here is different."

    "Let''s hear it," Cargil nodded with a rare smile, "the fact that you have a fairy summoning magic spell is already good news."

    "Yes... But as I said," Zevien spoke as he faked a cough, "ahem, this spell can only be used by me properly, and the interesting thing is that I can let others have the benefit of this spell properly even if you don''t have an unawakened connection with the fairy spirit magicbyrinth."

    After speaking, Zevien pointed his hand in front of him and used the spell; a small colorful vertical whirlpool formed with a transparent, ethereal field around it.

 Chapter 63 Fairy Spirit Summoning II

    "City lord, connect your intent with that ethereal field around the whirlpool," Zevien said, "I will be initiating the summoning, but your intent will be merged with the summoning instead of mine because of that ethereal field. Think of your traits, ambitions, what you like, magicbyrinth''s powers, and such things. That way, a fairy spirit that takes liking to those things and your strength will be summoned."

    "Interesting, I haven''t heard of this ethereal field before, but the way this magic spell was executed seems like it was added to the original fairy magic summoning spell," Cargil spoke while doing as Zevien told.

    "Naturally," Tarto snorted before continuing, "not many can touch the realm of ethereal magic. But Zevien has a slight affinity with it due to his magicbyrinth, which has ethereal magic aspects. So after listening to his idea, I taught him this ethereal containment intent before he added it to this summoning magic spell."

    "Yes... Yes... Tell them everything," Zevien rolled his eyes.

    "Hahaha," Toumaughed, "this is an exciting concept of summoning. It also makes you important because you are the main carrier of this magic spell. I see what you mean by extending your VIP status now."

    Blondina, Merax, and Raven also nodded with wry smiles.

    "Alright, hold on, kids," Tarto said, "a big guy ising."

    The summoning whirlpool suddenly got ten meters bigger before a horn came out from the very top of the vortex, before the rest of the body followed right after.

    "Gekk!"

    A dark blue frog with dark green crystalline patterns appeared from the whirlpool. The horn on its head was also dark green with ck spots.

    Cargil looked at the frog in wonder, while the frog sized Cargil and Zevien up with a bit of confusion in its eyes.

    "I took the summoning call, but¡­this is a bit strange, Gek!" The frog spoke while looking a bit confused.

    "Hey, froggy, you are going to decide whether you want to make a contract with that white-haired old guy," Tarto spoke, attracting the frog fairy spirit''s attention.

    "My name is Ferol! You ar-" Ferol the frog spoke while looking at Tarto, but suddenly, its words stuck in its throat as the frog trembled and started sweating, "l-lord fairy?"

    Tarto carefreely nodded while pointing its paw at Cargil, "that is your target."

    "Gek! If you say so, I am willing to form the contract. Please, just let me join your fairy realm!" Ferol spoke with pitiful eyes. "I was kicked out of a fairy realm recently, so I don''t have any support now. Because of the recent changes, that bastard kicked me out because of my core magic!"

    Tarto rolled his eyes, "do what you are here to do. I am not epting any fairies spirits in my fairy realm right now."

    "Gek!" Ferol croaked in a sad tone before sighing and turning to Cargil, "I sensed your intents and heeded the call. If you want to form a contract with me, you will have to resist my Ray of Avarice for five seconds."

    "Ray of Avarice?" Cargil muttered, ''seems like rted to greed or something like that.''

    "Ray of Avarice is one of my core magics. If you can''t resist it for five seconds, I can''t form the contract with you," Ferol spoke seriously, "this magic will test your will."

    "I am ready," Cargil nodded with a firm expression. He could feel that this frog fairy spirit was slightly stronger than him, and he didn''t want to miss this chance to contract with it.

    Ferol nodded as its horn shone and released a light greenser with ck sparks towards Cargil.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Theser directly hit Cargil''s forehead but didn''t damage him. Instead, Cargill''s eyes became unfocused as a gleam of green and ck passed through his eyes.

    After five seconds, Ferol deactivated theser as city lord Cargil swayed slightly, almost falling down, but he didn''t fall in the end. Shaking his head a bit, Cargil muttered, "it felt like a long time had passed inside¡­."

    Afterposing himself, city lord Cargil asked Ferol with a in expression, "how was it?"

    "Gek!! Impressive, human! 98 out of 100 points! Ferol spoke excitedly, "the passing mark was 80, but you did very impressively in the illusion! Alright, so would you like to form a permanent contract with me? This contract will only end unless one of us dies."

    Cargil nodded with a faint smile, "let''s form it."

    "Ahem¡­so city lord Cargil, I leave the matter of the Gio family in your hands now," Zevien smiled cheekily, "with Ferol, you are possibly one of the strongest 1st ss magicians in the Gaia continent."

    "Leave it to me," Cargil nodded with a small smile.

    Afterward, Cargil and Ferol formed a contract.

    "How much magic power do you have?" Cargil asked Ferol.

    "Gek! My current magic power is 38,579," Ferol said before its ten meters big body shrunk to the size of a palm. After that, It jumped on Cargil''s shoulder.

    Cargil nodded, "I am stuck at the 35,000 mark. I can''t go past it without evolving my magic eidos body and magic core to the next stage."

    "Oh, sir Cargil reached the peak of 1st ss magician? When?" Merax and the others were surprised.

    "I reached the limit just a week ago," Cargil said with a nod, "so I was nning to go the Astral Land."

    "Ahem, anyway, it''s our turn now, right?" Raven said with a grin as she looked at Zevien, "what''s the price?"

    "The price is the favors that I might ask in the future," Zevien smiled, "after all, the fairies will double your overall strength in a way; the example is in front of you."

    Touma, Raven, Merax, and Blondina were visibly excited at the prospect of having their own contracted fairy spirits.

    "Let''s start after I recover my mana," Zevien said, "it takes 1000 mana to use the spell."

    "Here, take the mana stone and recover," Merax threw a mana stone at Zevien.

    After Zevien recovered his mana, he once again used the fairy spirit summoning spell.

    One by one, he let Raven Touma, Merax, and Blondina summon a fairy with the same method.

 Chapter 64 Possibility Into Reality

    The fairy that Touma summoned was a giant bee with four mechanical wings. It had a metal body with liquified mana tubes running over it with different colored liquids in those tubes.

    "Jeez, very appropriate for an experimentalist," Raven scoffed jokingly after learning about the powers of this fairy.

    The fairy''s name was Biombee, and it readily formed a contract with Touma after they talked for a bit. Biombee''s magic power was 24,580, which was way more than Touma''s, who had 16,780 magic power.

    "In my recent experiment, I came up with Biotlings. They are small bees that can collect essential liquid magic from various flowers. We can use those liquids with various effects in some experiments," Biombee said while humming around Touma in miniature form.

    "Ah, that is great," Touma grinned widely, "we can add such liquid in a magic beast''s blood and give it to Zevien for his Blood Morphing Art. It might bring mutation to his transformation."

    "Give me a break! At least let mepletely learn that spell first!" Zevien started sweating at the thought of his teacher with this fairy and what they would do now that they were together.

    "Alright, it''s my turn now. Recover your mana," Raven said as she grinned with a hint of excitement and rubbed her palms.

    Zevien nodded as he recovered his mana using the mana stone in five seconds and once again used the spell.

    After a while, a ck crow fairy spirit with a ten-meter long wingspan came out from the portal like a rocket and flew around in the air while looking at everyone below.

    The crow had ck wings with a dark-gold hue in its feathers and a tiny crown-like ck-gold crystal on its head.

    "It seems you summoned a descendant from a big n," Tarto spoke casually.

    ''Lord Fairy...Tartagust?'' the crow fairy spirit was startled upon seeing Tarto. It obediently descended on the ground in front of Zevien before bowing slightly, "greetings from Mystic Raven n''s Ravana."

    "Mhmm," Tarto returned the greeting with a simple nod while sitting on Zevien''s shoulder.

    "A descendant from a royal fairy n," Raven muttered excitedly. She had heard that there are ns of fairies, and some families in Astral Land have summoning spells that summon fairies from those particr ns.

    "Ah, Ravana?" Tarto suddenly remembered something regarding Mystic Raven n.

    "Meow~Why did you ept this summon call?" Tarto questioned Ravana, "as far as I know, your n has a connection with a family in Astral Land. I doubt others in your n would like it that you epted this random summon from the Gaia continent."

    Ravana was a name that was only given to a crow fairy with the highest potential in Mystic Raven n. If the next generation''s crow fairies want that name, they will have to defeat the current Ravana. Another way is that if the current Ravana dies, the crow fairy with the highest potential inherits that name.

    "They don''t get to select who I establish my contract with," Ravana stated proudly in a chiming voice that indicated that the crow fairy was a female.

    "Fair enough," Tarto nodded gleefully, "I like such spirit."

    "Thank you for such words, for they have further solidified my conviction," Ravana said with a hint of delight before turning around.

    "Lady Raven, I am drawn to your aspirations, ambitions, affinity in our magic, and most importantly, the tingle of my instincts when I sensed the intent from this call," the majestic crow stated as it swooped towards Raven and came to a halt one meter from her, "If I establish a permanent contract with you, I feel I will have a fulfilling and thrilling journey."

    "It would be my honor," Raven said solemnly.

    "As it would be mine," Ravana said before beginning to form the contract with her.

    Ravana''s magic power was 38,750, even higher than Ferol. Inparison, Raven''s magic power was 20,450 as a recently ascended 1st ss magician.

    After forming the contract, Ravana turned into a beautiful ck-gold chain ne that stayed on Raven''s neck with a dark-gold crystal pendant at the end of it.

    ''This is my Amulet form. It passively increases your magic power and gives you two buffs. I can also turn into a pair of wings to aid you in flying significantly. While in my main form, I can actively participate inbat,'' Ravana said telepathically to Raven.

    ''Awesome,'' Raven replied with a hint of excitement, ''Ravana, let''s show the world what we are capable of!''

    ¡­

    Afterward, Merax and Blondina also summoned fairies. Merax summoned a humanoid rabbit named Alfons that spoke like a gentleman. He had worn a tuxedo suit made of unique, smooth material and held a cane in his right hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Blondina summoned a giant butterfly with emerald wings who introduced itself as Noxian. Noxian specialized in healing and poison magic.

    "Since we are done here, let''s return. It''s been a long time since I went to the academy and mypany," Zevien said as he stretched his arms and legs.

    "Nay, you will not return with them," Tarto spoke while caressing his whiskers, "this forest is filled with grade-3 and lower magic beasts. A pretty good ce to test your limits. Return to the city on your own."

    "What?! That''s dangerous," Touma frowned slightly.

    Cargil, Raven, Merax, and Blondina also frowned at this suggestion from Tarto.

    "You¡­I just recovered, okay?" Zevien was speechless.

    "No, you took a long rest of almost three weeks inside theb. Now it''s time to move around and flex some brawns and brains," Tarto jumped from Zevien''s shoulder and floated in front of him, "I have deemed it possible for you to return to the city from this jungle. Now, you have to turn this possibility into reality."

    Hearing those words, Zevien''s expression became somber as he took a deep breath and nodded, "fine, I''ll do it. If you deem it possible, I will make it a reality."

    "You heard that," Tarto turned to Cargil and others before gesturing with its paw, "now move along in that helicopter."

    Zevien nodded at them as various feelings bubbled inside him like dread, excitement, anxiety, fear, anticipation¡­

    "This hill is pretty safe, but entering the jungle will be dangerous. Be careful and move cautiously," Cargil said before moving towards the helicopter.

    Touma and the others also moved towards the helicopter after nodding at Zevien. Merax sat down in the pilot seat while Cargil sat beside him.

    As the helicopter flew up, Raven muttered while looking at Zevien, "This reminds me of my days in ck Dagger valley. However, it was not as perilous as this situation. What is that cat thinking by forcing Zevien on such a task?"

    "Whatever the reason, we are powerless in front of that fairy," Cargil spoke indifferently, "it''s in apletely different realm of power."

    "Gek! Indeed, we don''t have a chance against a Lord rank fairy," Ferol nodded, "I am also baffled by the fact that Lord Erebuxin epted the summoning call of that weak human."

    "Erebuxin?" Touma and others were surprised.

    "Gek! Erebuxin indeed! The Lord of Night Sky and Harbinger of Crimson Darkness," Ferol spoke with sparkling eyes, "I have heard about Lord Erebuxin, and that''s why I wanted to join his fairy realm. Unfortunately, I failed."

    "But that fairy won''t let Zevien die, right?" Touma questioned with a frown, "after all, he had formed a contract with Zevien."

    "We don''t know what Lord Tartagust is thinking, nor are we capable of knowing why he epted Zevien''s summoning," Ravana said, its voice ringing out like a chime, "as for whether he would save Zevien or not? The answer is clear... No. Tartagust will not go back on his words."

    "Man, I am getting nervous," Raven woefully sighed as Zevien was finally out of their sight.

    "Wish all the best for him. That''s all you can do," Ravana said.

    ...

    As Zevien saw the helicopter disappearing from his view, he looked in the direction of the city and muttered, "fifteen kilometers...Tarto, you really gave me a tough task this time."

    "Meow~ This is nothing," Tarto rolled his eyes, "now transform and see how much of my power you can take. With thest incident of going way above your limit, you should have gained more adaption of my power and should be able to reach a higher limit."

    Zevien nodded as he activated the shaman seed, causing his body to transform and magic power to rise.

    254... 350... 480... 590... 680... 730... 870... 940... 1050... 1090... 1120... 1122... 1128

    "Haaah!" Zevien took a deep breath before adjusting, "I can''t go past this, or I won''t be able to move properly."

    Since Zevien managed to increase his magic power by 1000 in this transformation, he also got ess to a 3rd magic spell called ckout Bubble aside from Nyxite ws and Hellzer.

 Chapter 65 Pyrus Maned Horse

    "You must alsobine your Blood Morphing Art''s transformation with my shaman transformation in your way during this journey. Now let''s get moving," Tarto said.

    Zevien nodded before he started walking with silent footsteps. After five minutes, he descended from the hill without encountering any magic beast.

    "I''ll disappear now, but I will still be observing you. Also, don''t expect any help from me. Just move as if you are truly alone," Tarto said before disappearing. "Good luck."

    Zevien stopped moving and hid behind a tree, ''first, I need to kill one magic beast and store its blood in some container before returning to the hill and trying to superimpose both transformation powers.''

    Before truly stepping into the forest, he decided to make himself as strong as possible.

    First, he used his sharp nails to create a thin bowl-shaped stone by cutting a chunk from a boulder. Next, he used a nearby tree''s firm wood and peeled off ayer from its trunk before cutting it to create strings to cover the bowl using a leaf.

    Afterward, he crafted another thick and long string to hang the stone bowl at his waist.

    "Done. Now I need to hunt a magic beast, preferably a 4th-grade one," Zevien muttered before cautiously starting to move again with silent footsteps.

    A 4th-grade magic beast''s strength spanned from 1500 to 5000 magic power. So, Zevien hoped to encounter an early-stage 4th-grade magic beast, which usually has 1500 to 2000 magic power.

    But Zevien didn''t have the means to determine the magic power of a magic beast yet. However, since he had memories of his previous life, he could still ascertain how powerful a magic beast was as long as he was familiar with that magic beast.

    After silently walking for ten minutes and arriving at a small pond, he saw a 4th-grade magic beast.

    Pyrus Maned Horse.

    All attacks of this magic beast were fire-based as it was a fire-attributed magic beast. It had red burning manes, and its hooves were also on fire.

    Zevien thought for several seconds before he consumed some mana to use a spell as a ck bubble conjured on his palm. This spell was called ckout Bubble. If this magic spell hits someone, their sense of touch, hearing, smell, vision, and taste are nulled for an amount of time, defined by the mastery of the magic spell and consumed mana.

    At the 500 additional magic power mark, Zevien unlocked two magic spells: Nyxite ws and Hellzer. At the 1000 mark, he unlocked ckout Bubble.

    ''Go,'' Zevien lightly waved his hand as the orb shot towards the Horse.

    The Horse noticed and turned around to attack whatever it sensed. s, the ck bubble hit the Horse before it could attack.

    *Neighhh!*¡­*Neighhh¡ª*

    *Dhooof¡­.*

    The Horse lost all of its senses and started panicking while attacking randomly. This was the difference between a low-grade magic beast and humans. If Zevien attacked a human, that human would likely choose to dodge instead of turning around.

    Zevien emerged from the bush, hisrge ws gleaming darkly.

    Somatic Anger: Internal casting.

    He buffed himself before lightly dodging an iing fireball easily as his physical and mental agility was enhanced in this cat form.

    After dodging, Zevien waved his hands to release the Hellzer by consuming 1000 mana.

    A sh of darkness filled with red sparks shot towards the Horse before hitting it and spreading to its whole body.

    The Horse turned frenzied as this attack hurt it.

    Hellzer was a pure offensive spell that could burn the target, weaken their defenses, and reduce their healing. Zevien could control the wave to make it as big as a carpet for an AOE attack or smaller like a projectile.

    ''It''s tough¡­,'' Zevien frowned as he saw that Hellzer was as effective as he expected. The red me on the Horse slowly negated the darkness with red sparks.<novelnext></novelnext>

    *Swooosh¡­*

    Zevien waved his hands and released Nyxite ws, straight towards the Horse''s bum as it was the beast''s weak part as far as he remembered the details about the Pyrus Maned Horse.

    He wanted to cripple the beast by attacking its legs, but the problem was that Pyrus Maned Horse''s legs, head, and belly were tough due to being coated in molten tes.

    As this Pyrus Maned Horse was 4th-grade, Zevien was not capable of easily breaking its defense in those ces in a short time.

    So the only way was to hit its bum, which was its weakest point.

    Another fireball shot toward Zevien, but he dodged it. There was no use conjuring a barrier with his Somatic Sadness spell because it would be useless; he won''t be able to block the attack and would waste his mana.

    *Neighhhhhhh!!*

    The Pyrus Maned Horse cried loudly as the ws hit its back, especially one that hit at its most vulnerable spot. Due to this, the beast released an intense burst of fire from its hooves and flew up.

    Right after that, the effect of the ckout Bubble also wore off.

    The beast calmed down after regaining its senses, but its anger was still present. It spotted Zevien quickly and dashed towards him from the sky.

    ''Shit!'' Zevien cursed as he saw the beast regaining its senses. He used the maximum amount of mana he could when conjuring the ckout Bubble, which was 1745 mana.

    He could not consume more mana to increase ckout Bubble''s power as this was his current limit. Still, he didn''t expect it tost only for seven seconds.

    Covered in me, Pyrus Maned Horse dashed towards Zevien with the intention to burn him alive.

    But Zevien maintained his calm.

    When the Horse was just five meters away, Zevien used sh Curtain to blind the Horse for a couple of seconds and rolled forward.

    After rolling behind the beast, Zevien again released Nyxite ws towards its bum and quickly moved again.

    *Neighhhh!!!!!*

    This time, the attack hit the beast with even better uracy since it was not moving chaotically like before.

    Blood started to gush out from its back as the beast felt intense pain. Its anger increased along with its pain as the Horse turned around after regaining its vision.

    But there was no one there. Instead, Zevien was behind it once again.

    *Swoooshl¡­*

    Suddenly, a condensed dark purple orb could be seen shooting directly into the injured back hole with perfect precision and¡­

    *Booom¡­st¡­*

    It exploded from the inside.

    ...

    After filling the stone bowl with Pyrus Maned Horse''s blood and taking out its beast core, Zevien returned to the top of the hill.

 Chapter 66 Shit!

    After reaching the top of the hill, Zevien started breathing calmly. He actively refilled his mana pool by absorbing mana from the atmosphere.

    Once he refilled his mana pool, he opened the stone bowl and used Blood Morphing Art while still in his cat form.

    Inside his magic eidos body¡­

    The magic core wrapped up in the Shaman Seed''s magic force destroyed the magic force that was converging there by the Blood Morphing Art.

    Magic Force was a term used to describe the form of power of a magic spell. For instance, Nyxite w was filled with a magic force that resulted from both the mana and the magic formation of the Nyxite w spell.

    Just like that, the magic force of the Blood Morphing Art, which resulted from drops of blood, mana, and a magic formation, was destroyed by the Shaman Seed''s magic force when Zevien tried to transform.

    ''I need to control the magic force of the Shaman Seed...,'' Zevien frowned as he realized the first problem.

    After ten minutes, he finally managed to make it such that the Shaman Seed''s magic force wouldn''t destroy the Blood Morphing Art''s magic force anymore. However, the next problem was how to actuallybine both of them.

    ''Combine both¡­.but in how manyyers?'' Zevien fell into deep thinking, ''first, I need to superimpose the magic power I get from both magics. Next, the physical aspects and then, internal buffs.''

    Zevien started controlling the magic force of Blood Morphing Art, which was a nket of blood particles around his magic core and tried to infuse it in the Shaman Seed''s power.

    ''Not working,'' Zevien thought after seeing the blood force diffusing instead ofbining.

    Suddenly, Zevien thought of something as a startled expression appeared on his face, ''wait for a second¡­the answer lies in the Blood Morphing Art! I see¡­Tarto already learned about the Blood Morphing Art the moment I used it, and that''s why he said it''s possible tobine both.''

    Zevien closed his eyes and thoroughly started learning the Blood Morphing Art. Since it was an awakening magic spell that was like a gift from a magicbyrinth, he had to learn it thoroughly, unlike regr magic spells where he can only weave them once he thoroughly learns them.

    An hour passed quickly as Zevien learned how the Blood Morphing Art allowed him to transform partially. After learning that concept, he expanded it and used a simr idea of partial transformation to make a connection with the magic force of the Blood Morphing Art and the Shaman Seed.

    ¡­

    After another hour, he finally seeded.

    Taking a deep breath, Zevien first recovered his mana.

    Afterward, he opened the stone bowl and pointed his hand at it before using Blood Morphing Art. Five drops of blood floated from the bowl and got absorbed into the whirlpool created on Zevien''s palm.

    Zevien was still in his cat form, but his legs started to change as they became that of the Pyrus Mane Horse''s legs with hooves on fire.

    His magic power also increased to 1349. It wasn''t much of a huge increment, but something was better than nothing.

    More importantly, he had the traits of both transformations now, and he could change them ording to his wish.

    For now, he changed his legs into that of the horse''s legs while keeping the rest of his body in the cat form.

    He then consumed mana to use the fire hooves'' trait as his legs produced fire, causing him to float up.

    ''Great!'' Zevien flew up slowly. This blood of the Pyrus Maned Horse will make it easier for him to travel in the forest. Though if he had vampire blood, it would have been even easier.<novelnext></novelnext>

    By consuming ten mana every second, he started flying in the direction of the city. Now he only hoped not to encounter a powerful flying beast until he consumed half of his mana.

    ...

    After ten minutes, Zevien consumed half of his mana and descended on the ground slowly.

    *ROARRRR*

    Raging Grass Lion!

    Zevien quickly recognized the beast based on the roar, but when he turned in the direction where he heard the roar, he sighed in relief.

    From its size, it was still a 5th-grade Raging Grass Lion.

    Casually waving his hand, Zevien used 100 mana to use Somatic Happiness magic internally and buffed his spell potency before using 1000 mana to release Nyxite w towards the Lion.

    The Lion roared with red eyes and swiped its w to shoot a dark green w-like projectile towards the iing Nyxite w.

    *swoosh¡­.*

    However, much to the beast''s surprise, the Nyxite w passed through the dark green w projectile before hitting it and cutting it into pieces vertically.

    Zevien quickly collected the beast core of the Raging Grass Lion and left the spot cautiously with silent footsteps. He found a rtively big tree and climbed up before covering himself with bushes he picked from the ground.

    After properly hiding, Zevien started recovering his mana.

    In five minutes, he fully recovered his mana and nced outside.

    He was about to fly up, but his heart suddenly dropped after noticing something.

    ''No fucking way¡­.Why do I have to encounter this nightmare?'' Zevien thought as a heart-palpitating feeling enveloped him after seeing a magic beast that looked like a parrot the size of an adult eagle.

    Silver Wind Parrot. A terrifying grade-3 magic beast, practically the strongest magic beast found in this forest. It was super fast, and its attacks were also super quick. It was currently perched on a tree just fifteen meters away from where Zevien was hiding.

    The chances of him surviving if that Silver Demon Parrot saw him were very...very low.

    ''The Silver Wind Parrots are rare in this jungle but lo and behold¡­.fuck,'' Zevien cursed as he was already sweating. Now, he could only hope for that parrot to fly away quickly.

    "Meow~, it seems that you are having fun," Tarto appeared and stood on another branch.

    ''What the hell are you doing at this time?'' Zevien telepathically said to Tarto before quickly looking at the parrot and sighing in relief. It seems that Tarto didn''t fully reveal himself and was in a unique state where the only ones who could see him were the ones he allowed.

    "Chill, only you can see me. As for why I am here? Hehe, I just want to observe this situation in the flesh. It will be interesting to see how you escape from here," Tarto said before licking its paws.

 Chapter 67 Dead Bastard...No Bastard!

    ''Please leave, you damn parrot,'' Zevien thought while looking at the parrot. He had made his breathing very slow to ensure his safety and tried his best not to move a single muscle.

    "Requesting and cursing both? That''s new," Tarto meowed from the side.

    Zevien ignored Tarto and just kept his eyes on the parrot. Suddenly, he saw it pping its wings and flying away.

    But his joy didn''tst long because the Silver Wind Parrotnded again on a tree just ten meters from him.

    It came even closer to him!!

    ''W-why?''

    "Zevy, you better prepare because it won''t simply fly away now," Tarto said, "on a side note, if you manage to escape this bird, then I will give you a magic item. "

    ''No thanks, but thanks. I have enough motivation to fight through this, but I will be looking forward to getting a magic item from you,'' Zevien replied before taking a deep breath and looking at the Silver Wind Parrot with cold eyes. He knew that the parrot would sense him sooner orter, and if he wanted to survive, he would have to take the initiative.

    ''There must be a way to escape from this parrot in the forest. I can borrow the power of nature¡­but I have to call them first,'' Zevien thought as he observed how much ever surroundings he could without moving too much.

    After ten seconds, he made his first move.

    Zevien abruptly stood up with bushes and leaf-filled branches falling to the side.

    He stood straight on the wooden branch with a ck bubble on his palm, wholly revealed. He had consumed 2000 mana on this ckout Bubble, and he couldn''t afford to miss it.

    The Silver Wind Parrot craned its neck toward Zevien and lightly pped its wings before shooting toward Zevien like a bullet. Zevien saw thising as he had already locked his legs on the branch he was standing on and leaned back for a fall.

    The two silver des missed him, and the Silver Wind Parrot that wasing for a ruthless attack with its sharp shining beak also missed as Zevien hanged upside down on the branch while the ckout Bubble in his hand squarelynded on the tummy of the Silver Wind Parrot.

    His heart beat hundreds of times faster as he had just brushed past death. But he stuck to his n and sessfully hit the Silver Wind Parrot with a ckout Bubble when it flew over him.

    "Bastard!" The silver wind parrot uttered as it lost all of its senses and crashed around chaotically.

    But Zevien was not interested to hear it as he flew up using the Pyrus Maned Horse''s legs. The battle was not over because the Silver Wind Parrot would surelye after him, and for that, he had another ckout Bubble in his palm.

    "Meow~ That was not bad," Tarto said while floating alongside Zevien.

    "Bastard!"

    Zevien heard the parrot cursing again, and his heart beat even faster. The voice was near, which meant the parrot was already after him.

    ''So it only affected the parrot for five seconds? Damn!'' Zevien cursed as he nced back slightly and saw a silver sh.

    He hurriedly descended to the ground, directly lying on his back.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    The parrot arrived and saw Zevien before swooping towards him.

    Zevien''s heart was beating faster as he used the Pyrus Maned Horse''s legs and dragged himself back, barely dodging the sharp beak of the parrot. He didn''t forget to throw the second ckout Bubble right when the parrot''s beak pierced the ground.

    "Fucking bastard!!! Kill!!"

    ''This damn parrot has learned some words, alright!'' Zevien was speechless while running towards a spot he discovered from above. He had turned his legs back to cat legs as his running speed was faster than the flying speed with the Pyrus Maned Horse''s legs.

    He quickly moved as he jumped from tree to tree, very flexibly like the nimbleness of cats and monkeys.

    The ckout Bubble that Zevien used this time was more potent as he used 6000 mana when conjuring it. But the moment the Silver Wind Parrot regained its senses, it would follow the trail of Zevien''s aura and catch up quickly.

    There were only two ways to survive. First, kill the Silver Wind Parrot. But this was an impossible task. However, the second method was feasible, and Zevien was betting on it.

    While using every fiber of his strength, Zevien dashed towards a cave and entered inside before quickly shing his hand with his w as lots of blood poured out.

    Zevien suppressed his groans and quickly used Somatic Happiness externally as a light purple aura spread on his hand and closed his wound. His healing factor in this cat form also helped him quickly recover from the injury as he left the cave.

    *Awooooo¡­..*<novelnext></novelnext>

    A nearby wolf smelled blood and rushed towards the cave.

    On the other hand, Zevien had already climbed a tree in front of the cave and covered himself with leaves and bushes to hide.

    ''Fourteen, fifteen,'' Zevien counted to fifteen before slowing down his breathing and stilling his movement as much as possible.

    "Bastard!"

    The parrot came flying with a silver trail and directly went inside the cave.

    *AWOOOOOOOO¡­..*

    The wolf was already inside, and it was also a grade-3 wolf, Magnata Star Wolf.

    Zevien couldn''t observe the battle inside the cave, but he was sure that Silver Wind Parrot would win the fight.

    Suddenly, he saw a few smaller wolves entering inside.

    ''Did it just call its pack?'' Zevien thought as he saw three wolves entering inside. Those three wolves were in the 4th grade, so they wouldn''t be able to do much anyway.

    Zevien waited for a few more seconds before executing his n. He wanted more beasts to enter the cave after the fresh smell of his hot blood spread outside.

    *Ziiiiiiii¡­*

    A mosquito the size of a bear entered the cave. It was a 3rd-grade magic beast.

    Zevien knew that human blood would attract magic beasts like moths to mes. That''s why he was careful not to spill his blood.

    After the mosquito went inside, Zevien used 500 mana worth of Somatic Anger to hit the upper part of the cave''s entrance.

    *Boooom¡­.Crack!*

    The rocks sted and blocked the cave''s entrance while Zevien again hid and started recovering his mana.

    "Meow~ I''ll go take a look at the battle inside," Tarto spoke before it flew towards the cave and passed through the rocks.

    After five minutes, Zevien recovered his mana to approximately 80%, and Tarto also came out a minuteter.

    *Crake¡­.crree..*

    The blockage on the entrance also broke down as a bloodied Silver Wind Parrot came out while chewing some meat. It was also injured and bleeding, but Zevien stayed still. It was still dangerous.

    "Dead bastards¡­No bastards."

    The parrot uttered before flying away.

    After waiting with bated breath for a whole minute, Zevien sighed in relief and quickly dashed into the cave. He saw many blood pools, big and small. But his target was a small blood pool with a silver hue and sparks. He quickly pointed his hand at it and used Blood Morphing Art.

    ''Let''s fucking go! Now it''s an easy ticket to the city,'' Zevien thought as he partially transformed. Two silver wings came out from his back while tearing his flesh and mending it just as quickly.

    "Tsk¡­.now your journey will be easier," Tarto clicked his tongue, "but oh well, you didpetently so far. I doubt many of your age and strength would survive an encounter with a magic beast of that caliber."

    Zevien rolled his eyes and came out of the cave before flying up without wasting a second. He flew straight towards the city by consuming ten mana per second on his silver wings to speed them up.

    On the way, Zevien took a break whenever he consumed 50% of his mana because if he were suddenly attacked by a beast in the sky when his mana was running low and crashed on the ground in the jungle, he would have no mana to fight back or run.

    Fortunately, there were not many who could hit him at his current flying speed due to the silver wings of the Silver Wind Parrot.

    After several hours, he finally saw the barracks and entrance into the city.

    This forest was kept in check by the Starlight city''s military in case of magic beasts suddenly attacked the city. As such, when Zevien neared the camp, they noticed him and called him out.

    But city lord Cargil had set up everything, so they let Zevien enter the city after seeing his face.

 Chapter 68 Unexpected Visit

    Zevien sessfully returned to the city and finally met up with everyone at the orphanage.

    He also asked Tarto for the magic item he had promised him, but Tarto told Zevied to wait for a few days and disappeared.

    The next day¡­

    "You haven''t attended the academy for a long time. Everyone was wondering where you disappeared so suddenly," Dan said as he and Zevien entered the ss.

    Zevien entered the ss with a grin and announced, "Hey, kiddos. Daddy''s home!"

    *silence¡­*

    Everyone looked at him silently for a second before bursting outughing.

    "Wee back, daddy!" Sophiaughed.

    "Lord Father, how was your journey?" Warmos said with a somber expression.

    "Yeah, I heard you went on some thrilling adventure?"

    "Nah, it was a business trip. Apparently, Godfather has a high profile underworld business."

    Everyoneughed and joked before Touma-sir arrived and started the ss.

    "As you know, the magicbyrinths have changed, and you all will be entering your respective magicbyrinths after a few days," Touma spoke with a severe expression, "we have collected data about everything that has changed, and I will tell you about it so that you can be prepared when you go inside."

    The students were eager to know about those changes and listened with rapt attention.

    But Touma didn''t speak and instead activated the whiteboard and listed the data on it.

    "This is it. Read and remember it so that you won''t get confused when you encounter these things," Touma said as he sat down on the chair.

    =###=

    1. Each magicbyrinth has be aplete world. Native people, new species, governing structures, and such things exist in eachbyrinth now. But it remains a dog-eat-dog world.

    2. Magic Quest: We can now initiate a magic quest by interacting with objects and people inside the magicbyrinth. Completing a magic quest gives a random chain.

    3. Chains: Chains appear on one''s wrist. We can activate a chain by our will, which will lead us to a thrilling adventure where we get a chance to receive random rewards. Only one chain can be activated at a time. So far, the best and never before seen unique reward people seem to get is something known as Relic.

    4. Relic: A relic is a unique iplete magical item. One canplete a relic by fulfilling its requirement. So far, we don''t have much data on apleted relic. Butpleting a relic gives one a Trial Crystal.

    5. Trial Crystal: A new item that was not inside magicbyrinths before. Trial Crystals can be used by infusing mana in it, which will open a portal. The portal leads to a short trial where people can increase their magic power depending on the performance inside the trial.

    =###=

    ...

    Afterward, the students attended the rest of the sses. Zevien also stayed in the academy until the end of the academic day.

    After the academy was over, they went to Zenith Corp and started working.

    Zevien first went to visit all of his projects and checked their progression before returning to the main office toplete the cards with Vernisia.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Boss, we will probablyplete the game after ten days. But once it ispleted, we will need to set up a production line to mass-produce these cards. I have already designed the structure and calcted the estimated cost of production," Yowen said as he looked at Zevien with a somber expression.

    "How much?" Zevien put the carving tool down and asked.

    Vernisia gulped as she knew the number would be very big.

    "Six hundred million Lopax credits for the machines," Yowen said before pausing for a second and continuing after taking a sharp breath, "every month, we will need five hundred thousand Lopax Credits to roll out the number of cards we have decided. On top of that, the advertising and marketing cost will be a hundred million to a billion depending on the scale."

    Zevien inly nodded before activating his Digi-watch and sending a message to Raven.

    [I need one billion Lopax credits. But before that, I want you and the others that are interested in the business toe here and look at Zenith Corp. It''s time that I show you the second gship product of mypany.]

    After sending the message, Zevien turned to Yowen, "th-"

    *Tink¡­*

    Zevien was interrupted by his Digi-watch, but he smiled broadly when he saw the bank notification''s content and the message.

    He looked at Yowen and said with augh, "start preparing for the production now. We got one billion Lopax credit, and I will deposit all of it in ourpany''s ount in a minute."

    "What?!"

    Vernisia and Yowen were shocked to the core.

    "Who gave you a billion credits so easily?" Yowen asked with doubt.

    "Miss Raven," Zevien grinned.

    Vernisia raised her eyebrows, "it seems she is confident in thispany."

    "And in Zevien," Yowenughed, "also, Miss Raven has already seen the Spell Gauntlet, so even though she doesn''t know about this product, she knows that Zevien can pay her back quickly afterunching the spell gauntlet."

    "Indeed. Anyway, let''s continue with the work. Yowen, you can start preparing for the production. Contact who you need to contact and pay them so they can start right away."

    "On it!"

    ¡­

    After working until 5 in the afternoon, Zevien and Vernisia met up with Dan and Erica at the dojo to train. They trained until 7 pm before leaving the dojo and holding a party at the orphanage for the kids because Zevien was out for a long time, and the kids had missed him.

    They brought a barbecue stall and ingredients before setting them up in the orphanage''s garden.

    Vernisia and Zevien cooked barbecues while Dan and Erica prepared ingredients.

    Kids were eating with big smiles on their faces as Zevien, and the others asionally teased them.

    "I hope we are not imposing on you on this seemingly joyous asion."

    Suddenly, Zevien and others saw two people flying over the orphanage''s gates and entering inside.

    "Uncle Lucas. Aunt Hry¡­.," Vernisia stood up as some nervousness appeared in her eyes, but she remainedposed and asked, "I wonder what brings you here today? Did you find Galen''s murderer yet?"

 Chapter 69 Kill?

    ''Galen''s parents?'' Zevien narrowed his eyes and sent an SOS message to Touma, then put his Digi watch in silent mode.

    *Brr¡­.*

    His Digi-watch vibrated just a second after Zevien sent the SOS.

    [Everything is under control]

    "Zevien, right?" Lucas said as he looked at Zevien with a smile and walked toward him.

    Zevien nodded with a smile, "Vernisia told me about you. I''ve been away for a while, so I didn''t get the chance to meet you."

    "It''s fine. We have finally met now," Hry said with narrowed eyes as she and Lucas sat at a table.

    Zevien nced at mother Helena, and she understood there might be a trouble.

    "Alright, kids. Let''s go inside. Big brother Zevien wants to talk about something important with that uncle and auntie, so we will leave this garden to them for a while, okay?"

    The kids pouted as they wanted to eat more. But they were good and understanding kids, so they went inside with mother Helena without making any ruckus.

    After they went inside, Helena and Lucas sat down at the table where the kids sat before.

    "We need to ask you some questions," Lucas said as he gestured to Zevien with his hand to sit in front of him.

    "Sure," Zevien wiped off the smile from his face and nodded indifferently before sitting at the table, "what do you want to know?"

    "Where were you the day Galen was murdered?" Lucas asked, "I hope that you can answer truthfully. Also, if you have any hand in it, then tell us. We want to know the true murderer of Galen."

    "We know you are not capable of killing him, but if you have any hand in it, then you better be honest about it," Hry said coldly.

    "He killed your son."

    *Swoosh¡­.*

    An old man wearing a white robe arrived from the sky and sat beside Zevien at the table before saying again, "Zevien killed him."

    "Old man?" Zevien''s lips twitched as he turned to city lord Cargil. He wanted to ask what did he smoke beforeing here.

    Lucas and Hry were stunned before their expressions twisted.

    ''He killed Galen? How is that possible?!'' Lucas furiously thought, ''Zevien doesn''t have the ability to kill Galen from how he died, ording to the reports! Is this old fart trying to hide the real killer?''

    On the other hand, Hry''s eyes gleamed as a tiny spiraling water bullet materialized and shot towards Zevien, a full-fledged tier-3 spell. If the bullet hit Zevien, he would die instantly.

    However, the bullet vaporized and disappeared when it was thirty centimeters away from Zevien.

    "You¡­have some nerves of steel to attack him in front of me," Cargil narrowed his eyes as he looked at Hry, ''damn bitch! I was not expecting that attack. If I waste by a second¡­.''

    On the other hand, Zevien had also transformed into cat form when he saw Hry''s eyes gleaming with blue light.

    "The debt of blood will be paid by blood and blood only!" Lucas stood up, gritting his teeth as he was now sure that Zevien killed his son after seeing Zevien''s transformation and sensing the magic powering from him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Hry''s eyes were red and filled with hate as she so wished to kill Zevien right now. But with this old fart in her way, she was helpless. The only thing they could do now was to retreat.

    "You can''t leave," Cargil calmly spoke as he moved his finger a bit, trapping Lucas and Hry inside a transparent cage purely made from condensed mana.

    "What do you want?! Do you want to kill us? Humph, if you do that, my mother will not let you go," Lucas snorted coldly.

    Hry looked at Zevien and Vernisia as she clenched her fist, "you bitch! You plotted with him to kill my son. Even if your mother is my friend, I will not let you all go! Just wait for the head of the Gio family toe here."

    "Plotted with him?" Vernisia repeated with a stunned expression before gritting her teeth and speaking angrily, "your bastard son plotted against me! Because I rejected this bullshit marriage proposal, he wanted to hypnotize me, have his way with me, and then take me to your rotten trash Gio family!"

    "As for your threats," Cargil spoke indifferently, "that old hag Mephis can''t do anything to me now. I may have had a hard time against her if it was two days ago, but with my current strength, she is no match for me. Now you have two options in front of you-"

    "Kill," Zevien icily said as he looked at Lucas and Hry, "I don''t want loose ends. if something happened to the orphanage or my friends because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself."

    "Is this the price?" Cargil asked inly.

    "The price is not this but absolute protection of this orphanage forever. And us four until we leave from this city and go to the Lankrena region for Skyward Academy," Zevien replied as he looked at Cargil straight in his eyes.

    "Fair enough," Cargil nodded before looking at Lucas and Hry, "I don''t want to protect them at your every other futile attempt, so...I will be cleaning off the Gio family. Considering your many atrocities, I wanted to do this for a long time."

    "Heh," Lucas scoffed, "half of the families on the level of my Gio family have done simr atrocities to reach where they are right now. Are you going to punish all of them?"

    Cargil narrowed his eyes before speaking coldly, "if they are dissatisfied with my actions against the Gio family, then I will clean them as well."

    Hry and Lucas looked at each other with a slightly shocked expression. What is going on with this old fart? Why is he so confident?

    "Now be on your way to reunite with your son," Cargil said as he waved his palm towards them.

    "NO! Let us go! We won''t think about revenge or anything," Hry quickly begged as she kneeled.

    Lucas also did the same as they needed to preserve their lives for now. Revenge can wait.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan gulped after hearing such a conversation. They obviously recognized city lord Cargil and also knew he would help Zevien. But they didn''t expect that he would be this through in it.

    ''Is he really going to kill them?'' Dan, Erica, and Vernisia thought the same thing.

    *St¡­*

    Lucas and Hry exploded into bits before their blood, bones, and everything gathered together inside the cage. Cargil then waved his hand again and burned their remains until not even ashes were left.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan''s stomachs churned as they felt like puking, but they tried their best to hold back. Zevien only slightly frowned but did not flinch because he had already seen such cruel sight before the time rewind, as well as the bloody mess inside the cave where the Silver Wind Parrot and other beasts fought.

    "Alright, the air is clean now, and the troubles are gone. You can continue with your little party," Cargil said before he floated up, "you can now forget about the Gio family''s troubles."

    After saying that, city lord Cargil flew away and disappeared into the horizons.

    "Holy shit!" Dan eximed.

 Chapter 70 Law, Regum

    "Wait, what did you say about us four going to the Lankrena region in Skyward academy?" Erica asked with doubt, "we only have two quotas in the academy, and even if you go to another academy as an exchange student to snatch their quota, we four still won''t be able to go together."

    "I have a n, no worries," Zevien grinned before he went to call the kids and mother Helena.

    "What n does he have? Do you know, Verny?" Erica asked as she looked at Vernisia.

    "Nope," Vernisia shook her head, "he didn''t tell me anything about this."

    "Well, if we use the fairy spirit that we will summon, then we can snatch a spot," Dan said as he rubbed his chin, "Zevien is going to help us summon fairy spirits as he did with city lord Cargil and others. But honestly, I want a fairy spirit close to my level so we can fight and grow together."

    "Yeah, Tarto doesn''t help Zevien, but he gave him that temporary power boost instead with a five-year contract. For me, I want a permanent contract like Yowen," Erica nodded before turning to Vernisia, "what about you?"

    "I also want a simr level fairy, so we can grow and fight together," Vernisia nodded with a smile.

    "Meow~ You don''t have to worry about that," Tarto said while licking its paws.

    Vernisia and the other two were startled to see Tarto suddenly appearing.

    "What do you mean?" Vernisia asked.

    "I mean, Zevien is an exception. You all won''t summon someone like me, who is way more powerful than your current level," Tarto grinned, "I summoned myself by pushing all others because I sensed something mysterious in Zevien. On top of that mysteriousness, I liked his spirit, determination, and ambition.

    "I practically broke thew by doing this, and that''s why I can''t use my powers here and got some restrictions inside for the duration of the contract."

    "Oh¡­," Dan, Erica, and Vernisia were surprised to know this.

    "So there arews?" Erica asked.

    "Yep. By thew of the fairy spirit magicbyrinth, you can''t form permanent contact with someone with arge strength gap. Both must have a simr stage of evolved magic core or maximum one stage difference to form a permanent contract sessfully."

    "What are you all talking about?" Zevien also came out of the building with the kids and mother Helena. He also saw Tarto and snorted, "where is the promised magic item?"

    "I have it here," Tarto said as a magical dagger appeared and floated in the air, "this dagger is a tier-1 magic item right now, but it can grow alongside you. There are five seals in the dagger. Each time you evolve your magic core, a seal will break."

    The dagger flew towards Zevien as he grabbed it and asked, "what''s the name of this dagger? Or no name?"

    The dagger''s handle was ck colored with dark blue and golden patterns, while Its de was fifty centimeters long, pitch ck with a silver sheen at the border.

    "The name''s Regum, Regulus Ed Kronish. Drop some blood to bind it with your magic core."

    "Regum," Zevien nodded as he cut his finger with it and poured some drops of his blood on it. After two seconds, the dagger shined briefly before disappearing.

    Zevien was surprised, "it''s a mystic type dagger that can go inside magic eidos body, nice."

    "Alright, you can check that daggerter. For now, let''s eat," mother Helena said.

    "Hungry!"

    The kids were still hungry as they had just started eating the first portion when Lucas and Hry arrived.

    "Alright, the food''sing quickly. Let''s start, Vernisia."

    Vernisia nodded as she and Zevien started cooking again while Dan and Erica also continued with the ingredients.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    After the kids finished eating, they went inside with mother Helena because they were sleepy after eating, and it was already around 10 PM.

    On the other hand, Zevien and the others cooked for themselves and sat down at the table to eat.

    "Aaa~," Zevien opened his mouth as he stretched his hand that held a barbecue stick towards Vernisia''s mouth.

    Vernisia''s blushed slightly, but she still took a bite.

    "Aaa~" Dan also did the same as he stretched his hand towards Erica''s mouth.

    "You want a beating?" Erica gave him an evil eye before taking a big bite from Dan''s barbecue stick.

    "Your action and words didn''t match just now," Vernisia chuckled.

    "I just took pity on him seeing those puppy eyes," Erica said aloofly.

    "Thank you, your highness," Dan raised both hands and bowed.

    "It''s our turn now. Come on," Zevien said with augh before opening his mouth towards Vernisia.

    Vernisia smiled and dipped the barbecue in the sauce before putting it in Zevien''s mouth.

    "Cough¡­I will close my eyes so you won''t have to see it," Dan said as he closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

    Erica suddenly thought of a n as a mischievous glint shed across her eyes. She dipped the barbecue in the super spicy sauce and coated it thoroughly before putting it inside Dan''s mouth.

    Dan happily took a bit and chewed once before¡­

    "Aaaaaaaa¡­," Dan opened his eyes as he practically breathed fire because of the spiciness.

    "Humph, don''t overreact and use mana to clean it," Erica snorted before grinning, "anyway, mission aplished."

    "Tsk, I''ll get back to you on this," Dan clicked his tongue.

    "Once we finish eating, let''s summon your fairies," Zevien said.

    "Yeah. This garden is fine for it. Also, what''s the n for all of us to get a quota of the Skyward Academy?" Vernisia asked curiously.

    "The n is simple. I will get a quota for myself on my own. I have a way to get it. Dan and Erica can get each by going to the student exchange program, and Vernisia can get one from our academy," Zevien grinned, "don''t ask me how I will get one for myself. Just know that I will get it, that''s all."

    Although curious, they didn''t ask Zevien about this.

    "Then we will apply for the student exchange program," Dan said as he looked at Erica.

    "Yep," Erica nodded before she snickered at Zevien, "Zevien got connections so he can easily let Touma sir approve our application for this program."

    "Haha, leave it to me."

 Chapter 71 Magic Quest

    "We were not 100% certain to get the spot, but after summoning our fairies, there''s no way we can lose," Erica said as she puffed her chest, "if we still lose, then we should just die by drowning in a cup of water."

    "Right, Kate?" Erica turned to a humanoid fairy with wings and a sword in her hand. She was palm-sized and sat on Erica''s shoulder.

    "Right, right," Kate giggled, "we will win."

    "How old are you, Berus?" Dan asked the panda-like fairy standing in front of him. Berus looked like a panda with ck and white fur, but it also had demonic-looking scales on some parts of its body and two horns.

    "Ten," Berus said while chewing a magical bamboo. Magical because it was filled with magic power.

    "Okay, nice," Dan said as he lightly punched Berus''s shoulder, hitting its smooth fur, "you know some martial arts?"

    "I know some," Berus nodded as he also punched Dan.

    *Dhoof¡­.*

    Dan flew two meters away and fell to the ground as he looked speechlessly at Berus, e on, man! No, you''re a kid! Anyway, what was that for?"

    Berus shrugged once before continuing to chew the bamboo.

    "Woohooo!" Vernisia cheered as she flew on the shadow pegasus, "okay, time to get down, Lyn."

    Lyn was as big as the size of an adult horse and was attuned to shadow magic, just like Vernisia''s magicbyrinth. It could fly with shadow wings and had shadow mes burning on its body, but that didn''t hurt Vernisia after they formed the contract.

    Kate: 513 magic power

    Berus: 528 magic power

    Lyn: 515 magic power

    All three fairies had over five hundred magic power, equivalent to people who had just gone through their first magic core evolution and became 5th ss magicians.

    "Okay, we have spent enough time today. It''s time to sleep," Zevien said.

    "Yeah. Hehe, everyone will be surprised when we use our fairies in the battle when the timees," Erica grinned.

    Everyone''s fairy spirit disappeared as they returned to the fairy spirit magicbyrinth. Now that they have formed a contract, they cane here anytime.

    The four then left the orphanage and returned to the academy dorms before sleeping soundly.

    ¡­

    After a few days, it was time for everyone to enter the magicbyrinth again.

    The students went to the field and let their magic eidos bodies enter the magicbyrinth except for Zevien. He didn''t go to the academy today and went to his office instead.

    Touma and the others didn''t need to observe him anymore as they knew that he and Lopaz would physically go to their respective magicbyrinth.

    After arriving at the Zenith Corp''s office, Zevien talked with Yowen for a few minutes before putting the vampire blood vial in his pocket and entering the Purple Spectrum Magic Labyrinth.

    "Hey, I am selling these fruits for ten silver coins, and you want them for eight? Are you nuts?"

    Zevien was surprised to see himself appearing in an alley and hearing the sound of people talking. He went out of the alley and saw a wide street filled with vendors selling various things.

    ''So, a big town appeared in the location where I previously left in this magicbyrinth?'' Zevien wondered as he walked down the streets.

    "Hey, young man. Do you want this supreme magic spell book? If you can learn it, you will be a grand magician. The king might notice you and grant you a high position," a vendor called out to Zevien when he passed by a stall filled with magic books.

    Zevien turned to the middle-aged man vendor and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the worn-out books, "supreme magic spell book? How much does it cost?"

    "Just 100 gold coins," the middle-aged man with a rough beard said with a grin, "but seeing as you are a promising young man, I can give you a discount of 50%."

    "No thanks," Zevien said before turning around. He knew how to recognize a scammer, and this vendor sounded and acted just like one.

    "Wait, Wait! I can give it to you for ten gold coins!" the middle-aged man said as he picked up the so-called supreme magic spell book and stretched it towards Zevien, "I can see that you have a good magical potential and if you want it to bloom, you will need this book."

    "I believe that the right ce for this book is with you," the vendor spoke with utmost seriousness.

    Zevien was getting more and more suspicious now. Who would give free stuff to a stranger?<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''ll be honest. I feel like you are sca-" Zevien couldn''t finish his sentence as he saw something akin to a notification appear inside of his head.

    =====================================

    [Magic Quest initiated]

    -Step 1: Get the book from the vendor and open it.

    =====================================

    Zevien was stunned to see a magical blue panel appearing in his head and thought, ''interacting with objects and people to initiate magic quests¡­interesting.''

    "Alright, I''ll take the book," Zevien said as he grabbed the book.

    "Hahaha, you are indeed a promising young man," the vendorughed loudly, "I am sure you will benefit greatly from it."

    ''Time to scam a scammer,'' Zevien smiled, "how much does this cost again?"

    "Just ten gold coins," the vendor grinned from ear to ear as he sessfully managed to scam one more young man, ''this business is good. Though I wonder why that man told me to sell it to young men only? Bah, who cares¡­I am earning free money, and that''s the only thing that matters.''

    Zevien put his hand in this pocket for two seconds before quickly bolting away, "this vendor is a scammer!"

    The vendor was lost in his glee and couldn''t even react fast as Zevien ran away.

    "Fuck!"

    ¡­

    Zevien walked out of the town after a minute as he saw the exit gate. After leaving the town, he moved a kilometer away from it and jumped on a big tree before finally opening the book.

    =====================================

    -Step 2: go to the book''sst page and put a drop of your blood on it.

    =====================================

    Zevien saw step 2 appearing inside his head and opened the book''sst page. It was a nk page: pure white, nothing.

    Zevien then took out his newly acquired magic item from his magic eidos body and cut the tip of his thumb with the dagger.

    As some blood drops fell on the page, it started to transform before bing a map.

    There were two marks on the map. One was Zevien''s, which disyed his current location a kilometer away from the town he had just left. Another was a dark purple skull mark fifteen kilometers away from where he was.

    =====================================

    [Magic Quest established. Prevent the Mura-Oni ritual]

    -Go to the purple skull mark location, prevent the ritual, and save the young men who fell for the book''s spell and were hypnotized to go there as sacrifices for the ritual.

    -Time limit: 1 hour.

    -Rewards: A random chain and 1000 gold coins from the king of Dunsar Kingdom.

    =====================================

    ''So learning the spell intent in the book will hypnotize the learner and lead them to the ritual location as sacrificialmbs? Damn, that vendor was more wicked than I thought.''

    Zevien didn''t waste time and transformed himself into his humanoid cat form by activating shaman seed and then opened the vampire blood vial before using Blood Morphing Art.

    This time, he managed to absorb six drops of blood, increasing the vampire powers and magic power by a bit.

    -Magic power: 1214

    *Swoosh¡­*

    He flew high up in the sky before flying towards the purple skull mark location by following the map.

 Chapter 72 Activating Ritual?!?!?

    Zevien soon arrived at the location. It was within a dormant volcano, and there were people inside the volcano preparing the ritual.

    "P-please let us go!"

    "What are you going to do to us?"

    "Please, somebody help!"

    Twelve young men were trapped inside a cage. Their ages ranged from fourteen to eighteen.

    The young men were crying for help, but the five people donned in dark gray robes with red and purple patterns had turned deaf ears to them. They were standing in front of an altar made of bones. A dark-purple skull on top of the altar was burning with violet mes, making it extra creepy.

    "They can''t fly, right?" Zevien muttered as he floated high in the sky.

    They didn''t know that Zevien was watching them yet.

    After a few seconds, Zevien got an idea. He descended to the ground at the volcano''s base, then walked towards the entrance before hitting a wall to make some sound and hid behind a rock. He had already buffed himself with internally cast Somatic Anger and Somatic Happiness.

    Those cultists heard slight sounds and became cautious, but they couldn''t help but think that anothermb might have arrived.

    "L, go and take a look. Maybe it''s anothermb."

    One cultist left the group and walked towards the entrance before looking around for a few seconds.

    "It should be a bird or something." The cultist L muttered with a frown as he didn''t find anything.

    Just as the cultist turned around...

    *Swoosh¡­.*

    Zevien disappeared from his location with his swift movements of the cat formbined with vampire wings and arrived behind the cultist in a second before piercing his throat with the dagger.

    The cultist opened his mouth to try and warn the other cultists, but s,  with the dagger in his throat, he couldn''t utter a single word and died quickly.

    Zevien hurriedly took off the robe and wore it himself. The height difference was negligible, so it was not noticeable.

    ''Hey, Zevy. This ritual is interesting. How about you continue the ritual by sacrificing these cultists instead of the kids?'' Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and said through telepathy.

    Zevien walked towards the ritual site while replying, ''they probably needed those young men between the ages 14 and 18 for a sessful ritual. If the scapegoats aren''t them, I doubt it would work.''

    Tarto pawed Zevien in the head and said, ''who wants a sessful ritual?''

    ''You mean¡­.,'' Zevien raised his eyebrows as he remembered something, ''anything has a chance to trigger the magic spell concept phenomenon...especially killing-rted.''

    ''Alright. Let''s do it,'' Zevien nodded.

    ''Yeah, activate it and see how it goes. I also want to see which entity is summoned from this Purple Spectrum magicbyrinth''s deep zones,'' Tarto said while caressing his whiskers in curiosity.

    ''However, you have to tell me how strong those four cultists are so that I can make quick work of them depending on their power,'' Zevien demanded.

    ''No need to worry. They all have around one thousand magic power, which means you can kill them easily.''

    Hearing that, Zevien grinned as he threw caution to the wind and dashed inside.

    His vampire wings pped once as he zoomed inside with the dagger in his hand.

    "Who?!" one of the cultists was sharp and attacked Zevien quickly by conjuring a dark purple whip.

    ''Are you serious?'' Zevien was speechless as that bastard caught his right leg despite his speed.

    The other cultists conjured dark purplences, but Zevien pped his vampire wings as he zoomed behind the cultist who caught him.

    Zevien''s physical strength was higher, so he overpowered that bastard and swung him using the whip connection between them before crashing him into another cultist while also dodging thences easily.

    "KILL HIM!" the leader cultist shouted after being swung by Zevien.

    "Oh no you don''t," Zevienughed as he disappeared from their view by zooming upward. He then descended like a rocket with the dagger in one hand and a purple orb in another hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He appeared behind a cultist before shing his throat with his dagger.

    *Boom¡­*

    At the same time, he released the purple orb of Somatic Anger toward another cultist, blowing him into pieces.

    The remaining two cultists couldn''t keep up with Zevien''s speed as he killed another after a second.

    But he kept the cultist leader alive, albeit crippled.

    With no working legs or hands to do anything, the cultist leader asked in a shaking voice, "what d-do you want? Why did you keep me a-alive?"

    Those young men aging fourteen to eighteen were hopeful and d that someone finally came to save them.

    However, the next second, they felt despair again.

    "How do you activate this ritual?" Zevien asked with a wicked smile.

    "W-what?" the cultist leader was startled before getting excited, "you want to activate this ritual? We just need three more sacrifices to summon Lord Mura-Oni fully at this location."

    "NO! Please help us, big brother!"

    "Please don''t do that!"

    The kids started crying and begging.

    Zevien felt bad but had to do this for the leader to spit out the method to activate the ritual.

    "Tell me how to activate the ritual, and I will get three more young men here and activate it myself," Zevien said as a nasty grin formed on his face.

    "O-ok¡­ok! Perfect," the cultist leader nodded quickly in excitement before telling the method to Zevien.

    After Zevien learned the method, he nodded with a smile and stabbed the dagger into the man''s forehead, "thank you."

    Afterward, Zevien went to the cage and woefully smiled, "rx. I was just joking about using you all as sacrifices. You are free now."

    *ng..crack..*

    Zevien broke the cage and released the kids.

    "Then why did you ask for the ritual activation method?" an eighteen-year-old young man with dark green hair asked. He was the eldest in the group.

    "Because I wanted to activate it using these scumbags as sacrifices," Zevien said with a grin before he went to gather all the cultists.

    On the other hand, the kids started discussing something instead of leaving.

    "Why are you still here?" Zevien saw that the kids still didn''t leave and said, "you are all free now. Go back to where you came from."

    "N-no¡­we want to see them getting sacrificed," the eldest of them spoke with a slight stammer, but his voice turned firm at the end.

    "Wow, you are all so brave. Children of the wild, eh?" uttered Zevien speechlessly.

    "It''s ok. We know that the ritual won''t be sessful without required sacrifices," the eldest kid said, "we just want to see them getting burned and¡­see you kill that half-ass summoned Mura-Oni. You are summoning him because you want to kill him, right?"

    "Meow~. It seems that these kids want to benefit from this, Keke," Tarto appeared andughed.

    "Fine, suit yourselves," Zevien shrugged before going to the altar and pouring his mana into that purple skull, which resulted in the skull producing more purple me.

    Zevien then used his mana to control the me, extracting some of it from the skull and cing it on the cultists'' corpses.

    The corpses started to intensely burn while Zevien controlled the me to draw a symbol around the altar as the cultist leader drew on the floor.

    "Stay back, kids. It''s starting!" Zevien said as he also moved back after seeing the magic circle glowing before a simr magic circle, but vertical, started conjuring on top of the altar.

    "? ?????? ????? ??? ???V? ??????????!"

 Chapter 73 Mirror Of Oz-Fin

    A terrifying presence exuded from the magic circle, along with a voice. After a second, a faint projection started to conjure out of the magic circle. It was a half-face with a vertical eye having a ck patterned purple iris.

    "Hmm?" Mura-Oni was surprised before understanding the situation quickly and growling, "how dare you!!"

    "Meow~ This is a weak bastard. Heh, an entity requiring only fifteen young blood sacrifices can only be so powerful," Tarto scoffed before appearing in front of the half-faced Mura-Oni while grinning and opening his mouth.

    "What are you doing?!" Mura-Oni angrily shouted.

    "Eating you," Tarto grinned before his head became five meters big and devoured the whole projection face.

    On the other hand, the young men were frozen with fear, and even Zevien started sweating when that terrifying presence exuded from the Mura-Oni. He was sure it was no less powerful than a 1st ss magician.

    "STOP!! There is 10% of my source power in this avatar! Y-you fuc¡ªArghhhhh."

    Tarto devoured Mura-Oni''s avatar entirely and didn''t even burp.

    "Alright, our business here is finished," Tarto said before licking his paws.

    "No spell concept phenomenon?" Zevien was disappointed before shaking his head, "maybe it''s because you killed him, and I didn''t even hit him."

    "Nah, the rules of magicbyrinths have changed. More like, they are upgraded. The magic spell concept phenomenon doesn''te in the obscure form now but as a reward in an inscribed te," Tarto said casually, "maybe you will get it once these kids safely reach home."

    "Hope so," Zevien nodded before turning to the young men, "it''s time to go home."

    ¡­

    Everyone left the dormant volcano and saw a small troop of ten knights riding on horses in front of them.

    The knights saw the kids and sighed in relief before finding out the whole situation.

    "Thank you for saving the kids, young magician," the leader of the knights cupped his fist and thanked Zevien, "pleasee to the King as he would surely want to reward you for your efforts."

    "Sure, let''s see how broad-hearted your king is," Zevien nodded with a smile.

    The knights became a bit ufortable hearing what Zevien said, but they didn''t take it to heart seeing Zevien''s smiling expression, which showed that he meant no rudeness with what he said. [A/N: no shit]

    "Let the kids sit on your horses while I follow you by flying," Zevien said as he unfurled his vampire wings and flew up. Smiling, he spoke, "we can return faster this way."

    "That was our intention," the knight leader nodded before he and the other knights put the young men on their horses and started moving towards the kingdom.

    Zevien followed them while flying as they arrived at the town where Zevien first appeared.

    "The king is here? I don''t see a castle or anything in this town," Zevien muttered with doubt, "oh well, I''ll see soon."

    After they dropped the kids to their parents, Zevien saw the information in his head.

    ==================================

    [You have sessfullypleted the Magic Quest and earned a random chain. Activate it to know more about it.]

    [Follow the knights to earn the gold coin rewards.]

    ==================================

    ''That''s it?'' Zevien questioned Tarto, ''it seems that you were wrong. I didn''t get any magic spell concept te, or were you talking about the reward I will gain afterpleting this chain.''

    ''Yeah, maybe you will get it afterpleting that chain adventure. I am not sure since I am not like you. I just saw someone getting a magic te in the fairy spiritbyrinth, that''s all,'' Tarto replied nonchntly.

    Zevien was speechless but didn''t say anything and continued following the knights. Anyway, he was stupid to get his hopes high.

    The knights led him deeper into the town. After arriving in front of a big tent that screamed the word "Royal" they stopped and gestured for Zevien to enter inside.

    ''It seems that the king was in this town for a short visit,'' Zevien spected after seeing the tent. He went inside and saw the king sitting in a chair with a young man and a girl sitting on his left and right.

    The young man had short light-blue hair while the young girl had long light-purple hair. They both appeared to be seventeen-eighteen years old.

    The king had purple hair and a beard. A regal aura exuded from his muscr body. He gestured for Zevien to sit in front of him on a couch with a smile. "Well done saving those kids, young magician. What is your name?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Zevien," Zevien smiled, "just Zevien."

    The king caressed his beard with a nod before taking out a pouch filled with gold coins, "please take this meager reward of 1000 gold coins for saving those kids."

    "Oh, it''s fine," Zevien waved his hand and shook his head, "these meager 1000 gold coins are not needed. It is a moral duty of everyone to save people if they are in the clutches of evil hands."

    ''What are you ying at here, Zev?'' Tarto asked with a curious expression.

    ''I am just risking these 1000 gold coins to get something better. I am in front of a king, so he should have more valuable things than merely gold coins,'' Zevien replied.

    The king was startled for a moment before smiling and taking back his gold coins, "indeed. A talented young magician such as yourself can easily earn 1000 gold coins. It appears that I was short-sighted in presenting my reward."

    "Father, a magician only wants one thing aside from wealth," the princess said with a smile.

    "Hahaha, indeed," the king smiled and nodded before waving his hand lightly, which caused a scroll to appear in front of him. The scroll floated towards Zevien as the king spoke, "this is a tier-4 spell, Chasm Severing Sword. You might not be able to learn it now, but it will be useful to you in the future."

    Zevien''s eyes lit up as he didn''t expect to get such a big haul and grabbed the scroll before standing up and cupping his fist, "thank you for this valuable reward. I was not expecting this."

    The kingughed and waved his hand, "I was the one who created that spell, so it''s fine. It''s my first ever perfect tier-4 magic spell, and I believe you can also use it to its full potential andbine it with other spells to make it stronger in the future."

    "Father, I want to have a duel with Zevien," the prince spoke with fighting spirit in his eyes.

    "Leave it, Dorel. Sir Zevien''s magic power is higher than mine," princess Tina said as she rolled her eyes, "you can''t beat me, so you won''t be able to beat Sir Zevien."

    "What?" prince Dorel was startled as he muttered, "higher than Tina? But he is of simr age as me."

    ''Tarto, how much magic power do they both have?'' Zevien asked.

    ''The boy has approximately eight hundred magic power, and the girl has a bit over one thousand,'' Tarto replied, ''well, they are no match for you¡­because of my shaman seed.''

    Zevien was speechless before snorting inwardly, ''humph, I manifested my magic eidos body one yearte like many others while they were one year early, that''s all.''

    "Hahaha, you can duel with others after a few years, but not now," the kingughed heartily, "you two have to inherit our ancestral magic first."

    ¡­

    After talking a bit more, Zevien also found out that they caught the scamming vendor after Zevien left the town and also burned those books.

    Ten minutester, he left the tent and then the town before activating the chain at his wrist.

    ==================================

    [Chain activated: Mirror of Oz-Fin]

    -Follow the trail, find the location, and earn a relic.

    ==================================

    From his wrist, Zevien saw a faint trail appearing like a rope that extended beyond his vision.

    ''Pretty far,'' Tartomented.

    ''How far?'' Zevien asked as he took off and started following the trail.

    ''Two hundred kilometers.''

    ''Oh¡­'' Zevien wondered while flying, ''the chain''s name is Mirror of Oz-Fin. Is it rted to the relic? Because the name does sound like one.''

    ''Who knows,'' Tarto shrugged, ''but we will find it when the timees. I also want to know fully about this new system of magicbyrinths; that''s why I am apanying you.''

    Zevien continued flying. As time passed, he encountered magic beasts on the way and killed the ones he could kill while running away from ones that were more powerful than him.

    He was tired and exhausted when he was fifty kilometers away from the location. It was time to leave the magicbyrinth.

    Zevien traveled a bit more to find a good spot. He found a waterfall which he entered and hid behind it. The waterfall had a hollow space behind it at which Zevien sat down crossed-legged before trying to stay here as much as possible by meditating.

 Chapter 74 Magic Crystal

    [Zevien]

    -Magic power: 141.4

    -Mana: 1414/1414

    "My trips are getting better, alright."

    Zevien stood up after checking his progress.

    "Did you get any relic, boss?" Yowen asked with curious eyes.

    "Nope, the location was far," Zevien shook his head as he walked toward Yowen and asked, "how is the progress in production?"

    "Everything will be set up in three days," Yowen nodded as he showed the underground floor of the Zenith Corp. building with digital machine models.

    Zevien nodded before saying, "the cards arepleted, so we should make a batch after the production setup is finished. Then we need to hire some popr celebrities, make a demo y, and advertise the game. We will limit the marketing to Starlight city first. After we get the first batch of ie, we will expand it to other regions of Lopax country. Oh, you finished the application, right?"

    "Yep, it''s finished. The app is perfectly running without any glitches or bugs after Electra and I made thest test run yesterday."

    "Great," Zevien patted Yowen''s shoulder and smiled, "did you sign the papers?"

    Hearing that, Yowen revealed a hesitant expression before asking, "but¡­20% for me, are you sure?"

    "Absolutely! You will be dered CEO of thispany upon itsunch as well. Haha, you will be in the news and magazines, so handle it well," Zevien grinned, "I will hire a good ountant and manager for you to share the burden because thispany is just for financially supporting our adventures and endeavors in Lankrena region, the Capital of Magic. I will need your skill in there more than here."

    After nning for theunch a bit more, Zevien and Yowen contacted people they needed for marketing and other departments. Raven had referred some of the people she hires for such works, so things became easy with her contacts.

    They spent the whole morning preparing this. At noon, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan also arrived after finishing the academy.

    "How was your progress?" Zevien asked.

    Vernisia smiled, "78 magic power, and I am just ten minutes away frompleting my first chain. I think I will get a new magic spell and a relic."

    "67 magic power," Dan sighed, "Ipleted my chain and got a relic. But goddamn, the requirements toplete the relic are ridiculous. First, I need five hundred magic power as the first requirement, and until I finish this relic, I won''t get another chain."

    "66, humph. I will surpass you in the next entry," Erica snorted before speaking about her relic, "my situation is the same as Dan''s. Got a relic known as Bud of Scarlet Witch but can''tplete even its first step, which requires five hundred magic power."

    "What about you, Zevien?" Vernisia asked as she put her hand on her chest, "I am prepared for the shock."

    "Ahem. My magic power is at 141 now, but it will increase by another 40 tomorrow," Zevien faked a cough as he spoke. He had already told them he could enter two separate magicbyrinths when he was discharged from the hospital-likeb.

    They knew he could turn into a vampire or any other beast due to his second awakening magic spell.

    "Damn, I thought I would surpass you this time, but¡­.," Vernisia shook her head, but her eyes burned fiercely with passion and determination, "I will catch up to you."

    "You will," Zevien nodded with a loving smile, "honestly, I am surprised you had such arge increase. Great."

    "Yeah, she nailed it this time," Erica chuckled while shaking her head, "Even Tiggers only reached 69, but Verny made a big jump. She broke all existing records."

    "If you were there, you would have broken the records," Dan said wryly, "previously, you had 102 magic power, but it reached 141 now. That''s an increase of 39pared to the 37 of Vernisia."

    "Well, now we have a shortcut to increase our magic power, which is the magic crystals," Yowen said as he pointed at the monitor, "there is one in the market right now, and it''s making a bigmotion."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien and the others quickly looked at the monitor, which showed an ethereal yellow crystal with blue sparks shing inside.

    "Any news on how much magic power it increases?" Zevien asked.

    "Yeah, someone managed to get information about magic crystals in the magicbyrinth and posted it online," Yowen said as he showed a different scene on another monitor, "there are seven types of magic crystals. The weakest to strongest are white, gray, yellow, green, orange, purple, and red. The increase in magic power doesn''t directly evolve the magic core, so the increase will stop at a point even if the crystal could increase your magic power more."

    "So if you are less than 500 magic power and you use a magic crystal that gives 1000 magic power, it will not increase your magic power past 500 as we have to evolve our magic core there. The increase will stop at 500," Zevien said.

    "Yep," Yowen nodded.

    The increase in Zevien''s magic was not fundamental but temporary when he used the shaman seed so he could go past the 500 mark. However, doing that didn''t evolve his magic core as it requires 500 fundamental magic power, the original and permanent. Evolving the magic core creates more space in the magic core to learn more magic spells.

    Zevien and the others saw a chart disying the details of the seven ranks of magic crystals on the monitor.

    White: 10% increase in magic power.

    Gray: 20% increase in magic power.

    Yellow: 30% increase in magic power.

    Green: 5% increase in magicules.

    Orange: 15% increase in magicules.

    Purple: 25% increase in magicules.

    Red: 35% increase in magicules.

    "Magicules? What''s that?" Dan wondered.

    "Meow~ Magicules is this," Tarto appeared and waved its paw as a sublime dark river filled with starry sparks materialized and started flowing around the room.

    "Woah!"

    Everyone was startled to see Tarto suddenly pulling this stunt.

    "So does it rece the term magic power or what?" Erica asked.

    "Magicules will be your cornerstone of magic after you reach a certain point in your path of magic," Tarto said as he absorbed the mystical river that he summoned, "for now, you don''t have to worry or know about it because you are who knows how long away from it or will you even survive before reaching that point, hahaha."

    "Fine, screw it. We will know when the timees. Back to the main topic, how much is the price for that yellow crystal?" Zevien asked as he looked at the monitor, "seems to be the highest quality one that a magician can presently use in the Gaia continent."

    "Well, you don''t want to know that because it''s not about Lopax or Gaia credits," Yowen said with a wry smile as he showed the price that the person put on his magic crystal in the monitor.

    ...

    There was a buzz due to the announcement from this person called Rotheon, a 3rd ss magician. He wanted to sell the yellow-ranked magic crystal, which was the most valuable for every powerhouse in the Gaia continent right now.

    If a person possessing 20,000 magic power used this magic crystal, they could instantly gain 6000 magic power. This would shorten their journey to reaching the peak of 1st ss magician by a lot.

    However, Rotheon demanded quite a price for this yellow-ranked magic crystal.

 Chapter 75 Until The End Of Eternity...

    "So he wants those things? Wow."

    Everyone was speechless and dumbfounded at the price Rotheon put on his yellow-rank magic crystal. He wanted a tier-5 spell book, a tier-5 potion called Peaceful Inception, a tier-5 magic amplified staff weapon, and a tier-5 enchanted magic ring of his choice.

    The most valuable thing in Rotheon''s demand list was the tier-5 spell.

    Tier-5 spells were like treasures to everyone, and they were so rare that not every 1st ss magician possessed them. Those 1st ss magicians who managed to create their own tier-5 spells were considered the best of the best, and they were not willing to give it to others except for people extremely close to them.

    "Since this magic crystal is rare right now, I think a few big organizations, governments, or families will definitelye forward to buy it," Zevien said before he wryly smiled, "anyway, this is none of our business so let''s focus on our work. We will beunching the Realm of Spirits soon."

    Dan and Erica left in the car to the spell gauntlet researchb while Zevien told Vernisia toe with him for a small business as they had no more cards to finish. They only needed to copy those cards when production would set up to create batches of them ording to their rarity.

    Both of them came out as Zevien started his bike while Vernisia sat behind him.

    "So, where are we going?" Vernisia asked.

    "Ahem, you should grab me tightly, you know? It''s morefortable that way," Zevien said as he lightly pulled the lever, which caused Vernisia to involuntarily grab Zevien''s waist.

    "Now, this is good," Zevien said cheekily after aplishing his mission.

    "You¡­," Vernisia pinched Zevien''s skin with a speechless expression and moved her hands to his shoulder before saying, "this is fine as well."

    "Alright, my gooddy. Just grab tightly," Zevienughed as he started driving and increased his speed quickly.

    "Humph, this is nothing," Vernisia snickered jokingly before asking, "anyway, what business are we attending?"

    "I got a scroll inscribed with a tier-4 spell, and I want to see if it''s registered or not," Zevien said, "if it''s not registered, then you know we can get a lot of money."

    Vernisia was surprised before she frowned, "it''s a tier-4 magic spell. Won''t it be dangerous with only two of us going to the magic guild branch for registration?"

    "Yep, but there will be someone there for us," Zevien said with a smile, "don''t you know that miss Raven is also a sub-executive of the magic guild branch in this city?"

    "Oh yeah. You have close ties with miss Raven."

    "We are just business partners and have the rtionship of senior-junior friends."

    "Yeah, I know," Vernisia said casually, "it''s good that you have such solid connections."

    "Vernisia, can I tell you something?"

    "Sure."

    "I love you."

    Vernisia was startled before her cheeks turned slightly pink.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Sad, no response," Zevien sounded sad as he sighed before speaking again, "I just had an urge to tell you that, so I said it. You can tell me when you are absolutely sure of your feelings. That message you sent doesn''t count."

    ''Sure of my feelings? I am sure, Zevien,'' Vernisia thought as her heart beat faster, ''how can I remain indifferent to my own feelings after seeing all those visions? Sorry mom, I...I can''t hold back anymore.''

    Zevien had already told them that he had memories of everything before the time rewind. So, she obviously knew how much he loved her after seeing those visions and getting confirmation of her own feelings.

    The feelings inside her heart for Zevien became crystal clear when she saw the visions. From that moment, she longed to tell Zevien about her feelings every day but held back because of her promise to her mother.

    But¡­screw that promise! She couldn''t hold back anymore. Not when Zevien was near and always made her feel special and the love he showed he had for her every-single-day.

    He was willing to do everything for her, and so was she for him!

    Vernisia put her arms down from Zevien''s shoulder before locking them around Zevien''s waist.

    Zevien was surprised but immensely happy. An electrical feeling passed through his body as Vernisia tightly hugged him from behind.

    Vernisia neared his ear from behind and whispered, "I love you, Zevien. I am sure of it. This fact and my feelings for you will never change."

    *scree¡­*

    Zevien hit the brakes as he stopped the bike near the footpath.

    Vernisia was startled before her face turned pink again while her heart raced, ''what is he going to do?''

    She saw Zevien getting up from the bike and grabbing her waist as he put her in front of him before tightly hugging her.

    "Y-you know...I wanted to hear this ever since the time rewind," Zevien''s voice cracked as he remembered thest moments of Vernisia before the time rewind, "you said those words previously and died in my arms. With that, my entire world crumbled.

    "But now you are back into my arms. Vernisia, you...you are my everything. This fact and my feelings for you will never ever change."

    Vernisia also couldn''t help but get teary-eyed like Zevien, "I know. I had seen visions about us of our previous life before the time rewound. I wanted to tell you early at that time, but I didn''t want to ruin your bright future.

    "Still,¡­stupid me got selfish and couldn''t help but say it before myst moments because I loved you so much. I wanted to let you know that because I knew you also loved me. Inwardly, I knew that we had be inseparable."

    "Mhmm, we were inseparable before but got separated. However, we will not let it happen this time."

    "Mhmm," Vernisia nodded with a radiant smile, "we will not let it happen this time."

    Zevien broke the hug before looking into her eyes with a loving smile, "I vow to be with you until the end of eternity."

    Vernisia was feeling fluttery inside and understood the wordy of Zevien as she also repeated with a loving smile, "I, too, vow to be with you until the end of eternity,"

    They closed into each other before locking their lips for their first kiss.

 Chapter 76 Way To Go

    After arriving at the magic guild branch, Zevien and Vernisia met up with Raven before going to the registration hall.

    ¡­

    "Fascinating spell. Although it will be harder to learnpared to other tier-4 spells due to itsplex space-rted concepts, it is still fascinating." Raven said as she looked at the unfurled scroll that had the spell concept and magic formation of the tier-4 magic spell, Chasm Severing Sword.

    "So, its legitimacy is confirmed?" a woman wearing tight business clothes with a short skirt asked Raven.

    "Yes, Niley," Raven nodded before furling the scroll and looking at Zevien, "do you just want to register its existence entry or the whole spell to the magic guild?"

    "Whole spell," Zevien grinned. "And I believe that this is a peak tier-4 magic spell."

    "That, we will have to confirm ourselves," Niley said as she looked at Zevien, "a peak tier-4 spell means that you will be receiving an extra twenty thousand Gaia credits. This is not a small amount."

    "Fine, test it and check," Zevien said with a smile.

    Raven handed the scroll to Niley before pointing at a stone tablet, "copy this spell into another scroll."

    Niley went to copy the spell after taking the scroll while Vernisia asked curiously, "how do you copy the spell concept from it?"

    "That stone tablet is from Astral Land, and it can also copy spell concepts of spells up to tier-4," Raven answered as she smiled, "you must know about Astral Land now, right? That ce is more magically advanced than our Gaia continent. The Magic Guild headquarters in the Lankrena region is like a bridge between these two worlds."

    "I see," Vernisia nodded before asking, "If that stone tablet can only copy up to tier-4 spells, then what about tier-5 spells? Is there a higher version of that stone tablet or something different?"

    "We only have one stone tablet that can copy up to tier-5 spells, and it is at the Magic Guild headquarters," Raven wryly smiled, "but people don''te forward to register tier-5 magic spells. In total, the Magic Guild only has four tier-5 magic spells that other people can buy via the contribution system of the Guild."

    "But high-ranking guild members must have their own tier-5 magic spells, right?" Zevien grinned before continuing, "do you have one?"

    "I have two," Raven faintly smiled.

    "Two?!!" Vernisia and Zevien were surprised.

    At this time, Niley returned with two scrolls and handed one scroll to Zevien before saying with a in expression, "we will inform you when we finish testing the magic spell. You are free to go now."

    "I will learn the spell and test it myself," Raven said before activating her Digi-watch, "I am sending you the basic full registration cost of this tier-4 magic spell now. Once I have confirmed it is a peak tier-4 magic spell, I will send an additional 20,000 Gaia credits."

    "Alright," Zevien nodded with a smile, "we will take our leave now. Thank you for the help."

    "You''re always wee."

    ¡­

    As Zevien and Vernisia came out of the big wide building, Zevien got the notification of receiving 80,000 Gaia credits.

    "Why did it feel like miss Niley didn''t like you? Did you have any conflict with her before?" Vernisia curiously asked as she sat behind Zevien on the bike.

    "Nah," Zevien shook his head as he started the bike and pulled the lever.

    *vroom¡­*

    "I think she was a fan-girl of Raven and was irritated that a ssless nobody magician like me was talking casually to the esteemed Umbra Raven," Zevien snickered.

    "Yeah, that''s possible," Vernisia smiled and nodded, "though I am also surprised at how casually you talk to those big shots."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Well, I am too," Zevienughed, "and they were too. But I don''t mean to be rude or disregard them, and they have no problem with it, so it''s fine."

    "Tomorrow, you are going to enter your second magicbyrinth. Sigh, I wish I also had two magicbyrinths," Vernisia sighed as she ced her head on Zevien''s back, "but even so, I will not fall behind you."

    "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this before. Actually, people can have two magicbyrinths, and it''s normal," Zevien said, "It''s just¡­I was a rare case where I managed to awaken my 2nd magicbyrinth earlier."

    "Really?" Vernisia was pleasantly surprised before she realized something, "but since I have never heard of anyone having two magicbyrinths here, does that mean that the method of awakening a 2nd magicbyrinth is in Astral Land?"

    "Exactly," Zevien nodded, "the Magic Guild might know more about it because it is divided into two parts, one here and another inside Astral Land. Raven and the others were also not surprised when they discovered that I had awakened my 2nd magicbyrinth."

    "I see. Then I really can''t wait to get the opportunity to go there."

    "We might get that opportunity if we enter the Skyward Academy."

    "Hopefully."

    "Come on. I''ll take you to other research facilities where the other three products are being researched. First is a beauty spray that makes your skin extremely smooth and shiny. This product is cheaper than other simr products in the market. Moreover, it has no side effects on the skin because it wears off after twelve hours. One spray on the face when going out is enough to be like a top model for twelve hours."

    "That is great! It will definitely sell well."

    "The second product is a temporary body shaping gel. This gel is like a suit as you rub it on your whole body and it can shape your body to your liking. Just like the beauty spray, it will also be useful for everyone. A fatty of 200 kilograms? No problem, they can be a 60~70 kilogram lean, handsome man with abs for twenty-four hours."

    "T-this will also be a hot selling product," Vernisia wryly smiled, "but I pity the people who will get deceived because of this."

    Zevien grinned, "well, this can go two ways. One is a single individual using it to look good and deceive others, but that person will have to continue using it, bringing us more money.

    "The other is a couple using it with consent. It can happen if someone''s partner is fat and wants them to look good. However¡­Ahem, this magical gel will not increase the size of the little brothers of the males. It can decrease and shape the body''s mass but can''t increase it, simple as that."

    "Oh¡­," Vernisia nodded before slightly blushing after hearing the little brother part.

    "The third product is spell stones. These spell stones are researched together with the spell gauntlet because they will be used in the spell gauntlet. If people buy a spell gauntlet, they will surely buy a lot of spell stones to use different magic spells."

    ¡­

    The day passed as Zevien took Vernisia on a date to his research facilities and then watched a movie. They skipped today''s training with Dan and Erica for this date before meeting at night at the orphanage for dinner with the kids.

    After eating there, the four of them returned to the academy.

    "It''s time," Zevien looked at Vernisia and smiled when it was time to separate and go in different directions because they stayed in different dorms.

    Vernisia slightly blushed and nodded.

    "What? What''s going on?" Erica narrowed her eyes as she felt something strange between these two today.

    Zevien approached Vernisia and pecked on her lips for a goodnight kiss.

    Dan and Erica''s mouths wide opened at that.

    "Good night," Vernisia said with a smile while blushing as she turned around and grabbed Erica''s hand, "let''s go."

    Dan and Zevien also turned in the direction of their dorms area and started walking as Dan spoke dazedly, "way to go, brother."

 Chapter 77 Sabotage Plan?

    The next day, Zevien woke up at 5 in the morning, grabbed five empty vials, and a waist belt with a pouch, and right after, he entered the Invible Blood Garden after five seconds of meditation.

    He appeared in the blood pool cave and filled all five vials before putting them in the bag on his waist.

    Afterward, he activated the shaman seed to transform and then used Blood Morphing Art while pointing his hand at the pond.

    Unfurling his vampire wings, he zoomed out of the cave and flew up to explore this magicbyrinth.

    After flying for a while, he arrived at the field of that small family he had met previously. Rezina was working in the field while Kohan and his sister, Jenna, were running outside the flower field, ying with two other kids.

    Zevien interacted with them, hoping to pop up a magic quest, but nothing happened.

    "Where is uncle Henry?" Zevien asked.

    "He went to the town to sell the flowers," Rezina said with a smile while watering the field.

    "I see. If you need any help, then tell me. I am going to the town and see how it is."

    Rezina smiled and shook her head, "it''s fine. We are doing better than before. For now, we don''t need anything."

    ...

    Zevien left the field afterward and roamed the town. However, he couldn''t pop up any magic quest even after interacting with some people. Surprisingly, when he questioned this inwardly, he got a response in the form of a single line in his head.

    ==============================

    -You will not get another magic quest beforepleting your iplete chain and relic.

    ==============================

    After learning this fact, Zevien roamed the town and found many interesting things. One of them was the adventure guild, where people or other establishments posted tasks for rewards. Zevien took one task of killing magic beasts and nests near some viges and set off to do it.

    After one hour and thirty minutes, he cleared areas around eight viges and killed fifteen magic beasts, getting a total of 800 gold coins: 100 gold coins for each vige''s surroundings he cleared.

    Afterward, he took on another task. This task gave 150 gold coins to escort a merchant carriage from one town to another town. He was not the only escort as there were three more people. All three of them had slightly more magic power than Zevien, but still less than 1500 magic power, ording to Tarto.

    "This is boring," Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and said with a bored expression. The other people couldn''t see Tarto or hear his voice.

    The merchant was sitting on the carriage while Zevien and the three other escorts, Yenil, Mirena, and Zon, were on horses as they moved alongside the carriage. The four of them were surrounding the carriage, each one in the four cardinal directions of the carriage.

    Zevien was moving at the back.

    ''What do you mean boring?'' Zevien replied through telepathy.

    "Why are you escorting this carriage?" Tarto rolled his eyes. "There are five magic crystals inside the carriage and some other things. Just kill these people, take the magic crystals, and take off! Zoom~"

    Zevien almost eximed out loud at hearing that. Taking a deep breath, he asked, ''Are you sure? What rank of magic crystals are there?''

    ''Three white-rank crystals, one gray-rank, and one yellow-rank,'' Tarto replied with a grin, ''the storage box of this carriage is enchanted with multipleyered defensive magic spells, but I can still see what is inside quite easily. Aside from magic crystals, there are some rare materials and magic sigils."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "If you are willing to take the risk of fighting these people and steal, then I will break those multipleyered defensive spells to open the storage box for you."

    Zevien gulped before saying, ''why don''t you break it open now so I can quickly grab some and take off?''

    "Meow~Now that is not interesting!'' Tarto smiled with narrowed eyes, ''it''s better that you learn this phrase early; you get what you fight for. This saying will be more and more apparent as you be stronger."

    Zevien went silent for a few moments before nodding with a grin. ''Well then, it''s time to use some brains.''

    After a few seconds, Zevien pointed his hand and extended his nails to reach a one-meter length before cutting off a tree branch.

    "Nice, you can control my powers more now," Tarto nodded after seeing Zevien extending his sharp nails.

    "What are you doing?" the merchant asked with a frown.

    "Nothing," Zevien smiled.

    "Then what is that wood branch for?" the merchant asked with a doubtful expression.

    "It''s just a wood branch. I wanted it to carve a dagger and have someone enchant it with an enchant-type spell since I lost myst dagger," Zevien made up an excuse, "do any of you have an enchant-type spell?"

    "I have," Mirena said as she turned to Zevien. She was moving on the left side of the carriage.

    "Nice. I''ll carve it into a dagger of my choice and then give you. I hope you don''t mind enchanting it for me," Zevien said with a polite smile.

    Mirena nodded, "no problem."

    "What are you nning?" Tarto curiously inquired.

    Zevien was carving the wood but also writing something on the branch as he replied telepathically to Tarto, ''just make sure to open the storage box when the timees. I will make my move soon.''

    Tarto didn''t know what Zevien was nning, but when he looked at what Zevien wrote on the branch, he understood, "Kekeke, the idea is nice. It lessens your risk."

    ''Just lessens? Hahaha, it''s practically non-existent,'' Zevien inwardly replied with augh.

    "Well, I wonder about that," Tarto said with a cunning smile.

    Seeing that, Zevien raised his eyebrows, ''are you hiding something?''

    "Nope. But you will know soon. Just go along with your n," Tarto snickered.

    ''Fine,'' Zevien replied. Shortly afterward, he was done carving a crude dagger with words written on its de.

    "Here, it''s ready," Zevien moved his horse towards Mirena and gave her the dagger before silently moving to the back of the carriage.

    Mirena noticed the words on the dagger and was surprised before she frowned for a bit.

 Chapter 78 Justice Served

    *crack¡­*

    Mirena broke Zevien''s wooden dagger as the merchant, and the other two escorts nced at Mirena after hearing the sound.

    "This dagger is too crude. Let me carve a proper one for you, and then I will enchant it," Mirena said as she pointed her hand at a tree and conjured a metal whip with her magic to break a branch before pulling it towards her.

    After five minutes, she carved a decent dagger with her magic enchanted knife and passed it to Zevien.

    Zevien grabbed the dagger and saw two magic sigils inscribed on it.

    "One of the sigils is a sound transmission sigil. Pour mana and see what she has to say," Tarto said.

    "Nice work, miss Mirena. It seems you are already a tier-2 Enchanter," Zevien smiled before pouring mana into the dagger.

    After pouring the mana into the sound transmission sigil, he heard her voice in his head, ''you are lucky that you decided to inform me of this before Yenil and Zon. First, those will not join this n. They are rtives of this merchant, and they likely know what is inside. So, we two will work together and kill them.

    ''If you are the type that doesn''t like needless and enmity-less killing, then no worries; I am also like that. But none of those three are innocent because they have already stained their hands with the blood of innocent people.

    ''Yesterday, Yenil and Zon raped a pregnant vige woman and killed her husband. That woman told me about this before taking her own life suddenly. Since then, I have been following them to get a chance to kill them.''

    Zevien''s eyes twitched as he felt angry. But he remained calm and asked Tarto, ''is she telling the truth?''

    "She is," Tarto nodded while caressing his whiskers.

    ''Well then, no need to wait anymore,'' Zevien''s eyes glinted as he turned towards Zon, "hey Zon, check out this dagger. Miss Mirena really did a great job."

    Zevien threw the wooden dagger toward Zon, which he caught.

    Mirena''s eyes bulged as she thought that Zevien had betrayed her. But in the next second, she saw what Zevien did and sighed relief.

    Zevien shot his dagger toward Zon swiftly and pierced his head right when Zon tried to look at the sigils of the wooden dagger.

    Instant kill due to the surprise attack on the defenseless Zon.

    Mirena quickly jumped up and created a shield in front of Zevien because Yenil pointed his hand at Zevien and released a thunderbird.

    Zevien''s Somatic Sadness barrier came one secondte, but Mirena''s barrier saved him from injuries.

    "Thanks," Zevien said before flying up and dashing towards Yenil while releasing a Nyxite w.

    "Bastard!" Yenil shouted as he used a barrier spell to block but the Nyxite w passed through the barrier. Not expecting this, Yenil canceled his offensive-type spell that he was going to use right after the barrier spell and used a shield-type spell but couldn''t do it in time as the big dark w cut him into three pieces.

    On the other hand, Mirena also finished off the merchant.

    *Neighh¡­.Neighhhhh¡­*

    The horses went crazy with panic and were scared due to the energy fluctuations, but Mirena quickly calmed them down.

    "Meow~ you have to be careful with the Nyxite w spell," Tarto said as he appeared on Zevien''s shoulder for everyone to see. Mirena also noticed the cat speaking and was surprised.

    "What do you mean?" Zevien asked.

    "The Nyxite w can pass through any non-magic object several times ording to your will. But it still slightly weakens when passing through them. Just slightly, like 10% less power after passing through ten non-magic objects."

    Tarto jumped towards the carriage storage before he continued speaking, "however, this rule is a bit different when passing through magical things like barrier-type spells or magic items. It can only pass through a barrier, shield, or magic item once. It won''t pass through the second time, even if you will it. Even if there is a one finger''s distance between the first magic shield and second magic shield, the Nyxite w will pass the first shield ording to your will, but it won''t pass through the second shield."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I see," Zevien nodded.

    *Sparkle!! Crack¡­*

    Mirena and Zevien saw Tarto breaking the storage with a wave of his paws. All theyered magic spells were destroyed in a matter of seconds.

    "W-wow¡­.," Mirena looked at Tarto and the cracked open storage with an amazed expression.

    "I want all magic crystals, that magic sword, and that magic leather armor. The rest of the things are yours," Zevien said as he looked at Mirena with a smile, "deal?"

    Basically, Zevien asked for two-thirds of the share.

    "Fine," Mirena nodded, "you had more contribution anyway since I wouldn''t have been able to open this storage box even after killing them."

    Zevien wore the leather armor and hung the sword with its sheath at his waist before taking all the magic crystals and putting them in his bag. The crystals were just finger-sized, so they were easily stored.

    "I should buy a storage ring. I have enough money to buy tons of them now," Zevien muttered as he flew up and moved in a random direction to find another town as he couldn''t go to the previous town after this incident.

    Mirena also took her share of things from the box before riding away on a horse.

    ¡­

    However, just five minutes after Zevien and Mirena left, a middle-aged man arrived there riding a horse. When he saw the mess and broken storage, he started sweating and activated a ring on his third finger before speaking, "Sir Leon, you were right! Something happened here. Y-your brother is dead, and those two nephews, Yenil and Zon, are also dead."

    In response, the middle-aged man heard a frightening cold voice, "what about the storage box?"

    "It''s b-broken."

    "What!? How? What about the other two escorts?"

    "No sign of them here."

    "This can''t be. They can''t break the storage with their meager power. Return to the town and find information about those two escorts."

    ...

    "Zev, you might want to return to the previous town where you took this task," Tarto suddenly said to Zevien as he was flying in a random direction.

    "Huh? Why?" Zevien casually asked while checking out the sword. When he infused some mana in the sword, he got information about it in his head.

    =================================

    [Carhon Sword]

    -Tier: 2

    -Effect: It can enhance earth-type spells'' effect and physical strength of the user by 5%.

    =================================

    "Because in that town, you also roamed and met with Henry," Tarto answered nonchntly, "I think you should know what I mean unless you''ve turned stupid."

    Zevien halted in the air as his face changed, "no¡­no way."

 Chapter 79 Lie

    "Yes! Now return and solve the mess before your time in the magicbyrinth is up."

    *swoosh¡­*

    Zevien turned around and flew in the town''s direction at full speed.

    ¡­

    "Henry, right? Do you know this young man?" a middle-aged man with short brown hair and small round sses asked.

    "Don''t hide any information and speak everything you know unless you want to suffer a fate worse than death," another middle-aged man donned in a high-ss outfit spoke coldly.

    That middle-aged man was Leon, the current leader of the Ufar merchant house. He got Zevien''s and Mirena''s sketch after telling the staff at the adventure guild to describe the people who took their escort mission.

    After showing the sketches around, some people who had noticed Zevien roaming the town and talking with Henry for a rtively long time told them. Thus, Leon and his people arrived at Henry''s flower stall to interrogate him.

    Henry recognized Zevien but frowned, ''why are they looking for Zevien?''

    "May I ask what business you have with him? I have met him, but as far as I know, he is a good young man," Henry said sincerely.

    "Good? Heh," Leon sneered, "he took the escort task of our merchant house but instead of escorting it, he and this woman killed others along with my brother, who was a normal person without any magical affinity like you. After killing them, they stole the content of the storage with someone''s help."

    Henry was startled, "it can''t be." He couldn''t believe Zevien would do something like that. Henry shook his head and continued, "but even so, I don''t know where he is. I have only met him one time in this town."

    Leon took a few steps toward Henry before coldly whispering into Henry''s ears, "you better tell me where he is, or I will kill you, and if you have any family, I will also not spare them."

    "I-I don''t know," Henry answered with a scared expression and shook his head vehemently, "I truly don''t know anything about him. I am just a normal man selling flowers. I¡­I am also alone with no family or anything."

    Henry lied as he didn''t want to implicate his family in case these men did something to him.

    "Master Leon, it seems like this guy really doesn''t know anything about him," the middle-aged man with short brown hair spoke.

    "Dammit!" Leon cursed as he turned around, "take him to our mansion."

    "N-no. I don''t know anything. I swear!" Henry shouted, and his shout attracted the people''s attention but when they didn''t do anything after seeing that the carriage had a symbol of Ufar Merchant House and Leon was personally present there.

    An old man stepped up and said, "mister Leon. Henry is an honest man. If he says he doesn''t know where this young man in the sketch is, then he is telling the truth."

    "I don''t give a fuck! He ising with me, and you will not tell me what I have to do," Leon said as he red at the old man before entering the carriage.

    The middle-aged man bound Henry with a magic rope and dragged him towards the carriage.

    *Swooosh!*

    "Nope. You will not do that," Zevien came flying andnded between Henry and the carriage. He looked at Leon and coldly said, "as for the items in your storage, you will also not get them. If you insist on making me your enemy, then my master will destroy your stupid Rufar Merchant House."

    Leon''s expression became somber as he came out of the carriage and uttered coldly, "why did you antagonize our Ufar Merchant House?"

    "Because Yenil and Zon raped a woman in a vige and killed her husband. She was pregnant and took her life after telling us what happened to her," Zevien spoke loudly to let everyone hear it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I think your Ufar Merchant House did many horrible things aside from that. How about I report this to the town chief or even to the ruler of Amorph Kingdom? For your information, my master has a connection with people in the kingdom as a 1st ss magician so¡­."

    Leon''s face changed as he was merely a 3rd ss magician. If this young man''s master was indeed a 1st ss magician, then he and his business would be in trouble. But he didn''t want to believe this young man easily and asked, "what proof do you have?"

    "Proof? Humph, you can ask the people of that vige," Zevien snorted.

    He knew that the proof Leon wanted was not about this but about whether he had a backing of a 1st ss magician or not.

    "I am not talking about that proof. What I mean is how can I believe whether your master is 1st ss magician or not?" Leon sneered.

    "That? Hahaha," Zevien startedughing loudly as he shook his head, "how stupid are you? Do you think I would have the guts to stand here if I didn''t have a backing? My master also broke those multiple defensive spells on the storage." Zevien looked at Leona as if he was stupid.

    "As for this man selling flowers, I talked to him because I was curious about some flowers and wanted to know more about them," Zevien scoffed before he looked at Leon with narrowed eyes and spoke icily, "I don''t care what you do to him or anyone in this town. But, if your Ufar crap house did something to anyone and I found out, then I will ensure that you cease to exist."

    After saying that, Zevien flew up without waiting for Leon''s response.

    Leon just speechlessly stood there dumbfounded as sweat trickled down his forehead.

    ¡­

    "Meow~ Do you think this n of yours will work?" Tarto asked nonchntly.

    ''Fuck, let''s hope this n works,'' Zevien thought while sweating as he flew away from the town, ''I am also starting to feel exhausted as it''s nearing the time to leave thebyrinth, so this was the best and fastest solution. Fake it until you make it. Sigh, let''s hope that I sessfully scared that bastard.''

    Tarto turned around to observe the town from afar despite already getting far away from it. After watching for a few seconds, Tarto spoke, ''Don''t worry, it worked.''

    "Really?" Zevien spoke with colossal relief washing over him, "if something happened to Henry and his family because of me, I¡­I don''t know how I would''ve dealt with that."

    "Good job, there," Tarto patted Zevien''s shoulder with a grin.

    Zevien smiled with relief still on his face. He was truly d that nothing happened.

    ...

    "Get him inside!" Leon coldly said as he looked at Henry before looking at the sky, in the direction where Zevien flew away, ''bastard, I will have a nice surprise for you when youe back here next time.''

    On the other hand, Zevien had found a nice spot and entered meditation to try and stay longer.

    After some time, he couldn''t bear it and got kicked out of thebyrinth.

    "Actually, your n failed."

    Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder and said inly, "they captured Henry and took him with them."

    "What?!" Zevien turned furious as he looked at Tarto, "y-you...Why didn''t you tell me when I was there?!"

    "Because you would have died if you fought him. This also answers your question regarding your status in the magicbyrinth, YES. If you do die in there, you die."

 Chapter 80 Truth

    "I could do better¡­," Zevien mumbled as his body trembled slightly. He looked at Tarto and asked, "did you know this would happen when you told me to kill them and steal the contents of the storage box?"

    "Zevy boy, are you ming it on me?" Tarto said to Zevien with narrowed eyes. He approached Zevie and floated just a few centimeters away from Zevien''s face before saying, "the fault lies in you. You failed to think of the consequences after deciding to do the deed. You must have already thought of other ways to go about this situation by now, but it''s toote. Let this serve you as a lesson so that you don''t be overconfident and jeopardize the lives of your close ones here because of your decisions."

    "Also, you can''t transform into that overpowered form again like in the vi where you saved Vernisia. It was not solely your doing, as I also helped at that time. If you go way over your limit again, you cannot stop the overflowing power from the shaman seed. You have to be more powerful before that trigger can properly manifest."

    After saying this, Tarto disappeared, leaving Zevien with a mess of feelings inside him.

    "One more thing. I saw them forcefully taking Henry inside the carriage and deemed that your n failed. The rest, you can only know when you enter thebyrinth again." Tarto''s voice resounded in Zevien''s ears after he disappeared.

    ¡­

    Inside Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth¡­

    "Arghh!! Y-you-," Leon looked on with dread as burning darkness swallowed him. The entire Ufar Merchant House was burned with only ck ash remaining on the ground.

    Henry was stupefied at the event that happened in front of him. Only he was alive in the middle of this burned mansion inside a transparent barrier with a ck hue.

    Suddenly, he felt something and looked at his wrist. A mark with a pair of beastly eyes and three whiskers below the eyes was gradually disappearing and entirely vanished in three seconds, ''w-what was that?''

    Amotion had already urred as the town guards escorted Henry for questioning. He was tested by putting his hand on a truth crystal, and since he truly didn''t know how this all happened, they let him go and deemed Zevien as the perpetrator since he had threatened Leon before leaving, and many people knew about it.

    The chief guard clicked his tongue in annoyance. ''Leon didn''t even pay half the amount even though I overlooked him kidnapping this Henry guy. Could it be that the young man who threatened him did this? It looks like Leon made a wrong decision this time, heh.''

    On the other hand, Henry quickly returned to his house five kilometers away from the town while believing that Zevien was the one who saved his life. s, even Zevien didn''t know that all this happened.

    After returning to his house, Henry decided to never return to that town. He decided to sell his flowers at another town six kilometers away in the west direction from his home.

    ¡­

    "Fuck, fuck!!" Zevien pped himself with anger and guilt. Why didn''t he think about Henry? He failed to think they could draw his sketch since he roamed the town and visited the adventure guild.

    He failed to think before doing the deed as he underestimated this world and didn''t think about it then as he was consumed by the loot he gained.

    ''His family¡­.I hope they don''t do anything to them,'' Zevien thought as he was worried and anxious. He wanted to enter inside thebyrinth right now, but that was impossible.<novelnext></novelnext>

    *knock¡­knock¡­knock¡­*

    "What happened, bro?" Dan asked from outside of Zevien''s room after hearing him cursing.

    Zevien sighed and went to open the door.

    Seeing Zevien with red eyes and p marks on his cheeks, Dan was startled, "what happened?"

    Zevien shook his head as he went to wash his face before telling Dan everything.

    After hearing the whole situation, Dan remained silent as he also didn''t know what to say. After a minute, he asked, "how close were you to them?"

    "Close?" Zevien''s expression turned sad as he sadly smiled, "They were good, very good, and kind. I had dinner with them, and they were very weing. They had two cute little kids, brave ones. I guess¡­they were more than just acquaintances. But¡­," Zevien gritted his teeth as he spoke heavily, "I was the one responsible for their trouble, even if they were strangers. How would you feel if someone died because of you?¡­Damn!"

    "If we don''t create a line to know where we stand, then we won''t know which side or which type of people we are," Zevien sighed, "this is one of the things that old man Mordar told me. I can not brush this off just because I didn''t know them well."

    "Old man Mordar?" Dan heard this name the first time.

    "He was an old man around sixty years old who visited the orphanage when I was fourteen. He told me and taught me many things about the world. He didn''t tell me what I had to be but told me what I would be if I made certain decisions. Good and evil exist together, but what defines them for you is decided by your own moralpass. How you create your own moralpass depends on the choices you make and the decisions you take," Zevien said as he remembered the words of the old man Mordar.

    "I made a mistake," Zevien mumbled, "I think Tarto was testing me as well, and I failed miserably."

    "If it makes you feel any better, then let me tell you that I am also angry with you, "Dan said as he got up from the bed, "want me to punch you?"

    ? "Do it," Zevien nodded with a somber expression.

    *smack!*

    Dan punched with his full force as Zevien''s jaw nearly broke.

    "Damn it!! I should have infused mana in the fist," Dan cried loudly as his hand instantly swelled. "How fucking tough is your body right now?!" He asked, looking at Zevien speechlessly.

    Zevien rubbed his jaw lightly before sighing.

 Chapter 81 Attempt

    Dan put his hand on Zevien''s shoulder before saying, "well, you can not do anything about what happened. You have to live with this and ensure something like this doesn''t happen again. That old man Mordar indeed said some awesome things. I also need to keep them in mind."

    "I am going to the morning training now. You can skip it today until you settle your feelings," Dan said before leaving the room.

    ...

    Zevieny on the bed as he couldn''t help but worry for Henry and his family. He wanted to know what happened to them, but he also knew that he couldn''t let this thing upy his mind all the time.

    Suddenly, he thought of something, ''if Touma-sir and the others will do the experiment again, then I might be able to enter into thebyrinth again!''

    Zevien wanted to enter thebyrinth immediately if possible as he couldn''t just sit still without knowing what had happened to them. He got up and quickly called Touma.

    Zevien¡ª, "Hello, Touma-sir. Do you have any experiments pending? When are you going tomence more experiments as you did to Lopaz and me?"

    Touma¡ª, "Well, we did it one more time and failed. We did it on a death row inmate since we knew that we would likely fail without taking your or Lopaz''s help like you did with Lopaz. However, this failure finally allowed us to see the missing point, so we will likely seed next time. I believe we have a 99% sess rate the next time we do it, thanks to Biombee, who helped me analyze all the ingredients and their solutions perfectly with its magic."

    Zevien¡ª, "When are you going to do it? If you can arrange it today, then please do it because I want to enter my 2nd magicbyrinth again."

    Touma¡ª, "Why do you want to enter yourbyrinth again? I even doubt you would be able to enter again anyway."

    Zevien¡ª, "It''s¡­. It''s very important for me. If you can arrange it today, then please do it. Consider this as repaying my favor price of fairy spirit summoning."

    Touma¡ª, "Nah, this is very smallpared to the fairy spirit summoning. We were ready tomence the experiment since two days ago but couldn''t find a perfect time since everyone was a bit busy after old man Cargil destroyed the Gio family. We also haven''t decided who we should call for the next experiment attempt. But we can''t call anyone who has evolved their magic core as it''s confirmed that this experiment will only work on ssless magicians."

    Zevien turned silent for a few moments before replying¡ª, "I may have a candidate for this experiment but give me half an hour."

    Touma¡ª, "no problem. The sses will start soon, but I am noting today. The serums are also ready at theb. This will be our final test if we seed. Once we seed this one time, we will name this experiment Magician Growth Boost.

    "People will have to pay the astronomical amount and make certain contributions to the country if they want their kids to get this boost. I am afraid you also won''t be able to pay for it in a short time, let alone get the required contribution. So if you want someone to get this enhancement, bring them to theb after thirty minutes."

    Zevien¡ª," So I guess high-ranking government officials of the country will get first dibs on the boosts. Since they are also hard to get, thepetition will be tough."

    Touma¡ª, "Even Merax or Blondina''s kids can''t get in the queue to get this boost once it goes official. We only have five sets now, and I will use one today for you. Hopefully, it will be thest experiment."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien¡ª, "Thank you so much."

    Touma¡ª, "I am the head of this whole experiment. Hahaha, they wouldn''t have gotten to know about this thing without me. I can call shots before this goes official, as I did with you. The recipe was mine since I found it, but I was not able to get the ingredients, so¡­. that''s how it was."

    ¡­

    Zevien fell into thought after talking with Touma, ''should I call Vernisia for this experiment? It''s not dangerous anymore, but¡­.''

    After thinking for a few minutes, Zevien called Vernisia to his dorm.

    After five minutes, Vernisia knocked on the dorm''s main door, and he went to open it. She was in sports clothes since it was time for the morning training on the ground.

    "Hi, what did you want to talk about," Vernisia said with a smile as she entered inside.

    Zevien grabbed her hand and took her to his room. They sat down on the bed as Zevien grabbed both of her hands and said with a somber expression, "you know about the experiment I went through, right? Do¡­do you want to go through it?"

    Vernisia''s eyes instantly shone as she repeatedly nodded, "of course! Absolutely! How can I miss this chance to be like you and get stronger?"

    Zevien exined the whole thing and told his experience before asking again. But Vernisia''s answer remained the same; she wanted to do this!

    Seeing Zevien''s worried expression, Vernisia hugged him tightly as her soft melons pressed against Zevien''s chest, "I want to do this, so don''t be needlessly worried. I can endure whatever pain to be with you. Also, as you said, there''s practically no chance of any mishap. Humph, I am more angry that you took this risk without any basis for sess, so you can''t stop me now that there''s no risk this time."

    Zevien wrapped his hands around her as well and nodded, "ok. I know you are strong, stronger than ever now that you also know about your previous life."

    "Wait, let me hug you longer," Vernisia said with a slight blush, "it feels good."

    Zevien smiled as he felt peaceful in her presence and her hug, "me too. Hehe, I especially feel good in my chest area."

    "Pervert!" Vernisia eximed, but she didn''t break the hug.

    "I want to tell you something," Zevien said with a sigh before telling her everything about what happened in thebyrinth and why he wanted to enter again.

 Chapter 82 Zevien Special Or Not?

    "So, you chose Vernisia?" Touma asked with a smile seeing Zevien bringing Vernisia inside theb.

    "It was my choice," Vernisia faintly smiled as she grabbed Zevien''s hand.

    "Well then, let''s start," Touma said as he gestured Vernisia to sleep on the bed before saying to Zevien, "bind her hands and legs. I''ll prepare the orb and bring the serums from the storage."

    Zevien nodded as he and Vernisia entered the ss chamber. Vernisia slept on the bed as Zevien cuffed her hands and legs.

    "You are more worried than me, silly. I will pass through it without any hups. Don''t worry," Vernisia said as she looked at Zevien.

    "I will be here and will not let any mishap happen," Zevien said as he nodded and kissed her before sitting on the stool beside the bed.

    Touma arrived with the necessary items, after which he started.

    After pulling out Vernisia''s magic eidos body in the physical form, he injected one serum into her physical body and another into her magic eidos body.

    ¡­

    On top of a giant leaf with immeasurable distance and a colorful starry sky...

    "Oh boy, no. I can not 100% predict this experiment''s result," Euclion wryly said as he observed Vernisia and Zevien while sitting at a table on the leaf and eating something from a bowl.

    Suddenly, an old man arrived and sat down at the same table. "Did L''s experimental mind rub on you? What are you watching?" said the old man donned in a white robe with a big white beard and long white hair.

    "Baishen?" Euclion turned to the old man before saying, "just take a look by tracing my consciousness."

    Baishen nodded as he traced Euclion''s consciousness. After five seconds, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "That girl has a higher amount of the Time Fruit''s power and your magic traces in her than the boy. What did you do?"

    "First, I had to alter their destinies a bit with time rewind. But the Time Fruit''s power and my magic were consumed more on the girl since I had to change her entire life since she was born. Her line of past was altered to her being bornpletely fine without any disease. So in this experiment, where their consciousness is elevated, and their physical body gains ess to magicbyrinths, something might happen rted to the magicbyrinth and them," Euclion said as he rubbed his chin, "can you guess what will happen, Baishen?"

    Baishen caressed his beard as he thought of some possibilities and nodded, "if you calcted the possibilities, then we both know what will happen. That possibility has a 63% chance of happening."

    "It will be interesting," Euclion smiled as two dimples appeared on his slightly pink baby cheeks.

    Baishen looked at Euclion and shook his head with an amused smile, "don''t you want to do anything about your appearance? You can have an adult appearance if you go to the depths and find a way to remove this curse from you."

    "Humph, why do you think there''s no other option besides that?" Euclion''s baby face turned red with anger.

    Baishen grimly smiled and shook his head, "you can''t defeat her. She is your nemesis. You should know this better than anyone."

    "But I will only ept this method! Her death will free me from this curse, and it will happen! For sure! Now don''t bring up infuriating stuff. I want to see what will happen to them," Euclion snorted before focusing on Zevien and Vernisia.

    After a while, the experiment ended as Euclion and Baishen looked at each other with smiles.

    "Do you think this can happen again or be made official via some method?" Baishen asked. The thing that happened with Zevien and Vernisia in the experiment was very interesting.

    "We just found out that the major factor of something like that happening is genuine care and love for each other, very interesting. I didn''t know Magia realm would adapt to that after entering phase 2," Euclion grinned, "it will be exciting the next time they enter their respective magicbyrinths."

    "I''ll try to create a method to make what happened to them a regr urrence," Baishen said as he disappeared from the table on the giant leaf.

    ¡­

    Inside the ss chamber, Vernisia had disappeared, but Zevien was still there with a dispirited expression, "It didn''t work. I couldn''t enter inside my secondbyrinth again."

    "Well, but the experiment was sessful," Touma said with a smile before asking, "anyway, why do you want to enter again in the first ce?"

    Zevien shook his head, "just wanted to know the situation inside. You know there are now real people inside. Even though they suddenly appeared out of nowhere, they are real."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien then told Touma about what happened inside.

    After hearing everything, Touma rubbed his chin and spoke, "what if you were a soldier and went to war for your country? I did. I went and killed people I had never met before. But that was war. However, that war was tied with benefits and was because of resources. What you did was a mistake of not taking the entire picture and consequences in your mind before making your move to get the riches. You don''t know what happened to that Henry guy, so don''t think too much about it and waste your time. When you go into thebyrinth next time, you can do what you deem fit after finding out the situation."

    "I wanted to do that today by entering, but I have to wait now," Zevien sighed before shaking his head.

    Touma patted Zevien''s shoulder once and nodded before leaving the ss chamber.

    Zevien waited for Vernisia, who appeared after over two hours with bruises on her left hand and a bleeding shoulder.

    "What happened?" Zevien frowned as he waved his hand and used Somatic Happiness to heal her injuries.

    "Ah, nothing. Thest magic beast I fought with was strong. Anyway, I awakened a second magicbyrinth like you! And look, " Vernisia said as she punched in the air, "my body is getting stronger after those motes entered inside my body like you."

    Vernisia grinned in excitement as she continued, "after entering, I focused on killing magic beasts by taking a task from the town chief since I wanted to make my physical body reach the same level as you. Now you can spar with me instead of the seniors at the dojo."

    Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "did you manage to enter inside? or..."

    "I failed," Zevien shook his head before sighing, "I will have to wait for thirty days."

    Vernisia''s face also fell, and she hugged Zevien, "let''s be positive for now. You didn''t want them getting hurt or in trouble. Maybe they released him after kidnapping him?"

    "I will save the magic crystals and those two items until then and exchange them for Henry if possible. I should have done this earlier instead of taking the risk. Sigh, I hope it''s not toote when I go next time."

    "Stupid!" Tarto suddenly appeared and said with ring whiskers, "use the resources and items! It''s for you!"

    "Don''t argue with me on this. I have decided," Zevien frowned.

    "Tsk, I didn''t want to reveal it but guess I have no choice now since you are making a stupid decision," Tarto clicked his tongue before saying, "Henry is safe. I had already nned to save him from the start if something happened. He and his family are safe while the Ufar Merchant House no longer exists."

    "What! Really?!" Zevien eximed with a shocked and hopeful expression.

    "Of course!" Tarto nodded before grinning, "but now, they are hellbent on catching you. The rtives of Leon in the capital city also want your head, so your next journey inside thebyrinth will be exciting, hehe."

    After saying that, Tarto disappeared.

    After a few minutes, Touma arrived and was startled to know that Vernisia had awakened a second magicbyrinth.

    "How?" Touma asked with confusion, "how is that possible? Could this experiment also awaken a second magicbyrinth for other people? No, no, no! We believe that Zevien awakened his second magicbyrinth because when Lopaz triggered his first magicbyrinth awakening, Zevien was connected to him. But if that''s the case, then howe Vernisia awakened her second magicbyrinth?"

    "Hmmm....maybe because Lopaz didn''t awaken anybyrinth at that time while Vernisia has already awakened herbyrinth once?" Zevien guessed before he thought of something and said, "I think the special thing that triggered a second awakening is inside me. That special thing could also be the reason why my mana turned vtile whening out."

    "What do you mean?" Touma asked as he didn''t understand fully.

    "I mean, I awakened the secondbyrinth because of my own power, and when I gave mana to Vernisia at the end, it also caused her to awaken her second magicbyrinth. Naturally, Lopaz also awakened his firstbyrinth because of me," Zevien said with a faint smile.

    Touma nodded, "in the first ce, there are no ingredients or effects in anything  I used to make these two serums that indicated that it could help awaken a magicbyrinth. That''s why we were not willing to perform this experiment on Lopaz."

    "But you were willing to do it on Zevien?" Vernisia narrowed her eyes.

    "Ahem. Everything went well, no? I felt that Zevien was special, so I knew he would make it," Touma coughed as he said with a weak smile.

    "Anyway, it''s confirmed that those two serums are perfected now," Zevien said as he grinned, "you can pick a ssless magician who has already awakened a magicbyrinth for the next experiment or rather, Magician Growth Boost. Let''s see if that person awakens second magicbyrinth without my interference."

    "Yeah," Touma nodded, "that''s the only way to confirm whether you are right or wrong."

 Chapter 83 Realm Of Spirits Launched

    Days passed after the Magician Growth Boost was used on Vernisia.

    Dan and Erica were envious after finding out, but Zevien told them that he would be able to get the boosts for them if his spection turned out correct. If the awakening of 2nd magic Labyrinth was rted to Zevien, which he was 99% sure, he could easily get Magician Growth Boost for them because having 2nd magicbyrinth is the biggest boost in growth one can get.

    If Zevien was proved right, he could sell his touch of magic to awaken a second magicbyrinth for a high price. Naturally, this would be only possible if he was right. Touma told him that they wouldmence one more experiment regarding the Magician Growth Boost after several days and tell him the results.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, the Realm of Spirit''s preparations werepleted after five days andunched the game on time.

    Card packs and Battle-stage modules were delivered to his three Zenith stores throughout the city and malls before Zenith Corp. officially opened all stores with various cool posters of legendary fairies.

    Zevien had already doubled the production after fully registering his tier-4 spell to the magic guild branch. He had gotten 80,000 Gaia credits at first, and after Raven tested it, and after confirming that it was indeed a peak tier-4 spell, Zevien got another 20,000 Gaia credits.

    A total of 100,000 Gaia credits. On top of that, He also got 1 billion Lopax credits from Raven several days before theunch. With this much money, Zevien didn''t hold back in the production and already nned to give money to TV channels and other brands to advertise the Realm of Spirits.

    A manager called Quinn, whom Zevien recruited, and Yowen handled everything as other workers in the Zenith Corp building worked hard for theunch. Shortly after opening the stores, Zevienunched a marketing campaign as well.

    He had spent money to hire top celebrities to make the trailer and tutorial of the game. He also included Dan and Erica in the video as they yed against each other to exin the game and show its unique pointspared to other mundane card games.

    There were not many responses in the first hour, but after two hours, the Zenith stores started to flood with people to buy card packs and Battle-stage modules. In just four hours, all the stores got emptied out; not a single card pack remained. But production was still ongoing, and Zevien sent his vehicles filled with card packs to the stores every two hours for eight times as everyone was overworked to handle it well.

    The Battle-stage module was a one-time item, and it was expensive as it would create a big hologram Battle-stage powered by electricity and mana. The module was a wrist bangle in shape for ease of use.

    Since it was a one-time buy item, Zevien set its price to be 50,000 Lopax credits. ying on it is better looking and more fun than using the application hologram from Digi-watch, which is many times smaller.

    Regarding card packs, he created three types of card packs. The first type only contained five random cards, and it was priced at 2000 Lopax credits. The second type contained 10 random cards, and its price was 3900 Lopax credits. The third type contained 20 random cards: Price- 7,500 Lopax credits.

    He also made all cards upgradeable with the chip. Like if people have duplicate cards. They can put one card on top of another. The card below will be upgraded to the 2nd level, which increases its stats by 10%. The card used as material will have its chip destroyed with the mana mechanism so that people can''t scan it for another upgrade anymore. All cards were upgradeable up to 5 levels. This way, Zevien would continue to earn even more money whenunching new cards.

    Zenith Corps sold roughly 200,000 cards and 2,600 Battle-stage Modules five days after theunch. Out of those cards, 80% weremon-rank fairies and spell cards, 17% were rare-rank fairies and spell cards, 2.7% were epic-rank fairies and spell cards, and finally, 0.3% were legendary-rank fairies and spell cards.

    Zenith Corp. total earning of five days? The Battle-stage modules earned him 130 million Lopax Credits. However, he had a contract with anotherpany to use their cutting-edge hologram tech in it, and its creation cost was a total of 25,000 Lopax credits per device. So that was 65 million Lopax credits from Battle-stage Modules alone. Aside from that, cards earned them 6.7 million Lopax credits after cutting their production cost.

    Total profit of five days: 71.7 million Lopax credits. Out of this, 9.2 million went topany employees who worked and were overworked for five days. But everyone felt it was worth it after getting the money from thepany.

    Ultimately, Zevien and the gang got 62.5 million Lopax credits from five days of hyper-selling.

    After five days, the production slowed down, but card packs were being steadily refilled in the shops daily.

    Battle-stage modules take time to create as thepany that created the hologram tech device that was added in the module was out of stock due to Zevien''s previous order.

    Zevien wanted to create as many as possible Battle-stage modules before theunch, but they went out of stock, and Zenith Corps could only create 2600 modules.

    Zevien also nned to hire more people and build another floor solely to produce cards in the Zenith Corp. building so that he could sell more and steadily in other ces.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Raven, Touma, and the others were shocked when they saw the game, especially those action animations from the fairy and spell cards when one used cards. Realm of Spirits! This game''s prospect was looking good. But Zevien inly refused to sell any shares of thepany. He didn''t need money anymore as he would steadily earn every day.

    Zevien also gave Vernisia, Dan, and Erica 5 million each and 20 million to the orphanage. The kids got new sets of clothes, the best food, and training every day with their future secured.

    Of course, Zevien still had the debt of 1 billion Lopax Credits to pay to Raven, which he would pay after two months. Without that 1 billion from Raven, thisunch wouldn''t have been as big and sessful.

    Aside from that, Zevien bought some stores in malls and streets in other cities on the 8th day of theunch because theirpany had already gotten thousands of emails to bring this card game to their cities.

    Days passed as Zevien and the gang showered in money. But in the end, it was not as important as one''s strength. Erica and Dan were eager for the Magician Growth Boost as everyone sat at a table in the office room of the Zenith Corp. and waited for Touma''s call because they were going to do the experiment today.

    "If you have the power to awaken 2ndbyrinth for others, then can you do it without getting help from the process of that magic growth boost?" Dan asked curiously.

    "I just have the feeling. It''s not like I can sense that power in me," Zevien wryly smiled and said, "that Magician Growth Boost elevates our consciousness and does something to our physical body and magic eidos body such that we can physically enter inside our magicbyrinth and killing magic beasts inside can make our body stronger, so we don''t have to refine it with our mana periodically as our magic power increases.

    "In the middle of the process of Magic Growth Boost, when my manaes into contact with someone else, it triggers the awakening. This is my guess from how it went with Vernisia."

    "Can you ask Tarto? He might be able to see if you have something mystical in your magic eidos body," Erica suggested.

    "Alright, I''ll call him," Zevien nodded as he called Tarto multiple times, but no answer came for two minutes.

    After two minutes, Tarto appeared and spoke, "I was busy in my Fairy realm. Anyway, why did you call me?"

    "Can you see if Zevien has some special power inside him that can help awaken the magicbyrinth for others?" Vernisia asked.

    "Eh??" Tarto''s expression was weird after hearing that question, "first of all, a power that can help awaken magicbyrinth is not special." Tarto then looked at Zevien with doubt and asked, "you don''t know that you have Heredity Manaline in your magic eidos body?"

    "Heredity Manaline? I am hearing it for the first time," Zevien shook his head with confusion.

    "Meow~ Those whose parents have reached Supreme Sorcerer-rank can manifest a random Heredity Manaline. This thing can appear in their descendants as well but not as powerful as them," Tarto said as he caressed his whiskers, "The Heredity Manaline you have can help you awaken the second magicbyrinth early. Moreover, you can also help six more people awaken their second magicbyrinth or their first magicbyrinth if they couldn''t awaken. But only six people, no more than that. If you want a real powerful Heredity Madeline, then you have to reach Supreme Sorcerer-rank."

    "Parents¡­," Zevien muttered before shaking his head, "I don''t know who my parents are. But I know that they are in Astral Land."

    Vernisia''s face fell as she grabbed Zevien''s hand and spoke with guilt in her voice, "if not for me, you could see them. But now that the destiny changed, they won''te to find you this time."

    "It''s fine. I choose you over them," Zevien said as he looked at her lovingly. "Anyway, they won''te to find me, but who knows? I might meet them when I go to the Astral Land in the future," he said with a smile.

    "Alright, I am busy, so I am going back now," Tarto said before disappearing.

    "Wait! I wanted to know how to use my Heredity Manaline," Zevien quickly said, but no response came from Tarto.

    "Forget it. You don''t need to find that anymore since you can do it using the Magic Growth Boost on us," Dan grinned, "can''t wait for Touma-sir''s call, hahaha."

 Chapter 84 Training Result, Vampire In The City

    *Ding!*

    "Got Touma-sir''s message," Zevien spoke while looking at his Digi-watch and reading the message.

    [The experiment went sessful. Magician Growth Boost is now officially official ¥Ã. However, the kid we used the boost on didn''t awaken his 2nd magicbyrinth, so¡­you were right. It seems that the magicbyrinth awakening was indeed due to your magical touch, hahaha.]

    [Anyway, I can''t call you right now, but we''ll have an important talk regarding this and your fairy summoning spell after a month. For now, we are all going to Astral Land for something important. Another teacher will rece me for a month. The city lord''s position will also temporarily be given to someone from the central government headquarters who knows nothing about you. Heck, nobody besides a few people knows about you, so don''t cause any trouble, for there won''t be anyone to save your ass for a month.]

    After reading the message, he showed it to the others with a speechless expression, "it seems that I will lose my VIP status for a month."

    "Haha, no worries. There are very few problems that money can''t solve," Dan said with a grin, "the matter regarding the Gio family is also solved, so we can just peacefully live and prepare."

    "Though it kinda saddens me that we will have to wait for a month to get our Magician Growth Boosts," Erica sighed.

    "It''s fine. We can focus on learning magic spells that we will need when we be 5th ss magicians," Vernisia said with a smile.

    "Oh, and I have already learned another tier-1 magic spell, Fire Spark, andbined it with my other tier-1 spell, Cushion Steps, which I got from Touma-sir''s library to create the peak tier-1 fusion spell, Fire Burst Steps. I have already weaved it in my magic core after removing Cushion Steps."

    Fire Burst Steps could let the user burst dash on the ground or in the air multiple times, ording to the user''s wish and the remaining mana the user has. On top of that, dashing releases me sparks that cause tiny explosions from the user''s feet to deal small damage to opponents.

    "That''s not all, right?" Erica sneakily smiled.

    "Yep, I also learned another tier-1 spell called Water Beam and learned one more tier-1 spell called Lightning Tendril so that I can create another peak tier-1 fusion spell, Discharged Beam," Vernisia grinned, "once my opponent is paralyzed either by my Shadow Bind Hex awakening spell or Discharged Beam, I win."

    Zevien was surprised, "eh? Your magic core has enough space for two tier-1 spells even after getting a 2nd awakening spell from your 2nd magicbyrinth?"

    "Yeah. Although barely after I removed my Split Mana Saber spell," Vernisia wryly smiled.

    "Oh yeah, we know you awakened your 2nd magicbyrinth. What is its name, and what''s your second awakening spell?" Erica asked curiously.

    "It''s an unrecorded magicbyrinth just like my Invible Blood Garden," Zevien smiled.

    Vernisia nodded as she grinned, "It''s called Primal Elemental Utopia. The awakening spell I got from it is called Primal Conjuring."

    "It seems like the second magicbyrinth awakened by Zevien''s touch will be an unrecorded one," Dan grinned.

    "Hopefully, that''s the case," Erica nodded with a hint of excitement in her eyes before she asked, "so what does Primal Conjuring do?"

    "It''s a unique spell from what I understood so far," Vernisia said with a thoughtful expression, "there are four styles of conjuring when I activate this spell, but I can only conjure the 1st style right now, which is called Water Terror Fish."

    Vernisia waved her hand as she used the 1st style of Primal Conjuring; Water Terror Fish.

    *chaaa!*

    An adult palm-sized ocean blue fish materialized in the air as it flew around speedily.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Use it on me," Zevien said as he got away from the table and jumped four meters away before using Somatic Sadness to create a barrier around him.

    Vernisia nodded as she controlled the fish to hit the barrier.

    *crack!*

    The barrier cracked in a second as the fish continued for half a second before it exploded and turned into four tiny vertical water vortexes that shot towards Zevien as fast as an arrow and as sneaky as snakes.

    "Woah!" Zevien was startled as he jumped back and turned into his cat form before taking them head-on.

    The water vortexes hit him but couldn''t do much damage since he was in his cat form, which provided him a slightly higher physical strength and bodily magic defense.

    "It''s a pure offensive spell and also a barrier breaker to a certain limit, I guess," Zevien said with raised eyebrows before he nodded with a smile, "it''s pretty powerful."

    "Yep. I feel like I will unlock the rest of the styles after evolving my magic core," Vernisia nodded, "I also need to master the 1st style. I can''t control it well."

    "You just got it today, so take it easy," Erica said before turning to Zevien. "Dan and I have created one peak tier-1 fusion spell. What about you, Zevien?" She asked curiously.

    Zevien sat down at the table before speaking with a helpless smile, "both my awakening spells have taken up a lot of space in my magic core because of their versatile nature, so I can at most weave one tier-1 spell, which is going to be the peak tier-1 fusion spell, Brilliant Burn. Currently, I have sh Curtain weaved, but I will remove it tomorrow and have Brilliant Burn weaved in my magic core since I have already learned the spell concept and mastered spell formation of Burning Spark."

    "I don''t remember that spell," Erica frowned.

    "I remember! It is abination of sh Curtain and Burning Spark, damn," Dan said as he smiled nastily and nodded, "It''s an annoying spell to deal with when it suddenly pops in front of you."

    Brilliant Burn started simr to sh Curtain, but instead of just blinding enemies with bright light like sh Curtain, Brilliant Burn also burns the eyes and skin of whoever is facing it along with inflicting blindness like sh Curtain.

    "Well, Zevien also has three more spells that he can use when he turns into his cute and handsome cat form," Vernisia said before she suddenly grinned happily and demanded, "Hey, I can now tell you that I want to touch your cat ears without feeling embarrassed, hehe. Come on, show it."

    "Ahem, we can do that when we are alone. For now, I have to go and start my n to get a quota to enter into the Skyward Academy without participating in the tournament at the academy," Zevien said smilingly as he stood up, "you three do whatever you want and help Yowen if he requires something. He is too busy handling thepany right now."

    Afterward, Zevien left Zenith Corp. with a vampire blood vial in his pocket.

    ¡­

    Zevien rode on his bike and went towards the magic guild branch in the city. On the way, he stopped at a fancy outfit shop and bought an outfit. Afterward, he stopped at a club and went inside before appearing in his vampire form and wearing a count Drac outfit.

    "Nice get up, man. Are you going to a fancy outfit fashion show?" A man in his early twenties asked as Zevien came out of the club.

    "Yep," Zevien grinned and nodded while walking by that man before starting his bike and moving towards the magic guild branch.

    He had red eyes, vertical irises, and two fangs outside his mouth: A true vampire to boot roaming outside. But with this outfit and the various spells avable, people would think that it was just a temporary enchantment or work of an essory that allowed him to have this vampire get up.

 Chapter 85 I...

    After arriving at the magic guild branch, Zevien parked his bike in the parking lot and took a deep breath before activating the shaman seed''s power. He controlled it and prevented whiskers from appearing on his face. He also suppressed his cat ears so that they don''t pop up on his head. However, his eyes slightly changed as a ck pattern appeared on them.

    Zevien then looked in his Digi-watch to check his magic power.

    Initially, he had 181 magic power exactly, but after using vampire transformation, it increased to 326, and after using the shaman seed''s power, it further increased to 1412.

    "Perfect!" Zevien grinned. He needed magic power below 1500 for his ns, yet not too low.

    He then took out his Digi-watch and put it in his pocket before taking out another Digi-watch and wearing it on his wrist.

    ¡­

    After entering the magic guild branch, people looked at Zevien weirdly, but he paid no mind to their gazes and went to the main reception desk before saying to the woman behind the desk, "I want to take part in the Rookie Skyward Peak Contest."

    Hearing his words, the receptionist nodded, "who referred you?"

    "Umbra Raven," Zevien replied as he took out a letter and gave it to her.

    ''Miss Raven herself?'' the receptionist was startled as she took the letter and opened it. The seal within confirmed that it was indeed true; it certainly belonged to her.

    "We will need to register your name and magic power," the receptionist said as she put a square tablet on the table, "scan your Digi-watch so we can register you and send you a notification when the contest starts."

    Zevien nodded as he put his wrist on the tablet. The receptionist got information on herputer screen and internally chuckled, ''Alucard? And a vampire get-up? Haha, people these days.''

    [Alucard]

    -Magic power: 1412

    -Mana: [14,119/14,120]

    Zevien chose Alucard as his 2nd identity. He wore this get-up because he wanted to make a name for his 2nd identity for his future ns in the Lankrena region.

    As for why he was participating in this contest? Well, the reward for the Skyward Peak Contest was a quota to enter Skyward Academy.

    However, this quota was slightly different because the winner could also give it to other people. The winner gets a medallion, and whoever has the medallion can enter the Skyward Academy.

    The Skyward Academy only released three such quotas yearly for people who wanted to let someone in their family or close ones get admission. That''s why there were three contests for these three quotas.

    Rookie Skyward Peak Contest: people with 1000 to 1500 magic power can participate.

    Adept Skyward Peak Contest: people with 2000 to 2500 magic power can participate.

    Expert Skyward Peak Contest: people with 5000 to 5500 magic power can participate.<novelnext></novelnext>

    All contests had the same reward; a medallion that can let someone above the age of 16 and below the age of 21 enter the Skyward Academy.

    Zevien nned to get this medallion and give it to himself while also making a name for his 2nd identity by participating in this famous contest. It was akin to hitting two birds with one stone.

    ¡­

    After registering in the contest, Zevien left the magic guild branch and returned to the office.

    He had also built a training room on the ground floor, so he went inside and waved his hand as he conjured mana to create a magic formation in the air.

    He had already learned the Burning Spark''s spell concept and formation, so he started creating its spell formation in the air. After ten seconds, he made an entric magic circle the size of a palm in the air. It was bright orange with light yellow sparks within the patterns inside the magic circle.

    Afterward, Zevien created the spell formation of sh Curtain beside the spell formation of Burning Spark. He then slowlybined those two spell formations as some patterns merged and some fell apart.

    He created a new spell formation of the same size a minuteter. Most tier-1 spells, either regr or fused ones, have spell formations the size of a palm.

    After Zevien removed the spell formation of sh Curtain from his magic core, he weaved the spell formation of the peak tier-1 fusion spell: Brilliant Burn, into his magic core.

    There was a bit of space in his magic core, but it was only enough to weave a single A-rank spell. He couldn''t weave a tier-1 spell in it.

    "Done. Now I have to reach 500 magic power fundamentally and evolve my magic core so that I can finally weave more spells," Zevien muttered as he started calcting.

    "I have also reached my limit on staying longer, so each time I enter the magicbyrinth, I will likely gain 40 or 41 magic power. With two magicbyrinths, that''s a minimum of 80 magic power gained every month. If some mishap doesn''t ur while I am inside, I will likely hit the 500 mark after four months."

    "Damn, that''s way fasterpared to my previous life. Having two awakened magicbyrinths is a st," Zevien grinned at the thought of his speed and left the training room. He went to meet Yowen and see how thepany was doing.

    But after half an hour, Vernisia took him to a private room in the building.

    "What? Why did wee here?" Zevien was surprised.

    "I¡­," Vernisia had a slight blush as she didn''t say anything but got close to Zevien and wrapped her arms around Zevien''s neck before kissing him. Her juicy lips touched the gentle lips of Zevien.

    Zevien also wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer as her soft melons pressed against his chest, making him feel even more good while kissing her lips.

    Their breathing became heavy after a short while as they separated. Vernisia''s eyes were watery, with her cheekspletely pink.

    "You look so adorable right now," Zevien grinned as he kissed her again, and they went for another round of long kisses.

    "Haah~, I just couldn''t forget this sensation and wanted to kiss more, so I took you here," Vernisia said with heavy breathing, blushed cheeks, and a smile on her face, "I am so happy."

    Zevien was also shaken as he had never felt this good before. His eyes had also turned misty as he said smilingly, "Me too. I can kiss you forever and never get tired."

 Chapter 86 Chain Location

    The next day, Zevien gave Dan and Erica a white-rank magic crystal each and thest white-rank magic crystal to Vernisia, but they didn''t absorb the magic crystals right away and saved it to useter when their magic power reached 400.

    After all, white-rank magic crystals increased magic power by 10%, so if one used it at 100 magic power, they would gain 10. If one used it 400 magic power, they would gain 40. So it was better to use itter. Zevien also gave the magic armor and sword to Dan and told Dan to give the magic sword to Erica since she was a sword user.

    ¡­

    Time passed as minutes turned into hours and hours into days¡­

    Today, everyone was going to enter their magicbyrinth again, so Zevien and Vernisia didn''t go to the academy but went to the Zenith Corp.

    Zevien had built arge and luxurious penthouse on the top floor of this thirty-story building. The floor had his private room where he put all of his valuable things, and aside from him, nobody could enter as the lock required his cat form eye pattern to unlock.

    In the luxurious room, Zevien and Vernisia sat down on a soft mattress with their eyes closed in meditation. After five seconds, both of them disappeared.

    ¡­

    "Hmm? What the hell?" Euclion was dumbfounded when he saw that Zevien and Vernisia had entered their respective magicbyrinth. "Why? Could it be because they entered into theirbyrinths at the same time?" He wondered with a doubtful gaze.

    "Even if they didn''t enter at the same time, they wouldn''t be able to enter into each other''s magicbyrinth for now," Baishen appeared beside Euclion and said while caressing his white beard, "I have checked everything regarding that phenomenon and the connection they formed."

    Baishen sat down at the table before continuing, "they will need to evolve their magic core one time before they can get a call from each other''sbyrinths. Even so, they will not be a part of thatbyrinth''s magic system. Moreover, they will not gain magic power while inside their partner''s magicbyrinth. However, other things like getting resources, entering trials together, and such things are still possible."

    "Ohh! Did you create a method already?" Euclion asked with shining eyes.

    "I did," Baishen nodded with a smile as he took out a scroll, "two people need to learn this spell and use it on each other. Both need to be sincere, genuinely care for each other, and have absolute trust in each other. If even one thing is missing from those three, they will fail, and the connection won''t form."

    "Mhmm, that much is required for the connection to be formed," Euclion nodded before he looked at Baishen and asked, "when are you going to put that spell? It''s better that you sneakily cause a phenomenon in Astral Land like the appearance of a giant mountain. People can enter inside for various trials, and the final reward will be this spell."

    "Yeah, that''s a good idea," Baishen nodded thoughtfully, "but I will create a cloud dungeon in the sky instead of a mountain. There will be ten trials, and all trials'' final reward will be this spell."

    "What about Gaia continent?" Euclion asked, "we should give this spell to people of Gaia continent as well since they can use it after their first magic core evolution."

    "Then I''ll go with the mountain phenomenon there," Baishen grinned, "a floating mountain in the Lankrena region appearing out of nowhere. The mountain will have ten caves. Each cave will have a different trial; the final reward will be this spell."

    "Good enough," Euclion nodded.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    Zevien arrived at the location where his chain led him after twenty minutes of entering the Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth.

    The location he arrived at looked like an abandoned mansion with worn-out structures and rotten wooden furniture.

    After entering this somewhat creepy mansion, Zevien followed the arrow of his chain and arrived inside a room in the mansion. The arrow-like string pointed straight at a weird rectangr mirror on the dressing table with a ck wooden frame. The mirror was absolutely spotless despite everything being dirty and rotten in the whole mansion, hence the weirdness. There was not even a speck of dust on the mirror despite everything else being filled with dust.

    "Mirror of Oz-fin? Is that the relic?" Zevien wondered as he got closer and stretched his hand towards the small mirror. Its size was just a bit bigger than an adult''s palm.

    Right at the moment when Zevien touched the mirror, his face changed as he felt a strange force fulling his body.

    He tried to resist, but after two seconds, he was forcefully pulled into the mirror with strange powers.

    =====================================================

    [You have entered inside the Mirror of Oz-Fin. Find and defeat the mirage demon to obtain the relic: Mirror of Oz-Fin]

    =====================================================

    Zevien read the message in his head before he looked around at the strange ce he was in. The ground was grassy, but there were big mirrors around him, and each mirror disyed different sceneries instead of reflections. They were not working as proper mirrors.

    Even when Zevien stood in front of a mirror, it didn''t reflect his image.

    "How strange," Zevien muttered as he turned his head to the right to check the sceneries inside other mirrors, but when he looked to the side, something appeared in the mirror in front of him that he couldn''t notice.

    It was the mirage demon! It was a humanoid creature that didn''t have an ounce of resemnce to a human. Its body covered in rotten flesh with an upside-down humanoid head. Its eyeballs were two round crystal balls, and its nails were like mirrors. It walked on a road depicted in the mirror and was approaching Zevien as it was getting bigger as it walked on the road.

    However, Zevien suddenly turned his head to his front as he heard some sound and was startled to see the creepy demon.

    *SKREEE!!*

 Chapter 87 Relic: Mirror Of Oz-Fin

    The demon opened its mouth wide and released a sharp scream, showingrge mirror crystal teeth as it jumped out of the mirror before attacking Zevien with its ws.

    Zevien quickly backed away to dodge with the help of his enhanced senses in the cat form.

    He made a throwing motion with his hand despite not holding anything but right when he reached thest throwing motion''s point, his magic dagger appeared in his hand and shot towards the demon.

    Zevien grinned as he saw the dagger going straight towards the demon''s neck.

    *Crack...*

    "What?!" Zevien was startled.

    The demon actually shattered like a mirror when his dagger hit its neck as if it was a mirror and not a demon.

    *ssh..*

    Zevien''s ears twitched as he heard a slight sshing sound and turned to a mirror that depicted a pond scenery. The pond inside that mirror still had ripples.

    *swoosh...*

    "There you are, sneaky bastard," Zevien released Nyxite ws toward the mirror, but right before the Nyxite w touched the mirror, the mirror turned into a proper mirror that reflected the w and Zevien.

    The Nyxite w was absorbed into the mirror, but Zevien saw the tip of his Nyxite w materializing in front of him while moving towards him and was shocked!

    "Damn! it can reflect magic spells!" Zevien eximed with a frown after quickly rolling to the side and barely dodging the Nyxite w.

    *Shrill!*

    The demon appeared from another mirror and attacked Zevien from behind, but Zevien quickly conjured a barrier using Somatic Sadness.

    The demon couldn''t break the barrier in one shot but continued attacking and broke it after five seconds. But Zevien was ready with his dagger as he threw it toward the demon again when it broke the barrier.

    ''I shouldn''t release magic spells. But physical attacks like the dagger might work,'' Zevien thought. He didn''t release his magic spells carelessly because he felt that the demon might have the same power as the mirrors that could reflect his projectile spells.

    The dagger shot towards the demon and hit, but it shattered like before.

    Zevien looked around carefully as the demon once again appeared from behind him in another mirror and came out quickly, but this time silently. It didn''t scream like the previous time, but Zevien still noticed something wrong behind him with his heightened sense.

    However, he didn''t turn around immediately and waited for a second as he internally cast Somatic Anger to empower his physical strength before finally turning around in a punching stance.

    *Smack!*

    *Shrill!*

    His empowered punch smacked the living daylights out of the demon as it was shot to the side and crashed into a mirror while screaming angrily.

    But after it crashed, it disappeared into that mirror and then into another mirror as Zevien once again started finding it.

    ''I need to do something solid to kill it,'' Zevien thought while frowning as he looked around. ''These damn mirrors. The demon can sacrifice mirrors to change its position and even enter one quickly. I haven''t confirmed, but it can most likely reflect projectile magic spells.''

    *swoosh...*

    Zevien threw his dagger towards a mirror to break it. He decided to break the mirrors when given a chance. After throwing the dagger, he also dashed forward to destroy a mirror with a punch.

    The dagger hit the mirror first, but instead of breaking it, the dagger went inside. The scenery depicted on it was snowy mountains.

    On the other hand, Zevien was surprised since he didn''t hear the mirror breaking sound. But he still continued and punched the mirror in front of him.

    *Dhoob~*

    Instead of breaking the mirror, Zevien felt a weird sensation as his hand went inside the mirror.

    The Mirage Demon suddenly appeared in that mirror before both of his hands grabbed Zevien''s fist and tried to pull him inside.

    "Fuck!" Zevien cursed as he tried to pull his hand out. Against the demon in terms of physical strength, Zevien was more powerful. The demon let go of Zevien''s hand while ring angrily at him and dug its sharp ws into Zevien''s hand before Zevien fully pulled his hand out.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Urgh," Zevien frowned due to the pain because the sharp ws made five holes in his palm as blood gushed out. He jumped back to create distance between the mirror and him before quickly using Somatic Happiness to heal his hand.

    *Shrill!*

    The demon took this opportunity to attack Zevien from behind by going into a mirror that was behind Zevien.

    ''Annoying mirrors!'' Zevien frowned as he quickly used Somatic Sadness to create a barrier around him.

    The demon was not that strong, but these mirrors aiding it were annoying.

    Suddenly, Zevien remembered the sensation he felt when he punched the mirror and got an idea as he started creating the spell formation of sh Curtain while the demon was breaking the barrier.

    While he was halfway into creating the spell formation inside him, the demon broke the barrier and wiped its w toward Zevien while also releasing a whiteser beam from its crystal eyes.

    Zevien was nning to attack it head-on with a kick after discovering that his physical strength was higher than the demon, but he was not expecting theser beam.

    ''Was it hiding this move for a chance? Sneaky bastard!'' Zevien inwardly cursed as he didn''t stop his kick but continued. However, he changed the kick''s direction; instead of hitting the demon''s belly with a powerful kick, he hit its head at an angle and changed its direction so that the beam didn''t hit him.

    *shrill!

    The demon screamed angrily at its failure and jumped back before disappearing into a mirror.

    "Hehe, let''s see if this works," Zevien grinned as he finished the spell formation of sh Curtain and cast it in front of a mirror.

    The sh Curtain released intense brightness towards the mirror, but it was not a projectile-type spell. It was a projection spell as it projected a bright sh of light.

    *Shine!*

    All the mirrors released intense brightness instead of just the mirror in front of which Zevien used sh Curtain!

    *Shrill!!*

    *thud*

    A painful cry from the mirage demon was heard as it came out from a mirror. Its crystal eyes were burned and blinded.

    ''It worked? Great!'' Zevien thought after hearing the scream while his eyes were closed.

    They were still mirrors, so Zevien felt that a light-type spell might have some effect on them. He wanted to blind or damage the demon with this if possible, and in the situation, it clearly worked.

    Zevien opened his eyes and saw the demon on the floor before a grin formed on his face, "time to die."

    He jumped high toward the demon and smashed his right leg towards its face.

    *Puchi...crack*

    The demon still didn''t die, so Zevien once again kicked after jumping high and finished it off.

    A secondter, Zevien saw all the mirrors turning into dust and the scenery changing in front of him as he appeared back in the room.

    He felt something inside him and closed his eyes to check his magic eidos body.

    "Got it!"

    The Mirror of Oz-Fin relic and his dagger were floating around his magic core inside his magic eidos body!

    =====================================================

    [You have gained the Mirror of Oz-Fin relic. Infuse mana in it to check the requirement to activate it.]

    =====================================================

 Chapter 88 Bath (1/2) [R-18 But Not All The Way]

    Zevien took out the mirror and infused mana in it before another panel appeared in his head.

    =====================================================

    [Mirror of Oz-Fin]

    -Type: Relic

    -Requirements to activate:

    1) Infuse 5000 mana having the potency of 500 or higher magic power.

    2) Luminous Roots x2

    3) Star-Ast powder 1kg.

    -Effect: Locked until activated.

    =====================================================

    "Hmm? I might not need to evolve my magic core to activate it," Zevien raised his eyebrows as he quickly infused 5000 mana into the mirror. After all, he currently had over 1000 magic power.

    After he finished infusing 5000 mana into the mirror, the 1st requirement vanished from his mind!

    "Awesome, it looks like I can activate this relic sooner rather thanter," Zevien grinned.

    "Now I only need Luminous Roots and Star-Ast powder. I can get both of them outside from Skelly since he should have a connection with people who gathers materials."

    ¡­

    Zevien then left the location and roamed nearby while killing the magic beasts that attacked him. After a while, he found a town and went inside to ept some tasks in the Adventurers Guild.

    Hepleted some easy tasks and earned 860 gold coins before he felt it was time to leave and found a safe and hidden spot on top of a mountain before sitting cross-legged.

    Zevien entered meditation to try and stay as long as possible in thebyrinth, but there wasn''t much extension.

    He opened his eyes and checked his Digi-watch to see the growth. After seeing the increase, Zevien muttered, "an increase of 41. Well, I expected it."

    "You are back. I was just going to take a shower."

    Zevien was stunned to see the stunning Vernisia wrapped in nothing but a bath towel covering her body.

    Seeing Zevien staring at her, Vernisia blushed as her cheeks turned pink, "what are you staring at?"

    Zevien snapped out of his reverie and smiled as he stood up and walked towards her, "hehe, I was enthralled by your beauty."

    When Vernisia went for a kiss, Zevien dodged to the side and shook his head, "I am dirty right now, and my clothes are ripped in a few ces. Hehe, I need to take a bath first. Want toe with me?"

    Vernisia turned to Zevien with a tomato-like red face as she spoke, her voice as low as a mosquito whining, "b-bath together? Fully n¡­naked?"

    Zevien turned around and walked towards the bathroom as he spoke, "you cane inside if you want."

    Vernisia saw Zevien entering and was dazed, ''should I go? But it will be embarrassing¡­but sounds exciting as well.''<novelnext></novelnext>

    After two minutes, Vernisia resolved and walked towards the bathroom, ''we can help wash each other''s back as well!''

    Stopping in front of the door, Vernisia took a deep breath and opened it.

    "Aa," Vernisia''s mouth was wide open seeing Zevien fully naked. His eight packs and slim but muscr body with his handsome face and ck hair made him look hot, but her gaze involuntarily went below as she caught the sight of his thick and long stiff meaty rod.

    Zevien was also a bit embarrassed as it was the first time someone saw him fully naked. "Cough¡­, I am going inside," he opened the ss door and entered the big round two-seater whirlpool bathtub before sitting down.

    Vernisia''s face was entirely red such that if someone pressed her cheek, blood might drip out. But despite that, she took a step forward and then a second step. Her heart was beating super fast like a bullet train.

    Zevien''s heart was beating a bit fast as he saw Vernisia entering inside and slowly entering the bathtub. She sat in front of him and extended her legs before her feet touched Zevien''s knees.

    Vernisia''s gaze once again went to Zevien''s little brother, causing him to be slightly blushed as he spoke, "ahem, it''s unfair that I am the only one fully naked."

    "O-ok¡­," Vernisia said with a stammer as she slowly removed the towel from her body.

    Zevien''s gaze was directly attracted to her ample white bosom and pink cherries. Vernisia clenched her fist in embarrassment. She almost covered her chest involuntarily but stopped.

    Seeing Zevien staring at her breasts, Vernisia asked a silly question, "do you li-like?"

    "Of course!" Zevien grinned, "I wonder how they would feel when touched."

    "T-touched?!" Vernisia eximed, and her gaze went towards Zevien''s little brother and saw that it was even bigger and straighter akin to a sword. She was also curious about that thing and wanted to touch it but felt that it was too embarrassing.

    *ssh~*

    Suddenly, she remembered why she came here and stood up. Her glorious naked body was entirely in Zevien''s view. She didn''t have a single hair on her lower part; it was fully white as Zevien saw the pursed pink lips there.

    "Let me wash your back," Vernisia spoke with intense blush as she was still not used to this.

    *ssh~*

    Zevien also stood up andughed, "that would be great!" He got out of the bathtub and sat down on the wooden bath-stool.

    Vernisia walked behind Zevien with the body wash bottle and put the liquid on her palms before she bent her knees to reach Zevien''s back and started washing it.

    "Aahh!"

    Vernisia''s right leg slipped because of the way she sat behind Zevien, and to gain bnce, she grabbed Zevien''s shoulder, but her soft breasts directly touched Zevien''s back, making him sit straight.

    "Is it what I am thinking it is?" Zevien asked despite being sure as he felt the heavenly touch behind his back due to the two erect pink cherries and her soft bosom pushing his back.

    Vernisia''s blushed intensely, but she also felt good and wrapped her arms around Zevien''s neck before speaking, "I-I will give you special back-washing service."

    She started moving her chest and washed Zevien''s back with her big, soft melons.

    Zevien had a dreamy face as he closed his eyes and enjoyed it immensely, "I think we will have to do this every day."

    After a few minutes, Vernisia stood up and arrived in front of Zevien, "I c-can also wash your front." She was not as embarrassed as before and was enjoying this.

    Zevien opened his eyes and saw Vernisia in front of him. Grinning, he nodded, "it would be my pleasure, literally."

 Chapter 89 Bath (2/2) [R-18, But Not All The Way]

    "Sit here so I can wash your back," Zevien grinned as he pointed at hisp.

    Vernisia looked at hisp, but her gaze went to Zevien''s meat rod that was straight like a sword. However, she averted her gaze quickly and looked at Zevien rubbing his hands in the body wash liquid.

    "Ahem, then I will take up on your offer as well," Vernisia said as she was less embarrassed than before and sat down on hisp before hugging him. She felt Zevien''s meat rod touching her while she rubbed his chest with her melons.

    Zevien also rubbed his hands behind Vernisia and washed her back.

    "Aaah!" Vernisia was suddenly startled as Zevien''s hands slightly touched her bottom.

    "You don''t like it?"

    "umm¡­no, it was just too sudden," Vernisia said as she blushed again, "but it felt good."

    Zevien smiled and grabbed her waist.

    "What are you doing?" Vernisia asked confusedly.

    "You washed me enough; now it''s my turn," Zevien beamed as he pulled her in the air and turned her around before hugging her from behind while she sat on hisp.

    Vernisia saw Zevien''s handse out from under her armpits before stopping slightly from her chest.

    "Can I have the honor of washing and massaging your front?"

    "Mhmm~" Vernisia nodded as her heart beat faster and her cheeks became red. She didn''t know how it would feel when Zevien touched her bosom. Will it feel better than when she washed his back with her breasts?

    She saw Zevien''s hands touching her breasts as he slowly started massaging them.

    "So soft¡­" Zevien was also feeling heavenly good.

    Vernisia''s ears were turning redder after hearing what Zevien said. She saw Zevien slowly pressing and fondling as she felt more and more pleasure.

    Zevien finally went to the next level after several minutes and started touching her pink cherries more and even pinching them.

    "Ahhm~"

    Vernisia asionally moaned in a low voice as they were sensitive, but she also felt good. Her eyes were closed, and she was just enjoying the massage from Zevien''s hand.

    Zevien was also enjoying it, but his little brother was getting out of control after extensive stimtion.

    Zevien stopped and grabbed her waist again before turning her around to be face to face with her. With slight embarrassment, Zevien did a fake cough, "Cough¡­it seems that you will have to go out now."

    "Why?" Vernisia asked as she raised her eyebrows.

    ''Eh, it seems that she is not as embarrassed as before,'' Zevien thought before he shook his head and pointed his hand at his little brother, "erm¡­my thing is very simted because of you, so I need to calm it down."

    Vernisia looked at the twitching meat rod of Zevien and blushed.

    Zevien smiled wryly. But the next second, he was startled as Vernisia suddenly grabbed his meat rod, "y-you¡­."

    "W-what? I¡­I can help you with it," Vernisia stammered a bit, but she buckled up and started moving her hand.

    "Shit¡­It feels countless times better with your hand," Zevien muttered as he didn''t even try to hold back and let it out since it was already too stimted.

    "Aah!" Vernisia was startled to see white liquid shooting out like water beams continuously. Some even hit her face as she muttered dazedly, "it''s hot."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien also rxed his eyes for several seconds, but his meat rod didn''t go down.

    "Umm¡­you have to do it one or two more times," Zevien said with a sweaty smile as he scratched his head.

    "No problem," Vernisia nodded with a grin as she started moving her hand while grabbing Zevien''s meat rode again.

    "Can you do it faster this time? As fast as possible."

    "Does it feel better if I do it faster?" Vernisia asked curiously.

    "Hehe, yep. Especially at the climax," Zevien grinned and nodded.

    "Ok," Vernisia made a determined expression as she started moving her hand quickly to make Zevien feel even better.

    Seeing Vernisia being serious about making him feel even more good, Zevien couldn''t help but smile lovingly, "cutie pie."

    "Hehe, that I am," Vernisia giggled cutely purposefully while increasing her speed even more until Zevien climaxed.

    "Haaah~ Awesome," Zevien closed his eyes in bliss as he released loads and loads of his semen.

    Vernisia looked at the liquid flying up and asked, "how do both thingse out from the same ce?"

    "Pff," Zevienughed and shook his head, "I am not too detailed about that. You can look it up on the inteter, hahaha."

    Vernisia pouted, "don''t need tough. I was just curious."

    "It just felt funny, "Zevien smiled and looked at Vernisia''s lower part, which was spotless as a jade, and asked, "are you not feeling itch down there?"

    "I am feeling a bit, but it''s fine," Vernisia said with a slight blush, "I have never done it myself because mom said no."

    "Oh¡­," Zevien was surprised before nodding.

    "It is still hard. Do you want me to do it again?" Vernisia asked as she lightly flicked Zevien''s meat rod.

    "It''s not a toy," Zevien wryly smiled seeing Vernisia''s actions, "and it''s fine. We should wrap up, or I will continue to be more horny instead."

    Vernisia smiled as she wrapped her arms around Zevien''s neck and kissed him before standing up, "hehe, this was the best day. I am going out now since we had enough fun for today."

    ¡­

    Afterward, Zevien finished bathing and also came out.

    "Is this your new casual outfit? It looks good," Zevien said as he saw Vernisia in her new loose t-shirt and shorts with a ponytail hairstyle. She looked cute.

    "Yep. I have also prepared the clothes that I bought for you. Hehe, check it out," Vernisia said as she pointed at three sets of clothes on the bed.

    "Oh, nice," Zevien was surprised as he checked them out.

    After trying them out, Zevien matched with Vernisia as he also wore a ck T-shirt and casual track pants.

    Afterward, both of them went out for a little enjoyment trip in the city since Dan and Erica were still in the academy while they skipped today because of their situation with the magicbyrinth.

 Chapter 90 Activated

    The next day, Zevien bought a storage ring for himself since he could already afford one. A single storage ring with 10 cubic meters cost 1 million Lopax credits, but he bought a 100 cubic meters storage ring with square-shaped space storage. A 100 cubic meters ring was the highest he could buy in the city.

    He also went to the biggest market in the city and bought the required materials to activate his Relic, the Mirror of Oz-Fin.

    However, he didn''t activate the Relic right away. He first returned to his luxurious room on the top floor of Zenith Corp. Vernisia and the others were attending the academy, but Zevien didn''t since he had to enter his 2nd magicbyrinth today.

    He put five empty vials in the storage ring and some tier-2 healing potions that could heal him faster than his healing spell. This was another benefit of the Magician Growth Boost. Since they can enter with their physical body, they can also bring other things inside, like how Zevien brought vials inside to store vampiric blood.

    After putting the things in his storage ring, Zevien also wore his newly bought adventurer outfit, a tier-1 magic leather ranger full-body armor.

    After entering the Invible Blood Garden, Zevien went to Henry''s house to check on them. He didn''t reveal himself because he would never involve himself with them again. After all, doing so would put them in danger purely because of him.

    "Phew, they are fine," Zevien observed from a bit far while sitting on top of a tree. Henry and Rezia were watering their flowers while their kids yed outside the field.

    "Meow~ Are you going to activate the Mirror of Oz-Fin here?" Tarto appeared and asked.

    "Yeah," Zevien nodded as he turned around and flew in the sky with a swoosh after unfurling his vampire wings.

    Zevien continued flying for ten minutes at his full speed and passed by two towns before stopping at the third one.

    After descending a kilometer away from the town''s entrance gate, Zevien suppressed his vampire transformation but kept his wings furled behind his back.

    He only showed his cat form, which made him look almost entirely human except for the cat ears on his head and a cat tail behind his back. He also suppressed his whiskers; instead, three marks appeared on his cheeks like a certain shounen manga character.

    The first thing he did was to activate his Mirror of Oz-Fin. He took out the mirror from his magic eidos body and put the Luminous roots and 1kg of Star-Ast powder near it. A secondter, both ingredients disappeared as the mirror shined briefly.

    *****

    [You have sessfully activated the Mirror of Oz-Fin.]

    [Mirror of Oz-Fin]

    -Type: Relic

    -Maximum uses before the Relic turns to dust: Three.

    -1st Effect: You can infuse 1000-10,000 mana into the mirror to create a mirror of whatever size ¡ªording to the mana infused¡ª that will reflect projectile magic attacks of any power.

    -2nd Effect: You can infuse 100 mana into the mirror and open a portal that will lead you to a dungeon. Completing the dungeon will give you rewards ording to your performance. (One-time entry)

    *****

    "Nice! Even though I can only use it three times, the effect is excellent," Zevien nodded with a hint of excitement.

    The government gathered more datater and found that none of the relics were permanent. The Relics that people got had a limited number of uses. After using the Relics, they would turn into dust. So, Zevien knew that the Relic wouldn''t stay permanently.

    After putting the Relic back into his magic eidos body, he entered the town. The town was more extensive and luxurious than any town he had seen in thebyrinth so far.

    "It looks like the capital town of a kingdom or something," Zevien muttered as he saw people wearing better, ssy clothes, unlike the previous towns.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The buildings and streets in the town were also clean and more artistic. He also saw a big castle far deeper into the town.

    "That young man is so handsome but also cute. I think he can participate in the princess'' quest," a young woman in her early twenties spoke while walking with her friends. They also looked at Zevien and nodded with sparkling eyes.

    "That ck hair and strange ears on his head, as well as the stark contrast to his clean and white-toned face, make him stand out. Hehe, he can indeed participate. Should we approach him and tell him about it?"

    "Yes, yes! Of course. Let''s go and tell him."

    Zevien was walking while looking curiously at the stores and other things he encountered on the way before suddenly, his cat ears twitched slightly. He turned around and saw three young women walking toward him.

    When the three girls saw Zevien noticing them, they smiled and waved their hands, "Hello, mister. Can you wait for a minute and listen to us, please?"

    "What?" Zevien asked inly.

    The girls arrived and stopped in front of him before one of them spoke, "would you like to participate in the princess'' quest?"

    "This quest is hosted by the eldest princess of the kingdom, princess Nerissa. She is twenty-two years old, at the prime of her life. She has awakened her ancestral magic and is entering a dungeon. However, only two men can apany her. But she wants handsome and talented magicians only," said the second girl, who had long blond hair.

    "There is a selection event at the north-east square za, so if you want to participate, then I am sure you will be selected because mister is very handsome and feels powerful to us," said the third girl quickly as her long dark-blue ponytail danced due to her head moving as she spoke.

    ''Princess'' quest?'' Zevien raised his eyebrows. But shaking his head, he replied indifferently, "I am not interested."

    Zevien then turned around and started walking, leaving those three young women with their mouths wide open as they looked at each other with shock.

    "He is handsome but dumb¡­sigh."

    "Yeah. He is wasting such a good opportunity. Let''s tell the princess that there is a very handsome man who says he is not interested in her?"

    "It will be interesting," the dark-blue ponytailed girl nodded in excitement, "let''s go and tell her. Our princess is wise and smart, unlike those idiotic men pursuing her. I think she will be able to rope this demi-human into her party."

    ¡­

    "Meow~ Hehehe," Tarto sneakilyughed, "this trip suddenly became exciting."

    "What do you mean?" Zevien asked with a frown, "I know that something exciting for you is troublesome for me. Say, what are you talking about?"

    Tarto rolled his eyes and disappeared without saying anything, but his voice rang in Zevien''s head, "I shall just observe now, for that''s all I can do. Tread carefully, Zevy boy."

    Zevien paused in his steps as his eyebrows creased. After several seconds of thinking, he decided to finish his task quickly instead of finding the Adventurer''s Guild himself.

    He approached a middle-aged man and asked him the location of the Adventurer''s Guild before quickly going there.

    He went inside and took some tasks beforeing out but what greeted him were two knights standing at the entrance with the three girls, who approached him behind the two knights.

    "Yep, he is the one. Hi, handsome," the blond-haired girl said with a smile as she waved her hand, "the princess would like to meet you."

 Chapter 91 Princess Nerissa

    Zevien looked at the two knights and said sincerely with a somber expression, "I am busy. I already told them I don''t have time to participate in the princess'' quest."

    The knights were more powerful than Zevien and had full-body armor with a giant sheathed sword behind their back. It was not wise to act hastily or speak rudely.

    "Why must you make things troublesome for yourself?" one of the knights spoke while shaking his head, "just meet with the princess and then leave after you are done."

    ''Should I escape, Tarto?'' Zevien asked.

    "Meow~ I suggest you quietly go with them without making a ruckus. You won''t be able to escape from them," Tarto replied.

    "Fine, let''s go," Zevien said indifferently while sighing inwardly.

    The knights nodded and turned around before walking while those three girls walked side by side with Zevien while giggling.

    "It would be a waste if you don''t participate, handsome."

    "Yep, yep. We only heard about demi-humans but have never seen one. Those physical features as those ears, tail and even those marks on your cheeks make you look cute and handsome, hehehe."

    "Tsk," Zevien clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn''t reply.

    ...

    After walking for a few minutes, he arrived at the za, ''damn, it was this near?''

    There were many men here wearing luxurious robes with makeup on their faces. At the center of the za sat the princess on a chair. She was as white as snow and had white hair with ruby eyes. Her beauty was enhanced by the white dress she wore with blue and red embroidered designs.

    The princess looked at Zevien and raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw his furry cat ears and tail behind his back. She nodded with a smile and asked, "I heard you are not interested in me? I find it hard to believe that a young man is not interested in a princess of the kingdom."

    "Huh? Why is it hard to believe?" Zevien asked with doubt.

    The men present looked at Zevien with disdain after hearing his question. They were also jealous of him.

    "Of course, it is hard to believe," the princess chuckled while shaking her head, "who wouldn''t want to have a connection with the royal family? Or even get a chance to marry me? It would be normal if you were a middle-aged married man, but you don''t seem like one."

    "I am seventeen, almost turning eighteen," Zevien scoffed, "anyway, I already have someone I love. So, I am not interested in you."

    The princess''s eyebrows red as she asked with a curious light in her eyes, "who is more beautiful? Your partner or I?"

    "You will not like the answer," Zevien said inly.

    "How dare you?!" A man wearing medieval noble-type clothes red at Zevien.

    The princess raised her eyebrows at the man and snorted, "Zangris, you think I am shallow enough not to digest someone else''s opinions and thoughts? If he says his partner is more beautiful, he must be right. After all, everyone has their preferences."

    "Apologies. Princess Nerissa," Zangris bowed and apologized to the princess, "it is just¡­I can''t imagine anyone more beautiful than you."

    ''Bastard got a chance to praise princess like that.''

    ''Damn.''

    The other young men present cursed Zangris internally.

    "Can I go now?" Zevien asked with a bored expression.

    "Why in such a hurry?" princess Nerissa chuckled lightly and said, "I choose you to apany me into the dungeon. The magic power I am sensing from you also meets the requirement to enter the dungeon."

    "What do I gain for doing this?" Zevien asked, "if there''s nothing for me to gain and you are asking me to apany you for nothing, then sorry."

    "It is already a reward for you that princess chose you to apany her, humph."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Princess, there''s no need to choose this demi-human who doesn''t even care about you. But we will do our best to protect you as we care greatly about you."

    The men started speaking fervently to gain the favor of Princess Nerissa, but she snorted in repose and spoke, "I don''t need your protection. You all are weaker than me, humph. I just want two men to apany me as it is the requirement to open and enter the dungeon."

    After saying that, princess Nerissa looked at Zevien and said with a smile, "you will get a reward. Usually, I would have rewarded you with a thirty-minute tea time with me at the Moonlitke pavilion since it is easier and less troublesome. But you don''t seem like you will ept that reward?"

    "Correct," Zevien nodded with a smile, "so, what will be the reward? If I am not satisfied, then I will leave."

    "I will allow you to open one chest in the dungeon. The content of the chest will belong to you."

    "Deal!"

    ¡­

    Ten minutester, Princess Nerissa, Zevien, and another man called Arai went deeper into the town with four knights apanying them. The three of them sat inside the carriage while the knights surrounded the carriage on the horses.

    "Is the dungeon inside the town?" Zevien asked, confused. He thought they would leave the town since a dungeon would usually be outside, ording to the games he yed. Naturally, this was not a game, and that''s why he asked.

    "Yep. The dungeon''s entrance is in the castle''s backyard," princess Nerissa said with a nod.

    "Okay," Zevien nodded surprisedly.

    ''I wonder how dungeons will be here? Oh, wait! I need to ask how long it will take to clear the dungeon. If it exceeds my time here¡­.''

    "How long will it take for us to clear the dungeon?" Zevien quickly asked and rified, "because I will disappear within two hours."

    He didn''t want to disappear without getting to open the chest and getting the reward.

    "Huh? What do you mean to disappear? You can''t leave the dungeon before clearing it," Arai spoke with a doubtful expression.

    "I will disappear, and that''s decided. So if you need three people to clear the dungeon, then you should choose someone else," Zevien spoke assertively.

    "Nah, it''s fine. It will only take an hour to clear the dungeon," princess Nerissa said with a grin, ''let''s hope you two survive for an hour.''

    Tarto was startled after hearing Princess Nerissa''s thoughts and told Zevien, "yo, this princess is cooking something. Still, you must apany her because you can''t escape now."

    ''What?'' Zevien was startled, ''what do you mean?''

    "I don''t know in detail. I just captured her thoughts," Tarto said as he told Zevien what princess Nerissa thought in her head just a few seconds ago.

    After hearing what Tarto said, Zevien frowned, ''either she is cooking something, or the dungeon is simply dangerous, which was why she hoped we wouldn''t die halfway. Maybe she didn''t say it out loud in case we get cold feet?''

    "Whatever it is, you can''t back off now," Tarto said while snickering, "it will be a good experience, I am sure."

    After twenty minutes, they reached the castle''s backyard and went underground through a path before arriving in front of a demonic-looking door. There were three hand-printed slots on the door.

    "Put your hand there," princess Nerissa said as she ced her right hand in the center slot.

    Zevien walked to her left side and put his hand in the left slot while Arai ced his hand in the right slot.

    *Crrrr...*

    The door opened slowly before revealing a passage with bloody thick vines attached to the walls and on the ground.

    ''What the...''

 Chapter 92 Xenowrath

    "Umm, this looks more dangerous than I thought," Arai muttered as he entered the dungeon with Princess Nerissa and Zevien. The door behind them also disappeared after they entered inside.

    Zevien nodded subtly after seeing the creepy passage with bloody thick vines on the ground and the walls. He took out his dagger and held it in his hand.

    Princess Nerissa walked forward without hesitation as she also brought out a whip that gave off magic power.

    ''Tarto, what is the magic power of this princess?'' Zevien asked as he followed behind her in the passage.

    "2230 magic power," Tarto answered, "you won''t win if you fight her because she also has ess to a very powerful magic."

    ''I should have refused toe here.''

    "Meow~! Don''t be a chicken. Life is all about absorbing various experiences."

    Zevien rolled his eyes but didn''t reply. He was more afraid of death than before because now, he was with Vernisia. If he died, he wouldn''t be able to stay with her, and that possibility scared him.

    ''Whatever happens, I refuse to die,'' Zevien thought as he grit his teeth. He didn''t want to separate from her.

    After walking for two minutes, they left the passage and arrived at a big cave with a slimy floor and blood vines on the ceiling, ground, and walls.

    "I don''t see any monsters to kill," Arai uttered with confusion, "isn''t that a bit strange since it''s a dungeon?"

    "They areing. Get ready!" Princess Nerissa spoke while licking her lips and cracking her whip.

    *Creeeeeee!**Creeeeeee!**Creeeeeee!**Creeeeeee!*¡­.

    The ground started trembling, and they heard weird sounds.

    "What ising?" Zevien asked with narrowed eyes as he looked at the walls.

    "The Xenodogs. Kill every Xenodogs; only then can we proceed ahead and kill the Xenowrath, the boss of this dungeon," princess Nerissa said before suddenly, the walls exploded, revealing four new passages.

    From the passages, dog-sized monsters with six legs and weird heads with two sharp sword-like horns arrived.

    "I''ll handle two passages; you two handle the other two!" Princess Nerissa waved her hand to create a lightning that blocked one passage. All Xenodogs who came through it were sliced while she waved her whips and released strange shockwaves that exploded the Xenodogs in another passage.

    Zevien waved his hand and conjured two purple orbs simultaneously, as his mastery of the awakening spell had increased. Both purple orbs exploded at the entrance and killed a bunch of Xenodogs at once, but more wereing.

    He internally cast Somatic Sadness and oozed out a despair aura that caused all Xenodogs around him to be depressed and confused as they couldn''t attack him properly. But he was killing them with his dagger and the purple orbs.

    ''The despair aura is nice. I should use it more,'' Zevien thought as he saw that the impact of despair aura on low-intelligent creatures was very high.

    Arai also killed Xenodogs in the 4th passage using his spear and the ghost spears conjured with his magic.

    After thirty minutes of continuous fighting, the Xenodogs finally stoppeding.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien was a bit tired since fighting this long consumed his stamina. Arai was dead tired, while princess Nerissa was also more tired than both of thembined. She looked at Zevien with a surprised expression and spoke, "you got good stamina."

    "Yeah," Zevien nodded before looking at the four passages and asking, "there are four passages; which one should we go in?"

    "4th passage. But we take a five-minute rest and recover our stamina before fighting the boss," princess Nerissa said as she sat down on a rock.

    "What is the deal with this dungeon? It doesn''t seem like you came here for the first time," Zevien asked curiously.

    "It''s my first time here, but the backyard of the castle can spawn a different dungeon entrance at the wall every month because of a magic item that we have," princess Nerissa said with a smile, "however, this dungeon has spawned before, and we have its records, so I know that we have to go through the 4th passage to fight the boss and clear the dungeon."

    After resting for five minutes, everyone stood up. Zevien and Arai followed princess Nerissa''s lead into the 4th passage.

    Two minutester, they arrived at another cave, but¡­

    Arai and Zevien involuntarily gulped after seeing the so-called Xenowrath.

    It was a five meters tall creepy flower with bloody vines sticking to it everywhere. It had two big eyes like those of a snail''s as they protruded from the center of the flower. The weird creature, Xenowrath, sensed Zevien, Arai, and princess Nerissa quickly after they arrived here and attacked them by shooting thick, bloody vines.

    "You are on your own now! Try to survive and also attack when you get the chance!" Princess Nerissa shouted as she jumped high to dodge the vine and waved her hand as she shot her whip towards Xenowrath''s eyes. The whip''s length got extended and wrapped around Xenowrath''s eyes and then shrunk, causing princess Nerissa to get pulled along with it.

    Zevien also easily dodged as he didn''t hold back and unfurled his vampire wings to fly. Arai jumped to the side to dodge and conjured his spears to attack.

    Princess Nerissa also started attacking after descending behind Xenowrath. She already destroyed one eye of Xenowrath.

    Zevien also attacked the remaining eye of Xenowrath with his purple orbs and Nyxite ws while dodging the blood vines'' attacks.

    *Chriiiiiiiiiiiii!*

    After both of its eyes were destroyed, Xenowrath released a strange sound, disying its anger! A round blood sphere materialized on top of it before it started releasing sharp, long bloody needles everywhere.

    Zevien stuck himself into the ceiling since the needles shot downward. Princess Nerissa frowned as her barrier was holding on, albeit barely. On the other hand, Arai was struggling.

    Zevien saw Arai''s barrier on the verge of breaking and quickly used Somatic Sadness to create another barrier around him.

    Since he was not getting attacked, he flew towards the flower, released Nyxite ws towards the bloody sphere, and destroyed it.

    Afterward, he quickly used the Hellzer spell as a wave of darkness shot towards the flower''s core. He continued releasing Hellzer as the Xenowrath cried in pain and anger.

    "Good!" Princess Nerissa nodded as she started conjuring a big attack. Two magic circles appeared behind her before they merged and released a dark red lightning-crackling orb. The orb hit the flower''s lower body and tore it open before entering inside and exploding.

    *BOOOM¡­*

    After the Xenowrath died, it turned into motes and revealed three chests in its ce.

 Chapter 93 Its Time...

    "Open any chest you want," princess Nerissa spoke while pointing at the three chests that looked the same.

    ''Tarto, which chest is the best?'' Zevien asked Tarto since he thought that Tarto could see the contents of the chest just like how he could see the contents of that storage box in the escort mission.

    "I can''t see their contents," Tarto said casually, "the dungeons and these chests are produced by a higher power that runs the whole magia realm. I am not strong enough to get past that power."

    ''Oh¡­well, then I''ll choose the middle one,'' Zevien thought before he walked towards the middle chest and opened it.

    Inside the chest, he saw a yellow-rank magic crystal and a scroll.

    "Not bad," princess Nerissa said before opening the other two chests.

    Zevien nced at the chests she opened and raised his eyebrows at the 3rd chest''s contents. There was a Green-rank magic crystal in the chest.

    "Ohh! A green-rank crystal, I am sure the King will be happy to receive this from the princess!" Arai eximed in visible excitement.

    ''If I remember correctly, a Green-rank magic crystal can increase magicules by 5%. It looks like the King I met was past the rank of a 1st-ss magician,'' Zevien thought.

    "No, he was not," Tarto said with a snort, "far from it. That King hadn''t reached the level where he could ess magicules."

    "Open the scroll, and tell us what spell you got," princess Nerissa said as she put the contents of her chest into her storage rings. She looked at Zevien and grinned, "if it''s a good spell, then I can buy it from you at an appropriate price."

    "Alright," Zevien nodded as he put the Yellow-rank magic crystal in his storage ring and opened the scroll.

    The moment he opened it, his head received information from the scroll via some magical means that told him the spell''s details.

    *****

    [Sanguine Needles]

    -Tier: 2

    -Effect: Conjures Sanguine Needles to attack. Foes injured by the needles have their healing reduced by 30%.

    *****

    ''Hmmm¡­there are other simr spells, so should I sell it?'' Zevien fell into thought before shaking his head, ''no, the spells from thisbyrinth are not registered since nobody had awakened thisbyrinth in the Gaia continent before me. Also, the needle attacks should be fast and precise, so it''s better than the other heal reduction spells I know. Hmm, there are more possibilities regarding this spell. Yep, I shouldn''t sell it.''

    "Sorry, but I will not be selling this spell. Though if you want to know what it is, I can tell you," Zevien said as he put the scroll in his storage ring.

    Princess Nerissa nodded, "I want to know."

    Zevien told her what spell he got, but after hearing it, she became uninterested, "oh, we already have it in the library, and someone had created a tier-3 spell using this spell as a base."

    "Ahh, yes. I remember that spell. It''s Sewing Ter-"

    *smack!*

    "Idiot, don''t even speak its name. That spell is important despite being tier-3 because of its potential!" Princess Nerissa smacked Arai as she spoke while ncing at Zevien.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien was curious, but he shook his head, "I won''t have money to buy the fusion method, so leave it. I am fine with not knowing it. But since it is important, why does Arai know about it?"

    "Because he is the son of Duke Howzer, and he can get ess to the royal library," princess Nerissa smirked, "but you can not. However, I can make it happen with some conditions."

    "I''ll think about it when Ie here next time," Zevien said before walking towards the door that appeared after they killed the Xenowrath boss.

    After Zevien entered the door, he arrived outside from the backyard''s door that had closed after they entered inside. Two knights were waiting there and blocked Zevien as they asked, "where are princess Nerissa and Arai?"

    Zevien turned around in response and waited for a few seconds before Arai, and princess Nerissa came out of the door.

    The knights turned around and started walking after seeing theming out.

    Aftering up from the underground cave, Zevien turned to princess Nerissa and spoke, "thanks for the opportunity. Now I go."

    "Come again, I''ll have a deal for you," Princess Nerissa said with a faint smile.

    *****

    [Magic Quest initiated]

    -Meet princess Nerissa the next time you enter the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth.

    *****

    ''What? No¡­,'' Zevien was startled and sighed inwardly. He didn''t want to have a magic quest rted to her. ''Can I remove the quest?'' Zevien asked on his own, hoping to get an answer. But he didn''t get any even after waiting for several seconds.

    "What are you standing in a daze for?" Arai asked doubtfully, looking at dazed Zevien.

    Zevien snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, "nothing. Anyway, bye." He unfurled his wings and flew away.

    After going out of the castle, he went toplete the task of bringing some magic nts from a nearby valley. There were some grade-5 and grade-4 magic beasts, but he was not bothered by them because he could outrun and fly faster than grade-4 magic beasts now.

    Afterpleting this quest and gaining 230 gold coins, he had to leave because it was time to go.

    He spent ten gold coins to book a room in an inn for four hours this time instead of going out. This price was high because he was in a capital town. Otherwise, the shabby inns in the other cities cost five gold coins for one whole day and a one-time meal.

    After entering the room, he started meditating to stay as long as possible in thebyrinth.

    ¡­

    After a while, he appeared back in his luxurious room in the Zenith Corp. building and checked his magic power.

    However, Zevien was surprised to see something else, "a message from the magic guild branch? Could it be¡­" He quickly opened the message and saw that it was about the Rookie Skyward Peak contest.

    "So it''s finally time for it¡­," Zevien grinned and was excited to fight in the contest. He was going to do it super shily for his n.

 Chapter 94 Small Date, Boarding Plane

    "When will you return?" Vernisia said with a pout as she wrapped her arms around Zevien''s neck.

    "I don''t know," Zevien wryly shook his head, "but I will know when I go there, and I''ll inform you of when I will return."

    Both of them were inside the top floor of Zenith Corp., and it was around 4 in the afternoon. The flight would take off after an hour, so Zevien had to reach the airport and board the private jet of the Magic Guild branch after forty minutes.

    "We still have some time before you go, right?" Vernisia asked with puppy eyes.

    Zevien rubbed his nose against her nose and kissed her before nodding, "yep. Tell me where you want to go, and we will go there."

    "Yey, then let''s go to the new Crescent Lake Cafe. It''s a cafe in the middle of theke, and we will be eating on a luxurious wooden boat."

    "Alright," Zevien smiled and nodded.

    ¡­

    Both of them went to the Crescent Lake Cafe and were surprised. The entireke was decorated to its border with red and orange chandeliers. At the center was a big open-air pavilion of the sort where the staff prepared food and drinks.

    There were wooden boats everywhere, and after taking their orders, people could drive the beautiful and luxurious boats to another location on theke.

    Theke was extremely clean and filled with colorful fishes as well. But there was not much traffic since it was still daytime. Naturally, the ce was also costly.

    Zevien parked his bike in the parking lot outside theke before he and Vernisia moved along the path to enter theke.

    They ordered some things and went away from the pavilion on their boat after getting the food and ate in a peaceful environment while talking about some things.

    Zevien told Vernisia about his adventure today in the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth while eating.

    "That princess sounds handful," Vernisia chuckled as she heard about princess Nerissa.

    "Yeah, and I initiated a magic quest rted to her," Zevien sighed, "she is more powerful than me individually, and even her backing is powerful, so I don''t want to have any connection with her and attract trouble for myself."

    "Eh, if it''s just the initiation of a magic quest, then you still have a chance," Vernisia said as she took a sip from her drink, "you can initiate multiple magic quests, but once youplete the initial part of a quest, the other initiated magic quests disappear."

    "Oh? Wait, I remember," Zevien remembered the steps and nodded, "the first step is magic quest initiation, and the second step is magic quest establishment. So we can have multiple initiated magic quests but can only establish one magic quest."

    "Yep, I initiated three magic quests yesterday and established one out of them," Vernisia smiled, "I haven''tpleted it yet since it''s going to be a bit difficult."

    "Be careful," Zevien spoke somberly, "now that we are entering inside physically, we will die for real if we die inside, unlike other people."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Vernisia nodded wryly, "if we are on the verge of death, we have to think of leaving quickly before it''s toote."

    "Yep," Zevien nodded before seeing their food dishes empty, "let''s go get some more dishes. I am a bit more hungry since I killed some magic beasts, and my body got stronger because of the enhancement," Zevien said as he moved the wooden boat towards the center.

    "Nice. How much magic power you got now?"

    "260.4 magic power. I''ll reach the 500 mark after three months," Zevien beamed a smile, "and I got one more yellow-rank magic crystal."

    "Oh, then we should give them to Erica and Dan. Once they reach 385 magic power, they can use a yellow-rank crystal to jump to 500 magic power. So we can all reach 500 magic power simultaneously after three months," Vernisia said as she fisted her palm.

    "Yeah," Zevien nodded as he agreed, "anyway, these magic crystals are not that rare. But it will only save our time in a way. The difficulty of evolving our magic core hasn''t decreased, especially when it increases the more we evolve."

    "Yeah, but we won''t have any problem," Vernisia spoke determinedly, "we will persevere together!"

    ¡­

    After eating, Zevien dropped Vernisia at the orphanage, and he didn''t leave without saying bye to the kids since he won''t be seeing them for a few days.

    He went inside an empty room in the renovated orphanage and took out his vampire outfit ¡ªthe Drac version¡ª from his storage ring before wearing it.

    He then activated his shaman seed''s power and turned it into the vampire form.

    "I need to decrease intake from shaman seed a bit," Zevien muttered as he saw that his magic power exceeded 1500 and reached 1509. He pulled out some of the shaman seed''s power and decreased it by 50.

    Afterward, he went to a window in the room and opened it before flying out towards the airport.

    If he went with his bike, those who wanted to know his identityter might find it by checking the owner of that bike. Anyway, it was not strange to see flying people along with flying cars in the sky. Although people who can fly are low in numbers, they are there.

    He arrived at the airport in a few minutes and showed the ID he received from the magic guild branch to the person checking everyone''s entry before boarding the private jet.

    ''Many people are already here,'' Zevien thought as he entered the almost full ne with only four empty seats.

    "Yo, are you going on a fancy outfit show or what? Hahaha," said a man in his early twenties beforeughing at Zevien.

    Other people also lightly chuckled since Zevien indeed looked like he was going on a fancy outfit with his physical features and clothes.

    Zevien turned to the man who spoke and grinned, showing his sharp vampire fangs. He oozed out darkness with a red hue around him that coated his body, and his eyes also glowed red, making him look malevolent as he spoke, "I am going to kick your ass in the contest. Or would you rather want me to do it now?"

 Chapter 95 Rookie Skyward Peak Contest

    The man shrunk his neck and snorted to try and put up a strong front before looking away.

    Zevien looked at the man''s seat number and internallyughed before walking toward the man.

    "What?" the man asked as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

    "That''s my seat," Zevien grinned as he pointed at a seat beside the man.

    ''Fuck¡­what a bad day. Sigh,'' the man sighed and gave way to Zevien. He thought he would lighten the atmosphere by joking but didn''t know Zevien would pull out a dreadful aura with his powers.

    But Zevien was not here with this outfit and style so that others could make fun of him or joke about it; he was here to strike fear in others with this appearance and make fame for the individual known as Alucard.

    He was sure that one or two people from the Magic Guild headquarters would be helming the contest, and this contest would be broadcasted for the general public to see. So, he had to take this chance and win this contest overwhelmingly.

    After a minute, an air hostess approached Zevien and spoke politely, "Sir, can you suppress that strange aura from your body? It''s a bit disturbing."

    "Disturbing?" Zevien narrowed his eyes, "for who?"

    "Some passengersined about it by sending messages, so¡­," the hostess said with a weak smile.

    Zevien stood up and looked around while sneering, "oi, oi, who are these spineless cowards, eh? If you are scared of this simple aura, you better get off the ne because you might just wet your pants in the real fight."

    The people sitting around flinched, but nobody moved or even looked at Zevien. Still, they all cursed him in their hearts. If they responded to Zevien, then it means that they were the cowards.

    Seeing no one responding, Zevien grinned at the air hostess before saying carefreely, "I think some people just sent prank messages to you since, as you can see, nobody seems disturbed by the aura."

    The air hostess suppressed her chuckle and nodded with a smile, "mister is right. Sorry for disturbing you."

    "No problem," Zevien nodded before activating his Digi-watch and reading some news.

    ''Ahh, were there not other people in this Starlight city that couldplete tasks before this joker?'' the man beside Zevien thought, ''he is sure to be made fun of when we reach the avenue of the contest.''

    In total, Lopax country got fifty quotas to participate in the Rookie Skyward Peak contest. Those quotas were given to people whopleted the tasks of the magic guild branch in their respective cities. The first fifty people whopleted the tasks got a quota.

    Zevien didn''t need toplete any because of his connection with Raven, who was the vice-head of the magic guild branch in Starlight city. Despite being the vice-head of the magic guild branch in the city, she had more authority than even the head due to her personal power and backing.

    In total, fifty people from various cities in the Lopax country would participate in the contest against people of other countries, and only the top five in the contest will get rewards.

    Ten minutester, the flight took off after all the passengers had arrived.

    ¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    After six hours, theynded in Skypearl town, which was under the jurisdiction of the Magic Guild. The town was near the Lankrena region.

    After all, the Skyward Academy didn''t belong to any particr country but belonged to the Magic Guild, an independent organization of the Gaia continent with its own constitution and the sole force having a solid connection to the Astral Land.

    To travel safely to the Astral Land, one must travel through the path created by the Magic Guild.

    The contest avenue was a giant stadium just two kilometers away from the airport.

    The participants got off the ne and met with the guide who was waiting for them.

    "I am Maxum, and I will be your guide for this contest. The first round of the Rookie Skyward Peak contest will start in an hour. So, let us hurry to the stadium," Maxum said to the participants while ncing at Zevien briefly due to his unique appearance.

    "I''ll go ahead if flying is not prohibited here," Zevien said with a smile.

    Maxum raised his eyebrows but then nodded, "sure. Those who can fly can go ahead andnd inside the stadium directly. Others, get on the bus."

    Zevien flew up and moved towards the stadium a secondter. Three more unfurled their magic wings and flew towards the stadium, two women and one man.

    The person who stood beside Zevien in the ne conjured helicopter-like des on both hands and flew up after raising his arms upward. Zevien looked back and was surprised, ''I guess he can also attack with those des.''

    "Meow~This trip also seems exciting, nyahaha," Tarto appeared on Zevien''s shoulder andughed, "though are you sure you can win as you wished? All of them can use tier-2 spells, but you can''t."

    "I have a disadvantage against others regarding spell tiers, but my physical body and mobility are higher than most, especially when I internally cast Somatic Anger," Zevien smiled.

    "So, my physical prowess and the martial arts I have learned can easily let me win unless I also encounter someone who invested much of their time in martial arts," Zevien said as a glint passed through his eyes, "nheless, I will be giving more than 100% in this contest. I have to win overwhelmingly, and for that, I must go beyond my normal capabilities."

    Zevien increased his speed and flew past everyone beforending inside the stadium. The stadium was also filled by half, and people were spectating all participants at the center of the stadium. So when Zevien arrived, he raised amotion due to his appearance.

    The participants from other countries chuckled andughed after seeing him, but Zevien remained silent this time. He didn''t hold back on his aura and wore a bloody dark-red coat around him that was a mixture of the vampire form''s aura and shaman seed''s aura.

    After a while, the other forty-six participants from Lopax country also arrived in the stadium. Seeing them, a man with a bulky and muscled body of seven feet heightughed, "yo, trash from Lopax country, I didn''t know you also brought a joker with you."

    "Heh, that''s a good thing. At least, we can have someughs and giggles as he jumps around."

    "Hahahaha."

    Many participantsughed while some minded their own business.

    The people of Lopax country steered away from Zevien as they didn''t want to get lumped together with him.

 Chapter 96 Round One, Start!

    "The wait is over, folks! I, Melissa Forz, hereby announce the start of this year''s Rookie Skyward Peak Contest!" said a beautiful woman wearing a tight red dress as she floated in the sky at the center of the stadium. Her voice reverberated everywhere loudly so everyone could hear her.

    *WOAAAH!*

    The tight pack stadium erupted with cheers from the audience while the participants inside the stadium were fired up.

    "The first round is simple. We have 250 participants, but that will decrease to 50 participants in the first round! Everyone, please get a badge and stick it on your chest," Melissa said as she pped once, and several people entered the stadium with tes that contained badges.

    Zevien also picked up a badge with the number four carved on it and ced it on his chest.

    After everyone wore the badges, Melissa pped again, and five huge hologram screens appeared in the sky around her in a pentagon shape. Each screen had fifty sections with a number written at a corner of that section and a name beside it.

    All participants were also covered in a barrier of their size that appeared for a second before disappearing.

    "The badges you wore have a camera so everyone can see your actions! The five screens around me will rotate every thirty seconds so all audience can see everyone''s actions!" Melissa smiled before continuing, "now, I will exin the 1st round; Forest Hunt!

    "After five minutes, all of you will be teleported to a five-square-kilometer forest with borders around it. You can''t exit the forest! Participants will have to eliminate other participants by attacking them inside the forest.

    "However, nobody will receive any actual harm because the damage will be absorbed by a barrier that the badge you have worn will produce! But there is a limit to the damage absorption, and when enough damage has urred, the badge will be destroyed, marking your elimination!

    "Eliminated participants will be escorted out by enforcers floating over the forest. All enforcers are ss-3 magicians, so you better not break the rules¡­which I am going to mention now," Melissa said with a keen smile as she looked below at the participants.

    "Rule no.1:- You can''t hurt a person whose badge is already destroyed! You will be eliminated if you do it intentionally! The person whose badge is destroyed also can''t attack others, or there will be a severe penalty!"

    "Rule no.2:- Use of magic items is strictly prohibited! The enforcers will have the entire forest under their senses, and we can also see all of your actions through the camera, so if anyone uses a magic item, you can kiss goodbye to this contest!"

    "Rule no.3:- You can fly in the forest, but you can not fly over the forest! The enforcers will be flying in the sky, and if they see you crossing a hundred-meter mark, you will be eliminated!"

    "Rule no.4:- If you use some means to increase your magic power beyond 1500, the badge will notify the enforcers, and you will be escorted away. Eliminated!"

    After saying that, Melissa took a short breath and smiled, "Last but not least, an important note: the magic spells that affect a person''s mind will go past the barrier and will take effect, but it will not damage your opponent''s mind as the damage will be absorbed by the barrier!"

    Hearing that, some participants sighed in relief; one of them was Zevien.

    ''I thought that ckout Bubble would not work, but phew¡­It will take effect,'' Zevien sighed a relief.

    ''Nyehe, the ckout Bubble will be your most important spell in this entire contest,'' Tarto snickered, ''imagine if you couldn''t use it.''

    ''But I can use it, and it will take effect. No need to imagine otherwise,'' Zevien rolled his eyes.

    Afterward, Melissa told everyone to stand on a round tform that rose at the stadium''s center. Some participants were already on it, while those who were not, including Zevien, jumped and stood on it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arge spell formation lit up on the round tform in the shape of a magic circle.

    "Good luck, everyone!" Melissa said with a cheery smile and pped as all the participants disappeared from the tform.

    ¡­

    *Ssh¡­*

    Zevien teleported on top of a pond and dropped down since he didn''t expect it. But he quickly came out and flew up before standing on a tree''s branch. "Seriously?" He muttered with a speechless expression.

    "No.4 directly fell into the pond, lol! Wait, his name is Alucard¡­."

    "Wow, does he think of himself as a vampire because his parents named him Alucard?"

    "Must be. He also cosyed as a vampire in the contest, hahaha."

    Many people were looking at the no.4 screen section since they guessed that the vampire cosy guy must be no.4 due to his name Alucard.

    Naturally, Zevien was unaware of it, but he had already started his hunt.

    After internally casting Somatic Anger, he unfurled his wings and flew amidst the forest at full speed. Both of his hands into wed form while his eyes were fully focused.

    Several secondster, he saw his first target, a girl in her early twenties. She also saw Zeviening at her. She quickly pointed her palms toward Zevien as two magic circles appeared in front of her palms in a second that released emerald bullets.

    Zevien waved his hand and used Hellzer. The Hellzer blocked the girl from seeing him as he released it vertically with paper-thin thickness. However, that still stopped and burned all the bullets.

    ''Geez, a counter to my En-Bullets spell already? And He is fast, but¡­ that''s good!'' the girl narrowed her eyes and smiled as she snapped her finger.

    ''Wrath of the Seas!'' Her eyes briefly shed with water blue light as she used her awakening spell!

    *shuaa!*

    A giant whirlpool conjured in front of her with powerful suction force as she used her awakening spell. The whirlpool''s radius was seven meters!

    Zevien was startled and quickly backed away while exerting full power of his wings because if he entered its range, he would be sucked inside and eliminated! While backing away, he released purple orbs to damage the whirlpool, but they were forcefully sucked into the vortex and started rotating.

    Zevien''s eyes gleamed as he saw that and didn''t explode the purple orbs immediately.

 Chapter 97 Sole Hunter!

    "Wow, that''s a top-tier recorded awakening spell, Wrath of the Seas from the Deep Blue Cmity magicbyrinth! It''s still in its early stages but very powerful at this contest level nevertheless!" Melissa eximed with a smile as she made her firstment, "I wonder if our vampire friend can defeat her?"

    But the next second, everyone was surprised!

    Zevien released two more purple orbs towards the whirlpool and flew towards it!

    The girl frowned after seeing that and started backing away.

    *BOOM¡­*

    When Zevien was near the whirlpool, he conjured a barrier around him using Somatic Sadness and exploded all four purple orbs in the whirlpool as they dispersed it!

    "I knew that something was wrong with those purple orbs!" The girl muttered as she quickly released another round of Emerald Bullets and prepared for another Wrath of the Seas since it takes two seconds to cast.

    ''This consumes a lot of mana, but I need to use it again to stay in the 1st round.''

    However, a dark w was flying towards her with Zevien speeding right behind it.

    ''Not this time,'' Zevien snorted as he arrived before her after she dodged his w and punched with his full power!

    A barrier materialized around her that absorbed the damage but didn''t absorb the impact as she smashed into a tree.

    Zevien already followed up with more attacks as he released two purple orbs and a Nyxite w.

    The girl quickly waved her hand and conjured another Wrath of the Seas, but two purple orbs and a Nyxite w hit her before her Wrath of the Seas could fully conjure and block them.

    *crack¡­*

    The badge broke, and the barrier disappeared.

    Zevien flew away from the Wrath of the Seas and started moving in a random direction while checking his status and muttered, "2150 mana was used. Tsk, the first fight was more troublesome than I expected because of that awakening spell."

    Zevien knew about that spell, and he had even seen a video of that spell used by a 1st ss magician from another country.

    In the video, the man conjured a giant whirlpool spanning a five hundred-meter radius. Giant water tentacles were also invoked from it, destroying all magic beastsing out of the magic eruption spot. That spell ughtered everything left and right while sucking all the magic beasts towards it. Nothing could escape it!

    Because of that awakening spell, Deep Blue Cmity was considered a top-tier magicbyrinth. So far, that 1st ss magician was the only one recorded to have awakened that magicbyrinth, but this girl used the same spell, so she should be the second person to awaken it.

    ''I wonder which country she is from,'' Zevien wondered while carefully looking around.

    On the other hand, the girl sighed as she saw Zevien going away. The thing that frustrated her was her Emerald Bullets spell. Once those bullets hit something, it would produce vines to entangle the opponent, but the spell used by Zevien perfectly countered it. Hellzer obliterated the bulletspletely before they could expand after hitting.

    ¡­

    "I need to do better," Zevien muttered as he finally locked on to his second target. It was that tall seven feet man who made fun of him.

    A grin formed on Zevien''s face as he saw him, and the bulky big man also noticed Zevien andughed, "haha, the clown vampire is here. Wanna suck my blood?"

    *BOOM¡­*<novelnext></novelnext>

    A spiraling ball of earth shards shot towards Zevien as the bulky big man punched.

    Zevien easily dodged and increased his flying speed by 10% by infusing some mana in his wings to quickly close the distance!

    ? ''Siphoning p!'' The bulky big man was startled and quickly used a spell as Zevien appeared beside him.

    *p!*

    A shock wave erupted and threw Zevien off-bnce while pushing him away, but Zevien didn''t forget to wave both hands and release two Nyxite ws that sessfully hit the man.

    "Fuck!" the bulky man cursed out loud as he jumped backward and started running while conjuring a barrier around him, ''one more hit, and I am done for. Damn it!''

    *BOOM¡­*

    Zevien quickly followed the man, his speed obviously faster!

    He flew over the man and blocked his path while grinning, "ready to get eliminated?"

    "Heh, my main spell is this awakening spell. Let''s see how you break it, little vampire," the big bulky man provoked Zevien, e on, hit me! I doubt you know about this awakening spell of mine called Counter Terraform Barrier. Hehe, two sharp-spinning earth spears will shoot toward you at breakneck speed when your spell hits the barrier. If both hit you, I will win!''

    Zevien indifferently waved his right hand, releasing a Nyxite w.

    When the Nyxite w neared the bulky big man, he was excited. But his face turned ck the next second as the Nyxite w passed through his barrier and hit him!

    *crack¡­*

    The badge cracked and turned to dust!

    "H-how? How is that possible?!" the bulky big man slumped to the ground in disbelief.

    "Anything is possible," Zevien scoffed as he flew away in search of his next target.

    ¡­

    "It seems our vampire friend''s ck w projectile spell can pass through other spells! But I wonder why he didn''t use it against Wrath of the Seas?" Melissa wondered out loud as she switched herment back to Zevien from another fight, "hmm, the Wrath of the Seas might''ve been too big for it to fully pass through it ande outpletely at the other side. The suction force would also affect the spell, I suppose."

    "I have never seen that spell before."

    "I searched about it just now, but I also couldn''t find any spell like that. There are w-shaped projectile spells but none like that."

    Some of the audience were also curious about it and discussed it.

    "But that guy is really¡­I don''t know what to say. He is the only one actively looking for other participants."

    "Yeah. Others are moving slowly and cautiously while this guy seems to be hurting others. Too arrogant, I say. I doubt he will pass the 1st round."

    "He is using mana too quickly and might run out at a crucial moment."

 Chapter 98 Round One, Finished!

    Time passed as Zevien eliminated two more people after ten minutes, but he didn''t use any spells against them!

    The audience was startled after seeing his fine and fluid martial arts!

    Zevien maneuvered and flew quickly to dodge and move as if his life depended on it and eliminated others purely using his martial arts!

    Punches and Kicks! Tricks and Techniques!

    ¡­

    In Starlight City, Zenith Corp. building''s ground floor, main office¡­

    Dan, Erica, and Vernisia were also watching the live broadcast of the contest.

    "Hahaha, Zevien sure is on fire! He is actively hunting other participants," Danughed in excitement, "and he is getting better!"

    "Yep," Erica nodded as she clenched her fist, "Dan, Vernisia, how about we go to the Arena tomorrow? We also need a real pro-level fighting experience, and we should get it soon."

    Vernisia nodded with determination, "let''s go tomorrow for sure!"

    "Ladies, you know that the Arena won''t have physical protection like that," Dan said wryly, "although we won''t die, serious injuries are inevitable. If you are fine with it, then we will go."

    Erica kicked Dan in the ass and snorted, "you think we can''t endure pain? Humph, for your information, we both can endure more pain than you!"

    "Yes, and we have lots of money now, so we can afford expensive healing methods to heal ourselves," Vernisia clenched her fist.

    "Ok, ok, we will go tomorrow," Dan weakly smiled as he rubbed his bum before saying to Erica, "can''t you hold back a bit?"

    Erica raised her eyebrows, "are you sure?"

    Dan coughed and turned his head towards the TV to watch.

    Vernisia was surprised and asked, "what''s going on between you two? Don''t tell me you two also¡­."

    Dan remained silent, but Erica grinned and nodded, "well yeah. We are in a rtionship now. Have been for a month already."

    "Waa, I didn''t even notice until now," Vernisia was startled.

    Erica rolled her eyes, "how would you notice us when you were so absorbed with Zevien?"

    Vernisia chuckled as she agreed and smiled, "hehe. Congrats, you two."

    Dan smiled happily and nodded, "thanks. But this princess is hard to please. I am doubting my feelings now."

    "You need more beating!" Erica snorted and kicked him again.

    "I am joking! You know how much I love your kicks, no? Ouch¡­"

    Vernisia felt that there was something strange. Dan didn''t seem that opposed to Erica beating him, ''don''t tell me he is a M...?''

    Shaking her head, Vernisia looked at the screen and said quickly, "Zevien encountered another participant!"

    ¡­

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Dodging the hurling boulders narrowly, Zevien arrived beside the slim male participant and swooped down while doing a leg sweep to make him fall before spinning with the help of his wings and hand to execute an Axe Kick.

    The man''s badge didn''t break. Surprised, he pointed his hand at Zevien to use a spell. But Zevien''s hand was already in front of his belly with a purple orb conjured in front of it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Sad," the man muttered as the purple orb hit the barrier and broke the badge. He diffused his spell before standing up and leaning on a nearby tree, waiting for an enforcer to pick him up.

    On the other hand, Zevien flew away after destroying his badge.

    "Alright, I have recovered enough mana by now. Time to continue with quick eliminations," Zevien grinned as he soon found his next target. By now, he had formed his perfect strategy to eliminate anyone he encountered quickly.

    At first, he stayed on defense with the mindset of countering the enemy. But now, he was going to attack first and force his targets to be on the defensive!

    *BOOM¡­.*

    He released two purple orbs from afar towards his target.

    After seeing them, the twin-ponytail girl decided to dodge, but Zevien was approaching with his fast speed and also released a Nyxite w to her dodging location.

    The girl gritted her teeth and waved her hand to release a spell called Cross-Wind de, a fast and deadly tier-2 spell, before using a defensive barrier to block Nyxite w.

    Zevien narrowly dodged the Cross-Wind de spell and let his Nyxite w destroy her barrier instead of passing through because he had released ckout Bubble right behind his Nyxite w!

    *Crack...BOOM*

    The girl knew her barrier might get destroyed, so she was already prepared to release her offense-type awakening spell, Corrosive Harbinger. However, she was struck by the ckout Bubble spell before she could use it.

    The girl screamed in terror and yed around crazily because she couldn''t sense anything! All of her senses were nulled! She couldn''t see, hear, or even feel anything on her skin. All her five senses were gone.

    *crack¡­*

    The next second, Zevien finished her off by releasing two purple orbs and destroying her badge.

    The girl regained her senses after three seconds, but those three seconds were like hell.

    "W-what was that spell?" the girl stammered as she asked.

    Zevien grinned as he covered himself in his usual aura and flew away without answering her.

    ''I am getting better at fighting! In a way, this is my first time fighting for so long with other humans. The experience gained from such situations helps a lot,'' Zevien said in his mind while smiling.

    "Meow~! That''s why I am telling you to be more challenging!" Tarto chimed in, "hehe, another fighting soon."

    ¡­

    Zevien continued hunting for more people, and afternding his ckout Bubble, he quickly eliminated his opponents.

    By now, everyone was impressed with his gutsiness since he was the only one actively hunting others!

    Time passed slowly for the audience but quickly for the participants...

    After two hours, only sixty people remained in the forest. But the round went on for another hour before thest ten people got eliminated.

    "It is finally over, hahaha," Melissaughed dryly, "I would say it is thanks to Alucard that it ended early, or we would have been more bored."

    "BOOOOO! All those who were hiding are cowards!"

    "Seriously, damn! That one fucking guy didn''t fight anyone and won. Hopefully, the next round is quick and straightforward."

    The audience was in an uproar.

 Chapter 99 Resort, Shady Men

    Melissa was also a bit upset, "I agree with you, folks! But let me also tell you that if you were there, most of you would also do anything to win! Now we will take some rest because it''s already night. The next round will be held in this stadium tomorrow at 8 in the morning!

    "Oh yeah, prepare your money because betting booths will open tomorrow!"

    The audience cheered after hearing thest line before leaving the stadium.

    On the other hand, the fifty participants also left the forest by following the enforcers. When they came out, they were greeted by their respective guides.

    Zevien saw Maxum and five more people of Lopax country moving towards him.

    "Alucard, you didn''t have to eliminate people of our own country," Maxum weakly smiled.

    "Huh?" Zevien raised his eyebrows before saying, "only five people will get the admission medallion, and I am not here to help others. Now, if you will excuse me."

    Saying that he flew up. But Maxum quickly spoke, "wait!"

    "What?"

    "I had already booked six rooms in a five-star hotel when I saw you six surviving until the end. Everything from food to massage is booked," Maxum said with a smile.

    "No need. I will stay in Nashor Resort since I heard it''s pretty famous here. Though before leaving, I want to know when will this contest end?" Zevien asked as he looked at Maxum.

    "It will end tomorrow if no mishap urs," Maxum answered.

    "Thanks," Zevien nodded before flying towards the Nashor Resort. While flying, he contacted Vernisia and told her that the contest would likely end tomorrow.

    ''I thought it wouldst longer. I don''t remember how long itsted before time-rewind since I had nothing to do with it at that time,'' Zevien happily thought since the sooner it''s over, the sooner he can return.

    Shortlyter, Zevien saw the resort and was impressed. It was a big resort with lots of greenery surrounding it. There were several different-sized swimming pools, and all the structures were made out of exotic redwood.

    The whole resort consisted of seven unique pavilions of different sizes and ten wooden houses that were also positioned and built differently.

    He descended at the entrance and walked towards the reception pavilion. Three men were sitting on a couch in the pavilion, but after briefly ncing at Zevien, they minded their own business. However, one of them looked at Zevien a second longer as his eyes briefly shined with surprise flickering in his eyes. But he quickly looked away like his team members.

    "Wee, Mr. Alucard. Your performance was superb in the contest," the receptiondy said with a smile. "We have several packages here; which one would you like to choose, and for how many days?"

    Thedy gave three brochures to Zevien.

    "Thank you," Zevien smiled and nodded but didn''t look at the brochure, "I want the best package you can offer for this night."

    "As you wish," thedy nodded with a bright smile, "the best package for 5th ss magicians will cost 750 Gaia credits."

    ''Wow. That''s 75,000 Lopax credits,'' Zevien thought, but he now has no shortage of money.

    Zevien nodded as he took out his debit card, "this is a Lopax country card, but you can take it and convert from LC to GC, right?"

    "Yes. However, there will be a 3% conversion fee," thedy said with a smile.

    "But you can also contact your bank and convert some amount into GC; that will decrease your cost or even be done free, depending on your membership in your bank."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Alright, I''ll do that since I will need more GC in the future," Zevien nodded as he contacted his CA, who was also CA of the Zenith Corp.

    Zevien--, "Jason, convert all funds in my Alucard registered bank ount into Gaia credits."

    Jason--, "Five minutes."

    Zevien--, "No problem."

    "Give me the highest package for 5th ss magician; here''s the credit card," a man in his early twenties arrived at the desk and said with a smile. He then nced at the card in Zevien''s hand and scoffed.

    "Hmm?" Zevien turned to him and asked, "what''s so funny?"

    "I mean, you shouldn''t waste money saved on your debit card just to show off. You are already standing out in that get-up," the man chuckled.

    Zevien looked at his credit card and smiled, "so you think people who use credit cards are rich? Heh, I don''t need to use credit cards to borrow the bank''s money and pay it with the next month''s sry because the money in my ount never runs out, unlike yours."

    After saying that, Zevien left the desk and walked toward a couch before sitting on it.

    ''I''ll see you tomorrow in the stadium, vampire clown. Humph,'' the man snorted and left after the staff arrived and led him after he paid and booked his package.

    Zevien didn''t recognize him since he didn''t pay attention to all the participants. But all the other participants definitely know him by now because of his appearance.

    *Ding!*

    [All funds in Alucard''s bank ount are converted to Gaia Credits. 400m LC into 400k GC, done.]

    Zevien stood up and went to the reception desk after getting the message and paid 750 GC.

    ...

    ''Damn, this ce is awesome,'' Zevien thought as hey on his bed with an open view to his left side from the balcony that led to his private small swimming pool.

    Even though it was night, there were expensive candlelights illuminating areas of the resort, making it look so beautiful and rxing.

    Zevien had removed his outfit after bathing but kept his vampire form and wore a bathrobe.

    ''I should show Vernisia this ce. We cane here together on vacationter,'' Zevien thought smilingly as he video called Vernisia.

    ¡­

    Somewhere in the resort, three men spoke inside a barrier they had created. The talk seemed to be very important.

    "Are you sure?"

    "My detection-type spell can''t be wrong. I incorporatedplete magic traces from the first three ranks of magic crystals in the spell formation when I created this spell. Multiple magic crystal traces surrounded that guy, so he definitely has several magic crystals in his possession unless he used them recently."

    "Well, we are going to butcher a lot of people because of our mission, so we might as well add one more."

 Chapter 100 Mission?

    "We can do this, but there is no option for failure. If some mishap happened that affected our main mission, we would be killed by the supreme leader," the bald man spoke. He was the leader of this group of three.

    "Haha, no worries. That brat is just a peak 5th ss magician with less than 1500 magic power while my poison can even kill 3rd ss magicians," the long-nosed man sneered as he stood up and turned to the third member of the group, who had long ck hair tied into a ponytail.

    "We won''t be able to enter his surroundings. Magic spells protect each guest''s area, and only people bearing the card with the magic formation of the resort assigned to them can enter," the long ck-haired man said calmly as he looked at the long-nosed man. "What is your n, Haril?"

    Haril looked at the clock and spoke, "we have to move quickly for my n to seed. He had paid for the most expensive package, so his food must be arriving soon. I have to put the poison into his food while Zelin-"

    "And I use my awakening spell to retrieve his storage ring after he dies?" Zelin said thoughtfully before looking at the bald man, "what do you think, Giyus?"

    "Feasible but¡­," Giyus muttered with hesitation written over his face, "you know that we can''t fail our mission."

    "Trust me, Giyus," Haril spoke with a grin, "I have stayed in this resort three times, so I know how they work. We willplete our job quickly and silently."

    "Alright, do it carefully and quickly," Giyus nodded at Zelin and Haril.

    ¡­

    Haril and Zelin passed by Zevien''s residential entrance. On the corridor, a tiny nail-sized ck slim thing dropped from Zelin''s sleeves and stuck on the door of Zevien''s room.

    Afterward, both of them walked to and fro while talking andughing. Three minutester, they saw a maid with a big food trolley. When the maid passed by Haril, he waved his hand while smiling. "Wait for a second, please."

    "Yes?"

    "Can you bring some light food to our room? I didn''t directly order since I wanted the cooking staff''s rmendations. Just bring whatever you are fine with and charge my room," Haril said to the maid, but when he waved his hand previously, a tiny invisible drop of poison that was odorless and colorless fell into a small hole on the metal lid that covered a soup bowl.

    "No problem, dear guests. I will bring some light food of our rmendation to your room," the maid said with a polite smile before she continued walking.

    *Trinkk...*

    The maid arrived in front of Zevien''s room and rang the bell.

    A few secondster, Zevien opened the door, and along with it, the tiny ck slime stuck to the door also fell and entered the room with the maid and the food trolly before the door closed.

    Haril grinned, "let''s return to our room."

    Zenil''s eyes shed with a ck light as he nodded.

    ¡­

    The maid exited Zevien''s room after a minute, and the moment she left, Zevien''s smiling expression started changing.

    "Don''t change your expression suddenly. Remain natural! Someone is observing you as well."

    ''Geez, what the fuck is going on? First, you said there is poison, and now someone is observing me? Who is targeting me?'' Zevien furiously thought, ''this is my new identity, so the only ones who want to get rid of me must be someone participating in the contest.''

    "Hehe, I don''t know who, but they are pretty skilled. I watched the whole thing, and they did it seamlessly," Tarto snickered.

    ''So, which dish is poisoned?'' Zevien asked while slowly opening the lids and acting normally.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That spicy-looking soup."

    ''Alright. Now, since you observed those people, who are they? I have to contact the manager here and expose them. The proof will be this soup bowl,'' Zevien spoke to Tarto while eating and watching TV. Naturally, he didn''t touch the spicy soup but sipped the other soup.

    "Nyehehe, I''ll go and observe them. They are pretty shady."

    Tarto passed through the wall quickly and disappeared.

    ¡­

    "Why is he not drinking the poisoned soup?" Zelin frowned.

    "What do you mean?" Haril asked with doubt.

    "He hadn''t touched the poisoned soup. He didn''t even taste it," Zelin clicked his tongue, "even if he doesn''t eat spicy things, shouldn''t he at least taste it?"

    "Don''t tell me this simple task will fail just because of that?" Haril was stupified.

    Giyus frowned and shook his head, "if he dies, then retrieve the ring, but if he doesn''t drink the soup, this side-task is aborted!"

    "But-"

    "No buts, Haril!" Giyus firmly spoke as he looked at Haril, "our mission is way more important. We can''t take more risks. This n was good, but he won''t order more food now."

    "But if he orders more food, I can put poison again," Haril said unwillingly.

    "I wouldn''t rmend that," Zenil spoke while his eyes shed with a slight ck aura as he observed Zevien. "If you go the second time, things might get suspicious. We shouldn''t take more risks."

    "Sigh, fine. But please continue observing him," Haril sighed and leaned back on the sofa. "He might still eat the soupter and die."

    Zenil nodded.

    "What are you doing, leader?" Haril said as he saw Giyus taking out a fist-sized ss container with a white crystal inside. The crystal had light-blue and ck particles mixed in it.

    "I have toplete thest lock before we use it tomorrow night," Giyus said as he hovered his hands around the ss. "Meanwhile, contact our agents in Starlight City and confirm the absence of 1st ss magicians."

    "Why do we need to confirm more?" Haril spokezily, "they are not there."

    Giyus arched his neck and looked at Haril indifferently, "Do¡­It!"

    "Fine, fine, fine. Don''t give me that look," Haril wryly spoke as he sent an encrypted message from his Digi-watch to the agents in Starlight city.

    After five minutes, several message pings appeared in Haril''s Digi-watch, and he read them all before nodding at Giyus. "Geezer Cargil, White Cloud Nike, Umbra Raven, and Bukkan bastard. All four 1st ss magicians are absent. Some other 2nd ss magicians are also not present in the city."

    "Good. Now, we just have to nt this thing tomorrow night in the middle of Starlight city, and our mission ispleted."

 Chapter 101 Greatest Asset?

    Zevien didn''t touch the soup and some other dishes until the end.

    After he finished eating, he pressed a button on the wall and called the maid to take back the trolley. Zevien acted normally like he didn''t know someone was observing him. Well, he really couldn''t feel someone watching, so he just put it out of his mind.

    One minuteter, a different maid arrived and took back the trolley. After she left, Zevien wrote a message on his Digi-watch and sent it to the manager.

    ¡­

    "Side-task failed. Target didn''t consume poisoned soup until the end," Zelin said as he dispersed his awakening spell and sighed.

    *Ding¡­*

    "Who is that?" Giyus frowned. He was done unlocking thest lock on the container a minute ago, so it was safe.

    "Ahh, it must be the food I ordered," Haril said as he went to open the door.

    The maid entered with the food trolley and introduced the dishes before leaving. "Hope you enjoy our rmendations."

    "Thank you." Haril smiled and closed the door after she left.

    ¡­

    ? "What are they nning to do in Starlight City? Couldn''t you find out about the effects of that crystal with your power?" Zevien asked as his eyebrows creased in worry. He didn''t think he would encounter such a thing in the resort.

    "Meow~! I could sense space magic dimensional ripples from that crystal, so I assume that it will open a portal or something simr," Tarto said thoughtfully, "but I can''t be sure."

    Zevien leaned back on the pillow on his bed and sighed. "Whatever it is, their n will now fail since I informed the manager about them. Once they check that the soup was poisoned, they are done."

    "I am curious about that crystal, so I''m gonna get that storage ring from the baldy," Tarto grinned mischievously.

    Tarto left the room by passing through the walls and disappeared.

    ...

    On the other hand, the manager already hurried to the maid and brought her to the kitchen, where he scanned the soup with other Mystic Chefs.

    The manager''s name was Martin. He was a middle-aged man with tied-up maroon hair and wore a suit. He was a 2nd ss magician and the little brother of the resort''s owner.

    "Sir, Martin. The soup is indeed poisoned, and with a dangerous poison at that. A drop can kill even a 3rd ss magician."

    "Sigh, it''s good that Mr. Alucard managed to detect the poison. If he died, then we would be balls deep in trouble. More so when he is a participant of tomorrow''s 2nd round contest."

    "Damn those bastards," Martin cursed as his face turned dark, leaving the kitchen with a furious expression.

    If this went out, the reputation they built up for years would go down the drain! He also has topensate Zevien because they let such a thing happen.

    ¡­

    *knock¡­knock¡­knock*

    Giyus and the other two were eating when they heard a knocking sound.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Who is it now," Haril muttered with an annoyed expression as he went to the door.

    "Wait! Don''t open it," Giyus said with a frown, "the knock sounded rushed. It''s as if the other on the other side is furious."

    *knock¡­knock¡­knock*

    "He is not ringing the bell but knocking?" Zelin creased his eyebrows before his face suddenly changed. He went out into their garden area and looked around before saying gravely, "we are trapped. The barrier around our area is not passive anymore."

    Haril looked through the peephole instead of directly opening the door and was startled, "it''s the damn manager!"

    *ke¡­.*

    Giyus mmed his fist on the floor furiously but didn''tsh out at Haril even though it was obvious that this happened because of him.

    "Open the door and surrender! You can''t run!"

    Giyus removed the storage ring from his finger and threw it toward Zelin, "bury it in those bushes." Afterward, he activated his Digi-watch and wrote something before telling Haril to open the door.

    Zelin hid the ring and returned to the room while Haril opened the door.

    Martin came inside furiously with a powerful aura whirling around him as if he was ready to attack anytime.

    "We surrender," Giyus said calmly as he raised his hands. Zelin and Haril also raised their hands.

    ¡­

    Somewhere in the vast Lankrena region was a prominent castle-like structure amidst arge jungle. This jungle spanned hundreds of kilometers in all directions.

    It was considered one of the danger zones due to its hazardous snowy environment, powerful magic beasts living inside, and...the main reason: this zone was also the home of the Blood Sun organization.

    Inside the Blood Sun Headquarters...

    Arge screen in the hall with five rows of extending tables where people work on theirputers.

    The Supreme Leader was seated behind them on top of a tform as he observed therge screen that disyed an overflow of magic beasts from a magic eruption spot. He was a shorty with a height of 3ft and wore a military-like uniform with bloody sun symbols on both his arms. He had a bald head, but his bald head had a tattoo of a bloody sun on it.

    "Supreme Leader, we have received Code ck, case no.3 from Giyus''s team."

    "Hmm? Case no.3?" The Supreme Leader frowned as he quickly activated his Digi-watch and sent some encrypted messages before saying to the people working below onputers, "I have sent ck Hawk to retrieve the ring since he is near that town. Guide him to the best of your abilities and after that, find out the reason for the failure of Giyus''s team."

    "Sir, do we prepare three more peak 4th ss magician members for the mission? Or do we send 3rd ss magicians?"

    "Not 3rd ss magicians and not even 4th ss magicians. Send peak 5th ss magician this time," the Supreme Leader shook his head, "the weaker, the better for this mission. Police and airport enforcers won''t pay much attention to foreign 5th ss magicians, but 3rd ss and higher is a different case. We can go with a 4th ss team, but no more risks."

    "Ok, we have sent Team Furain with the X-Door crystal to Starlight City. No change of ns. They will arrive at Starlight City tomorrow noon and activate the X-Door crystal on time."

    "Good. Now make sure to help ck Hawk retrieve the storage ring of Giyus. The X-Door crystal is our greatest invention and asset. We can''t let it fall on anyone''s hands."

 Chapter 102 Doom Bringer

    Tarto went into the bush and dug out the storage ring before returning to Zevien.

    "Hehe, I got their storage ring," Tarto snickered as he broke the ring''s lock and opened it before taking out the X-Door crystal.

    "So this is it, huh?" Zevien curiously looked at the ss container that contained the crystal.

    "Let me observe it properly and see what''s it about," Tarto said before observing the crystal with focus, his eyes gleaming with a starry-ck hue.

    *Ding¡­*

    Suddenly someone rang a bell.

    "Put it inside and hide it with you," Zevien quickly said in a low voice. Tarto put the container inside the ring and disappeared with it.

    Zevien opened the door and saw the manager and two people, a man and a woman, wearing a magic guild enforcer uniform.

    "Mr. Alucard. First of all, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience," Martin solemnly said as he bowed.

    Zevien nodded before he asked calmly, "did you question them? I want to know why they targeted me."

    "We will do that soon. But before that, we wanted to know if you know anything about them," the woman said.

    "Nothing," Zevien shook his head, "It''s my first timeing here, and nobody knows me. All I can think of is that they targeted me to remove me from the contest."

    "Haha, that could be possible," the male enforcerughed and nodded, "after all, you did perform shily in the first round."

    "How did you discover the poison?" the woman enforcer asked.

    "I am a cautious man," Zevien smiled, "I used a poison detection spell before eating and found an anomaly in the soup."

    Martin looked at the enforcers and said, "I believe this is enough of questioning for the victim. Now would you please question those three men?"

    The enforcers nodded and left.

    Martin stayed and looked at Zevien with a polite smile before saying, "for this trouble, we would like topensate you with this special guest card. You can use the card five times. With this card, you will get a 50% discount on your total spending whenever you use the card. On top of that, we will refund all the money that you have paid today."

    Zevien casually took the card and nodded, "thanks. Now I would like to rest because I have to participate in the contest tomorrow. Tell me tomorrow morning if you can find out why they attempted to poison me."

    "Alright," Martin nodded with a smile, "I hope this poison attempt information will stay inside and not get out from here."

    "What poison attempt?"

    "Have a good night, Mr. Alucard," Martin said with a smile and left.

    ¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    On the other hand, a new guest arrived at the resort. He wore a ck gabardine with gray designs, a detective hat, and ck round sses.

    Arriving at the reception desk, he said with a charming smile, "I would like to stay here for the night. Highest package for 3rd ss magician but remove the food cost as I have already eaten."

    The receptiondy awkwardly smiled, "sorry, sir. We can''t remove the food cost since it is 55% of the bill. Our resort is known for the food prepared by our excellent mystic chefs that can benefit your mind and body. For 3rd ss magician package, all food is prepared with at least 2 to 3 tier-3 ingredients in each dish."

    "Oh well, then I guess I have to taste it," ck Hawk smiled and gave her the card to pay the bill.

    Suddenly, he looked to his left and saw two magic guild enforcers. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "what are the magic guild enforcers doing here?"

    "I don''t know," the receptiondy answered with a polite smile, "here, please take your credit card and this card key. A maid will shortly arrive and lead you to your room."

    After a while, ck Hawk entered his room and started his operation. He put a microphone inside his ear and double-tapped the frame of his round sses as they shed a disy in front of his eyes.

    Afterward, he took out a tiny metal insect that flew out in his garden and started digging in a corner.

    He was also receiving support from the headquarter through his sses and a microphone inside his ears as he started searching for the storage ring.

    s, that storage ring was already in someone''s hands.

    "Wow¡­," Tarto muttered while observing the crystal. A secondter, he disappeared while the ss container fell onto the bed.

    "Tarto? Where are you?" Zevien questioned but got no response from Tarto. "What''s going on?" He frowned.

    A few secondster, Tarto returned.

    "What did you find out?" Zevien asked, his eyes blinking with curiosity and caution. Just what were they nning to do inside Starlight City with this crystal?

    Tarto looked at Zevien with an intrigued expression before saying, "I sent my consciousness through the space magic dimensional ripples while staying in my fairy realm to make it possible and seeded in reaching the other side of the connection."

    "What did you see?" Zevien asked as his eyebrows creased.

    "This crystal will open a portal connected to a certain spot of a certain magicbyrinth. A lot of magic beasts were in that spot. There were even three grade-1 magic beasts and tens of grade-2 magic beasts," pausing for a bit, Tarto''s expression turned a bit grave, "if they activated this crystal in Starlight City, a lot of people would die."

    "Fuck!" Zevien cursed as his expression turned furious, and clenched his fist in anger. "Why would they do that? Who are these people in the first ce? An enemy nation or a certain organization?"

    Tarto adopted a thoughtful expression while caressing its whiskers. As if he remembered something, he asked, "did something like this happen before the time rewind?"

    "No," Zevien shook his head, but the next second, his face changed. "Wait¡­actually, it happened. But not in Starlight City or Lopax country. I remember the breaking news that something simr to a magic eruption spot appeared in Fno city of Pernol country, resulting in a tragedy that killed tens of thousands of people."

    "Well, then. This crystal is a doom bringer for normal people living in the cities," Tarto said as he looked at the crystal.

 Chapter 103 Round Two, Final Round!

    "Sigh, I want to tell someone important about this, but all the people that I know are not in the city," Zevien said as he sighed and slumped on the bed.

    "But why worry anymore? We have prevented them, so the city is safe. Anyway, I gotta go back to my fairy realm now, so take this ring and good luck for tomorrow''s round 2," Tarto said as he threw the storage ring to Zevien and disappeared.

    "Wait, no! Take this ring with you. I''ll just take the crystal in my ring and give it to Touma-sir when he returns," Zevien said as he took out the container and put it in his storage ring.

    "Fine," Tarto understood as he appeared again and took the ring before disappearing.

    If Zevien wore the ring and someone from the same group as those three people recognized it, he would be in trouble. After all, that crystal was obviously very important, and the people behind them will be trying to find it now that their three members have been caught.

    After Tarto left, Zevien turned off the lights and fell asleep. He had spent too much energy today, so he had to take good rest for tomorrow''s round 2.

    ¡­

    "The storage ring is missing. After searching for hours, I found the ce, but someone seemed to have dug it out," ck Hawk spoke with a grave expression.

    The Supreme Leader frowned after hearing that and replied, "suspects?"

    "No idea exactly, but it could only be one person, the manager. Only he has ess to all areas of his resort. Didn''t we have a GPS tracker in the container?"

    "That was removed with thest lock because a GPS can be detected via electric signals. Even though we have invented that crystal, we can''t let anyone trace it back to us in case someone gets their hands on it, so we have removed all traces from it. Giyus removed thest one yesterday night right before the code ck urred," the Supreme Leader frowned and shook his head, "talk about bad luck."

    "Bad luck?"

    "Yes. Giyus timed it correctly as he removed the lock after they failed their poison attempt on Alucard. But he didn''t expect to get caught so abruptly. Zelin was observing Alucard the whole time with his awakening magic spell, but Alucard didn''t let him suspect anything, so Alucard also must have known that someone was observing him."

    "T-this¡­who is this Alucard?" ck Hawk was startled, "from the report, he is just a peak 5th ss magician. How can he have such abilities?"

    "No idea, but this individual is suspicious. This vampire identity is obviously fake, but he still can''t fool the magic guild''s magic power measuring device, so his real identity must not be stronger than this fake one. I have already put him on our X-rated individual list since a 5th-ss magician this capable is rare."

    "I see. So, why did the Giyus team try to kill this Alucard?" ck Hawk was confused, "if they didn''t pull this stunt, we wouldn''t have lost the X-Door Crystal."

    "Greed. They wanted the magic crystals in Alucard''s possession. Anyway, you havepleted your job, so return."

    "Yes, Supreme Leader," ck Hawk nodded before he took out his sses and turned them into powder, destroyed.

    ¡­

    Zevien woke up, took a shower, brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast before leaving the resort in his vampire get-up.

    "Good luck, Mr. Alucard," the receptiondy smiled.

    "Thanks," Zevien waved his hand and left the resort before flying up and moving towards the stadium. The stadium was almost full.

    It was almost 8 in the morning, so most participants had already arrived.

    When it was precisely 8 AM, Melissa arrived with a charming smile. "I hope you had a peaceful night because today will be very exciting!"

    *WOAAAH!*

    The stadium erupted with cheers for a few seconds before dying down eventually.

    "The 2nd round is going to be thest! Yes, we will finish this contest in this round due to some change of ns," Melissa said before pping once.

    *Shuaa!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    Five magic circles appeared as they conjured five ring-shaped tforms in the stadium. However, their sizes were different, and they were positioned as floors.

    The 1st-floor tform had a diameter of 150 meters.

    The 2nd-floor tform was five meters above the 1st floor and had a diameter of 100 meters.

    The 3rd-floor tform was also five meters above the 2nd-floor tform and had a diameter of 60 meters.

    The 4th-floor tform had a diameter of 40 meters, while the 5th andst floor ring was just a 20 meters diameter.

    The audience cheered loudly as they saw this new type of tform.

    Melissa smiled and pped her hands one more time as several people entered the stadium with badges on their tes. "Please put the badge on your chest. This badge is slightly different than yesterday''s one. With this badge, once your barrier breaks, you are eliminated. But a new golden barrier will appear that will protect you from other''s attacks.

    Naturally, you also can''t release your spells out of that barrier. So, obediently jump off the tform once you are eliminated!" Melissa sharply said as her lips curled into a devilish smile.

    Everyone attached the new badges to their chests. After seeing that, Melissa nodded with a smile. "This time, you can eliminate others with two methods; one is barrier-break, and the second is boundary-break. You all know about the barrier-break, so I will move to boundary-break, which is pretty simple."

    Melissa stood on the topmost tform before she continued, "the boundary-break means if you throw someone out of the tform, they will be eliminated. Even if you can fly, you can''t leave the boundary of the tforms."

    "Oh...this is interesting," Zevien grinned as he liked this type of round. His confidence increased since he was confident in his martial arts skills and agility.

    "Now, I will exin this round. First, everyone will start on the 1st tform, the biggest one, and fight each other until ten people are eliminated! After ten people are eliminated, everyone will move to the next tform, where everyone will sh once again until ten more people are eliminated and move to the next tform.

    "This will go on until thest tform where I am standing! Thest ten people will fight each other until five people are left, and these five will be the winners! They will get the medallion of admission for Skyward Academy!"

    *Buzz!!*

    The audience excitedly cheered as they felt that this chaotic round would be entertaining to watch!

    Suddenly, someone from the audience spoke loudly using a spell that suppressed all other voices. "Will the final five people fight against each other?! I say they should fight and decide the ranks from 1st to 5th in the order they are eliminated!"

    *YEAHHH!!*

    Everyone in the audience agreed loudly!

    "Alright! For the sake of betting in thest round, we will do that!" Melissa agreed with a chuckle and pped once.

    Five screens appeared in the sky, on top of her, and disyed the odds of all participants!

    Zevien looked at the screen and raised his eyebrows, ''there are two people above me despite my performance yesterday? Interesting..."

    1. Rukin- 1:1

    2. Kuja- 1:1.03

    3. Alucard- 1:1.05

    ...

    "Know that the betting odds will change after participants climb a tform! Now, without further ado, let''s start the 2nd round! All participants, please stand on the 1st tform!"

 Chapter 104 Chaotic Fights

    All the participants climbed to the 1st tform and maintained a certain distance between each other. However, nobody stood at the edge.

    Zevien and some others floated in the air near the center as everyone waited for the round to start.

    "After I finish counting to 0, everyone can start fighting."

    "One!¡­"

    Everyone''s face changed as nobody expected Melissa to start with one. However, she wasn''t finished¡­

    "Hundred!"

    The participants and audience almost fell on their faces at this joke.

    "Hahaha!"

    But the audience startedughing a secondter while the participants looked speechless.

    "Sorry, haha," Melissa chuckled before pausing for a second and smiling brilliantly as she opened her mouth. "Zero!"

    "Shit!"

    "Fuck!"

    The participants became tensed for a second before the chaotic battle started!

    Zevien rolled in the air to dodge an iing wind ball and flew behind as he kicked someone with his full power.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    "Wha-!" the person Zevien kicked could fly, but he was still thrown back twenty meters away. ''What the fuck is that physical strength?''

    Zevien didn''t pay any attention to the person he kicked since other people were near him. He covered himself in a purple-hued barrier and oozed out Despair Aura using Somatic Sadness.

    A few more attacks arrived at him randomly, but he dodged them narrowly. ''I shouldn''t float in the air just to be targeted randomly.''

    *Swoosh¡­BOOM¡­*

    He used Somatic Anger to buff his physical body andnded on the tform with a bang as he punched with his full power, creating short waves that threw the bnce of some people near him.

    ''Let''s start!'' Zevienughed inwardly. He clenched his fist and dashed towards the nearest person as he punched him before opening his fist into a palm and releasing a purple orb that followed the person he hit.

    "NOO!" the man hit by Zevien was thrown out of the boundary!

    *BOOOM¡­*

    Boundary-break! Eliminated!

    Zevien saw several peopleing toward him, but he flew up and did a spin kick towards the nearest one, ''want to gang up on me? Heh, that won''t be so easy in this messy fight.''

    He flew a few meters away andnded again before using Brilliant Burn four times as four rectangle-shaped brightly burning curtains shed.

    "Argh, why the fuck does a vampire have that annoying spell?"

    Several affected participants were annoyed by this spell that blinded them and burned their eyes such that they had to close them and release spells toward Zevien quickly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But Zevien grinned. He had expected this development, so he quickly dispersed the Brilliant Burn curtains and flew up before their magic spells could hit him.

    *Boom¡­Crackle!¡­Zap!¡­Swooosh!¡­Dhoof!¡­*

    None of those spells hit Zevien, but they hit other participants, and two of them even got eliminated!

    "STOP!" Melissa shouted as she pped once and a magic circle appeared on the 1st tform that forcefully dispersed everyone''s spells. "Ten people are eliminated! Move to the 2nd tform!"

    Participants went to the edges of the 1st tform and jumped by infusing mana in their legs to reach the 2nd tform, which was five meters high. The seven people who could fly flew instead and arrived on the 2nd tform.

    Melissa counted to 0 for everyone. This time, she did it correctly from 3 to 0.

    The chaotic battle started again, but Zevien decided to target specific people this time.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    He zoomed towards the nearest participant that was flying, a girl with a big bust and butterfly wings. Zevien released a Nyxite w with a ckout Bubble following right behind it towards the girl.

    The girl saw Alucard targeting her and snorted as she pped her hands and pped her wings vigorously towards Zevien. ''Combo magic: Thunder Gust''

    She used two magic spells thatplement each other as a powerful shock wave with a gust of wind shot towards Zevien. The Nyxite w and ckout Bubble were thrown away and dispersed!

    ''Wow,'' Zevien was impressed, ''so this was her trump card? But too bad¡­.''

    Zevien conjured a barrier using Somatic Sadness around him that blocked the powerful gusts of winds and used Somatic Fear to release a mind attack on the girl.

    The girl closed her eyes as she received a sudden, painful headache that caused her to discontinue her Thunder Gustbo magic.

    *crack¡­.* Zevien''s Somatic Sadness barrier was also on the verge of getting destroyed as countless cracks appeared on it.

    ''Ok, it is truly confirmed now. My barrier can mutually destroy the iing spell and its atmospheric effects so that the spell''s aftereffects wouldn''t pass through it,'' Zevien thought as he confirmed the true nature of his Somatic Sadness barrier after he was not pushed back by the shock waves from the gust of winds despite them hitting his Somatic Sadness barrier.

    If Zevien didn''t conjure the Somatic Sadness barrier and let the shock waves from the gust of winds hit him, the badge''s barrier would have absorbed the damage, but it wouldn''t have nullified the effects. He would''ve been pushed back due to the gust of winds. However, his Somatic Sadness barrier absorbed the damage and nulled the effects. So as long as he activated his Somatic Sadness barrier, he could perfectly defend himself.

    ''I should name it Omni-Barrier. I need to check if it can also block Mind-type magic spells,'' Zevien thought as a grin formed on his face, and he renewed his Somatic Sadness barrier while also arriving near the girl and kicking her.

    A barrier flickered in existence around the girl when Zevien''s kick neared one meter of her.

    *Smash!*

    The kick threw her away, but she quickly pped her butterfly wings to stop herself. However, she was hit by ckout Bubble right after she stopped.

    "AAAH!" The girl screamed for a second as she lost all of her senses abruptly. But she calmed down a secondter and started releasing her magic spells chaotically around her in defense.

    Zevien was taken aback and backed off while the people near her attacked her and eliminated her quickly.

    Another thing that was hard to notice for others was that the participants that Zevien passed by were mentally affected slightly because of the Despair Aura, and that caused them to get distracted with a drop in their performance.

    "STOP!"

    A magic circle appeared on the tform that dispersed everyone''s magic spells. Ten more people were eliminated, much quicker than previously.

    "Onwards to the next tform, please!"

 Chapter 105 Chills!

    All the participants arrived on the next tform, which was even smaller, but the number of participants had also dwindled to 30.

    The chaotic fight once again started among the thirty people, but Zevien''s goal remained the same; he wanted to eliminate all other participants who could fly aside from him.

    His awareness increased in this chaotic fight, where he had to maintain his focus in all directions. He was hit once but didn''t let it happen again and eliminated two more participants who could fly. He eliminated both of them via boundary break.

    "Stop!"

    Ten people were eliminated, so the remaining 20 participants moved to the next tform after a thirty seconds break.

    Zevien eyed two participants who could fly just like a tiger looking at its prey, and those two knew that Zevien would target them.

    When Melissa finished counting to three, Zevien waved his hand and released Hellzer horizontally in arge area towards those two.

    His mana was on the low side, just like all other people, but that caused him to have an advantage because even though there were people with high martial art skills, it was still not as high as him. Though he noticed a few that could rival him, and one of them could also fly, so he had to eliminate him.

    The man wearing a white karate robe and dark orange wings made of ck feathers called Kronish was Zevien''s primary target.

    As Zevien flew towards them, those two also released their spells: a dark green spinning shuriken and a burning spear. After casting their spells, they dashed towards Zevien for close-range fighting since they also couldn''t afford to waste more mana.

    Zevien narrowed his eyes as he conjured Omni-Barrier using Somatic Sadness. The Hellzer was a wide-area attack, which they couldn''t dodge. However, Zevien dodged their attacks and didn''t let them hit his Omni-Barrier since he wanted to save its energy for other unavoidable attacks.

    Kronish and the other man spent their mana to use a defensive spell to block the Hellzer attack. They couldn''t afford to let their badge barrier take damage since if they were hit once, they would be eliminated.

    Zevien neared them and kicked Kronish, who guarded with his hands, not letting his badge barrier activate. Taking this chance, the other flying participant spun in the air using his wing to attack Zevien with a powerful spin kick.

    Zevien''s lips curved in disdain as he read the flow and grabbed his ankle before spinning himself with the enemy kick''s momentum. His arm muscles swelled as he exerted his full strength and threw the other guy towards the edge.

    Boundary-Break! Eliminated!

    "What!?" Kronish''s expression turned shocked while his arms became slightly numb after blocking Zevien''s kick. ''An expert of Force Flowing martial arts. He used the entire power of that kick without moving from his position and threw him by half spinning. His physical strength is extremely high, so he managed to add his strength in that throw and eliminated that guy. Damn, this fucking vampire is bad news!''

    "Oh my. That was very smooth," Melissa also noticed this as Zevien disyed his expert Martial Art style for the first time.

    Zevien grinned as he turned to Kronish, but then he saw a white arrowing shooting towards him from behind him. Well, he didn''t see it directly but saw it from Kronish''s pupils.

    As he had activated the shaman seed''s powers, all of his senses were way higher than normal humans. His cat-like eyes clearly saw the arrow from Kronish''s pupils and dodged it.

    Many people who noticed that sucked in a breath of cold air as it was an extremely close encounter. But after that, they cheered loudly!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Damn! That was superb. Both that throw and that dodge."

    "Holy hell¡­here I was sweating for him, but he nonchntly dodged it with that grin on his face. Fuck, I am getting chills."

    "Oh? That guy is also not bad."

    Kronish and Zevien were now onto hand-to-handbat. Kronish had a somber expression as he didn''t give Zevien any chance to use Force Flowing moves using his straight and fast actions. He released short explosive attacks and straight guards as he punched quickly and took back his hand.

    ''If only I can grab him, then I can defeat him,'' Kronish thought as he and Zevien exchanged powerful moves. He had fought several Force Flowing experts, so he also had experience and knew the weakness of Force Flowing martial arts: grabbing a limb and not letting them use their flow by exerting strength opposite their attack.

    ? However, a few seconds passed, and the frown on his face intensified. ''His physical strength is higher. I have to do it quickly!''

    Zevien was smiling in contrast as he knew what Kronish was thinking. He decided to give out a bit and did a straight punch towards his chest when Kronish was fully prepared for any move since both of his hands were open.

    Kronish''s eyes gleamed as his hands formed ws, and both of his hands grabbed Zevien''s arms. ''Now I just need to let him pull me so I ca-''

    "You think I would try to throw you just because I got an opportunity," Zevien grinned as he opened the palm of his hand that Kronish grabbed and released a purple orb before saying, "and I am willing to waste some mana to eliminate you."

    *BOOM¡­Crack¡­*

    Barrier-Break! Eliminated!

    Kronish''s face turned ugly, but then he sighed and asked, "how much left?"

    "540," Zevien answered with a grin.

    "Y-you¡­are you mad?!" Kronish''s face turned grave.

    "Stop!" Melissa announced.

    "Howe you have such a low amount of mana left?" Kronish asked with a dumbfounded expression before shaking his head, "you wasted too much mana in previous tforms. Oh well, good luck."

    Zevien internally rolled his eyes, ''I have to use mana to maintain this vampire form constantly. Although it takes one mana per second, it''s still a lot. Also, the ckout Bubble costs a minimum of 500 mana, unlike other spells which I can use with a minimum of 100 mana to a maximum of 1000 mana.''

    Naturally, the spell is stronger with more mana. However, everyone''s badge barrier is weakened a lot by now, so they would be eliminated with merely 200-300 mana cost offensive spell¡­.if they hit them.

    But Zevien was not worried. He climbed onto thest tform with nine other people and got ready. However, Melissa announced something unexpected!

 Chapter 106 Last Platform!

    "Take a five-minute break!" Melissa said as her lips curled into a charming smile, "you all fought very well, but this is thest tform, so take a break and recover. After all, only five among you will win!"

    The audience cheered while the participants closed their eyes in meditation to regain their stamina and recover mana. Zevien suppressed his vampire form''s power to a minimum such that it only took 1 mana per 2 seconds, and started recovering his mana to the best of his ability.

    Since he had been experimented on with precious resources, his mana regain speed was higher than normal people.

    All those boosted by the Magician Growth Boost were a notch above general magicians in terms of basic magical aspects like better mana control, higher mana recovery speed, higher mana perception, and physical body strengthening when killing magic beasts in thebyrinths, so they don''t need to do it periodically using their mana.

    However, the main aspects of being a better magician were:

    The willpower.

    Guts to face danger.

    Various mind-rted qualities can only be trained as one grows.

    And...Luck: the most fickle bitch in existence.

    The Magician Growth Boost was an excellent early boon, but it would matter less the more people boosted by them get stronger.

    Still, this early-boosted phase was very good for a magician to get past certain hurdles and make them better. But in the end, everything depends on one''s main aspects.

    "Who are you betting on now? Alucard dropped to the 4th position, meaning themittee thinks he can remain in the top-five and win as this break will recover his mana."

    "I lost my money on the previous tform, sigh. I bet on Alucard losing against Kronish and Naka since it was a 2v1. s, Alucard won."

    "Hmm, I bet on Alucard since he is the only one capable of flying among them. That should count as his advantage."

    "Not really. This tform is small, anddy Melissa will obviously impose a flying height rule for him to make it fair."

    "I am betting on Lokken winning."

    Since the betting odds changed, the audience talked about betting and other things in this five-minute break.

    Naturally, contestants had nothing to do with this as they couldn''t participate in the betting.

    Zevien was entirely focused on recovering his mana and regaining his stamina. In the case of stamina, his vampire form helped him to regain it faster.

    ¡­

    "Alright, time''s up!" Melissa said as five minutes passed quickly. "I will count from ten to zero! Get ready! Oh, and Alucard, you can fly, but the limit is five meters in height. You can''t go above five meters."

    "Still easy," Zevien grinned. However, some tiny sweat droplets formed on the back of his neck.

    He said it would be easy to put pressure on himself intentionally because he wanted to perform better than the rest! ''I must break my limits and fight even better than before!''

    Taking a deep breath, Zevien calmed himself, and his eyes became serene as he remembered the best fighting state from old man Mordar: A fighting state in which you surrender your body to your instincts but still control those instincts with a serene mind. A cold gaze that observed the surroundings and a perceptive mind that helped instincts.

    Melissa started counting while contestants eyed each other warily as they stood in a circr formation. After all, nobody wanted to stay at the center and get targeted by others.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When the count down hit 0, Zevien stayed calmly still and used Somatic Anger to buff his physical body and Somatic Sadness to use his Omni-Barrier. He had recovered almost 5800 mana in thest five minutes, so he consumed 2000 mana to use those two sub-spells of his awakening magic spell.

    *Swooosh¡­*

    Zevien''s eyes caught a spinning dark red deing towards him from the girl near him, but he flew towards the de instead of dodging directly. When he was just one meter away from the de, he narrowly avoided it with a calm face and swiped his hand from bottom to top as a Nyxite w shot towards her.

    *Swoosh...*

    "Woah! So fast!"

    Right after Zevien released a Nyxite w, everyone saw him quickly arriving beside the girl before throwing a punch. His speed was extraordinarily fast since he used his legs to dash explosively before pping his wings to increase his speed.

    ''Wild Predator!'' the girl who released the spinning de used her awakening spell as a dark green aura enveloped her and transformed her. Her nails also increased to half a meter long with sharp edges, while some tattoos appeared on her body, raising her various physical capabilities greatly.

    ''A transformation-type awakening magic spell like Dan?'' Zevien thought, but he didn''t stop his punch as his eyes gleamed with cold light.

    *Crack¡­*

    The girl grinned and attacked Zevien''s punch with her sharp nails, but his Omni-Barrier blocked her attack while Zevien''s arm twisted a bit and passed by her arm before hitting her face. Naturally, it didn''t hit her face since the badge barrier appeared, but¡­

    *Boom¡­.*

    She was thrown like a kite without string and flew out of the tform.

    Eliminated!

    *Siii¡­..*

    Everyone watching sucked in a breath of cold air.

    "Howe he didn''t feel that pain? My body shivered to hear that crack."

    "Screw that! I bet on her to win since she also performed greatly on the previous tforms! She was two ranks above Alucard in betting odds!"

    "Hahaha, Alucard will win! Now, I am betting on him to take that 1st rank!"

    Zevien straightened his right hand by using his left hand since it was slightly dislocated when he twisted it to change the trajectory of the punch.

    He didn''t feel pain because he had internally cast Somatic Fear that suppressed his pain and fear. The pain was not suppressed entirely but within his tolerance range.

    However, he felt he could bear it easily even without using that spell since he had gone through that reckless first experiment and felt a lot of pain, unlike other people who had gone through it after him. That''s why he only spent 100 mana on Somatic Fear''s internal cast.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    A few meters away, a man and woman in their early twenties fighting each other stopped and eyed Zevien. They looked at each other and nodded before attacking Zevien together!

 Chapter 107 End Of The Contest

    Zevien saw both of them and grinned as his eyes gleamed coldly and flew towards them like a jet!

    The man and the woman who decided to fight together released their spells toward Zevien, but Zevien also cast a spell: Brilliant Burn! After casting that spell, he flew up four meters before diving toward them.

    The spells that the two contestants released hit the Brilliant Burn curtain instead, but they were still blinded slightly.

    *Smash!*

    Zevien did a double kick while in the air as both contestants were hit in their heads and smashed into opposite directions. However, Zevien conjured a purple orb in front of him right after that kick.

    He didn''t shoot the purple orb but just conjured it in front of him and...kicked it towards the man.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    After kicking the purple orb, Zevien didn''t even stop for a second to see the result and zoomed toward the woman.

    On the other hand, the purple orb flew like a rocket and hit the man when he barely stopped himself from the impact of Zevien''s kick. The speed of the purple orb was way faster, with Zevien''s kick hitting it instead of the typical cast shooting it.

    Eliminated!

    On the other hand, Zevien was just two meters away from the woman right when she also stopped herself. Gritting her teeth, she opened her mouth and used a tier-2 spell, Amplified Vocal Shot! A spell that one can boost via one''s shout. However, this was a dangerous spell that could damage one''s vocal cords.

    Zevien narrowed his eyes as this spell was unavoidable. He quickly renewed his Omni-Barrier that had slight cracks by spending slightly above 200 mana and continued towards her.

    *Screeeeeeee!!

    A powerful voice-type spell in wide range hit Zevien, but his barrier absorbed the damage.

    *Crack...*

    The barrier was on the verge of cracking, but before it could crack, Zevien arrived in front of her and hit her with an uppercut with his legs by fully spinning using his wings. As she flew up with his kick, he again kicked her horizontally and threw her out of the barrier.

    *WOAHHHHH!!*

    The audience cheered in excitement!

    "Only two people are left on the tform now!" Melissa shouted with a huge smile. "Come on! Let''s see who takes the first rank!"

    Zevien turned around and saw a man in his early twenties with long ck hair and a bandanna on his forehead. Two illusionary beastly gauntlets were on his hands, which appeared to be effects of his awakening spell, Beast King''s Armament!

    Out of ten people, Zevien himself had eliminated three, while other contestants eliminated others. So now, only two were left: Rukin and Alucard!

    Rukin looked at Zevien solemnly and took a stance before swiping his hand towards Zevien.

    *Roar¡­*

    A beastly roar resounded before a ck panther-like beastly head with two horns on its head materialized and shot towards Zevien.

    Zevien stood in his position without moving and cracked his neck before exerting the full strength of his legs for an explosive dash. His eyes looked serenely at the iing beastly head and Rukin, who was dashing towards him.

    *Booom¡­*

    Zevien also dashed as the ground cracked slightly and pped his wings once to increase his speed explosively. He passed by the beastly head attack beforeing close to sh with Rukin, who shouted and was ready to punch him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien observed him coldly, but he didn''t take any form of attack.

    Just when he was one meter away from Rukin, he stretched both of his arms and bent his upper body down while his left-wing furled itself and the right wing fully unfurled. This caused him to change his moving direction and caused him to spin halfway since he was moving at full speed. But he used his legs to support himself and flew past Rukin narrowly while his right hand conjured a ckout Bubble and hit Rukin point-nk as he passed by him.

    *Zooom!*

    *Gasp¡­*

    The audience gasped as everyone turned silent at the magnificent movement executed by Alucard. Even Melissa was surprised.

    "Arghh¡­t-this, what did you do?" Rukin lost all of his senses but tried to keep calm before punching the ground to release an omnidirectional sonic wave from his gauntlet.

    However, Zevien somersaulted before flying up to dodge the sonic wave. He appeared beside Rukin and kicked him with his full strength before materializing a purple orb near his feet while he was still in the air and kicked it.

    Rukin stopped himself from being pushed further, but ckout Bubble''s effect was still ongoing since it had a three-second duration effect.

    *Boom!*

    The purple orb hit Rukin squarely in the next second as he couldn''t see or hear it.

    Eliminated!

    *Silence!*

    Zevien calmly descended on the tform as a smile formed on his face. "Easy!"

    *WOAAHH!!!*

    The audience caused arge uproar, and even those watching the broadcast felt their blood boiling due to the exciting fights they saw, especially thest few moves of Alucard.

    "That was fierce and magnificent both!" Melissa descended and arrived in front of Zevien before smiling. "Congrattions, Alucard! You are number one in this contest!"

    "As it should be," Zevien nodded carefreely and yed it cool.

    *YEAH!!!*

    This was Alucard''s character: carefree and arrogant. But inwardly, his heart was still widely beating since he had felt a lot of pressure throughout the ordeal because the goal he set for himself was not easy!

    "Everyone loved the explosive fights you disyed!" Melissa once again said with a charming smile after seeing the response from the audience. "Me as well."

    Many people immediately became hard-struck fans of Alucard due to his character and the strength that backed it back.

    Melissa called the other four people who won on the tform to give them the Skyward admission medallion.

    Nishi, who used Amplified Vocal Shot, walked toward Zevien before asking doubtfully, "what kind of barrier spell are you using?"

    "It''s a part of my awakening magic spell," Zevien replied casually.

    "Oh¡­No wonder," Nishi nodded before standing beside him as Melissa arrived with the Skyward admission medallions.

    Melissa gave each of them a medallion with a brilliant smile. "Congrattions! You all performed awesomely!"

 Chapter 108 Doom Enters

    The audience left while Zevien and others followed Melissa into one of the rooms on the ground floor of the stadium.

    "If you n to sell the medallion, consider putting it in the grand auction that will start after three months in Palia Town." Melissa smiled and continued, "you can get a higher price for your medallion at the auction."

    Rukin''s eyes shone as he nodded, "I want to sell."

    "Me too," Nishi said as she also nodded eagerly.

    "I am not nning to sell it," Zevien said as he shook his head. "if there''s nothing more, then I shall take my leave."

    "See youter, Alucard. Hopefully, somewhere in the Lankrena region soon," Melissa said as a seductive smile formed on her face.

    Zevien had already turned around, so he didn''t see her face. He just waved his hand before leaving the room.

    ¡­

    As he came out of the stadium, he saw Maxum waiting for him with the five other contestants of Lopax country.

    "Congrattion, Mr. Alucard," Maxum congratted Zevien with a smile and stretched his hand for a handshake.

    "Thanks." Zevien nodded and shook Maxum''s hand before asking, "when are we leaving?"

    "We will leave right away," Maxum said before remembering something and saying, "oh, if Mr. Alucard wants to stay longer, then we can book a flight ticket for you. However, we won''t be able to dy our private flight."

    "No need. I aming with you," Zevien shook his head.

    ¡­

    Six hourster, theynded at Starlight City''s airport¡­

    Zevien directly flew towards his Zenith Corp and called Vernisia, Erica, and Dan there since it was 3:30 in the afternoon, and they would''ve finished their academic work.

    However, unbeknownst to anyone, three peak 5th ss magicians from the Blood Sun organization had also entered the city and were going to execute their n at 7 in the night. They were currently staying in an average hotel while asionally contacting their hidden agents. All those hidden agents were part of the underground forces of the city.

    Inside the 3-star hotel, Starfish Paradise.

    "What is the nting location?"

    "Here, at this semi-high urban area," one of the men spoke as he marked a location on the map and showed it to his team members.

    Shockingly, the location marked was very close to the orphanage!

    ¡­

    Zevien arrived at the ground-floor office and finally turned into his original form. Afterward, he removed the remaining vampire blood from his magic eidos body and put it back into the vial.

    The vial was filled up to 30%, causing Zevien to raise his eyebrows, ''so I consumed 70% of the vial to maintain vampire form this long? Not bad. I got nine more vials, so they shouldst longer. Hmm, I should still fill up more vials and store them since I will consume more drops of vampire blood for a greater boost as I get stronger.''

    Shortly afterward, Vernisia entered the office with an excited smile and directly hugged him. "You fought awesomely, Zev!"

    *Smooch!!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    After a short kiss, Vernisia separated while still grinning, "we were nning to go to Arena and fight but since you are here, let''s go together."

    "Hey, bro! Damn, you really pumped our blood by participating in that contest and fighting that fiercely as if you were possessed," Dan arrivedughingly and made a punching motion as he and Zevien bumped their fists.

    "And that arrogance with aloofness," Erica chuckled, "you invested so much in your Alucard persona."

    "That''s because I have ns for it when we go to the Skyward Academy," said Zevien as he rubbed his nose while grinning, "while we study, I want to prep our n bypleting some tasks from the Magic Guild and gaining contributions. Oh, and check this out¡­."

    Zevien took out X-Door crystal from his storage ring and showed it to everyone.

    "What is this?" Vernisia asked curiously while looking at the container as her eyes reflected the crystal with sparks inside it.

    "I feel like it is something dangerous," Dan muttered.

    "Mhmm," Erica and Vernisia both nodded.

    "It is indeed dangerous," Zevien said with a severe expression as he went on to tell them what he experienced in the resort.

    After hearing everything, they also became angry.

    "But why did they try to kill you?" Vernisia asked with a frown.

    "The manager sent me a message regarding that," Zevien sighed, "They wanted to kill me for the magic crystals in my possession. One of them had a detection-type spell that could detect magic traces of magic crystals."

    "Did you tell them about their real identity and n to detonate this crystal in our city?" Erica asked as her eyebrows creased.

    "Nope. That would be a mistake," Zevien shook his head, "it''s better that I tell this to people I trust. If I told them about this, they would also have forcefully taken this crystal from me."

    "Touma-sir and the others still haven''t returned," Vernisia frowned as she looked at the container. She appeared to be thinking something. "Should we tell this to authorities here?"

    "Hmm¡­"

    Dan, Erica, and Zevien fell into thought regarding that suggestion.

    "If Merax, Blondina, or someone I knew were here, I would have handed this over to them, but¡­currently, I doubt the authorities here would take me seriously. I also can''t contact higher authorities here. We are just students," Zevien sighed.

    "Wait¡­what if they have more of this crystal, and their n hasn''t changed?" Vernisia suddenly thought of this possibility.

    Zevien frowned before his eyes suddenly widened, "this¡­this is not what if but has over 50% chance of happening because the main powerhouses are missing from our city! Touma-sir told me that he, City Lord Cargil, and other influential people from our city were going to Astral Land.

    "Touma-sir trusted me, so he told me this but isn''t this critical information in a way?" Zevien frowned as he became slightly anxious. If this crystal activated in the city, it would cause catastrophic damage!

    "Rx, there are other ways for the enemies to get this information as well," Erica said thoughtfully, but she and the rest had their foreheads creased in worry.

    "We have to do something," Dan said as he clenched his fist, "if they still haven''t abandoned their mission and had another crystal like this, they would definitely do it since this is a chance for them."

    *Thud!*

    Zevien thought of something and abruptly stood up from the chair!

 Chapter 109 Immanent Catastrophe

    "Yowen!" Zevien eximed and activated his Digi-watch. "I have to tell Yowen to send an anonymous message to the current city lord with information about this crystal and that someone is targeting this city! He can do it!"

    "Oh yeah! He can easily do it anonymously," Dan said as Erica and Vernisia nodded quickly.

    Zevien called Yowen and talked with him about this for a minute before hanging the call.

    "He ising here," Zevien said with a nod.

    Yowen was in the same building but on the executive floor. He took an elevator and arrived at the ground floor before entering the first office.

    Zevien exined to Yowen the situation in detail before he started working with Electra to hack city lord Ray Lobbin''s Digi-watch and send a message to him.

    "Done. I infiltrated city lord Ray''s Digi-watch and sent a message to him," Yowen said before he crackled his finger. "Now, let me try to find out who is behind this type of terrorist attack."

    "That would be great," Zevien and others nodded.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Ray Lobbin suddenly received an anonymous message on his Digi-watch.

    After reading the message, his face turned dire. "if this is true, then I have to act immediately but¡­ it''s hard to trust this message and turn the whole city upside down. If we find nothing, it will have a bad image on my records. Sigh¡­"

    "Also, who has such skills to hack a government encrypted Digi-watch and directly send me an anonymous message?" City Lord Ray frowned and stood up from his chair before walking to and fro in his office with a worrisome face.

    A few secondster, the secretary of the city lord, Lira Foxin, entered the office. "City Lord, Muron Jin wants to report something to you directly," Lira said as she adjusted her sses and gave a small device simr to a small mobile phone to City Lord Ray.

    City Lord Ray took them device while Lira left the office after a slight bow while wondering, ''why did city lord appear worried? Tsk, despite being a 1st ss magician, city lord Ray is not as imposing as city lord Cargil.''

    Well, Lira was a normal human because a secretary needed to handle a lot of things, which couldn''t be done by magicians who needed to focus on getting stronger and their magic upation.

    ¡­

    Half an hour passed, and Yowen still couldn''t find out who was behind this X-Door crystal.

    "I need more leads. There are also not any foreign traces on the container. Not even a logo or anything," Yowen shook his head.

    "I wonder if the city lord started taking movements to prevent this?" Zevien muttered in worry as he turned on the TV.

    "They wouldn''t say anything about it in the news," Erica shook her head while drumming her fingers on the table in worry.

    "True, but I am turning it on just in case," Zevien sighed, "if they said it on the television, it would cause mass panic."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The first question is whether he believed that message or not," Dan wryly smiled.

    "I don''t think he has taken any steps," Yowen frowned as he looked at hisputer. "Electra is inside his Digi-watch, but she didn''t see him sending instructions regarding this. No message or calls."

    "Will they attack today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow?" Vernisia questioned as she deeply frowned, "we don''t have any idea regarding this."

    "Hmmm...I think they will attack as soon as possible," Zevien said thoughtfully and spoke as his face turned dire after specting, "they can''t afford to let anyone find out about this and must have wanted to execute it quickly so that...we can''t prepare.

    "The fact that I stole their crystal must have also caused them to be in a hurry!" The more Zevien spected, the direr his expression became. "They might just attack today if they indeed possess another crystal like this!!"

    A few secondster, Electra came out of the monitor.

    "Call Lord Erebuxin!" Electra said as she flew towards Zevien and floated in front of him. "Lord Erebuxin can instantly sense this crystal by covering the whole city with his powerful awareness."

    "Erebuxin?" Dan was confused.

    "Erebuxin is another name for Tarto, did you forget?" Erica said, but she turned to Zevien.

    Vernisia also looked at Zevien.

    But Zevien sighed and shook his head, "I tried to call him, but no response. He only appears when I am in thebyrinth or asionally on some days since he is busy in his own world."

    "Electra, can you try to find him by returning to the magicbyrinth?" Yowen asked.

    "Impossible," Electra shook her head, "you should know that magicbyrinths are simply too big. Only powerful fairy spirits like Lord Erebuxin can travel anywhere they want with their authority powers in thebyrinth. In fact, I had never encountered him when I was inside. I have only heard of him as one of the twelve Lord fairies."

    "Guess Tarto is really a big shot inside the fairy spirit magicbyrinth," Erica muttered before weakly shaking her head. "If he was here, we could have found this crystal easily."

    "He is a big shot indeed, and that''s why he''s busy since the new changes," Electra nodded as her eyes flickered with electricity, "the twelve Lord-rank fairies are only below nine Supreme-rank fairies. But there are even higher rank fairies than Supreme-rank, though I am unaware of them."

    "I''ll focus and try to call him," Zevien nodded before closing his eyes.

    "And I will send another message to city lord," Yowen said as he turned to hisputers. A minuteter, he sent the message.

    [Dumbass! Quickly start working on finding the terrorists if you haven''t because they will attack TODAY 100%! If the portal opens, thousands will die!]

    ¡­

    When city lord Ray got the 2nd message, he grimaced intensely. Not because he was angry that this anonymous person called him a dumbass, but because that person was right!

 Chapter 110 Disaster

    If this whole thing turned out to be fake, he could say that he received an anonymous message and acted upon it! Some of his peers might mock him for that, but what if this was true?!

    In the end, he believed that it was better to be safe than sorry.

    He quickly sent messages to enforcers and the police to be on red alert before calling the temporary head of the intelligence department.

    "Yes, city lord?"

    "Pause all work you are doing now and tell your team to gather data from every person who entered this city in thest twenty-four hours! Check each of their identity and filter out the suspicious ones!"

    "For what, city lord?"

    "Just do as I say! I will exin to you via a message after five minutes! After you filter out the suspicious ones, send their identities to various police departments!"

    Afterward, city lord Ray called some other people to get ready to receive data from the temporary head of the intelligence department and find the location of those on the list and work together with the police to find them.

    After giving out all orders to the various departments, he contacted only the hidden 1st ss magicians remaining in the city.

    However, this big move involving many people also caused something nobody expected¡­

    The information got leaked! It leaked to one of the underground forces with a spy or, to say, a corrupted officer in the government. From there, the hidden agents of Blood Sun Organization also received this news!

    Naturally, the City Lord was wise and didn''t tell anyone about his discoveries except the temporary intelligence department head. Only these two knew that a catastrophe might ur. However¡­

    The hidden agents of the Blood Sun organization felt that the government started this because of their agents who came here today. It was just their spections and guesses, but it was urate for them.

    After all, why would the government suddenly start such a major operation? Finding out suspicious individuals that entered in thest 24 hours? Hell! It was obviously to find their three 5th ss magicians who had an X-Door crystal with them.

    "Supreme Leader, it seems that our operation in Starlight city has been discovered by the government here."

    "How sure are you? And what is the basis for that conclusion?"

    "We are not 100% sure, but¡­we are 99% sure. The government here is filtering out suspicious individuals that arrived in the city in thest twenty-four hours. We fear that it was for our agents who entered the city today."

    "We can''t cancel this operation!" The supreme leader firmly spoke as his eyes turned cold, "forget about the ideal location! Tell those three to activate the X-Door crystal! NOW!"

    "Command epted, Supreme Leader!"

    ¡­

    As Zevien was trying to focus and call Tarto with his mind, Tarto appeared in a worn-out and flickering state as it was not his real body that appeared in front of Zevien but an avatar.

    "Meow~!!! What is it? I was in a life and death situation, and I am still in it," Tarto said with an annoyed face as wounds on his body oozed out ck smoke and blood.

    Zevien and others were overjoyed but also surprised to see his wounded appearance for the first time.

    "We wanted to find-" Zevien quickly moved to the important thing, but he was interrupted by Tarto.

    "Wait!" Tarto''s expression changed, "You all are scre-"

    But before Tarto could finish his sentence, he also disappeared because he was also in a difficult situation.

    Vernisia frowned, "he was going to say that we are all screwed. Why?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Suddenly, powerful mana fluctuations passed through them that even air trembled slightly.

    *Roarrr!!!*

    A terrifying roar resounded so loudly that it caused everyone''s hair to stand with fear.

    "No way!" Zevien shouted as he took out vampire blood and transformed before flying out of the window while activating the shaman-seed''s power.

    As he appeared outside, he saw a giant portal standing a thousand meters tall and five hundred meters wide two kilometers away.

    A giant lion with dark green crystallized horns and dark green crystallized wings was standing on a skyscraper beside the portal. The creature that roared was this lion as well.

    *Swooosh!*

    Suddenly, Zevien saw a giant vulture with a my red bodying through the portal.

    It unfurled its wings entirely aftering out of the portal. The total length of its wings spanned five hundred meters!

    *Shraaaa...*

    It red its giant burning wings before shooting several burning menacing feathers towards another skyscraper and razed it down!

    *Booom¡­Crack¡­.*

    After that, various magic beasts started pouring out from the giant portal!

    Zevien was dazed and stunned for a second before his expression changed, and he returned to the office before shouting, "Quick! Tell everyone to evacuate to the bunker of ourpany! Other bunkers in the city should be out too. I am going to the orphanage and get everyone there to a safe location!"

    "You all! Don''t you dare die!"

    After leaving those words and looking at Vernisia firmly, he left the office and flew towards the orphanage.

    Vernisia, Dan, Erica, and Yowen quickly left the room. Yowen opened the bunker while Vernisia and the others led everyone inside it.

    Outside, it was mass panic as everyone was out of their houses. Zevien saw this and imbued mana in his voice before shouting, "Everyone! Move towards bunker locations in this part of the city and enter inside! Don''t go in the north direction!"

    After saying this, Zevien flew towards the orphanage.

    ¡­

    *Dreeeeee¡­.*

    "Heaven''s Fall Ward!" City Lord Ray shouted with red eyes as he arrived at the portal''s location and stretched both arms before conjuring a giant barrier that spanned one kilometer around the portal.

    "Forgive me," City Lord Ray''s lips trembled as tears left his eyes when he saw living people who were running getting trapped inside his barrier along with the magic beasts.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Another man appeared with two katanas in his hands and a robe exposing half of his upper body. This man was currently the only 1st ss magician in the city besides City Lord Ray. His name, Shuma Teikon.

    *ROARRR¡­*

 Chapter 111 Desperation ?(????)?

    The grade-1 Dark Iridite Lion roared and opened his mouth as a dark green orb with deathly shining crystal shards whirling around it conjured and shot towards city lord Ray, but the barrier held on and blocked the attack.

    "How long will itst?" Shuma asked with a frown as mana pulsed around him due to him using a spell that empowered both of his katanas. He also used another spell right after that, which increased his physical strength, evident in the faint scaly patterns appearing on his body.

    "Go! This barrier willst until I die!" The city lord spoke while gritting his teeth, "destroy that portal first!"

    Shuma nodded as his eyes gleamed with a yellow sh and flew towards the portal through the barrier where Ray opened a tiny gap for him to go inside. After he went inside, city lord Ray closed that gap quickly.

    *Screeeeee¡­.*

    The vulture looked at Shuma and released two deadly feathers, but Shuna cut them into pieces with his katanas while flying towards the portal. However¡­

    *Ouuuuuu¡­*

    Another powerful aura arrived from the portal; a giant rhino with a metallic gray body with green patterns. It came out of the portal while releasing aser beam from its horn toward Shuma.

    Shuma''s face changed as he barely dodged the quickser beam.

    *Roar¡­.*

    Right after he dodged, he was attacked by the Iridite Lion as it flew towards him with a shining w that turned intorge dark-green crystallized ws, and their length, as well as overall size, increased!

    "Damn it! Shuma can''t handle 3v1," city lord Ray muttered with a helpless expression. But the next second, he remembered something as his eyes gleamed with hope. "Shuma! I am going to use my relic, Death Duel g! Kill one fast!"

    A dark g with a creepy skull design appeared from city lord Ray''s body before it shot inside the barrier.

    "I will return quickly!" Shuma solemnly nodded as he grabbed the g and looked at the Iridite Lion before infusing mana in the g and using it as a creepy skull oozing out ck mes from its orifices materialized and shot towards the lion. The lion tried to get away from the g, but the skull followed it and touched its body before...

    *Poof!*

    Both the Iridite Lion and Shuma disappeared.

    *****

    [Death Duel g]

    -Type: Relic

    -Maximum uses: Two. (1 left)

    -1st Effect: You can infuse 10,000 mana into the g and target anyone within two kilometers of yourself as your duelist. Both you and your target will disappear into the death realm of the g and fight to the death.

    -2nd Effect: Your magic power will increase by 5% of your duelist''s total magic power permanently if you kill your opponent. But aftering out of the death realm, no healings will work on you for 30 minutes.

    -3rd Effect: The winner wille out alive while the loser who died will turn into a death soldier and be bound to the g. You can summon the death soldier bound to the g one time to fight for you. Once it is summoned, it willst for one day before disappearing forever.

    -4th Effect: You can infuse 100 mana into the g and open a portal that will lead you to a dungeon. Completing the dungeon will give you rewards ording to your performance. (One-time entry)

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    Shuma looked at Iridite Lion with absolute focus and a cold gaze oozing out with killing intent. The Iridite Lion was suddenly confused about appearing on top of a ck sea, but it focused on Shuma and roared after sensing danger from him.

    ''I have to finish it off in one move, or Ray won''tst long against the barrage of those two beasts inside the barrier,'' Shuma thought as he used half of his mana and prepared to use his most powerful move.

    *Roar!!*

    The lion roared before opening its mouth and releasing the same orb it releasedst time before flying towards Shuma with its deadly crystallized ws.

    Shuma took a deep breath as he saw the destructive orb surrounded by dark-green crystalsing toward him.

    ''Lightning sh, Deathly Thunder!''

    "Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!" A thundering shout left Shuma''s mouth as he used the maximum amount of mana he could use in his tier-5 spell; Lightning sh, Deathly Thunder.

    Yellow lightning with ck sparks wrapped his whole body and katanas as he disappeared from his location like a sh of lightning.

    *Crackle!! BOOM¡­*

    The air cracked, and the sound barrier was broken as Shuma appeared right on top of the lion before swinging his katanas. The lion looked up, but all its eyes reflected was a yellow and ck mixed lightning sh condensing into Shuma''s katanas before they struck its body.

    *Chririririririri¡­..*

    *CRACKLE!*

    A loud rumbling sound of thunder reverberated after the Lightning sh of Deathly Thunder struck the Iridite Lion! After making a tiny wound, the magic spell''s power entered its body and started wreaking harrowing havoc!

    Just in two seconds, this spell snuffed the life out of Iridite Lion as the heart inside its body and brain in its head were turned into ashes along with all of its internals.

    ¡­

    Outside, the barrier trapped not all the magic beasts as there were still over a hundred outside the barrier, and the forces of the city and other capable magicians were trying to kill them.

    People were evacuating in emergency bunkers with the help of the local police while panicking because dispersed attacks had destroyed many buildings, and people had died.

    Some flying magic beasts have already traveled two kilometers from the portal and were attacking chaotically before eating the humans they killed. The most troublesome was 2nd and 3rd-grade beasts. The infantry was still on the way while some powerful 2nd and 3rd ss magicians had already started fighting magic beasts that were escaping from the center and spreading out.

    Vernisia, Erica, Dan, and Yowen have already hidden inside theirpany''s underground bunker with all the other employees and even brought inside people who were near their building on the outside.

    On the other hand, Zevien and other magicians were leading mother Helena and the orphanage kids with other civilians at a nearby bunker.

    "Just a hundred meters now! Quick!"

    *Hisss~!!*

    Suddenly, a 2nd-grade giant flying serpent arrived and eyed therge group of people with bloodlust seeping out of it.

 Chapter 112 A Handshake With Death!

    The magicians on the ground and those flying around the group of people who were evacuating gulped with evident fear in their eyes. None of them was a 2nd-ss magician, so it would be hard to kill that snake!

    The total people in this group numbered around two hundred, while there were three 3rd ss magicians, six 4th ss magicians, ten 5th ss magicians, and Zevien.

    "Attack it!" Zevien gritted his teeth and shouted, "all the 3rd ss magicians here. Please attack it with your full power while 4th ss and below use control-type spells on it! We are more in number!"

    "Right! We can kill it if we work together!" a bearded middle-aged man spoke as he nodded at Zevien, "Alucard, I have seen your matches and had noticed that you have a ck bubble-like spell that can confuse or do something to the mind of anyone hit by it. Even if it works for one second per hit on this beast, can you use it continuously?"

    *Shssss~*

    The serpent hissed while they were talking and pped its wings, which created a big dark-green cloud above them. Everyone''s face changed as they quickly conjured barriers because they knew that the rain of this cloud would be deadly even if they''d never seen it before!

    Several barriers popped out as no magician held back! Even Zevien used 1000 mana for maximum potency of Omni-barrier while invoking Somatic Sadness because he was indeed sad to see this catastrophe upon them. He consumed additional 500 mana to increase the size of the barrier to cover the entire group like other barriers.

    *sh..sh..sh..sh¡­*

    The dark cloud started raining deadly green rain with very potent corrosive power. The drops made holes in the barriers, but people sighed with relief when the drops couldn''t prate all theyered barriers.

    "It''s a matter of time," a 3rd ss magician spoke while gritting his teeth, "this attack is very potent and continuous! We have to attack the serpent before this dark cloud''s rain eats everyone!"

    Zevien took out a mana stone with 20,000 mana capacity and put it inside his magic eidos body before shouting, "my spell can null all of its senses! But since my mana potency is low against a 2nd-grade magic beast, it might only work for one or half a second! However, I will continuously release it, so prepare your most powerful offensive spell to attack it!"

    After shouting, Zevien took a deep breath as his eyes gleamed with ck shes. He focused and opened both palms before conjuring a ckout Bubble on each palm! "I am ready! Open the way in front of me!"

    The barriers opened a slight gap in front of Zevien as he exerted his full strength to dash before pping his wings to fly outside.

    "I will blow away the clouds so everyone can release their prepared attacks after dispersing barriers!" A 3rd ss magician woman also flew out behind Zevien while speaking.

    Zevien''s heart was beating wildly, and he was sweating buckets, but he gritted his teeth and focused before shooting a ckout Bubble towards the serpent that could kill him with a single attack.

    The serpent didn''t even bother dodging an attack since it saw Zevien''s mana had weak magic power fluctuations. However, the moment the ckout Bubble hit it. It screamed in panic after losing all of its senses. However, it onlysted for a fraction over half a second. However, before it could regain its senses, Zevien released another ckout Bubble while conjuring two more on his palms.

    The 3rd ss magician woman also waved her hand and used a tier-3 spell, Wind''s Fury, as powerful and expansive gusts of wind formed and attacked the dark cloud.

    "Attack!"

    All the barriers dispersed before everyone cast their most powerful offensive magic spells, be it awakening magic spells or others!

    *Booom!! Grrrr!! Bam!! Zapp!!¡­*<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Shaaaaaaa!!" the winged dark green serpent hissed in anger. Still, Zevien was continuously hitting it with ckout Bubble, so it could only focus on passive defense by conjuring an opaque green cloudy barrier around it after the first barrage of attacks from magicians.

    The civilians and ssless magicians had started moving after the magicians dispersed the barrier.

    "RUN FASTER!"

    ''Zevien,'' mother Helena looked back in worry, but she couldn''t stop her feet. She and the kids were at the end of the group.

    Zevien looked at them before shouting, "GO!" He then turned his face to the serpent but couldn''t hit it with his ckout Bubble anymore since it conjured a barrier. He quickly recovered his mana to full with a mana stone inside his magic eidos body. Zevien, Vernisia, and the others always kept ten mana stones in reserve inside the storage ring since everyone had the money to afford such an amount.

    *Hisss!!*

    After regaining its senses, the serpent removed the barrier and waved its tail toward Zevien in anger! It was this ant that caused it trouble!

    *Swoosh¡­* A dark green sh conjured from its tail and shot towards Zevien. The sh was wide and long, but most importantly, it was fast!! There was no chance of dodging it!

    "No!"

    "Alucard!"

    "Dodge!"

    Other magicians looked in panic and tried to cast their defensive-type spell on him, but their eyes showed despair for him as they knew they wouldn''t be able to make it in time.

    Zevien was frozen in fear for a brief moment before his eyes turned red, ''ACTIVATE!''

    Right before the sh was going to hit him, the Mirror of Oz-Fin appeared in front of him and conjured a giant mirror in front of him. Despite the mirror not being as broad and massive as the sh, the moment the sh touched the mirror, it was absorbed inside!

    *swoosh¡­* As the mirror absorbed the sh, the sh materialized in front of the dark green winged serpent and¡­.

    *sh!* *hiss¡­.*

    The winged serpent was shed into two by its own attack! Deader than dead after hissing one time before dying!

    The other magicians were surprised before sighing a relief while Zevien put back the mirror into his magic eidos body.

    ''Damn....,'' Zevien cursed as his legs felt weak. He literally felt that death shed past him when he saw that attack.

 Chapter 113 Urgency

    "Relic¡­I also have a Relic, but it''s about traveling. Sigh~."

    "I have a relic known as String of Bound Fate. It can bind two people or creatures for ten seconds and if one suffers injuries, the other one also suffers injuries. Same with death. If one dies, the other one also dies. I wanted to use it on this serpent and was waiting for a weaker magic beast to arrive here so I can bind them both."

    "Oh, so if we kill that weaker magic beast, the bigger one dies as well? What the fuck, that is op."

    "Yes. I can only use it for a total of two times and have used it once so one use is left."

    "I had a defensive relic but wouldn''t have made it in time to save you," said the 3rd ss magician middle-aged man to Zevien as he apologized. "Sorry."

    "Let''s go. We have to get them safely to the bunker," Zevien inly spoke as he dug out the beast core from the 2nd-grade serpent. He was rich, so he didn''t need to sell this 2nd-grade magic beast''s beast core for money, but he could use this powerful beast core for other things like custom ordering a gemstone or something else, so he kept it.

    Nobody objected to him taking the beast core and moving towards the group. They finally reached the bunker and got everyone there safely.

    Zevien looked at mother Helena and the kids before nodding and leaving the underground bunker. He didn''t talk to them much and was leading them with other civilians since he was in his Alucard identity right now.

    The kids didn''t know it was their big brother Zevien but mother Helena knew, so she looked at him with worry as Zevien left the bunker.

    ¡­

    Aftering out of the underground bunker, the middle-aged man 3rd ss magician asked if anyone knew about the situation at the core of this disaster.

    "I know," Zevien nodded with a somber expression. He told them about the portal and that magic beasts wereing from them. "We have to go there and check the situation. City lord should have asked for help so more 1st ss magicians must be arriving here but we have to help as many people as possible on the way."

    "But there will be more magic beasts in that area, no?" A 4th ss magician asked in fear.

    "Military should have arrived there by now, so let''s go and aid everyone!" the 3rd ss magician middle-aged man said as he flew up, "stop wasting time here and start moving. If you are scared, then you know the consequences. Prepare to lose connection with your magicbyrinth if you don''t have the guts to face danger!"

    Zevien nodded as he also flew up. It would be fine if people were ssless magicians. But if 5th ss and higher magicians couldn''t act upon their consciousness at a crucial time and feel scared to do something, then their own fear andck of conviction might cut off their connection to their magicbyrinth and halt their path of magic.

    "Just help other people who are still trying to evacuate if you don''t want to be at the center of this disaster," Zevien said before flying up and moving towards the giant gate.

    *Roar!!!*

    As Zevien neared the center, he saw military and other magicians killing the beasts outside a giant barrier conjured by City Lord Ray.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Hmm?" Zevien was surprised by the Iridite Lion fighting against the giant vulture as they shed in the air while a vigorous old man with a ck beard and two katanas in his hands was attacking the portal. But his situation was not good. His head was oozing out blood and his body had multiple wounds because of that giant Rhino-like beast.

    ''Why is he focusing on attacking the portal?'' Zevien frowned but suddenly, he saw a giant cow-sized mosquito flying towards him with arge stinger at its mouth.

    "Alucard! Move!"

    Zevien looked at his life side and saw a man pointing his finger towards the mosquito. In front of his finger was a giant sma orb crackling with violet lightning, ready to shoot anytime.

    ''Shit!'' Zevien cursed before quickly flying back.

    *Zrraapp!*

    The sma orb hit the 3rd-grade mosquito beast and caused arge explosion that destroyed it.

    ''I have to tell city lord Ray that the old man inside  doesn''t need to focus on the portal and just finish off that rhino-like beast first!'' Zevien thought as he flew towards City Lord Ray floating in the sky while maintaining the barrier.

    Tarto told him there were only three 1st-grade magic beasts and other 2nd-grade and lower magic beasts. They didn''t need to fear more 1st-grade magic beastsing out of the portal!

    As Zevien was two hundred meters away from city lord Ray floating, he shouted while imbuing mana in his voice, "city lord Ray! Tell the senior inside that he doesn''t need to focus on destroying the portal! Just kill the magic beasts!"

    A nearby 2nd-ss magician frowned, "what are you saying?! More magic beasts areing from the portal!"

    "Yes, but they are all lower than 1st-grade beasts! No more 1st-grade beasts wille so just kill that rhino-like beast and vulture! He doesn''t need to sacrifice his life to destroy that portal!" Zevien shouted as veins in his throat became visible.

    City Lord Ray turned his head to Zevien and Zevien also looked at him solemnly before nodding.

    ''First that message and now this kid! Sigh, fuck it. I also can''t let Shuma sacrifice his life!'' City Lord Ray thought before he ryed the same thing to Shuma who was attacking the portal when given chance while barely defending against big attacks of that giant Rhino-like magic beast with a giant horn and boney giant ears that crackled with green lightning along with its body. It was the most powerful out of the three 1st grade magic beasts.

    City Lord Ray decided to believe Zevien because of his own assumptions. He was constantly observing the portal since he put up the barrier and saw that only 4th and 5th-grade magic beasts wereing out every few secondstely.

    He also saw the portal flickering slightly and guessed it would disappear soon by running out of the energy to maintain itself.

 Chapter 114 Over

    "Alucard, here!"

    "Two bubbles here too! Just need a slight opening to kill this 2nd-grade Putrid Rat!

    Zevien was aiding other magicians by releasing ckout Bubbles on powerful magic beasts. Shuma was also focusing on killing the giant rhino-like magic beasts instead of attacking the portal. The fight there was close, but many other 2nd-ss and 3rd-ss magicians had entered inside the barrier to help him because there were also a lot of other magic beasts trapped inside.

    Those magic beasts were troubling Shuma as well, so he was able to fight properly after receiving aid.

    However, many beasts were still attacking the barrier. ''Hurry up, reinforcements!'' City Lord Ray thought while continuously pouring mana to maintain his giant Heavenly Ward barrier.

    Zevien was using Brilliant Burn and ckout Bubble to support other magicians kill strong magic beasts of 2nd and 3rd grade. He was doing it continuously for a while and already used up two mana stones.

    "REINFORCEMENT IS HERE!" A loud shout reverberated as several powerful auras came flying towards them. At the very front were two 1st ss magicians and several 2nd ss magicians.

    "Phew¡­," Zevien sighed a relief since, with this much force, they would be able to wrap this up.

    Suddenly, another giant barrier appeared over the barrier that City Lord Ray produced.

    "Ray, leave the containment to me," said a busty woman wearing an elegant white dress. She looked in her early thirties and had a veil that covered half of her face while her light blue hair tied behind her waved gently.

    "Thanks, miss Saren," City Lord Ray nodded with a worn-out face and deactivated his barrier before flying forward and searching if there were any living people alive that he trapped with his barrier. He felt guilty, but he had no other choice. If he didn''t put up a barrier, more people would have died from catastrophic attacks from those 1st-grade magic beasts.

    "Get away, Shuma! I am going to shatter that fatass to death!" A burly man with a thick gray beard and mustache shouted as he took out his weapon. A palm-sized hammer, Sky Shattering Hammer!

    The palm-sized hammer quickly got bigger in his hand as he poured mana. In the end, it became a hundred metersrge giant hammer as the burly man was entirely red due to exerting all of his strength.

    "This beast is too thick, Bheema! Even its eyes!" Shuma frowned, "when it charges its body with its power and glows, it can also travel quickly and destroy anything in its path. Thanks to it, some magic beasts were killed but If this bastard was released outside, it would have caused a disaster."

    "Don''t worry, I got this!" Bheema, one of the strongest 1st ss magicians in the Gaia continent spoke with a savage expression and used abo attack of two tier-5 magic spells. ''Weight Discement Doom, Mass Chaos Trigger!''

    "Saren! Barrier!" Bheema shouted before attacking.

    Saren saw Bheema going for his signature attack and quickly waved her hand to create another barrier that trapped Rhino and Bheema inside a single barrier to prevent his attack from implicating arger area and other magicians.

    "Ray, conjure another barrier over my barrier. I wouldn''t be able to contain Bheema''s attack alone since I am also handling this big barrier."

    Ray nodded and quickly conjured another barrier before a loud sound reverberated.

    *Phaaat! Zoom!*

    The air cracked with a loud sonic boom as the sound barrier shattered due to Bheema descending towards the Rhino at breakneck speed! His flesh was literally shattering and bones cracking, but he didn''t care! A maniacal expression filled with anger was all his face disyed as he targeted the giant magic beast.

    *Smash! Boom!*

    The giant hammer smashed down on the Rhino in the next second and shattered it into pieces. Both Saren''s and Ray''s barriers were destroyed, but they managed to contain the impact.

    "Fuck¡­," Zevien and other magicians looked on with dumbfounded expressions as they saw the giant Rhino-like magic beast with the toughest hide covering its body shattering into a bloody mess with its internals exploding everywhere.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Two 2nd ss magicians quickly arrived toward Bheema and healed him while Bheema also chugged down a potion before shouting with a ferocious expression, "it''s not over yet! Kill every single beast!"

    ¡­

    After thirty minutes, the magicians cleared all beasts from the entire city.

    The big shots scanned the entire city and didn''t let a single roaming beast live. Zevien also went to clean some magic beasts roaming in the city but left sneakily and entered hispany''s bunker after reverting to his normal human form: A regr student studying in the academy.

    "What is the situation outside?" Vernisia quickly asked.

    "It''s safe now," Zevien sighed. "But many people still died¡­," he clenched his fist in anger at the cruelty of whoever activated that crystal in the city.

    *Ding!*

    Zevien received a message from Yowen and looked at him by craning his neck. Yowen was at the center of the bunker with executives and members of thepany along with other civilians.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were at the end of the bunker after Zevien entered inside to talk with him.

    [Should I open the bunker?]

    Zevien read the message and nodded at him.

    Afterward, Yowen announced to everyone about the good news and left the bunker with everyone.

    Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan also left the bunker and moved towards the bunker where mother Helena and the kids were staying.

    "How about your parents?" Zevien asked.

    "They are safe," Vernisia and Erica nodded.

    "Well, my parents are living in a vige," Dan said with a wry smile, "that ce is safest since it is hidden and because of our vige chief and his guardian beast."

    "Both of them areparable to 1st ss magicians," Erica said with a nod as she knew about them.

    ¡­

    When they arrived at the bunker, it was already open. People were leaving and returning to their houses. Zevien saw mother Helena and the kids leaving the bunker at the end and rushed towards them.

    "Big brother!"

    The kids saw Zevien and quickly ran towards him with joy and relief in their eyes to see their big brother.

    "Good job staying brave, little imps," Zevien smiled.

    Mother Helena also sighed a relief after seeing Zevien and his friends safe.

 Chapter 115 Meeting

    Several days passed since the major incident, and it shocked the whole Gaia continent after the news about it spread everywhere. The total death count in Starlight City was 4,873.

    If City Lord Ray hadn''t acted quickly to limit the movement of magical beasts from the portal by conjuring arge barrier, the casualties would have been much higher.

    After half a month, all damage done to the city was repaired, and those who lost their houses also got them back. But there was an empty spot in the city where the portal appeared. Graves of the people who died filled that spot, and the whole city came to mourn and put flowers there.

    City Lord Ray felt guilty, but he didn''t allow himself to drown in that guilt. Instead, he directed his anger at the perpetrator who brought in the device that opened that portal and caused this. He was trying to find them. Not just him, but all major countries were trying to investigate this. After all, whatever opened that portal was extremely dangerous!

    But nobody knew what kind of thing or device opened that portal except for Zevien and his gang. City Lord Ray knew about it from the message but he only read the rough description and not the device in person.

    Zevien was waiting for Touma-sir, City Lord Cargil, and the others to return so he could talk to them and give them the crystal. For the past fifteen days, he wasying low and just attended the academy, worked in hispany, and supervised the other research progress.

    However, Touma-sir and the others finally returned from the Astralnd today, and their faces turned dark after hearing about the disaster in Starlight city.

    "Ray, tell me everything in detail," Cargil somberly said as he sat on the round table.

    Besides Cargil and Ray, there were three more 1st ss magicians: Nike, Bukkan, and Raven. Aside from them, Touma, Merax, and Blondina also sat at the table in this meeting.

    After saying everything about the incident from start to finish, Ray concluded, "currently, I am trying to find the person who sent me that anonymous message. That person should be on our side and know more about whatever device that opened the portal, so we have to make contact with that person."

    "If there''s someone who can send an anonymous message like that¡­," Touma said before he wryly smiled.

    Raven, Blondina, Merax, and Cargil nodded.

    "Who?" Bukkan curiously asked while rubbing his dark-blond beard. Nike was also curious as she looked at Cargil to seek an answer. Nike had long ck hair and a tiara on her head, which was a tier-5 essory with a gemstone embedded in it. She wore an ancient-type battle dress while Bukkan wore monk-like clothes.

    "Bring him here," Cargil said as he looked at Touma. "He must be waiting for our arrival''s news as well."

    Touma nodded as he stood up and left the meeting room.

    ¡­

    After ten minutes, Zevien entered the meeting room with Touma.

    Cargil gestured for him to sit down, and he did with a somber expression on his face as he knew why he was there.

    He took out the ss container with a crystal inside it from his storage ring and put it on the table.

    "Is this the device?!" Cargil raised his eyebrows.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "So you were the one who sent me the anonymous message?" Ray asked as he looked at Zevien.

    "It was my friend, but yeah, I told him to do it," Zevien nodded before pointing at the container, "this is the thing that opened the portal."

    "How did you get it?" Ray asked with doubt. He was confused. How could a ssless magician like Zevien manage to get something like that?

    Zevien didn''t answer right away but looked at City Lord Cargil.

    Cargil nodded and turned to Nike and Bukkan, "this is Zevien. The one in possession of the Fairy Summoning magic spell."

    "Oh~ So the fairy spirits you have is because of him?" Nike was surprised.

    "What fairy spirits?" Ray was confused.

    "What we discuss here and what you found here must not reach anyone else, got it?" Cargil said with narrowed eyes.

    "Roger," Ray nodded with a serious expression as he also put the pieces together and understood the situation, "you told others that your team is going to Astral Land to procure a fairy spirit spell¡­so was it an excuse and a cover to hide the fact that Zevien possess the spell?"

    "Yep," Raven nodded, "we can not let others find out that Zevien has a fairy summoning magic spell, or his life will be in danger once other countries or some dangerous organizations find that out."

    "And that''s why we went on a cover-up mission with the excuse of getting a fairy summoning magic spell," Blondia said as she adjusted her sses. "But in reality, we went to do some other things and make our rtionship better with a kingdom and obtain some resources."

    "Now that Ray is on the team and understood everything, let''s get on to the main topic," Bukkan said with a rough voice, his eyes reflecting anger because of the disaster. He looked at Zevien and said, "speak, boy. How did you get that crystal, and what do you know about all this?"

    Zevien nodded as he took out a vampire blood vial and transformed himself into a vampire.

    "As you can see, Zevien''s other identity is Alucard. We all already know that since I got him the other Digi-watch, but now that you know as well, you gotta keep it a secret," Raven said as she looked at Ray.

    Afterward, Zevien told them about how he became a target in the resort and how he managed to get this ss container with crystal in it with the help of Tarto.

    "So that is how you got it¡­," Cargil nodded as he rested his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands before speaking with a serious expression, "lord Tartagust can read thoughts, right? Can you ask him if he knows who was behind those three people? If they thought of it at that time, Tartagust should have known about it."

    "Tarto is not heeding my call," Zevien weakly smiled while shaking his head, "he is in a pinch right now."

    Suddenly, the ne on Raven''s neck turned misty and arrived on top of the table before transforming into its original appearance, the fairy spirit: Ravana.

    "Lord Tartagust is seriously wounded and is recovering in his fairy realm," Ravana said as he looked at Zevien, "he is hibernating now and will not wake up for a few months."

 Chapter 116 Zeviens Plan

    "How do you know?" Zevien was surprised.

    "Well, I have joined his fairy realm since he started to recruit recently. All of us here have joined his fairy realm," Ravana said.

    "Tsk, couldn''t he at least tell me anything? We have a mental connection of sort due to the contract," Zevien clicked his tongue, but he was also worried.

    "Exactly," Ravana nodded, "he can''t contact you because his soul was injured, that''s why I am rying the message to you. But no need to worry, it''s just a matter of a few months before Lord Tartagust can recover to his prime condition."

    "Who is this Lord Tartagust?" Ray asked with confusion as he looked at Cargil.

    Suddenly, a chubby frog appeared on Cargil''s shoulder and grinned, "let''s just say that Lord Tartagust can kill you with his fart."

    "Uhh¡­," Ray was stumped.

    "Don''t mind him," Cargil shook his head before nodding, "however, it is true. Zevien has a five-year contract with that Lord rank fairy spirit."

    "Back to the main topic, it seems that we won''t be able to find the people behind this disaster anytime soon," Bukkan said as a frown crept on his face. "We have to spread knowledge about this crystal everywhere. Even to other countries."

    "We also have to increase our security," Nike said as she looked at the ss container with the crystal in it, "we have to study this crystal."

    "Leave it to me," Touma said with a somber expression while his eyes held intense curiosity. "Biombee and I will find everything about this crystal and research it to its atoms."

    "Bee bee, that''s right!" Biombee appeared and hovered around the ss container in its miniature form.

    "Ahem, senior Cargil. What are you going to report to others about your endeavor in the Astral Land?" Ray asked with doubt. "Will you say that you seeded in getting the Fairy Summoning Spell or not?"

    "What is your n?" Cargil asked as he looked at Zevien.

    Raven and others also looked at Zevien since it was up to him on how to go about this.

    Zevien took a deep breath as he had already thought thoroughly about this. "I want maximum possible contribution and support in exchange for giving away this magic spell''s knowledge. Those who can learn the spell concept from the spell formation will be able to sessfully use this spell to summon a random fairy corrting to their strength."

    "What caused you to make this decision?" Nike asked with a keen smile.

    "Because I want myself and mypanions to use fairy spirits freely without having to face danger from others'' greed," Zevien said with a faint smile. "Moreover, this is a random fairy summoning spell, so the rules and restrictions of the Fairy Spirit Magic Labyrinth apply even strictly to people who summon fairies through this spell."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That, we know," Cargil nodded, "we also learned more about fairy summoning spells during our trip this time. Yours is the most basic one since you haven''t awakened the Fairy Spiritbyrinth."

    "Yep. Tarto told me this a month ago," Zevien nodded, "if you have bad intentions towards the fairy you summoned and made a contract with it, the contract will warn the fairy, so the human who was in the contract can receive severe punishments. The punishments include the destruction of magic eidos body.

    "That applies in all fairy summoning spells, but the spell I have is more strict as one can''t form a contract with a second fairy summoned from this spell after your first fairy dies by any chance," Zevien said.

    "Indeed," Raven nodded as she rubbed Ravana''s head, "you also can''t treat your summoned fairy badly or push it to danger out of selfish intentions. One should treat one''s fairy spirit as a lifelong partner."

    "Anyway, is your decision final? And how do you want to go about it? Tell me if you have any n," Cargil asked as he looked at Zevien.

    "I want it to be publicized," Zevien dropped a bomb, causing everyone to be surprised.

    "Hmm? Do you mean all magicians can have their own fairy spirits? Then won''t people from other countries get their hands on the spell? Also, you asked for maximum contribution and support from our government but if you want to publicize it, then I don''t think you can ask for such demand," Bukkan said.

    "Indeed. As for yourpanions having it, we can say that we took some people and let them summon their fairies, and we also included some 4th national magic academy''s students," Ray nodded.

    "No," Zevien shook his head before smiling," but I have an idea on how to make this spell publicized while still retaining its secrecy."

    "Which is?" Merax asked curiously.

    "Fairy Summoning Center," Zevien said as he activated his Digi-watch and showed them some holograms. He had already nned to make this spell public while still getting the benefits so that he, Vernisia, and the others can use their fairy spirits freely without attracting attention and facing danger because of that in the future.

    "As you can see, the n is to open Fairy Summoning centers and have one or two people from the government who have learned the summoning spell appointed in those centers. Magicians can go there and let a summoner summon a fairy so they can make the contract the same way I helped you all do it. This way, the summoners who have learned the spell will still be part of the government and you can put heavy security in each fairy summoning center. I suggest that the government open one Fairy Summoning center in each major city," Zevien concluded with a smile.

    Everyone was surprised at the n and also found it doable.

    "At first, I was thinking about doing this myself, but then I felt that it was a bad idea," Zevien wryly shook his head, "I would attract too much attention, and it would also put everyone around me in danger. Also, I wouldn''t be able to find trustworthy magicians to appoint in the fairy summoning centers."

    "Haha, don''t think too much like that. You wouldn''t have been allowed to do that in the first ce," Blondina chuckled.

    "Eh, yes. That was one of the reasons as well," Zevien nodded with a wry smile.

 Chapter 117 Shocking Pieces Of News

    The meeting was over after another hour of discussion and everyone dispersed.

    On the same day, Dan and Erica got the Magician Growth Boost and awakened their 2nd magicbyrinth with Zevien''s help.

    Afterward, everyone got busy with their work while Zevien returned to his regr life with Vernisia, Erica, and Dan.

    After a month, the government announced something shocking and revealed some big news as they opened¡­

    Fairy Summoning Centers!

    For now, the government opened a total of four centers in four different cities: Starlight City, Rastenlub City, Red Cloud City, and Trafalin City.

    These four cities were major cities of Lopax country, and each city had a national magic academy. The government prioritized students first, and only after all the students made a contract with a fairy spirit would other general magicians can go there.

    Each Fairy Summoning Center had two peak 3rd ss magicians from the government who had sessfully learned the spell. In the first five days, all academic students managed to make contracts with fairy spirits.

    After that, students studying in magic dojos got their contracted fairy spirits, and then came the turn of general magicians that consisted of 5th ss and higher.

    The rules regarding fairy summoning were also exined like how they would receive severe bacsh and punishment if they treated their fairy spirits with bad intentions and that they wouldn''t be able to make a contract with a second fairy spirit.

    Naturally, such a big move by Lopax country caused other countries to be extremely envious. The Magic Guild headquarters took measures to make it fair for everyone and bought the Fairy Summoning Spell from Lopax Country!

    The Magic Guild decided to open a Fairy Summoning Section in their magic guild branches in all the countries so that other people could also get their own fairy spirits.

    Despite all that, the fairy summoning magic spell was not publicized and was kept in extreme secrecy.

    Zevien''s contribution increased a lot after the Magic Guild bought the spell from Lopax country. After all, the price they paid to get the magic spell was too high. High enough that they got enough ingredients to use the Magician Growth Boost on 500 people and even get some other resources in high amounts.

    As of this moment, Zevien was one of the top contributors to Lopax country despite just being a student.

    s, only a few people in the upper echelon knew about him, but Zevien didn''t care about such things except for making the orphanage an extremely safe ce and getting some other privileges.

    After all, he knew that this was nothingpared to the behemoth that was Astral Land. The entirety of the Gaia continent was like an antpared to Astral Land, and he aimed to make it big in that world!

    Time passed and after a few months, their mid-term exams were over.

    Everyone passed sessfully. Now that exams were over, it was time for the student exchange program, but along with that, another unexpected news arrived from Skyward Academy...

    In the ss, Touma looked at the list of people who had reached 500 magic power: Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, Tigger, Sophia, Warmos, Michiru, Kurisu, and Harith.

    Tigger, Sophia, Michiru, Kurisu, Harith, and Warmos managed to reach 500 magic power with the help of magic crystals, just like Erica and Dan.

    Vernisia had to use one magic crystal while Zevien had reached the 500 mark without using any crystal, just as nned. That way, everyone in Zevien''s gang reached the 500 magic power milestone within a few days of a gap.

    However, the students were going to get shocked by the news from Skyward Academy as Touma prepared to tell them about it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "First, the students who will be going to the 2nd National magic Academy in the student exchange program are Dan and Erica," Touma announced.

    "What?! NOO!"

    "Sir, I think Zevien and Vernisia should go."

    The students started talking because they felt that with Zevien and Vernisia, nobody had the chance to get the quota to enter the Skyward Academy.

    "Silence!" Touma loudly said as he thumped his cane on the floor, spreading vibrations. After the students stopped speaking, Touma continued, "there is another piece of news from Skyward Academy about the admissions."

    ''Here ites,'' Zevien thought as he already knew about this big change.

    "Ahem, the format of the tournament and admission distribution has changed. Not just that, but the Skyward Academy even changed their entire academy''s training and studying methods."

    Everyone was surprised.

    Touma wrote [Magic Labyrinth] on the whiteboard and underlined it before saying, "all because of the magicbyrinth changes that caused everyone to progress faster!"

    "The tournament has also been fast-forwarded because of this. The Skyward Academy will open its doors after a month, so we must finish distributing the admission quotas in a month!

    "The uing tournament will start after twenty-five days, and only those who have reached 5th ss magician can participate," Touma said as he dropped the bomb. "This means that the distribution of the quota has changed. No more separate tournaments for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-year students! Any 5th ss magician student below 20 years old can participate!"

    *WOAH!*

    The entire ss was in uproar except for Zevien and his gang since they already knew about it from Touma.

    "Then we won''t even get a chance to participate¡­this, this is unfair!"

    "Sir, you are not pulling our legs, right?"

    Touma shook his head, "there''s no changing this. The tournament changed because the Skyward Academy changed its entire constitution. In the first ce, It is not simply an Academy but much more than that, as it is tied to the Magic Guild."

    "Now listen, those who have reached the 500 magic power mark can try to evolve their magic core, and those who have not reached 500 magic power can try to reach it via magic crystals. All in all, everyone has 25 days to evolve their magic core, then you can participate in the tournament."

    ¡­

    After the academy was over, Zevien and the others directly went to their private training room to evolve their magic core and be 5th-ss magicians.

    "Let''s start," Zevien said as everyone sat cross-legged in their huge private training area in the Zenith Corp. building and entered meditation.

    As long as one reached the limit of their magic power in the magic core, they could trigger their evolution with a thought while meditating. However¡­.the process of evolution is not so easilypleted!

 Chapter 118 First Magic Evolution

    After triggering their evolution, all of them disappeared physically and arrived at different mystical ces.

    Zevien arrived at the peak of a mountain with beautiful scenery of nature present on the horizon.

    In front of him was an ethereal-blue magic circle floating mystically.

    "Guess I need toprehend that magic circle," Zevien muttered. He knew from others that the first evolution process was aboutprehending a magic circle rted to the path of magic.

    Suddenly, an hourss materialized before him and floated in the air.

    ''So that''s the time limit? Hmmm, from the speed of sand moving and the amount of sand, it seems that I have 8 hours,'' Zevien thought before he quickly sat down and focused onprehending the magic circle.

    He needs to sense the intent of that magic circle and grasp it beforeprehending the entire thing.

    ¡­

    Zevien didn''t realize the passage of time as he was absorbed inprehending the magic circle and seeded as he saw a panel inside his head and was startled. "T-this? It looks like the evolution process and things rted to it are also changed or rather¡­upgraded."

    [You have seeded in the test by managing to symphonize yourself with the Magia Realm through that magic circle]

    [Please choose two sub-spells of your 1st awakening magic spell of the Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth for upgrade and choose a 2nd awakening spell of Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth beforemencing the evolution.]

    Zevien knew that his 1st awakening spell of the Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth would have a level up since he had heard that such awakening spells with multiple sub spells get that treatment. However, he was surprised to see that they could now select their next awakening spell instead of randomly getting it.

    ''Let''s choose the sub-spells first.''

    *****

    [Somatic Anger into Somatic Rage]

    ¡ª> External cast, Rage Ball:- A raging dark purple ball deals pure destructive damage. Its attack can slightly increase if you are angry when casting the spell. There is a new way to use this spell but you will have it learn it yourself.

    ¡ª> Internal cast, Raging Body: Increases your overall raw physical prowess by 20% for a maximum of 2 minutes. (max mana cost for max duration, 1000 mana.)

    .

    [Somatic Happiness into Somatic Joy]

    ¡ª> External cast, Healing Ray:- Conjures a ray that can heal wounds.

    ¡ª> Internal cast, Joyful Rendering:- Increases all of your spell''s effects by 20% for a maximum of 2 minutes. (max mana cost for max duration, 1000 mana.)

    .

    [Somatic Fear into Somatic Dread]

    ¡ª> External cast, Dread Injection:- Attacks your opponent''s mind and stuns them for a maximum of two seconds. (Max mana cost: 1000 mana. Higher mana, higher damage)

    ¡ª> Internal cast, Dreadful State:- Makes you fearless to a certain extent, suppresses physical and mental pain you suffer to a certain threshold.

    .<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Somatic Sadness into Somatic Sorrow]

    ¡ª> External cast, Omni-Barrier:- Conjures a barrier that absorbs all iing spell''s damage and their effects. (max mana cost for maximum durability, 1000 mana)

    ¡ª> Internal Cast, Despair Aura: Ooze out despair aura that invokes a feeling of hopelessness from those you consider as your opponents, as this aura only affects those you intend to affect. (max mana cost for max aura range, 1000 mana.)

    *****

    Zevien thought for a few moments before deciding on Somatic Rage and Somatic Dread.

    Afterward, he looked at the two options he got for his 2nd awakening spell of Invible Blood Garden.

    *****

    [Blood Corruption]

    ¡ª> External cast: You can conjure corrupted blood particles that work as poison. Beings who inhale or intake these particles will be poisoned with one out of three effects: severe drowsiness, severe physical weakness, and severe organ malfunction. (More debuff effects can be unlocked bybining this spell with your Blood Morphing Art as you can produce different types of corrupted blood particles when you transform into other creatures.)

    [Blood Hook]

    ¡ª> External cast: You can conjure a hook of blood by expending mana and if you manage to hit someone with the hook, you can instantly absorb 1 liter of their blood. There is another hidden effect of this spell but you will have toprehend and find it yourself by focusing after this spell is weaved in your magic core.

    *****

    After thinking for a few moments, Zevien decided to take [Blood Hook] as his 2nd awakening spell of his Invible Blood Garden.

    Right as he finished making this choice, the hourss stopped, and¡­

    [Evolution process starting. Prepare to receive the magic essence of Magia Realm for your first evolution]

    Zevien saw the hourss stopping while some mystical energy entered his magic eidos body and started whirling around his magic core before entering inside it. A secondter, his magic core became twice as big, and a horizontal dreamy disk with the same structure as his magic core formed around his magic core while being attached to it. The magic spells he weaved into his magic core disappeared and appeared on the disk''s surface.

    The entire surface of the disk was wide and big enough such that his upgraded 1st awakening spell, his 2nd awakening spell: Blood Morphing Art, his 3rd awakening spell: Blood Hook, and his tier-1 fusion spell: Brilliant Burn only took 40% of the disk''s space. Naturally, Zevien will be filling up the remaining space of the disk by learning tier-2 magic spells.

    From now on, he will have to weave his magic spells on that round disk attached to the magic core. Even if he tried to weave the spell formation of a magic spell into his round magic core''s surface, he wouldn''t seed.

    Suddenly, the scenery in front of him changed, and he appeared back in the training room.

    He looked around him and saw that Vernisia and the others were still not here yet. As such, closed his eyes and focused inside his magic eidos body, and observed the spell formation of his new awakening spell: Blood Hook.

    ''Another effect, huh? I wonder what it is,'' Zevien wondered as he quickly wanted to master the new awakening spell and find its other effect.

    "Oh, Zevien. You are back?"

    Zevien opened his eyes after hearing Vernisia''s voice, andughed, "It''s been a few seconds since I arrived back. Anyway, since you are here, then let''s spar. I want to try out the new spell."

    "Yep, me too," Vernisia chuckled happily and stood up as she and Zevien started sparring after wearing the expensive full-body armor suit.

 Chapter 119 Entering The Bigger Stage

    Time passed as minutes turned into hours and hours into days¡­

    In a blink of an eye, twenty-five days passed, and the tournamentmenced.

    Dan and Erica already went to the 2nd National Magic Academy and participated in their tournament and were winning. There were many students with fairies, but one rule got imposed on the tournament at thest second: students are not allowed to use fairies in tournament fights.

    However, this was actually useful, and the students had no objection because they didn''t want their fairy spirits to get injured or die by ident. They could wear battle armor that protects them, but fairy spirits couldn''t.

    So today, Dan and Erica were fighting in the 2nd National Magic Academy tournament while Vernisia was fighting in the 4th National Magic Academy tournament.

    As for Zevien? He was nning theunch of the Spell Gauntlet since the product was almost ready and just needed to set up a production line to produce spell stones. Moreover, the sales of the Realm of Spirit game cards increased significantly after the government opened Fairy Summoning Centers.

    The people were super excited to have gotten fairy spirits that resembled their cards. More people started buying card packs, and stadium devices as the game became even more popr.

    By now, Zevien had 1.3 billion Lopax credits in his bank ount. He had also paid his debt to Raven.

    Vernisia and Zevien''s bank ounts were shared, so they had a total of 1.7 billion Lopax credits.

    Dan and Erica had also shared their bank ounts and had 800 million Lopax credits in their bank ount.

    ¡­

    The tournament was over in one day aftersting for a total of 8 hours, including the breaks. There were not many participants since the requirement to enter had increased significantly. It was a in 1v1 tournament in six groups: A, B, C, D, E, and F.

    Vernisia was in group B, and she won a quota. Tigger also won in the A group while the other four groups had 2nd and 3rd-year students as winners. Sophia was eliminated in the final round of Group F as she wasn''t able to beat a 3rd-year senior; she was the closest to winning among 1st-year students.

    Dan and Erica also managed to win quotas in the 2nd National Magic Academy and returned to Starlight city on the same day at night.

    Zevien, Vernisia, Dan, and Erica gathered at the orphanage and had a party. The kids were happy, and mother Helena just watched them while feeling peace in her heart and a bit sad because this party was also a farewell party.

    Tomorrow, all the winners were going to the Lankrena region to enter the Skyward Academy in advance; to arrange their lodging. The opening ceremony starts four dayster.

    "Oh yeah, that sister of Galen didn''te as one of the exchange students like she and her now dead brother said," Dan snickered before he asked Vernisia, "what happened to the Gio family? I know they are over but do you know what is their current state?"

    "City Lord Cargil executed all top members of their family with proof of their crimes. Although some people who had ties with the Gio family became his enemies, nobody had the guts to have an open conflict with him," Vernisia said with a smile.

    "Yep," Zevien said whileughing and nodding. "If they want to have a stable footing in the country, they can''t go against the government in the first ce. Because of me, old man Cargil now holds an even higher position in the government, so it''s all good."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Well that''s good," Erica nodded before she turned to look at the kids ying in the garden. The current garden was very big and had many things, so it was like a small park. "It''s time to say farewell to the kids. You won''t be meeting them anytime soon after this party."

    Zevien wryly smiled and nodded as he stood up. "Let''s go and tell them."

    ¡­

    After hearing that they won''t be seeing their big brother Zevien and big sister Vernisia for a long time, the smaller kids started crying while the eldest twelve years old kids also had watery eyes.

    But they only cried to express their sadness. They weren''t stubborn and were understanding enough to not tell them to stay here by throwing tantrums.

    "Rocky, as their big brother, you have to take care of them, okay?" Zevien said to Rocky, the twelve-year-old kid with short ck hair.

    "Leave it to me, big brother," Rocky nodded as he thumped his chest with determination.

    "Big brother and big sister, when will you visit us?" Rayna asked with tearful eyes.

    Vernisia grabbed the cute six-year-old Rayna into her arms and said with a smile, "don''t worry, we will video call you often."

    "Zevien, why don''t we take all the kids outside and have some fun in that big park at west? We haven''t had a chance to go out with them for a long time now," Erica suggested.

    The kids also excitedly nodded as they wanted to go there. So Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan took the kids in their cars and went there. Mother Helena didn''t want to go, but since she would be alone in the orphanage, Zevien convinced her as well, and everyone went to the Fantasy Fun World to enjoy their time with the kids.

    ¡­

    In the morning, the winners were called to a mini-hall in the academy since it was time for them to go with the envoy of the Skyward Academy who came to pick them up on a special rare ride.

    Inside the hall, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, Tigger, Helin, Jabul, Roman, and Leena faced the envoy, a beautiful woman wearing a white dress with a light-blue embroidery design.

    "So, they are the winners? You have more students than the quota we have given you," Baishi said as she looked at the eight students with piercing eyes and smiled, "it seems that two of your students won quotas from the exchange program, but there''s still one more."

    "I aming by using this," Zevien said as he took out a medallion.

    "I see," Baishi nodded before turning around, "well. Then, let''s get going."

 Chapter 120 Lo Lo Lo Looonely~

    Outside, the students were surprised to see a flying ship floating over the main ground of the academy. It was literally a ship, but flying instead of floating on the water.

    It was twenty meters long and eight meters wide. Such a flying ship was a luxury vehicle because it could do much more than just fly. It could attack and protect itself and its surroundings with various built-in magic functions.

    The students on the ground watched enviously as the ship flew away.

    Kerolin watched with slightly teary eyes that burned with resolve, "Tigger, I wille there next year! Wait for me."

    Inside the ship, Tigger looked at Kerolin from the windows and sighed.

    "It''s ok, bro. She will be able toe next year," Dan patted Tigger''s shoulder.

    Tigger looked at Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan and sighed enviously, "how good that you four can go together in pairs while I have to leave without my girlfriend."

    "Haha, I think you are forgetting an important detail," Zevien said with augh before asking, "remember, what was the condition to graduate from our academy?"

    "Graduate? It was¡­bing a 5th ss magician and¡­," Tigger''s eyes widened, "Kerolin can already graduate since she always had a knack to be an alchemist. After she became a 5th ss magician four days ago, she already crafted her first tier-1 magic potion sessfully."

    "Exactly," Zevien nodded with a smile, "so just tell her toe to the Lankrena region and then leave the rest to me."

    "What are you talking about, boys?" Baishi entered the deck that had Vernisia, Erica, and the other students as they were inside the cabin to observe this beautiful but fierce flying ship.

    "Eh, our friend''s girlfriend couldn''t win, so we are consoling him," Dan said smilingly while rubbing his nose.

    "Oh," Baishi raised her eyebrows as she looked at Tigger. "Well, better luck next time," she said with a consoling smile.

    Tigger nodded at Baishi before quickly asking Zevien, "Zevien what did you mean by calling her to the Lankrena region?"

    "I am going to create my n, and since she already met the requirements to graduate, she can just join the n in the Lankrena region. Of course, you are also joining my n," Zevien grinned.

    "n? Are you serious?" Roman scoffed, "you don''t know anything about the requirements to create the n, and yet want to create one?"

    "Oh my bad," Zevien shook his head, "it was a slip of my tongue. I mean, I know someone who can create a n, and we are going to join the n he is going to create."

    "Is he the same person who gave you the quota?" Baishin asked as she smiled keenly.

    "Yes," Zevien nodded with a smile.

    "And who is that?" Roman snorted.

    "That''s none of your business," Erica said. She felt that this guy was being aggressive without reason.

    Suddenly, Jacky arrived in front of Zevien with a somber expression before asking, "Zevien, do you remember me?"

    "You?" Zevien narrowed his eyes before a bulb lit up above his head as he remembered, "you are thatp guy that I beat up on the first day of the academy...right? You sure changed a lot."

    Vernisia was also surprised as she finally recognized the guy. After all, this guy had transformed himself. The tattoo on his left side neck was gone and his hairstyle also changed from funky to a proper short ponytail. His body was also a bit more buffy with muscle mass.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes, that is me," Jacky nodded without changing his expression, "since the day you beat me up, I have worked hard and focused fully on bing stronger. I was not expecting to get the quota at first, but I managed to win. So, I wanted to tell you that if you are fine with it, I want to join your n."

    "Don''t you want revenge?" Dan asked doubtfully.

    "No, it was my fault in the first ce," Jacky shook his head before turning to Vernisia, "I apologize."

    "Err¡­ok." Vernisia and the rest were taken aback.

    "Interesting," Baishi smiled and said, "anyway, you all talk here and pair yourselves up if you want to. In the Skyward academy, all tasks and anything you do aside from upation training will be in pairs. You will have four days to decide on your partner and if you still have not decided by then, we will assign you randomly. The academy is all aboutpetition and ruthless eliminations. Keep this in mind."

    After saying that, she turned around and entered the control cabin.

    "Miss Vernisia, would you like to be my partner?" Helin said with a gentle and confident smile. He had wavy maroon hair and a pale face with gem-blue eyes.

    "Are you an idiot?" Vernisia said with a foul expression as she stood beside Zevien and grabbed his hand, "he is my partner."

    "You must be living under a rock," Leena rolled her eyes, "everyone knows that the freshmen representative Vernisia has a boyfriend."

    "Ohhh¡­.," Helin scratched the back of his head while smiling, "I didn''t know." He then turned to Leena and asked with the same smile, "then miss Leena, would you like you to be my partner?"

    "Fuck off," Leena scoffed before entering the cabin.

    Helin turned to Erica but before he could say anything, Erica narrowed her eyes, "I swear I will break your bones if you say a word."

    *Crack¡­*

    "And I will break your little brother," Dan grinned ferociously.

    A chill crawled up Helin''s spine as he turned around and stood at the corner of the deck before sighing.

    "It is indeed a lonely world. Laa~aaa~ Oooo Lonely~ Is this world~  Oh how loooonely~"

    "Shut up!" Roman stomped his foot angrily, "I was going to ask you to be my partner but fuck you!"

    "Ehh¡­" Henil creased his eyebrows before speaking hesitantly, "b-but¡­I am a perfectly straight Homosapien species."

    "Dumb guy, pairing doesn''t mean you are going to marry that person or spend lifelong time with them. It is just a custom in the Skyward Academy because of the way we hold our training programs," Baishin''s voice reverberated on the deck.

    Henil was silent for a few moments while others also sighed.

    Zevien, Vernisia, and others walked towards the stairs as they decided to enter the cabin.

    "La looonely~¡­.Oh, how this world is so loonely¡­."

 Chapter 121 Abodes

    The flying ship was even faster than nes, and they arrived at the Lankrena region in four hours. Soon, they saw a magnificent pce and other buildings on arge scale, all made of exotic stones and woods. The whole area of Skyward Academy was on high ground on an ind that was surrounded by water.

    Zevien and others also saw a nearby town and an evenrger ce than the Skyward Academy behind the academy several kilometers away: Magic Guild Headquarters!

    After Baishi docked the ship on the ind, they rode on an open mini flying boat towards the abode area that had a beautiful river flowing from a mountain behind it. There were abodes on the ground, then abodes on slightly elevated parts behind the river, and then abodes on hills.

    There were already some students whose ages ranged from 18 to 20. They were talking and pointing at the abodes.

    "There are three ranks of abodes in this area," Baishi said as she turned to Zevien and the others and exined, "the lowest rank of abodes are Trash-rank abodes. You see these abodes on the ground, their sizes are small, and they also have a small backyard, although enough for two people. The second rank is Decent-rank, and they are those abodes on the other side of this river."

    ? Zevien and the others followed Baishi''s hand and saw bigger abodes on the other side of the river. The environment and spacing were also better, with a small garden and a decent backyard.

    "The first rank is Elite-rank," Baishi continued as she pointed at the hills lined up in a row before the giant mountain range and behind the decent rank abodes, "there are only ten of such abodes on a total of ten hills. The entire hill belongs to the students living on those abodes, and the soil there is also better than Decent-rank abodes, so you can grow whatever you want there."

    "Next, I''ll tell you other benefits of living in these abodes," Baishi smiled as she took out a gold badge, "Bronze badges in Trash-rank abodes, Silver badges in Decent-rank abodes, and gold badges in Elite-rank abodes. You can wear the badge of your abode after entering one, and depending on the badge, you will get different treatment everywhere on this ind and in our special region in Astral Land."

    "Astralnd?" Roman squinted his eyes, "we can go to Astralnd?"

    "You will go to Astralnd for some tasks, yes. But only if you managed to pass the 1st year elimination exam," Baishi smiled and gestured to the students with her hands to leave, "now leave this ship and get your abode by fighting with other students. On this ind, anything, and everything, is allowed except for killing and crippling your fellows'' magic cores. Even if you are almost beaten to death, we will heal you."

    "How barbaric," Henil gulped before speaking in worry, "it seems that I will have to beat them to a near death-state before they do it to me."

    "So no more protective armors, huh? Hehe, fine by me," Dan grinned as he turned to Zevien, "it''s more fun that way, right?"

    Zevien also grinned and cracked his knuckles, "let''s go and take the Elite-rank abode. We are not living in anything below that."

    Suddenly, another mini-ship boat arrived with a beautiful red-haired busty woman and seven students.

    "Baishi, you are here! So these are the students from Lopax country?" the woman looked at Zevien and the group as if sizing them up.

    "Oh, Rufina? Yes, I went to pick up students from Starlight city," Baishi raised her eyebrows and looked at the students behind her, three girls and four boys, "what about you?"

    "These are students from Uman country''s capital state, the cream of the crop," Rufina smiled.

    "Senior Baishin, sorry to interrupt you, but we will be moving to take our abodes now," Zevien said with a polite smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Good luck," Baishin nodded with a faint smile, "since you said that you will not take anything below Elite rank, I want to see you with a gold badge after four days. Oh. You get full freedom here; you can do whatever you want, even leave this ind and roam anywhere. But if you lose your life outside, we are not to me."

    Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, Henil, Roman, and Leena nodded with a somber expression before turning around and leaving.

    ¡­

    The Starlight city group stopped at the riverbank as Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were looking at the abodes on the hills and were deciding on which one they should choose.

    "Umm, so do we stay in our group for a while? After all, we are familiar with each other," Leena said.

    "We can do that, but before that¡­," Roman said before turning to Henil. "I''ll ask you onest time. Do you want to pair up with me?" Roman asked.

    "Eh, no thanks," Henil shook his head, "I want a female partner."

    After saying that, he left the group and went towards a small group of three girls standing twenty meters away.

    "Why do you want to pair with him?" Leena asked doubtfully.

    "Why? Obviously, because he is powerful," Roman sighed. "He is the most powerful in our academy, not me."

    "Eh? No way, right?" Leena was startled. She was also a 3rd-year student and in the same ss as Roman. She knew Roman was a genius in the academy with the highest performance, but she had never heard about Henil.

    "No joke," Roman shook his head, "he acts idiotically, and it''s his nature. But he is more powerful than me."

    "Alright, we have decided," Erica said as she pointed at the 3rd hill, "we are going to live in that abode. Let''s go, Dan."

    "What about you, bro?" Dan asked Zevien.

    "We''ll take the 4th one. These two abodes have this river separating them, and I feel those two hills are nicer. I also want to check out therge mountain range behind those hills," Zevien said.

    "Yep. Those two are the best-looking hills," Vernisia nodded with slight excitement filling her eyes, "thatrge waterfalling from the mountain should be a beautiful ce as well."

    However, what awaited them on those hills was something they never expected.

 Chapter 122 Fight!

    *knock knock¡­*

    Zevien knocked on the door of the Elite-rank abode on the 4th hill.

    A few secondster, a 20-year-old man opened the door as his short blue hair fluttered because of the wind on the hill. He was slim and had refined muscles like Zevien.

    "Uh, another challenger, Kaal?" A female voice came from behind the boy as a girl with long blue twin pony-tails appeared while wearing an apron.

    Seeing them, Zevien asked doubtfully, "Siblings?"

    "Yes," Kaal nodded before turning to his sister, "you continue making breakfast, Afina. I wille after finishing this challenge."

    "Ok~," Afina said before turning around and leaving.

    Kaal came outside and closed the door. He had a gold badge on his chest, which stood out because of his ck t-shirt.

    "You are a pair, right? But since I don''t want to disturb my sister, how about we do 1v1?" Kaal asked politely.

    "Let me do it, Zev," Vernisia said as her eyes lit up with fighting spirit. She didn''t like how this guy didn''t even consider the possibility of him losing.

    "Ok," Zevien nodded as he backed away, "don''t get hurt too much."

    Vernisia nodded as she and Kaal arrived on the open ground, away from the abode.

    Kaal drew a big circle before saying, "to make it quick, whoever goes out of the circle loses."

    "Fine," Vernisia nodded before grinning, e out, Lyn!"

    *Neighh!!*

    A shadow horse burning with ck mes and ck ming wings slowly materialized beside Vernisia before she jumped on it.

    "So we may use fairy spirits?" Kaal raised his eyebrows before nodding, "very well. Come on, Jaggy."

    A giant spider appeared beside Kaal, with a shiny, scaly body and dark green legs. Its creepy eight red eyes looked at Vernisia and Lyn as if they were its prey.

    "Let''s start," Kaal said as he took out a sword from his storage ring and waved it towards Vernisia as a sword sh projectile flew towards her.

    Vernisia flew up and took out her weapon, which was a whip, and used it to attack the iing sh and dispersed it, "let''s go, Lyn! Attack them as you like but don''t go out of the circle."

    *Neighhh!!*

    Vernisia didn''t ride on her horse and let it roam freely inside the circle while attacking. Lyn pped his shadow me wings and released two shadow me shes. In repose, Jaggy shot a big spider-web that was dark green and shining to defend. However, the shadow me burned the spider web.

    "Don''t attack it, Jaggy. That fairy counters your webs," Kaal said as he calmly waved his hand and conjured a mana barrier.

    The magic barrier was the mostmon spell one could cast just by consuming one''s mana. This spell is used to defend from attacks and absorbed less mana, but its durability is also lower than proper defense-type spells and it is just a in defense with no other effects.

    Kaal''s mana barrier blocked the shadow me shes for enough time such that he and Jaggy dodged to the side. He noticed Vernisiaing close to them as she waved her hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A ball of shadow with a ghost face shot towards Kaal.

    ''Hmm? Faster than I expected,'' Kaal frowned as he quickly palmed forward and used a defense-type tier-2 spell, Counter me Shield, as a burning rectangr shield appeared in front of him to block the ball of shadow with ghost face.

    However, the shadow bind hex was traveling on the ground while the ball of shadow with ghost face hit the fire shield. This ball of shadow with ghost face was her feint attack using her second awakening spell of Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth, Shadow Curse Clown.

    The Shadow Bind Hex hit Kaal and immobilized his entire body!

    *Boom¡­*

    Vernisia used Fire Burst Steps to close the distance quickly as she and Lyn attacked at the same time. Vernisia used her 1st awakening spell from her 2nd magicbyrinth, 1st Style of Primal conjuring, Water Terror Fish.

    *Neighh!*

    Lyn also shot a shadow orb from its mouth toward Kaal.

    "Interesting¡­," Kaal muttered while being immobilized. A secondter, he wrapped himself into mes and burned down the immobilization of shadow bind hex before spinning himself while using his awakening spell, "Stormfire Tornado!"

    His fairy spirit had disappeared, as Kaal told it to return before using his powerful spell. The Stormfire Tornado separated from Kaal and quickly shot towards Vernisia''s and Lyn''s spell.

    "Heh, a powerful spell, but, unfortunately for you, it can''t block my little fish," Vernisia smiled as she waved her hand again and used the 2nd style of Primal conjuring that she learned after bing a 5th ss magician. ''Wind Roaring Tiger!''

    *Roarr*

    *Booom!!*

    First, the Water Terror Fish hit the Stormfire Tornado, and the little fish burst with its full power after the collision, dispersing the whole tornado.

    That surprised Kaal, but he was not worried and shook his head. ''I didn''t want to hurt you too badly, but oh well.'' Kaal took a stance of spear throwing as he used his 2nd awakening spell, me Lord''s Spear, and an intense zing spear manifested in his hand before he threw it.

    Naturally, he couldn''t see the regr-sized wind tiger roaring since the giant st of his tornado blocked the view. Although he heard the roar, he didn''t care and threw the spear with his full physical power.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    *DHOOOOOF¡­..*

    Suddenly, an intense wind pressure arrived before turning into a full-blown wind force filled with tiny wind des.

    Zevien was watching the battle and frowned because the spear that Kaal threw cut through the Wind Roaring Tiger''s powerful wind vertical vortex filled with many wind des and flew straight towards Vernisia.

    Vernisia also didn''t expect this. She tried to dodge, but the spear still prated her shoulder, injuring her seriously.

    On the other hand, Kaal''s whole body was cut by tiny shes and blown out of the circle far away before crashing down as he coughed blood.

    "Arghh¡­," Vernisia groaned in pain as the burning spear was burning her skin, bone, and blood, increasing the pain even more before she lost her consciousness. The spear that pierced her shoulder dispersed automatically after a second as Kaal also fainted after he lost a lot of blood.

 Chapter 123 Hurry To Ceremony

    Vernisia opened her eyes slowly and saw an unfamiliar ceiling while sleeping on a king-sized bed. To her left was Zevien while Baishi sat on her right side as she had just finished using a healing spell and applying a healing potion on Vernisia''s wounds.

    "Completely cured. That was a good battle, hahaha. Fight all you want, no matter much injuries you sustain, we will heal you," Baishi chuckled after seeing Vernisia opening her eyes.

    Vernisia got up with a surprised expression, "I am not even feeling pain anymore." She then looked at Zevien and nodded with a smile, "thank you for not interfering in the battle and watching till the end."

    Zevien hugged her tightly, "It will take time for me to see you used to get hurt." He wanted to intervene, but he knew that if he did that, it would upset Vernisia.

    "But you have to get used to it, hehe. Injuries are unavoidable," Vernisia smiled.

    "Alright, now I''ll take my leave. Hahaha, enjoy each other''spany," Baishiughed and left the bedroom before leaving the abode.

    A few secondster, Zevien heard footsteps and turned around to see Afina entering the bedroom.

    "You really did a number on my brother," Afina said as she walked towards a chair and sat down. "My brother is resting in another room. I hope you don''t mind our stay here for a while."

    "No problem," Zevien nodded.

    "So, which one of you is stronger?" Afina asked curiously as she looked at Zevien and Vernisia. "Just so you know, I am stronger than my brother but I won''t challenge you again for this abode. We''ll just find another Elite-rank abode."

    "Zevien is stronger than me," Vernisia smiled proudly, puffing her chest, "no students who have arrived here can beat him."

    "Wow, that''s some confidence you have in him," Afina raised her eyebrows before smiling and standing up, "I''ll cook something for the four of us if you don''t mind. After that, I and my brother will leave."

    "Yep. Thanks," Vernisia nodded with a smile.

    ¡­

    After thirty minutes, Afina called them to the dining table in the hall.

    Vernisia and Zevien left the room and went downstairs. They saw Kaal was already sitting there, ready to eat.

    Seeing Vernisia and Zeviening, Kaal nodded, "good battle. It''s my loss."

    Vernisia nodded before she and Zevien sat down beside each other at the table.

    "Tier-1 mystic chef¡­," Zevienmented after taking a bite from a meat dish.

    "Yep," Kaal nodded with a smile, "my sister cooks the best food."

    "Zevien, how are you faring in your mystic chef practice?" Vernisia asked.

    "Cough¡­.eh, it''s good, I guess," Zevien coughed with slight embarrassment and took a sip from a juice ss. "I will be tier-1 mystic chef soon after attending the mystic chef ss here, no worries."

    "Well, then there''s a surprise for you," Afina snickered, "if you cannot prove that you have reached tier-1 in a magic upation on your first week after attending your first magic upation ss, they will expel you directly.

    "No problem, I can prove it after taking the first ss," Zevien smiled while thinking internally, ''It looks like I will have to quickly breakthrough and be a tier-1 Mystic Chef in the next three days. I don''t want to attend my first mystic chef ss as someone who can''t cook tier-1 mystic food.''

    After eating, Afina and Kaal left while Zevien turned to Vernisia and grabbed her hands. "Let''s go out and bring ingredients for cooking. I want to cook foods and breakthrough to tier-1 mystic chef before the opening ceremony starts."

    "I knew you would say that, haha. Let''s go," Vernisia said smilingly before wondering, "oh yeah, what about Dan and Erica? Did they get an Elite-rank abode?"

    "They did," Zevien nodded.

    "Good. Let''s invite them as well."

    ¡­

    "This is a rather nice market," Erica said as she, Dan, Zevien, and Vernisia entered the student-driven market of the academy on the ind.

    "Selling a white-rank magic crystal! Bid to your heart''s content, hahaha."

    "Tier-2 potion: Red Night for sale! Only four remain in stock now!"

    "A perfect-grade tier-2 spear with a pearl of thunder gemstone embedded in it! Selling it for 9 Gaia credits!"

    The students in the market, mostly 4th ss magicians and senior students were selling their things and those with good items were advertising by shouting.

    "Let''s get the ingredients for Zevien first," Vernisia said as she walked towards a stall that was selling food ingredients.

    After buying the ingredients, Dan and Erica also bought a few things rted to Enchanters like a magic pen to carve the magic formation of enchanters and some ores for Dan so he can practice magic smithing.

    Out of them, only Zevien had yet to reach tier-1 in his magic upation. Vernisia, Erica, and Dan had reached it pretty quickly after bing 5th-ss magicians. But Zevien was busy preparing for Spell Gauntlet and other products in research, so he didn''t have time to practice and sessfully cook a tier-1 dish.

    "Let''s return. Dan and Erica, you twoe to our abode as well. I am gonna do my cooking practice and you three will be my guinea pigs," Zevien grinned.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Fine, but don''t make us throw up, hahaha," Danughed as he patted Zevien''s shoulder.

    "Yeah, our mouths will face you so if your food made us throw up, you will be targeted," Erica said with a gin before looking at Vernisia. "You agree, right?"

    "Of course!" Vernisia chuckled.

    ¡­

    After returning to the abode, Zevien started cooking.

    He lined up the ingredients and used his mana to carefully clean them and bring out their essence power. This required absolute focus and high control of mana, just like with other magic upations.

    A mystic chef needs to bring out the essence power of various magic ingredients by infusing mana into them. However, this is a sensitive process and the chances of ingredients getting destroyed aremon, while one is infusing mana in the ingredients.

    Zevien carefully controlled his infused mana inside the ingredients and brought out their essence power as they started glowing faintly with various colors. One can say that he basically awakened these ingredients, but they don''tst long in this state, so one needs to quickly cook them before the essence of power disappears into the air, forever gone.

    ''Alright, the essence power extraction went perfect without mishaps. Now time to cook them,'' Zevien thought as he quickly cut the ingredients and started cooking.

    ¡ª¡ª

    "Hmm? I am feeling stronger, physically!" Dan eximed after taking a bite from the Gato Hamburger Steak that Zevien cooked. However, this burger had no bread. Instead, it was cooked in thick green leaves that were a tier-1 magic ingredient.

    "Yes, this dish gives ten minutes of physical body boost," Zevien nodded.

    Vernisia nodded after taking a bite. "It looks like you sessfully cooked a tier-1 dish in your first attempt."

    "Hmm, no side effects so far," Erica said after eating half of the burger. "it was delicious. But it was a bit burnt, so you have to work on timing."

    "Yeah," Zevien wryly nodded while counting in his head and after five minutes passed, he sighed a relief, "alright, it seems that there are truly no side effects."

    If a mystic chef doesn''t cook food properly, then side effects also appear along with their proper effects. They usually appear after five minutes. For instance, constant farting, puking, feeling dizzy, stomach pain, and such annoying and painful side effects.

    "If you got more ingredients, cook us some more things, hehe. We are hungry," Dan said as he licked his finger after finishing the hamburger.

    "Alright, Vernisia, you? If you are still hungry, then I can make your portion as well," Zevien asked.

    "Nah. Afina made plenty, so I was already full," Vernisia wryly smiled.

    "Yeah, I am also full," Zevien nodded before returning to the kitchen.

    ¡­

    The next day, someone challenged Zevien and Vernisia for their abode. This time, Zevien fought and won. He was slightly injured as well, but it was not serious.

    Three more days passed, and they got challenged a total of four times, but Zevien and Vernisia won every time. Dan and Erica also managed to defend themselves.

    Kaal and Afina also got another Elite-rank abode. It was on the 5th hill, just beside Zevien and Vernisia''s 4th hill.

    On the fifth day''s morning, a middle-aged man arrived flying. He overlooked the entire Abode area that had 500 students and scratched his throat. "Arrive at the ceremony hall in the next ten minutes! Those who arete will have to swim in the thirty kilometers diameterke surrounding this ind three times!"

    After saying that, the middle-aged man in a white robe left.

    Students were dumbfounded and started running towards the academic structures in the center of this ind from their abode area. The distance was approx ten kilometers!

    Those who could fly started flying and those who could run started running. But everyone was using magic spells that helped them increase their speed!

    Zevien and Vernisia flew towards Dan and Erica''s hill.

    "Haha, it''s time to surprise them," Danughed while looking at Zevien. "We are going in that, right?"

    "Of course, hehe," Zevien grinned as he activated his storage ring by infusing mana and took out a mini-boat. Zevien bought this boat from a student in the market since he was selling it. It cost whooping 9860 Gaia credits, but Zevien had no shortage of money.

    Zevien jumped on the boat as it was floating. Vernisia, Erica, and Dan also followed before Zevien took the wheel and started flying towards the pce at full speed.

    "W-what the heck? Those guys have a freaking flying boat!"

    "That''s not fair!"

    Kaal and Afina, who were flying, were surprised to be overtaken by the boat.

    "I didn''t know we could buy a boat," Afina pouted. "Let''s go buy er."

    "Mhmm," Kaal nodded.

 Chapter 124 Grandiose

    While Zevien and the gang were attending the opening ceremony, the Blood Sun organization finally confirmed the culprit after extensive investigation.

    "After fully investigating everything, it is clear that the one who took our X-Door crystal was Alucard. In that resort, only he was from Starlight city, and the city lord of that city somehow found out about the X-Door crystal as well based on how he started the search operation right before we detonated it."

    The Supreme Leader nodded after hearing the report and asked, "any news of this Alucard? Where is he right now?"

    "No clue; he disappeared after entering Starlight city. After that incident, he hasn''t been spotted anywhere."

    "It is a colossal blunder that Lopax country got our X-Door Crystal. But they won''t be able to reverse engineer it soon," the Supreme Leader said with creased eyebrows, "A mere 5th ss magician caused such trouble for us. Find him and kill him."

    "He should be 4th ss now."

    "So what?! Find him and deal with him!"

    ¡­

    Therge hall had a tform, and the headmaster of the Skyward Academy was standing on it along with five head teachers. They faced the five hundred students standing in front of them.

    "I am the headmaster of this academy, Noril Pash. First of all, congrattions," Noril caressed his dark-orange bread while smiling. "It''s good that everyone managed to arrive here in time."

    The students below were still gasping for breaths. There were only eight students who could fly due to their awakening spell that helped them fly. The majority still couldn''t ess flying-type magic spells as ssless magicians, and since everyone had just reached 5th ss magician, they still couldn''t learn it since most of the flying-type magic spells are tier-3.

    "This opening ceremony is unlike the general ones you see in your academies or dojos. There''s no student council here as well. You are all called here so that we can ry you some information," Noril said before he took out a mystical pen and started waving his hand as words appeared in the air.

    Astral Land!

    "Astral Land! Many of you might know about the existence of this ce but not in much detail."

    All students were a bit surprised but all of them, including Zevien, disyed a thirst to know about this ce. All they knew was that it was a mystic ce, vaster than the Gaia continent and the true world of magic.

    "First thing you need to know is that in Astral Land, all magicians at 1st-ss and below are considered¡­trash!" Noril spoke with a sharp smile, "because even 1st-ss magicians are considered students over there. These head teachers behind me are all 1st-ss magicians and my students as well. The reason is that Astral Land has a much stronger environment, and all spells below tier-5 have a significantly lower impact! A hundred meters giant meteor fall tier-5 spell is like ten meters big in Astral Land."

    *Gasp!*

    Hearing this, all the students were shocked!

    "That is the reason that all magicians at 1st-ss and below are considered as students in Astral Land. The path of magicpletely changes after you surpass 1st ss magician rank. From then on, your true path of magic will start, and you will be part of the true magic world, Astral Land! The goal of this academy is to nurture students who can make their own foothold in that bigger world!"

    All the students got riled up as they heard such grandiose words and shocking information!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "We will make our own ce in that world," Zevien muttered as he grabbed Vernisia''s hand while clenching the fist of his other hand.

    Vernisia''s eyes were also burning with the fire of ambition and resolve as she nodded. "I want to see the peak of this magic path with you."

    Headmaster Noril nodded smilingly after looking at all student''s reactions. ''Let''s see how many survive in this batch.''

    "Alright, I have said enough. There''s much more to Astral Land, but you are not qualified to know about it yet," Noril grinned as he waved his hand, and five doors in the hall opened.

    The first door had a hammer hitting an anvil symbol, Magic Smith.

    The second door had a magic potion symbol, Alchemist.

    The third door had a knife and fork symbol, Mystic Chef.

    The fourth door had a gemstone-shaped symbol, Jewelist.

    The fifth door had a magic circle with entric patterns symbol, Enchanter.

    "Your first ss will start right away! Enter the door of your respective magic upation! Remember, magic upation is even more important in Astral Land for reasons that you won''t understand now. Just know that importance of magic upation is the same as magicbat there and in this academy as well! Now go!"

    Zevien and the gang went on their separate ways and attended their first magic upation ss.

    ¡­

    Zevien arrived in another hall with thirty-seven other students in the Mystic Chef hall.

    There, a woman with long ck hair and wearing a fancy ck dress was standing with her arms crossed under her busty melons. "A total of thirty-eight students¡­low as always," she muttered.

    Mystic Chef was not as popr as the other magic upations.

    "I am your Mystic Chef teacher, Wan Raina. Call me teacher Raina," Raina said as she swept her nce at all students. "Look at the floor and stand on a red square. Quick."

    After each of the students stood on a red square that had a distance of five meters from each other, Raina pointed her finger at a wall with a leaver on it, and with a slight gust of wind, she pulled down the leaver.

    A secondter, the ground made some sound and a cooking tform appeared in front of each student. The tform had all the required tools and ingredients.

    "Cook a tier-1 food dish. If you fail, you will have to do one thousand push-ups. Once that is done, you can ask me, and I will help you and teach you. Those who get passing scores from me can leave the ss and do whatever they want. Your first day of the academy is over with that," Raina said before smiling with narrowed eyes. "However, in the next Mystic Chef ss two dayster, those who failed to cook a tier-1 food dish will be expelled from the academy."

 Chapter 125 How Dare You...Even Try!

    Soon, Raina saw the first student arriving with a food dish in twenty minutes and took a bite from a Veg-coated meatball from her dish. After a few seconds, she nodded, "Your dish is a sessful tier-1 food dish, but its taste is not up to the mark. Try again."

    "Try again? So do I have to do the push-ups?" the female student asked with slight confusion.

    "No," Raina shook her head, "you pass, but your food didn''t taste as good. So, try again."

    "Listen! If your food is not delicious, then it can only be considered crap no matter what kind of buff it provides! It should be delicious on top of providing the benefits!" Raina snorted. "You have a maximum of five tries! After that, even if you have ingredients remaining, you may not cook. If your taste didn''t reach the mark in five tries, do five hundred push-ups before asking me for the advice!"

    Zevien wryly smiled while cooking, ''It seems that I will have to stay here longer.''

    Soon, Zevien presented his first dish.

    After taking a bite, Raina looked at Zevien indifferently and spoke, "try again."

    Zevien nodded before returning.

    ''I fried it longer than it should have,'' Zevien frowned as he knew his mistake. He once again started cooking and focused on each step, not letting anything overcooked or undercooked. Especially the meat. ''Hmm, I should add onion to make it more tender.''

    Soon, he presented his second dish. By now, fifteen students had already left the ss as they passed. No one was doing push-ups as everyone managed to cook a tier-1 food dish.

    Raina looked at Zevien''s dish and raised her eyebrows, "is that light yellow liquid sauce?"

    "Yes. But even without that sauce, the veg-wrapped transforming meatballs will taste good," Zevien said with a confident smile. He had spent one hour on this dish and wasted two portions for the experiment before finally creating a perfect tier-1 food dish.

    "Interesting name," Raina nodded as she looked at the meatballs wrapped in threeyers of vegetables with tiny holes in them. She ate one without dipping it in the sauce and closed her eyes as she savored the taste, "that''s good."

    After that, she poked the toothpick in another ball and dipped it in the sauce. "Let''s see the transformation." Raina guessed that the transforming part must have something to do with the sauce, and she was correct. The wrapped-vegyers started to open like a flower after she dipped the ball in the sauce. The sauce was absorbed in the meatball and coated the vegyers as well before a goldenyer appeared over the entire flower-meat ball.

    The goldenyer was sparkling since the sauce was mixed with oil over the vegyer.

    The remaining students were also surprised and some of them even gulped since it looked so delicious.

    Raina put the whole meatball in her mouth before closing her eyes and chewing. After several seconds, she showed a smile for the first time after eating a student''s dish.

    "You pass."

    "d you liked it," Zevien grinned before leaving the hall.

    ¡­

    ''Nailed it!'' Zevien thought while grinning as he arrived at the reception hall and called Vernisia.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, she didn''t pick up the call.

    *Ding¡­*

    Zevien received a message, and when he saw the content, he stood up abruptly.

    [help]

    ''What happened to her?'' Zevien thought as he became anxious and quickly located her position through his Digi-watch. He looked at the radar-like disy and saw that she was just a hundred and fifty meters away from him, in the north.

    Zevien quickly dashed in that direction and left the reception hall before arriving outside. There was a big pond outside, and on the other side of the pond, he saw Vernisia''s back as she was facing three guys. There was a group of students on the other side watching the show as the three guys were cornering Vernisia towards the pond, intending to force her to jump into it.

    "Bastards!" Zevien shouted as he activated his shaman-seed but suppressed the transformation and limited it to just changing his eyes to vertical irises as she tightened his leg muscles and jumped.

    The students saw someone jumping from the other side of the pond and exined.

    "Someone ising here!"

    "Who is that?"

    Zeviennded right beside Vernisia, but then his face changed, and understood why Vernisia couldn''t retaliate! It was because those three guys were suppressing Vernisia with their high magic power by constantly using mana to create a pressurized atmosphere around her. All three of them were 4th-ss magicians!

    "Zevien," Vernisia spoke while gritting her teeth, "any way to get out of this situation?"

    "Heh? Stop dreaming, bitch. Since you had the guts to p me, then I am sure you can bear the consequences," the man with a p mark on his cheek said. He had short red hair parted in the middle of his head.

    "What did they do, Vernisia?" Zevien uttered coldly as he fully exerted the power of Shaman-seed. Since he had reached 5th ss magician and evolved his magic core, his capacity to receive power from Shaman-seed had also increased significantly. Previously, he could reach 1300 magic power as a ssless magician. But now, he could go way above that, but he didn''t know what was his max since he didn''t test it yet.

    "He tried to grab my back from behind while I was walking, so I pped him," Vernisia said with an angered expression.

    Hearing that, Zevien''s eyes became cold as a ck sheen passed through them. "A p is not enough!"

    "Oh really? What are you doing to do? Tickle us with your meager strength? Hahaha."

    Zevien waved his hand as he finally exuded his magic power and dissolved the pressure around them and his hands transformed as his nails became longer with a ck aura burning on them. "Vernisia, you know what to do."

    Vernisia looked at them with a pissed-off expression and anger visible in her eyes, "There is only one who can touch me however he wants in this world. So how dare you even try!"

    The three men''s faces changed after sensing Zevien''s aura, but before they could escape, Zevien consumed his mana and created a barrier to trap them.

 Chapter 126 Ruthless! Meeting Euclion

    "P-please, let us g-go¡­ Argh!"

    "N-no, no! Not there!"

    Zevien''s w hit the crotch of the man, causing blood to gush out.

    "Aaarghhhh-"

    After screaming for a bit, he fainted while his two mates looked at Zevien and Vernisia with fear evident in their eyes.

    "You are not escaping!" Vernisia uttered as she used Shadow Hex binding on them while Zevien used ckout Bubbles before attacking.

    "Stop!"

    Zevien stopped his ws just a few centimeters away before looking at a middle-aged man floating outside the barrier. However, after ncing at him, Zevien continued and shed the crotches of both men.

    The students outside felt a chill crawling up their spine; the male students even touched their crotches involuntarily. How ruthless! They all thought.

    "Why did this fight break out?" the middle-aged man asked with slight dissatisfaction towards Zevien since he didn''t stop his action despite him saying so.

    Vernisia told him the situation and after hearing it, the middle-aged man looked at the three 4th ss students lying in a pool of blood. "But isn''t this a bit excessive?"

    "No," Zevien said before he put his hand over Vernisia''s shoulder. "We are new students and I heard that there are not many rules here. If senior students take advantage of this, then isn''t it unfair for weaker students? Can they do whatever they want as long as they don''t kill?"

    "Of course not," the middle-aged man shook his head, "sexual harassment is punishable. After all, self-respect and honor are as important as one''s life or even more. Fights are allowed, but not crimes. Whenever a fight breaks out or if you are in trouble, you can infuse mana into your badge. Even if you don''t, our Eye Tower can see everything on the ind, and we can instantly know whenever a fight breaks out because of mana fluctuations resulting from the sh of two spells."

    "Well, they picked a fight with us, and this is the result; they are not dead, so it''s fine," Zevien said with a in smile as he took out his flying boat and sat down on it with Vernisia. "If there''s nothing more, then we shall leave."

    "Wait, what is your name?" the middle-aged man asked as he looked at Zevien.

    "Zevien."

    "And you?" the middle-aged man looked at Vernisia.

    "Vernisia," Vernisia replied.

    "If someone tried to harass you again, what would you do?" the middle-aged man asked with narrowed eyes.

    "I will call Zevien, and the result will be the same as those three," Vernisia replied with a smile.

    "Yep," Zevien nodded with a grin before moving the mini-boat and leaving.

    The middle-aged man was speechless. He expected to hear that they would infuse mana in their badge and call enforcers. Shaking his head, he called medics with his Digi-watch to take these three students.

    Afterward, he went to a medium-sized pce and went in a room where ten people were working onputers and holograms.

    But he was surprised to see Headmaster Noril there and bowed towards him.

    "What are you here for, Rishin?" Headmaster Noril asked the middle-aged man.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I came here to know about a new student. His name is Zevien," Rishin answered with a wry smile.

    "Oh? Why?"

    "He seems to be a bit abnormal," Rishin said as he remembered Zevien''s aura. "Despite being a new student, he defeated three 4th ss students. I sensed that his magic power was above 3000 before the fight finished."

    "Interesting," Noril nodded before smiling. "But you don''t need to fret over it. There are many ways to boost one''s magic power, and he may have had a fortuitous encounter with something that got him his power. It''s not our role to pry upon that."

    "Understood," Rishin nodded with an obedient expression.

    Headmaster Noril nodded as he passed by Rishin and put his hand on the shoulder before saying, "nothing is more important than breaking past the first boundary and bing a True Magician in the path of magic. Anything below 1st ss rank is worthless. You are just a short step away from breaking past that boundary and bing a True Magician."

    "Yes, headmaster. I will go to Astral Land soon since I will be ready to step on the true magic path after a few days," Rishin said.

    "Mmm, focus on that," Headmaster Noril nodded before leaving.

    ¡­

    "Alright, the mountain structure for the Gaia continent is finally ready," Baishen said as a miniature mountain hovered over his palm.

    "Tsk, when will those bastards take a rest? We wasted a lot of time cause of them. Otherwise, the people of Gaia continent would''ve gotten this spell early," Euclion said with a pout.

    "They will get now, so it''s fine," Baishen said with a smile as he waved his other hand over the mountain, and it disappeared. "Anyway, we really need more people here. Let''s see how those unique people from L''s experiment are doing."

    "You go. I wille after meeting my little friend," Euclion said with a grin. "It''s been a while since I talked to him, and I also have to tell him he doesn''t need to enter that mountain as he and Vernisia are already spirit bound."

    "Alright," Baishen nodded before he disappeared.

    ¡­

    After Zevien and Vernisia returned to their abode, they were going to enter their magicbyrinth, but suddenly, a tremendousmotion urred with mystical magic pulses passing through the atmosphere.

    They quickly came out and were shocked to see a giant floating mountain in the sky, far away from their location.

    "Yo, Zevien!"

    Zevien suddenly heard a familiar voice that he hadn''t heard for a long time behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Euclion floating there while grinning.

    Vernisia also turned around and was startled to see a little boy wearing pajamas floating in the air.

    "You-" Zevien opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

    "Let''s go on a ride," Euclion grinned as he waved his hand, and a bubble appeared as it covered the three of them before they disappeared.

    However, nobody noticed them as all of them had their face toward the silhouette of the floating mountain.

 Chapter 127 Fateless

    "T-this¡­." Vernisia was shocked to see herself suddenly appearing over therge floating mountain.

    Zevien also raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he was not as shocked as Vernisia. After all, Euclion could rewind the time, so teleporting instantly and arriving here didn''t shock him.

    "Yo, Zevien. Long time no see, hahaha," Euclion saidughingly.

    "How strong are you? Are you god? Can I ever reach the same power as you?" Zevien fired three questions with fire in his eyes.

    Vernisia also looked at Euclion before something clicked in her mind, and her eyes showed even more shock, "so you were the one who did the time rewind?"

    "Exactly," Euclion nodded while grinning. "As for your question, Zevien. It is indeed possible to be as strong as me, hahaha. But the path is not an easy one."

    Zevien clenched his fist as he was slightly agitated at knowing that it was possible. "So it is possible¡­"

    "Anyway, I am here to tell you about this mountain," Euclion said as he pointed at the giant mountain below them. "This mountain is a trial set by my friend. The reward is a magic spell. Two people can use that magic spell on each other, and it will only work if they are truly sincere to each other, love each other, and genuinely care for each other. If these three things are met, the spell will spiritually bind these two people, and whenever one of them enters their magicbyrinth, the second one can enter together."

    "Oh? Then it means we can gain more magic power by entering the additional magicbyrinth of our partner?" Vernisia''s eyes shined.

    "No," Euclion shook his head. "You can''t gain magic power while staying in your partner''s magicbyrinth. But you can help and work together to benefit from other things like helping each other, entering trials of your Relics, dungeons, and such things."

    "Then let''s go right now," Zevien said with a grin. "Can you drop us there?"

    "No," Euclion shook his head before smiling, "you two don''t need to take part in a trial on this mountain because you two are already spirit-bound. In the first ce, my friend created this spell because of you. It''s too much to exin, but you two were spirit bound after you helped Vernisia through her experiment. I won''t exin more, but I was just here to tell you this and another thing."

    Euclion''s face suddenly became somber as he looked at Vernisia and Zevien before speaking, "you two are Fateless because I used my powers on you. Generally, we, the beings who have surpassed the Magia realm''s boundary, wouldn''t interfere directly in the life of people living in Magia-realm because it would have adverse effects. For instance, you will feel more difficulties in your life than you would have and attract trouble once you have set foot on the true path of magic, whiches after 1st ss rank."

    "Attract trouble? From who?" Zevien frowned.

    "From Magia realm," Euclion said, "basically, your luck will not be so good since you are now Fateless. So, be able and build a good foundation for yourselves while you still haven''t stepped on the true path of magic."

    Zevien grabbed Vernisia''s hand and grinned, "life without challenges is boring, right Vernisia?"

    "Yep," Vernisia nodded as she also had a fearless grin on her face.

    "There are other Fateless people like you in Astral Land, and many of them have risen high after facing difficulties. Let''s hope you can do the same," Euclion said with a smile. "Alright, now I have to go. Good luck on your journey!"

    *snap!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    Euclion snapped his finger as the three of them disappeared.

    Zevien and Vernisia arrived back on their hill, but Euclion was not there.

    "Zevien, I¡­I am more excited than anxious," Vernisia said as excitement danced in her eyes, and she gave Zevien a hug. "Let''s be the strongest! Euclion mentioned some strange words, but from that, we could infer that there is an even bigger world! He himself has surpassed the Magia Realm. Can you imagine that? It''s mind-blowing!"

    "Indeed, hahaha. Let''s go to the top together and overlook however many worlds are there from above!" Zevienughed as the princess carried Vernisia before entering the abode. "But first, let''s enter my magicbyrinth together and enter the dungeons of my Mirror of Oz-Fin relic and Star Door Relic. It''s good that I haven''t entered them since I was waiting to be a 5th ss magician so I could perform better in them."

    "Nice. I also have yet to enter my Restore Stone Relic''s dungeon. So let''s go into my magicbyrinth after yours."

    Zevien put Vernisia on the bed before he sat down beside her cross-legged and closed his eyes in meditation. After five seconds, he disappeared and appeared inside his Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth.

    "Vernisia?" Zevien said, but frowned a secondter since he didn''t see Vernisia around him. "It failed?"

    Outside, Vernisia felt a mystical calling and closed her eyes to focus and epted it before she disappeared.

    ¡­

    "You are here," Zevien sighed a relief. "I thought it didn''t work since you didn''t enter here at the same time as me."

    "I got a mystical calling after you entered and had to ept it by focusing," Vernisia said thoughtfully. "I guess that''s how it works."

    "So you are also staying in an inn right now?" Vernisia said as she looked around. "This inn is better than the one I am staying in my Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth. Hehe. But you will be surprised when you enter my Primal Elemental Utopia magicbyrinth."

    "Can''t wait for that. The name already sounds good with utopia in it," Zevien grinned and spoke before taking out his Mirror of Oz-Fin. "I am going to open the portal here since this room is big enough."

    Zevien infused 100 mana into the Mirror of Oz-Fin and waited for a few seconds before it shone and released a slow beam of white light in the air three meters away that opened a portal.

    "I heard people getting two yellow-rank magic crystals and other rewards after performing exceptionally in dungeons," Vernisia said as she crackled her fingers. "Let''s do our best and get the best rewards."

    "Yep," Zevien nodded as he put the Mirror of Oz-Fin back into his magic eidos body and entered the portal. Vernisia also entered after him.

    The portal stayed active for a few more seconds before disappearing.

 Chapter 128 Dungeon & Rewards

    After Zevien and Vernisia entered the portal, they appeared inside a small cave with two passages and a mystical cloudy screen appeared in front of them that exuded some magic power.

    *****

    [Novice Nether Hideout Dungeon]

    -Kill Three Nether Elites and their leader, Nether Acolyte, toplete the dungeon.

    -Rewards:

    ¡ª>Kill them in 10 minutes for a gold treasure chest.

    ¡ª>Kill them in 20 minutes for a silver treasure chest.

    ¡ª>Kill them in 30 minutes for a bronze treasure chest.

    *****

    Seeing the description of the dungeon on the mystical disy and the timer beside it, Zevien and Vernisia quickly went inside one of the two passages.

    After running for several seconds, they arrived at a hall and saw three humanoid monsters wielding dual des. They looked humanoid but had dark purple skin and grotesque faces. They wore dark purple ranger-like outfits as well. The three of them nced at the passage entrance after Zevien and Vernisia arrived and opened their mouths with twisted faces.

    *Kraaaaaa!*

    After releasing a weird sound, the three of them sped towards Zevien and Vernisia with glowing purple eyes.

    "I''ll bind them!" Vernisia said as she waved her hand and released three Shadow Bind Hex as three creepy shadows traveled towards the Nether Elites through the ground.

    "I also want to try this new spell," Zevien said as he activated the Shaman-seed''s power and boosted his magic power up to 3260 before using a new spell that the Shaman-seed unlocked when he surpassed 3000 magic power.

    *****

    [Ominous Field]

    ¡ª>Cost: Min. 1000 mana

    ¡ª>Effect: The user conjures an orb that can trigger upon the user''s control. Once triggered, the orb creates a force field and forcefully pulls living beings targeted by the user''s intent within ten meters radius.

    *****

    After Vernisia''s spell immobilized thempletely, Zevien threw the Ominous Field orb five meters away from the Nether Elites.

    *Swoosh* *Crrack!*

    The three Nether Elites got forcefully pulled towards the orb''s force field. They got squeezed into one spot, and no matter how much they struggled, they couldn''t get away.

    "That''s a powerful control-type spell," Vernisia smiled before she waved her hand and used the 2nd Style of Primal Conjuring: Wind Roaring Tiger.

    *Swoosh...sh*

    The three Nether Elites got wiped out by the vicious gusts of winds filled with sharp wind des.

    "Vernisia, can you control that powerful gust of wind and shape it into a spherical shape?" Zevien said thoughtfully, as he imagined a good way to use that spell.

    "Spherical?" Vernisia questioned, but then a light bulb lit up in her head, and her eyes shone. "You mean I let the Wind Tiger avatar release a wind sphere to trap our enemies, and then the powerful wind des make quick work of them?"

    "Yep," Zevien nodded.

    "Hmmm," Vernisia fell into thought while muttering. "For that, I need to suppress wind de manifestations inside the sphere so that it only activates after I trap enemies inside. The speed of the Wind Sphere will also be fast, but the casting time will increase by a second since I will be preparing a wind sphere instead of constant wind gusts filled with des."

    "Let''s go to the boss room. You can try it there," Zevien said as he turned around and walked towards the cave.

    "Yeah, this was pretty easy. From what I sensed, these Nether Elites only had around 500 magic power," Vernisia nodded as she walked alongside Zevien. "We still have 9 minutes, haha. The gold treasure chest is in the pocket."

    ¡­

    After going into another passage, they arrived at another hall and saw the Nether Acolyte floating in the air with purple mes on his hands. His closed eyes instantly opened after Vernisia and Zevien entered the hall.

    Zevien waved his hand and quickly released [Ominous Field] five meters away from the Nether Acolyte and triggered it in the air.

    *Swooosh*

    The Nether Acolyte tried to resist, but he could only resist for a second before he got forcefully pulled towards the force field and got stuck there.

    "Ok, I am gonna try it," Vernisia said with a nod as she focused and used 2nd Style of Primal conjuring, Wind Roaring Tiger!

    This time, the avatar of a majestic white tiger roared but as Vernisia controlled the spell, a sphere started to conjure in front of the tiger''s open mouth instead of releasing powerful wind gusts with wind des like usual.

    "Nice, keep going," Zevien nodded.

    "I thought I would lose control, but it''s going smooth so far," Vernisia said while controlling the magic spell. "I never tried extreme control of mana before, but now that I did it with this spell, it''s obvious that the Magician Growth Boost had a part in increasing the control."

    Suddenly, some des manifested inside the wind sphere, but Vernisia quickly suppressed them and focused. After two seconds, the sphere was ready, and she threw it towards the Nether Acolyte.

    The giant wind sphere that was 10 meters in radius shot towards the monster and trapped it inside before countless wind des manifested within and attacked viciously.

    *Kraaaaaa!*

    The Nether Acolyte released strange sounds in anger and tried to escape, but Ominous Field was too strong. Vernisia''s Wind Roaring Tiger couldn''t kill it, so Zevien waved his hand and released a Rage Ball.

    "Nice, let me save this spell cast sequence in my 2nd style of Primal Conjuring," Vernisia spoke with a smile as she liked this way of using Wind Roaring Tiger more. She closed her eyes and saved this spell cast sequence in the spell formation of her 2nd awakening spell so that she would cast it quicker in the future.

    On the other hand, A dark purple ball materialized in front of Zevien''s hand before it flew towards the Nether Acolyte.

    *Boom!*

    The Nether Acolyte burst into pieces and disappeared.

    Below it, on the ground, a gold treasure chest materialized a second after they killed the Nether Acolyte.

    A portal also appeared behind the chest; it was the exit portal of this dungeon.

    Zevien waited for Vernisia to finish saving the spell sequence as he had something in his mind.

    Vernisia opened her eyes after a minute and was confused. "Why didn''t you open the chest yet?"

    "Let''s do rock, paper, scissors," Zevien said with a grin. "The winner will open the chest."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh? Haha, alright. Sounds good," Vernisia chuckled and nodded as she stood in front of Zevien and took the stance.

    "Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

    "I lost¡­," Vernisia wryly smiled. "But we will do this every time when we encounter treasure chests or something like that. Let''s see who is more lucky."

    "Yep," Zevien nodded as he and Vernisia went to the golden treasure chest.

    *nk¡­*

    Zevien opened the chest, and a slight golden hue appeared which prevented him and Vernisia from seeing what was inside.

    A secondter, the golden hue disappeared, and they saw the content of the chest.

    "Yes! We also got two yellow-rank magic crystals!" Vernisia said after spotting the two yellow-rank magic crystals.

    "Mhmm," Zevien nodded as he looked at other things.

    Aside from two yellow-rank magic crystals, there was a wooden boomerang and a scroll.

    The boomerang had a red metallic design, and also magic patterns carved on it.

    Zevien touched the boomerang and got information about it. A small mystical screen also appeared on top of the boomerang so they could see it.

    *****

    [Crimson Wind Boomerang]

    ->Tier-3 magic item.

    ->Type: Weapon

    ->Effects: Infusing mana in the boomerang covers it with fire and makes it more lethal. It can travel ording to the user''s strength and always return to the user in a curving route but can be blocked by objects.

    *****

    "It''s a tier-3 weapon!" Vernisia eximed. "Nice. Let''s try its powerter." She then went to pick up the scroll and opened it.

    "Hmmm, it''s a tier-2 magic spell, Nether Touch," Vernisia said after opening the scroll.

    *****

    [Nether Touch]

    ¡ª>Tier-2 magic spell.

    ¡ª>Effect: Coat your hands with balefulher power. Nether Touch will affect the first one you touch with your hands and rot them. It can decay the defenses of defense-type spells.

    *****

    "Hmmm, we should learn this tier-2 magic spell andbine it with a long-range attack-type tier-2 magic spell," Zevien rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Since this spell can rot defenses, then it''s useful tobine it with a powerful long-range attack type spell."

    "How about that tier-2 spell, Mist Blow Punch?" Vernisia suggested as she remembered a magic spell she had read. "Mist Blow Punch is an attack-type spell with slight control. It can deal a powerful impact to the opponent before spreading mist around the target.

    "I saw a guy use it in the Arena. He always waited for the right chance to hit his opponent''s face with this spell so that the mist can annoy and impair theirbat ability a bit after damaging them a lot with the punch."

    "That''s actually perfect," Zevien nodded as he imaged theirbined uses. "If we can learn both spells properly andbine them in such that we can also increase their cast limit andbine spell concept of mist with thisher touch, then the mist will possessher touch effects and while spreading, it can rot defenses."

    "Exactly," Vernisia nodded as she also had that in mind.

    "This dungeon seems safe, so let''s just learn it here," Zevien said as he sat down cross-legged.

    "Alright, the portal doesn''t seem to disappear," Vernisia nodded as she sat beside Zevien and ced the scroll in front of them in the middle.

    Both of them infused mana into the scroll and tried to sense the spelling concept of the magic spell and learn it.

    Time passed as seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours.

    Three hourster, Zevien and Vernisia finishedprehending the spell concept at the same time.

    "Three hours¡­ Since we have evolved our magic core, we can stay longer. Still, the average time of staying inside abyrinth as a 5th ss magician is 4 hours," Zevien said as he stood up.

    "But we will stay longer," Vernisia said with resolve. "I am not gaining any magic power, but I guess I will still feel the pressure of leaving."

    "We will stay longer," Zevien smiled and started walking towards the portal. "Let''s leave this dungeon and enter my second relic''s dungeon. We gotta finish it before our time is up."

    After leaving the dungeon, both of them arrived back in the inn''s room.

    Zevien then took out his second relic and infused 100 mana in it before opening another portal.

    Both of them entered, and the portal disappeared.

    ...

    *****

    [Monarch''s Minions Dungeon]

    -->Kill 100 Darkist Minions in 20 minutes for a golden treasure chest.

    -->Kill 100 Darkist Minions in 30 minutes for a silver treasure chest.

    -->Kill 100 Darkist Minions in 40 minutes for a bronze treasure chest.

    *****

    "This is some hellish scenery," Vernisiamented with a frown as she looked at the vast ground oozing outvas and Darkist minions that looked like tiny humanoid lizards with ck patterns on their red skins.

    "We are surrounded," Zevien spoke somberly as he quickly conjured Omni-Barrier.

    Vernisia also conjured amon magic barrier using mana and summoned her fairy spirit.

    *Neighh!!*

    *Creeeeeeeeeee*

 Chapter 129 Strange Item

    "We will have to go all out," Vernisia frowned as the Darkist minions rushed towards them.

    "Let''s fly," Zevien said as he took out a blood vial and kept the blood inside his magic eidos body before directly using drops from there to transform.

    Vernisia also jumped on her fairy spirit before flying up.

    The barrier of Zevien still surrounded both of them as they flew up, but those Darkist minions actually produced wings from behind their backs and also flew up and started attacking by releasing dark-red fireballs.

    *Boom* Boom* *Boom* Boom*

    "Zevien¡­Let''s separate," Vernisia said with a somber expression. "We can''t release our attacks from inside the barrier. We can separate them into two groups and then kill them. It would be easier."

    Zevien was consuming his mana to keep the barrier active and frowned after hearing Vernisia''s suggestion. However, he knew that what Vernisia said was right. That was the only way to minimize the damage to them.

    "I''ll go first and attract most of the Darkist Minions first because I can fly more flexibly and also kill faster than you," Zevien said with an unwavering expression. "Got it?"

    "Fine, but you better not get hurt too much," Vernisia pouted before kissing him.

    Zevien grinned after the kiss andughed before flying out of the barrier while releasing Hellzer in a wide area towards them as several minions died.

    But right after that, many of the Darkist Minions screamed and flew towards Zevien while releasing fireballs.

    Zevien once again released Hellzer in a wide area before quickly flying downward to dodge the barrage of those fireballs.

    On the other hand, Vernisia came out of the barrier while flying on Lyn, her fairy spirit.

    *Neigheheheh!*

    "Lyn! Release your mes in arge area and block their vision," Vernisiamanded while releasing the 1st style of her Primal Conjuring, Water Terror Fish.

    The tiny fish quickly went among the small group of Darkist Minions after Lyn released a wall of dark mes and¡­

    *Boom!*

    Several Darkist Minions died because of the explosion. But after the explosion, four tiny water vortexes formed as they moved as quick as arrows and as sneaky as snakes.

    *Sherererer...*

    Seven more Darkist Minions died while getting shredded in the water vortexes.

    The remaining Darkist Minions screamed and went past the wall of mes while releasing their dark red fireballs.

    Vernisia quickly released Discharged Beam, her tier-1 fusion spell, toward two dark fireballs that were going to hit her and continued flying on Lyn.

    *Boom*

    However, as she flew, a dark fireball from one of the Darkist Minions hit her back and burned her robe along with her skin.

    "Urgh¡­," Vernisia grunted due to the pain, but she continued flying in a zig-zag pattern to dodge the other fireballs.

    After creating some distance, she told Lyn to release a wall of mes to block the minions'' vision again.

    Before the Darkist Minions could catch up, she bore the pain and released the 2nd style of her Primal Conjuring, Wind Roaring Tiger. This time, she went with a standard cast because she wanted to affect arge number of minions.

    *Swooosh¡­sh!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Wind Roaring Tiger killed the Darkist Minions behind the dark me wall. But 6 Darkist minions remained as they passed by the dark me wall and released their constant dark fireballs.

    Vernisia once again started running, but she suddenly saw a barrier conjuring around her and was surprised. When she turned around, she saw three Darkist Minions exploding at the same time.

    *Scraaaaa¡­BOOM¡­*

    "Hahaha, I found the hidden effect of my Rage Ball," Zevienughed as he once again released a Rage Ball, and right when it came into contact with a Darkist Minion, two chains shot from the Rage Ball and hit another two Darkist minions before the three of them¡­

    *BOOM¡­* exploded simultaneously.

    "You killed your part of Darkist Minions so fast?" Vernisia raised her eyebrows. "There were over sixty."

    "Yeah, my Hellzer is arge area attack, and these minions died instantly after getting hit by it," Zevien said before he noticed something and frowned. "You were injured?" He waved his right hand and consumed some mana before using Somatic Happiness externally to heal her.

    "I got hit by a fireball, but it''s not too serious. Just superficial wound," Vernisia said before smiling, "and you already healed it."

    "Well, four fireballs hit me as well, hahaha. But I healed myself," Zevien saidughingly before moving towards the golden treasure chest on the ground withva cracks.

    "Also, since we got money, we should custom order magic outfits with defensive properties," Vernisia said as she stood in front of Zevien and stretched her hand forward.

    Zevien also did the same.

    "Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

    "Let''s see how good my luck is," Vernisia smiled as she won this time. She used paper, while Zevien used rock.

    After standing in front of the chest, she opened it with her hands. A golden sheen was produced after opening it before it disappeared a secondter.

    "One yellow-rank magic crystal, Two gray-rank magic crystals, that scroll should be a magic spell, and¡­what is that?" Vernisia stretched her hand towards the strange item in the shape of a chalice that was faintly visible and was made of tiny blue dots. However, her hand passed through it as she couldn''t grab it.

    "Very strange indeed," Zevien nodded. That item didn''t look like a "physical" item. It was glowing and seemed to be made of tiny blue mystical dots.

    "I''ll try using mana," Vernisia said.

    "Yep."

    Vernisia took out her mana and tried to infuse it into the chalice. The more she infused her mana, the more chalice became "physical". After pouring all of her remaining mana, which was around 2340, one-fifth of the chalice became physical.

    "You do the rest," Vernisia said as she backed away from the chest.

    Zevien nodded as he started infusing mana into the chalice. Since he was in his maximum power mode with 3439 magic power, he had a total of 34,390 mana and consumed around seven thousand mana to kill Darkist Minions.

    After infusing around eight thousand mana into the chalice, it finally became physical. A mystical screen appeared on top of it that showed its details.

    *****

    [Spell Weaving Chalice]

    -->Special Magic Item

    *****

 Chapter 130 Spells

    *****

    [Spell Weaving Chalice]

    ->Special Magic Item

    ->Rank: Bronze

    ->Effect: Infuse spell formation in runes inside the chalice and shake it for five seconds to create a new spellbined with the spell runes.

    ->Note: Can only infuse tier-2 magic spell or lower in the runes. You can carve spell formation in the air and then bring a rune near it so that the rune will automatically absorb that spell formation and infuse it within itself.

    *****

    "There are three runes inside the chalice," Zevien said as he took out three tiny runes.

    "Nice, then we''ll learn Nether Touch and Mist Blow Punchter. But since we canbine three magic spells, then might as well learn another tier-2 spell," Vernisia said before she took out the scroll from the treasure chest. "Let''s see what this spell is."

    She opened the scroll.

    "It''s good. We''ll learn and add this one with Nether Touch and Mist Blow Punch," Zevien nodded after looking at the scroll.

    *****

    [Decay Poison Mist]

    ->Tier-2 magic spell

    ->Effect: Releases poison mist from your hands that can decay anyone touched by it. It can also weaken other spells by decaying their mana, so can be used as a pre-defensive spell.

    *****

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia left the dungeon through the exit portal after taking the things from the golden treasure chest.

    Aftering out, they stayed in the inn and tried to learn the spell intent of Decay Poison Mist.

    After an hour, they started feeling the pressure of leaving, but they held on as long as they could.

    Four hours, thirteen minutes¡­

    Four hours, fifteen minutes¡­

    Four hours, seventeen minutes¡­

    Finally, at the fourth hour''s twentieth minute, Vernisia disappeared.

    Zevien held on, but he also disappeared a minuteter.

    Both of them appeared back in their bedroom and continuedprehending the spell intent of Decay Poison Mist.

    After two hours, they finished learning it and opened their eyes.

    "Let''s go and buy the Mist Blow Punch spell. After learning its spell intent, we can carve all three spells'' formation in the air and let the runes absorb them. No need to weave these spells into our magic core," Vernisia said.

    "Yep. And I feel it will probably result in a powerful tier-3 spell. It will take more space in our magic core if we learn a tier-3 spell right now, but it should be worth it," Zevien smiled.

    *Ding¡­*<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien suddenly got a message, and when he checked his Digi-watch, he was surprised, "so many messages from Dan."

    "What is it?" Vernisia asked curiously as she went behind Zevien and hugged him by locking her arms around his neck and arching her head to read the message from his Digi-watch with him.

    "Oh, so they went to that floating mountain?" Zevien raised his eyebrows. "The headmaster took all the students there."

    "We don''t need to go there because we are already spirit bound," Vernisia smiled. "We''ll just continue our progress here and see what kind of spell that magical chalice can create."

    "Yep. Let''s go and buy the Mist Blow spell. We should be able to get it in the library of this academy. I heard it has almost all spells recorded to date," Zevien said with keen eyes.

    "But they don''t give spells for free, right?"

    "Yep. Probably needs Gaia credits and those so-called Skyward Merits we heard about in the market."

    "Wait, check your magic power, hahaha. Almost forgot about it," Vernisia said with a chuckle. "I want to see how much magic power you got in four hours and twenty-one minutes."

    "It''s usually 0.5 magic power per minute after bing 5th ss magician," Zevien said before checking his status by infusing mana in Digi-watch.

    -Magic power: 633

    "It''s an increment of 131," Vernisia said while grinning. "Not bad. I can''t wait to enter mybyrinth as well. Let''sbine the spell, and then it''s my turn."

    ¡­

    After leaving their hill, they went to the library and bought the tier-2 magic spell, Mist Blow Punch. Since they had a golden badge, which meant they were Elite-abode students, they got a 20% discount.

    They spent another 3 hours learning the spell concept of Mist Blow Punch and then started practicing creating their spell formation.

    Afterward, they went to their backyard. Zevien focused on creating the spell formation of Nether Touch while Vernisia focused on creating the spell formation of Decay Poison Mist. Whoever finished their task first would start creating the spell formation of [Mist Blow Punch].

    So it was also like apetition between them.

    "By the way, we also have to use the spell after creating their spell formation. If the spell isn''t executed properly, it doesn''t count," Vernisia said.

    "Good," Zevien nodded.

    Both of them were creating spell formations with absolute focus.

    Time passed as the sun started setting. After four hours, Zevien finished his spell formation first and cast the spell.

    The magic circle disappeared as Zevien cast the spell. His hands became dark purple with a creepy aura. He went to a nearby tree and touched a branch with his hand.

    *Siiii¡­.*

    The branch started rotting as Zevien''s hand touched it.

    "Alright, I win," Zevien turned around to look at Vernisia but saw that she was in absolute focus.

    A few secondster, she finished thest pattern and smiled. "I am also done."

    She cast the spell and released the mist from her hands as it spread towards the tree. The tree started decaying with a foul smell and oozed out green poison. This spell was a poison-type spell, while the Nether Touch was a direct effecting spell that acted on one point that was touched by hand.

    Decay Poison Mist decays mana in the spell while Nether Touch can break down the spell itself, so it''s used to break defense. Both have their own merits, so oncebined, they can indeed be deadly.

    "Let''s create the spell formation of Mist Blow Punch together. Since we both understood its spell intent, we should be able to manage it," Vernisia said with shining eyes. "If we can achieve perfect harmony between us, then it will help us in many things."

    Zevien nodded with a smile as he also felt that it was a good idea. "Alright, let''s do it!"

 Chapter 131 Strate

    "Not that part¡­," Vernisia quickly said.

    "Oops, my bad," Zevien said as he hollowly smiled.

    "Hmm, our speed and way of carving spell formation are still not matching perfectly," Vernisia wryly smiled. "Still, we are doing better than our first hour. Despite the mistakes, our progress is faster together."

    "Mhmm," Zevien nodded. "We can finish it in the next thirty minutes. Only thest part is left."

    In front of them was a spell formation in the shape of a circle with entric patterns, but the circle was notplete. Vernisia and Zevien were still forming patterns of the [Mist Blowing Punch] magic spell.

    After thirty minutes, they finallypleted the spell formation of [Mist Blowing Punch] and used the spell on the same tree that was already beaten up badly because of the previous two spells.

    "You do it," Vernisia said.

    "Alright," Zevien nodded. He triggered the spell formation as it appeared in front of his fist and then disappeared into his hand.

    Zevien then punched towards the tree as a misty punch conjured from his fist and shot towards the tree.

    *Boom!*

    The misty fist hit the tree and broke it with a powerful impact as the broken part flew off the hill. The mist lingered around the part that broke off and fell off the hill.

    "Great! It worked," Zevien smiled. "Now, let''s create these three spell formations again and infuse them into the runes."

    Two minutester, Zevien and Vernisia finished creating spell formations of [Nether Touch] and [Decay Poison Mist], respectively. Since they had already created them once, it was easier to create them a second time.

    Afterward, they created spell formation of [Mist Blowing Punch] together in a minute.

    Zevien took out the chalice and three runes from his storage ring before infusing all three spell formations into the runes and then putting those runes into the chalice.

    "It''s time," Vernisia said with anticipation showing in her eyes.

    Zevien was also the same as he nodded and started shaking the chalice. The chalice started faintly glowing and emitted ethereal blue sparks that started flowing around it. The runes inside it also started glowing and turned into motes beforebining.

    When Zevien finished shaking it five times, the chalice turned into sparks and disappeared as if it had died after getting used, and the rune inside it fell down.

    "Those three spellsbined into one¡­Let''s see," Vernisia muttered as she picked up the rune. "But how do we learn the spell from this rune?"

    "Maybe infuse mana in it? This rune is very different. Those three runes were light gray stones, but this rune is a white rune with patterns," Zevien said while looking at the rune curiously.

    Vernisia infused mana into the rune, and right after that, a spell formation with a spell intent in it appeared in her head. "Yep. Just need to infuse mana."

    However, when she looked at the information about the spell, her mouth opened wide in shock. "Wow, this spell¡­Here, take it and see."

    Zevien took the rune and quickly infused mana in it to see the information since Vernisia''s reaction increased his anticipation. A secondter, he also got information about it, and a spell formation with spell intent appeared in his head.

    Afterward, he looked at the panel with details in his head and was shocked. "Holy shit! This spell is powerful! Howe thebination resulted in this?" Zevien almost shouted in shock.

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Ruination Mist Cannon]

    ->Type: Offense-type Tier-4 magic spell

    ->Effect: Consume 1000 mana to manifest a cannon barrel attached to your hand from which you can shoot a cannonball by consuming 8000-10,000 mana. It can deal devastating damage. It deals more damage to defense-type spells and explodes into a ruination mist with destructive properties that can reduce defenses. The cannonball can also deflect iing magic spells, but it will explode uponing into contact. But you can still control the ruination mist after the cannonball explodes.

    *****

    "If we weave this spell into our magic core, we won''t have any space left for any other spell," Vernisia wryly smiled.

    "You need to learn a tier-2 or a tier-3 defensive spell," Zevien nodded. "Your defense is weak. You got two control-type awakening spells from your first magicbyrinth and two pure offensive awakening spells from your second magicbyrinth. What you require is a powerful defense."

    Vernisia crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. "I think I will learn a powerful tier-4 defense-type spell. I''ll have to remove other spells aside from my awakening magic spells, but that''s fine. Mybat set is ready with this defensive spell."

    "But you already learned a tier-2 fusion spell¡­" Zevien was speechless.

    "Screw it. It was a mistake," Vernisia snorted cutely. "I got enough control and damage with my awakening spells. So I''ll just learn a powerful tier-4 defensive spell. You gave me this idea."

    "Fine. That''s good as well," Zevien wryly smiled before looking at the rune in his hand. "I will learn this spell because it''s simply too good to ignore for an offensive assault. I should be able to keep my Brilliant burn since it''s a tier-1 spell and still learn this spell."

    "Yep. It''s best that you learn a high-tier spell because you have arge reserve of mana because of your cat transformation," Vernisia nodded. "I won''t haverge enough mana reserve any time soon to use other spells after using my future tier-4 defense-type, so I''ll have to learn a defense-type spell that canst longer around me after one cast."

    Zevien rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before a spell came to his mind. "[Roving Aegis Guard]."

    "[Roving Aegis Guard]? Never heard about it," Vernisia shook her head, but her eyes showed curiosity, "but from the name, it sounds like a perfect choice for me."

    Suddenly, Zevien and Vernisia heard some sounds and looked to the side before seeing several flying boatsing towards the Abode area. It was already night, as it''s been almost 12 hours since they entered Zevien''s magicbyrinth in the morning.

    One mini flying boat flew towards Zevien and Vernisia''s hill.

    "You all finally returned," Zevien smiled as he saw Tigger, Dan, and Erica on the boat.

    "Yeah," Dan grinned as he showed a V sign with his right hand. "Erica and I seeded in spirit binding after we used the [Spirit Bind] spell on each other."

    "You all entered the trial? Shouldn''t there be many people more powerful?" Vernisia was surprised.

    "Right," Zevien nodded as he was also confused.

    "You two missed out on a good show," Tiggerughed. "Headmaster Noril tyrannically announced that nobody will enter the mountain before all students finish their trials, and he even showed his power."

    "Right," Erica nodded before sighing in awe. "He is way more powerful than any 1st ss magician considering that even his students are 1st ss magicians."

    "Nobody dared to oppose him," Dan said as he clenched his fist. "I wonder when will we reach that level?"

    "We will reach it," Zevien smiled as he looked at Vernisia.

    "Yep," Vernisia nodded. "No matter the difficulties, we have to push forward. For instance, Zevien and I decided to learn a tier-4 magic spell, hahaha," Vernisia grinned, showing her white teeth.

 Chapter 132 Trouble Encroaching

    "Eh, why? Won''t it limit your versatility if you learn a single tier-4 magic spell? It will take the entire space in your current magic core," Tigger said as he frowned.

    "I get it!" Erica eximed. "Since we got two magicbyrinths, we are already pretty versatile because of our awakening spells. Now we can just learn a powerful tier-4 spell of an aspect that weck."

    "Two magicbyrinths?" Tigger was startled.

    "Oh¡­he doesn''t know about it. Hahaha," Danughed as he patted Tigger''s shoulder. "Don''t worry. Since you are in our team, you can get the same treatment."

    "Wait, wait, wait!¡­ Two magicbyrinths?" Tigger was still shocked.

    ? "I can help awaken two more people in their 2nd magicbyrinth," Zevien nodded with a smile, "I can''t do it directly since I don''t know how to use that power, but you can get a second awakening after Magician Growth Boost."

    Zevien then exined to Tigger about the Magician Growth Boost.

    After hearing about it, Tigger was excited but also hesitant. "Are you sure you want to use it on me? Like¡­ I will be immensely grateful, but you can only do it on a limited amount of people, right?"

    Hearing him, Zevien smiled and patted his shoulder. "We''ve known you for long enough to trust you. You are also joining our n, so you are an important member of our team."

    "Right!" Dan grinned.

    Tigger took a deep breath and smiled. "You can count on me."

    "Alright, now Dan and I are going back to our abode. We have to enter our 1st magicbyrinth," Erica said with a hint of excitement in her eyes. "Time to get some magic crystals from the relic dungeon and also start a new chain for the 2nd relic."

    "Yeah! Let''s go," Danughed as he took out his mini flying boat, and both of them flew towards their hill, which was on the other side of the river.

    "Zevien, I can really call Kerolin here, right?" Tigger asked with slight worry in his eyes as he sighed. "She is also talented, but because this tournament was mixed among all years'' students, she couldn''t reach the finals."

    "Hmm, you know what? We will just go to Starlight city two dayster and get you both the Magician Growth Boost and a 2nd awakening," Zevien grinned. "After that, we can officially join the n after informing the academy. Also, this ind is huge, and there are many other people aside from the students and teachers, so I think we can find a way to let Kerolin stay in the academy or, better yet, let her enroll here."

    "Yeah," Vernisia nodded with a smile. "Once she gets the Magician Growth Boost and 2nd awakening, she can be cream of the crop, so once the academy sees her performance, they would likely enroll her. After all, the Headmaster said that this ce is to nurture elite magicians for Astral Land, and Kerolin should easily qualify for that given her talent, knowledge, and hard-working nature."

    "You know about her?" Tigger was surprised, but then he remembered. "Oh yeah, you both were part of the student council."

    "Yep."

    "Alright, I will go now and also enter my magicbyrinth," Tigger said before he adopted a solemn expression and did a slight bow. "Zevien, I will not disappoint you. I realize that the opportunity you are giving me is very valuable and not something that I can get on my own."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Don''t be stiff, hahaha. You and Kerolin are in our gang now," Zevienughed.

    "Right," Vernisia smiled.

    "Then we shall go to Starlight city after two days," Tigger smiled, joy and excitement clear in his eyes as he thought about future prospects. "See youter."

    After Tigger descended the hill and went into his Decent-rank abode, Zevien and Vernisia also entered their abode.

    "Let''s enter my magicbyrinth now. First, we will enter my relic dungeon and thenplete the chain to get my 2nd relic. Let''s see what we get this time," Vernisia said with anticipation as she sat down on the bed with her eyes closed and disappeared after five seconds.

    A secondter, Zevien received a mystical call, and he thought about epting it before he disappeared as well.

    ¡­

    Blood Sun Organization¡­

    Inside a room with a middle-aged noble structure and furniture, the Supreme Leader of the BSO sat on a chair with five hologram screens in front of him. Out of those five screens, four screens had three men and one woman disyed live.

    "Did you find anything about that, Alucard?" the Supreme Leader of the Blood Sun Organization asked his agents.

    "Not yet. We have found no traces of him anywhere in the open. He didn''t evene to that floating mountain as far as we know."

    Suddenly, a man appeared on the nk 5th hologram screen.

    "ck Hawk," the Supreme Leader said as he looked at the man. "Any findings?"

    "Nothing about Alucard, but I found some interesting details regarding a person in Starlight city. A young man named Zevien," ck Hawk spoke with a keen smile on his face. "Despite being seventeen or eighteen years old, he is one of the richest people in Lopax country right now. Currently, he is at Skyward Academy. This young man is indeed very capable. Should we try to rope him in? Since he is still young, we should be able to entice him with our resources. I''ll send you the details about him that I found."

    "Zevien? He is in our suspicious list of people thatprise possible individuals who have received the Admission Medallion from Alucard," said the woman wearing a suit on the 3rd hologram screen. She wore ck rim sses over her pale yellow eyes and had a bob-cut hairstyle.

    "Oh? That is a nice idea. Since Alucard didn''t enroll in the academy, we can find the student he gave the Admission Medallion." ck Hawk said.

    "Yes. That''s why I also called you in this meeting," the Supreme Leader nodded. "Start investigating this list of people and find out the student who received the Admission Medallion from Alucard."

    "On it, supreme leader!" ck Hawk nodded with a serious expression. "I willplete the investigation as soon as possible. Anerin, send me the list, please."

 Chapter 133 S & C (R-18)

    Inside a luscious jungle, a particr area was messy and damaged pieces of white crystals littered everywhere as if a battle had just finished. There was a pond nearby with clear water and tiny colorful fishes.

    "Phew¡­finally done," Vernisia slumped on the ground near the pond and wiped off some sweat from her face before taking out a tier-1 healing magic potion and pouring it on her right leg, which was bleeding profusely.

    "Yeah, these relic trials are really troublesome," said Zevien while he healed Vernisia''s leg using his magic spell to speed up the healing. "But the rewards are equally great."

    They just finished defeating a crystal giant that could absorb magic damage and heal itself. It was slow and would get injured a lot, but it could still absorb some attacks and heal itself, making it annoying to kill while dodging its wide attacks. After they killed the crystal giant, it turned into powder and left a ne behind on the ground.

    "Anyway, our efforts were worth it. I got the relic," Vernisia smiled as she looked at a ne in her hand.

    *****

    [Yukan Ne]

    -Type: Relic

    -Maximum uses: 4

    -1st Effect: Infuse 5000 Mana into the ne to conjure five mystic white crystal orbs that can absorb iing magic damage from spells until they turn golden from white. You have to control the orbs and block attacks using them to absorb magic damage.

    -2nd Effect: The absorbed magic damage inside the orbs can be turned into a healing wave by the user to heal anyone within a twenty meters radius.

    ->You can infuse 100 mana into the ne and open a portal that will lead you to a dungeon. Completing the dungeon will give you rewards ording to your performance. (One-time entry)

    *****

    "What do we do now? We spent 3 hours here already doing your first relic dungeon,pleting the chain, and finally getting your second relic," Zevien said as heid down on the grassy ground with his head resting on his hands. "We got one hour and some minutes."

    Vernisia grinned as she stood up before stretching her hand towards Zevien. "Let''s take a bath in that pond and rest until we can''t stay in thebyrinth anymore. It should be twelve in the night in our world right now."

    "Haha, good idea," Zevienughed as he grabbed Vernisia''s hand and got himself up before suddenly princess-carrying Vernisia and jumping into the pond.

    *Ssh!*

    "The water is cool and so clean," Vernisia said as she floated on her back in the water.

    Zevien also floated beside her before he involuntarily nced at her twin peaks floating on the water. His meat stick got stiff as Vernisia looked very hot with her t-shirt sticking to her body and all wet. "I feel like they became slightly bigger."

    Vernisia blushed as her ears turned red, but then she snorted cutely. "I am still growing."

    "Cough¡­," Zevien wryly smiled before a mischievous glint passed through his eyes. "Come, let me hug you. Hehe," he cackled and used mana to affect the water around him and Vernisia to slightly solidify it.

    But before he could make his move, Vernisia directly put herself on top of Zevien and hugged him while grinning. "Here, you can feel them closely now."

    "Ahh yes, it''s such a heavenly feeling!" Zevien wrapped his arms around her. Looking at her face, which was just a few centimeters away, he smiled and kissed her.

    Vernisia snuggled into Zevien''s embrace with a relishing smile and closed her eyes. "Zevien, you know what?"

    "What?"

    "I love you so much."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Me too," Zevien smiled and kissed her on the head before pulling her towards him with his arm resting behind her as his eyes showed his deep affection towards Vernisia.

    ¡­

    After staying for a total of 4 hours and 21 minutes, they were kicked out of Vernisia''s Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth.

    Both of them appeared on the bed, but since they had socked themselves in thest ten minutes, the bed didn''t get wet.

    "Let''s get changed and sleep. We will need to wake up tomorrow early as well," Zevien said as he got off the bed.

    "Umm, no need to change. Let''s just sleep without anything," Vernisia said with a slight blush, but she didn''t hesitate and took off all her clothes andy on the bed before covering herself with the nket, showing only her eyes. "Come inside," she cooed.

    ''Aaaaaaaaaaaa¡­Cute!'' Zevien screamed inwardly as Vernisia was too cute just now.

    After taking off his clothes, Zevien walked to the edge of the bed before climbing it and entering inside the nket. Both of them were looking at the ceiling while sleeping fully naked right beside each other.

    "Do I have to make the first move every time?" Vernisia pouted. "Come on, hug me."

    "Ehhhh...," Zevien was a bit speechless. ''But I made the first move many times'' Still, he happily got closer to her and hugged her.

    "Mhmm," Vernisia nodded as she snuggled into Zevien''s hug.

    "Bare is best¡­," Zevien muttered as Vernisia''s soft breasts pressed on his body, both bare as he felt good and closed his eyes. His little brother turned stiff and coincidently touched Vernisia''s thighs, startling her a bit.

    "Do you need help?" said Vernisia as she smiled coyly.

    "Nope, that''s just a physical reaction," Zevien smiled as he looked into Vernisia''s eyes. "I am at peace right now with you, hehe. Let''s just sleep."

    "Mhmm, ok."

    ¡­

    Unlike Zevien and Vernisia, Dan and Erica were going wild in their bedroom aftering out of their magicbyrinth. Erica was riding Dan''s meat rod as her melons jiggled. Her red hair was untied, and her eyes were closed as Dan''s meat rod hit her deepest parts, causing her to let out moans of intense pleasure.

    "Aahhh~ Quick, quick, I am climaxing!" Erica said as she bent down and hugged Dan.

    "Hehehe, alright!" Dan grinned as he grabbed Erica''s buttocks and started thrusting quickly!

    *Moan!!*

    "Haaah¡­," Erica gasped as she rested on Dan''s chest while his hot semen dripped. "I wonder if Vernisia and Zevien do this too or not?"

    "Who knows? Hahaha. Anyway, we should enter mybyrinth and just rest inside after getting my relic. After all, we gotta wake up early in the morning."

    "Alright, let''s take a quick shower and enter," Erica nodded as she got off from Dan. "By the way, how long will it take to get your relic, and how long can we rest inside?"

    "I left at thest step previously, since the quest was straightforward and the location was near. We just need to defeat the relic guardian directly to get the relic, and then we can rest in an inn or something."

 Chapter 134 [Bonus ]First Activity Class

    "This [Spirit Bind] spell is really interesting. I wonder how that mountain appeared with such clear-cut details and arrangements of trials in it," Yonish said curiously as he and the other five head teachers sat down at a round table with Headmaster Noril sitting on the main chair. "Master, do you know about this?"

    "Such phenomenons appear in Astral Land, but they are still rare," Headmaster Noril caressed his beard while smiling. "This spell is basically for couples and family members who can meet the requirements. If our students who are in pairs can meet requirements when using this spell, they can benefit a lot when entering each other''s magicbyrinths to help."

    "Indeed," said Karina, ady wearing an eastern white dress and a long violet ponytail. "Jay, do you want to try this spell with me? If my magic eidos body can enter your magicbyrinth, I can help you with the problem you are facing inside," she said smilingly while looking at a man with short ck hair wearing a casual ck shirt.

    "Ho ho ho, you can try," Noril saidughingly as he looked at Jay.

    "Please don''t tease me," Jay wryly smiled. "If my wife found it out, she will kill me. I already got her shell call from Astral Land and told me to go there since a simr phenomenon, but on a grander scale, appeared there at multiple locations."

    "Master, there were still some students who missed out on this opportunity. Should we take them to the mountain in the morning?" said Ralph, a middle-aged man with short, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes.

    "Announce it in the morning and round up all students who missed out on it," Headmaster Noril nodded. "Everyone should learn this spell and use it. Even if they fail with their current partners, they can eventually use it after they find someone who can meet the requirements."

    ¡­

    At 5 AM, a middle-aged man arrived at the Abode area with a watermelon-sized bell in his hand. He moved the bell after infusing mana into it, and it started ringing loudly, spreading a tolling sound in the entire Abode area.

    "All students who have yet to go to the floating mountain must arrive at the dock in the next thirty minutes!"

    Inside 4th hill''s abode, Zevien and Vernisia got ready and prepared to go there just for the show, even though they''re already spirit-bound.

    Soon, they went to the dock area and entered the big ship with many other people.

    Headmaster Noril was also there as he swept his nce across the boat. "This is thest round. If any other people who missed this, they will have to go to the floating mountain on their own."

    After waiting for several more minutes, the ship took off at exactly 5:30 in the morning and flew towards the floating mountain.

    Soon, they arrived at the giant floating mountain with twenty-five trial cave entrances; so twenty-five pairs could enter at a time.

    While waiting for their turn, Zevien and Vernisia started training.

    Zevien focused onprehending the spell concept of the Tier-4 magic spell [Ruination Mist Cannon] while Vernisia was learning the spell concept of a Tier-3 spell [Shadow Bolt] that she got from her first relic, Restore Stone''s dungeon. Restore Stone was a more impactive relic, as it only gave one try to Vernisia.

    *****

    [Restore Stone]

    -Type: Relic

    -Maximum uses: 1

    -1st Effect: This relic will automatically activate once you die and restore your health and body condition to any instance of your choice from 48 hours prior to your death.

    Note: If you are killed by an Adepta-rank magic spell or higher, the relic will not work.

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    Vernisia wanted to learn that Tier-3 magic spell [Shadow Bolt] just for the future. It''s always good to hoard magic spells by learning their spell concept and spell formation, so you canbine them to create more powerful spells, or they might juste in handy in some situation.

    After two hours, Zevien and Vernisia''s turn arrived as they entered a cave entrance for the trial. However, after entering the cave entrance, the scenery changed into a marble hall, but none of the challenges got activated.

    "Maybe because we are already spirit bound?" Zevien wondered.

    "Yeah, that should be the case," Vernisia nodded wryly. "I actually wanted to see the trial."

    "Well, let''s just stay here for twenty to thirty minutes and then leave."

    Vernisia nodded as she and Zevien continued moving forward and stopped in the middle of the cave before continuing with their spell concept learning.

    Twenty-five minutester, they left the hall as there was an exit door.

    ¡­

    At 9 PM, the ship went back to the academy.

    At 10 PM, all new students were called to the Star-Sky Ground, which was one kilometer away from the Abode area.

    "Hi, Zevien," Jacky said as he greeted Zevien with a smile. "When are you going to join the n you spoke about?"

    Jacky and Leena approached Zevien and the gang.

    "A weekter," Zevien said before he rubbed his chin. "So you two are a pair?"

    "Yep," Leena nodded with a grin, "it''s better to pair up with someone you know."

    "Did you two seed in learning the [Spirit Bind] magic spell?" Erica asked curiously.

    "We didn''t make an attempt yet," Jacky shook his head. "We will do it a monthter."

    Leena nodded with a smile. "It''s better to get to know each other more and meet the requirements in our head before attempting to use the spell."

    "It looks like everyone is here," Roman said as he, Helin, Tigger, and Tigger''s partner walked towards Zevien''s group.

    Tigger''s partner was a slim man with shoulder-length, ashen gray hair. His name was Uwan.

    ? "It''s time for our first big activity as pairs," Uwan said as an excited smile formed on his pale face.

    "Attention here, all students!"

    All students looked up and saw a beautifuldy wearing a traditional eastern white embroidery dress floating in the air on a cloud.

    "I am Karina, one of the head teachers of this academy," Karina smiled as she crossed her arms over her ample bosom. "Today, you will be going through some hurdles and pain but will also get rewards ording to your performance. Get ready for your first pair activity ss: Wild Magic Call!"

 Chapter 135 Wild Magic Call

    "In this Wild Magic Call activity, all of you will be thrown into a forest for eight hours. There are dangerous magic beasts in the forest up to grade-4 magic beasts, so be careful. Oh, and you can join hands with other student pairs to defeat magic beasts," Karina said with a sharp smile. "That''s it! There are some other things, but you will have to discover them yourself."

    All the students were startled. That was like¡­telling almost nothing about the activity!

    "All you need to know is that you can earn points, so find out how to earn them, and they will be recorded in your badge. Those who failed to meet the required points will be expelled, and the top ten pairs with the highest points will get some rewards," Karina said before she took out a giant ship from her storage ring and ced it down. "Get on!"

    The students entered the ship with confusion written on their faces.

    "The hint should be the name of this activity, Wild Magic Call," Zevien said thoughtfully. "We will find out what the deal is after entering the forest."

    ¡­

    Shortlyter, ten other teachers arrived on the ship before it took off and flew away from the academy.

    Inside the giant ship''s faculty room, ten teachers sat around the big table while Karina sat at a slightly bigger chair at the table as she was the head teacher.

    "Head Karina, shouldn''t we tell the students not to attempt to kill other students? After all, they are bound to fight when they find out how to earn points," a middle-aged woman said with a slight frown.

    "No need because nobody will die," Karina nonchntly spoke as she waved her hand and took out a pile of bracers from her storage ring. "Go and give every student a bracer. Tell them that if they feel that death ising closer, they can infuse mana in the bracer to save themselves and teleport on the ship."

    "Oh?"

    The other teachers were surprised.

    Karina leaned back in the chair as a cunning grin appeared on her face. "This item will also protect their vitals once they are close to death and teleport them on the ship''s teleport nod, even if they don''t infuse mana, but don''t tell them about the automatic saving effect of this bracer."

    The other teachers nodded in understanding.

    "We have to increase the ruthlessness because the future is even more brutal," Karina said with a cold glint in her eyes. "They can fight all they want to hone themselves in this dangerous environment."

    ¡­

    Soon, some teachers arrived on the giant ship''s deck, where students were standing in small groups, and gave everyone a bracer before telling them about it.

    Ten minutester, the ship finally arrived at the forest andnded on the ground outside the forest.

    "There is one more thing about this activity, and it''s about how to finish it," Karina said as she overlooked the students standing on the deck. "The final goal is to pass the forest and climb that mountain peak in eight hours. Those who failed to climb or climbed without sufficient points will be expelled."

    "Umm, can you at least tell us how many points we need and how to see the points we earned?" a student asked.

    "Nope," Karina shook her head smilingly. "You will know the existence of the points soon, but you won''t know how much you need to pass. Just do your best and climb the mountain peak before the deadline. Alright, now leave the ship and enter the forest. The entire forest and those three mountains are inside our academy''s magic formation created by the Headmaster."

    Soon, all the students got off the ship while those who could fly flew towards the forest.

    Zevien and the gang stayed together and went close to the forest''s border before arriving in front of the faint blue visible barrier. However, after they passed the barrier, they found themselves separated!

    "Obviously, they wouldn''t allow a big group to move together," Zevien said with a wry smile.

    Vernisia nodded as she looked at her golden badge. "I guess the pairs stay together because of the badges."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yep. Each abode had a pair of badges, so they should be connected somehow with the unique code of each pair of badges," Zevien nodded before grinning and cracking his knuckles. "Well, time to go on a rampage!"

    But suddenly, his face changed. "I can''t ess my storage ring."

    Vernisia raised her eyes and tried, but she also couldn''t ess her storage ring. "This magic formation barrier is likely preventing it."

    "Yeah."

    "Anyway, let''s get moving," Vernisia said as she called out to Lyn and sat down on it.

    *Neighehehe!*

    "Alright," Zevien said before he activated his shaman seed to power up and then sat down behind Vernisia while grabbing her waist. He didn''t power up to full, but just increased his magic power to 1000 for now.

    "After finishing this activity, we''ll go and custom order our battle outfits. Many students already had battle outfits," Vernisia said before shemanded Lyn to fly upwards.

    However, when Lyn flew five meters in the air, it cried and descended to 3 meters in height.

    "What happened?" Vernisia asked as she caressed Lyn''s head.

    Soon, Lyn sent back thoughts to Vernisia and told her it couldn''t fly above five meters in height as some sort of power suppressed it.

    Zevien also guessed it andughed. "Let''s just zoom through the forest."

    ¡­

    After five minutes of flying, they encountered a grade-5 Earthly Bear.

    *Rawr!!*

    The bear roared after seeing Zevien and swiped itsrge, sharp, brown ws as two crystal ws materialized and shot toward Zevien.

    Lyn nimbly dodged the attack before Zevien jumped high and waved his right hand to release a [Nyxite w] towards the bear.

    *Swoosh!*

    The ck creepy, devilish w was fast and dangerous as the bear was directly cut into three. However, something strange happened after that!

    The bear turned into ck ink while leaving a tomato-sized golden orb behind.

    Zevien curiously moved towards the golden orb. "Could it be that we earn points by collecting such things? Hmm, so the magic beasts in this forest are fake or what?"

    "Don''t move! Leave that orb, or we will attack you!"

    Zevien and Vernisia looked to their left and saw two students standing five meters away while pointing their hands at them.

    "Are you sure?" Zevien grinned.

 Chapter 136 Illegal

    "Are we sure? We are damn sure!" the man spoke before he summoned his fairy spirit, and his partner also summoned her fairy spirit.

    The man''s fairy spirit was a young elephant with two trunks, while the woman''s fairy spirit was a fox with icy fur.

    Zevien smiled and picked up the orb with a carefree smile,pletely ignoring the other two''s threat.

    "What are you doing to do now?" Zevien said as he showed them the orb on his palm and juggled it.

    ''It seems that these two are not afraid of fighting without protection,'' the man thought. He didn''t expect to see this behavior from Zevien and Vernisia.

    "Go go, don''t waste our time," Vernisia said while sitting on Lyn andmanded it to fly beside Zevien.

    "Attack us if you want to leave this forest without earning any points," Zevien said with a cold smile before jumping and sitting behind Vernisia. "Let''s go."

    Vernisiamanded Lyn to fly away.

    *Neighehehe!*

    "Why don''t we attack?" the girl asked with a frown.

    The man shook his head. "Not worth it."

    "Do you think we would really lose?"

    "Yes," the man nodded with a somber expression. "Let''s continue."

    ¡­

    Time passed as Zevien and Vernisia killed all the magic beasts they encountered on the way. For the first hour, they only encountered early grade-5 magic beasts. However, after they crossed a certain distance in the forest, they encounter middle-grade-5 magic beasts with around 1000 magic power.

    They even shed with some students, but that didn''t end well for others.

    "Head Karina. There is one student who is a cut above the rest. His magic power is around 2000, and that makes him the sole student with a strengthparable to a 4th ss magician."

    "Hmm? So is he a 4th ss magician or using external boost to increase his magic spell?" Head Karina asked.

    "It seems to be magic rted rather than external boosts like illegal magic power boost potion. But we have caught two students who were using illegal magic power boost potion."

    "So we have one?" Karina''s eyes turned icy. "We always have a couple of idiots who use that thing. Bring them to me."

    Ten minutester, the middle-aged man who informed Karina about the students brought back two students. Both students were scared shitless and were tearing up.

    "Please forgive us this time! We won''t do it again!"

    "Yes, please give us one more chance!<novelnext></novelnext>

    Both men started begging for forgiveness while crying. One of them had short brown hair while the other had long dark brown hair with the front hair colored in red.

    "Head, here is the product they used," the middle-aged man handed over four potion vials to Karina.

    Karina took the potions and looked at them for a few seconds before turning her head towards the students. "Do you know what is used to create these potions, right?"

    "W-we¡­we don''t know."

    "This guy got the potions, not me! He brought them here and gave me to use," the student with long dark brown hair said as he pointed at his partner.

    "Shut up!" Karina shouted angrily. From that student''s reaction who denied knowing about the ingredient of this potion, she knew he was lying.

    The core ingredient of such magic potions that boosts magic power is a ssless magician''s magic core, and the more young the magic core is, the better!

    In other words, young kids who have just manifested their magic eidos body. The dark organizations who create these potions kidnap young kids and even have horrible facilities that keep such kids and wait for them to grow before extracting their magic core, which results in their death after extracting their magic core.

    Since the magic cores of young kids are untainted and pure, they can modify them with other magic ingredients and boost their magic power to a high degree, depending on the ingredients. Such a thing couldn''t be done to living humans because it would instead kill them, but they can do whatever they want with the extracted magic core since it''s not connected to living humans anymore.

    The most horrible thing about this is they need to extract the magic core while the kids are alive because if they are dead, the magic eidos body disappears, and that also causes the magic core to vanish since the magic core resides inside the magic eidos body.

    They can make ten to twenty magic power boost potions with one magic core; they create thousands of such potions each year by killing many young kids.

    "Tell me the ce where you bought these potions, and I will give you a lesser punishment!" Karina said with a distant gaze.

    "So we won''t be expelled?" the short brown hair student asked.

    ? "You will be expelled!" Karina waved her hand in a pping motion as an invisible p hit the student and threw him away as he hit the deck''s border. "Obediently tell me the location, or I have other ways to forcefully take it out from you."

    "Go and extract the information from him," Karina said to the middle-aged man.

    The middle-aged man nodded as he grabbed the student''s hand and dragged him inside a room.

    "Teacher, I didn''t buy those potions! It was him!" the other student said. ''Damn it! He said they wouldn''t discover it, but they fucking did! Now my life is over. Fuck, fuck fuck!! Now I can only hope that this bitch believes me,'' he thought as he looked at Karina with a pitiful expression.

    Karina nced at him and kicked him in his stomach as he also flew away. "You are also expelled and will be punished ording to thews of the Magic Guild. If you knew he had those potions, you should have informed the academy about it. It''s general knowledge that such potions are illegal."

    "N-no! Please no!"

    Karin snorted and waved her hand, and she made him unconscious. "Damn that Blood Sun Organization," Karina muttered with anger in her eyes.

    Two years ago, there was a major operation held by the Magic Guild. They destroyed almost all the dark organizations, but one was still standing in the Lankrena region. It was also the one producing these illegal magic potions.

 Chapter 137 Exposed

    "845 points," Zevien said as he looked at the bracer in his hand. After he got the first orb from killing that bear beast, it was automatically absorbed inside the bracer and a number appeared on it, 10 points.

    The more powerful the beasts they kill, the more points they got.

    "It''s been seven hours and we''ve already killed so many beasts and even defeated some students," Vernisia grinned. "Do you think we can get the top spot?"

    "Of course, I won''t be satisfied with anything other than the first rank!" Zevienughed.

    Vernisia tapped on her bracer, and it also showed 845 points since they were partners. She tapped again and saw the countdown. "58 minutes until this activity ends."

    "Alright then, let''s quickly hunt on the mountain," Zevien nodded.

    "Yes. Magic beasts should be there, and we can reach the peak as well when the time''s almost up."

    ¡­

    After they set foot on the mountain, they encountered a familiar pair: Kaal & Afina.

    "Yo, nice meeting you here," Afina grinned.

    "Hi," Kaal nodded with his usual straight expression.

    "Points?" Vernisia asked directly.

    "Around six hundred," Afina answered with a smile. Then she asked, "What about you?"

    "Same. Around six hundred," Zevien replied with a grin. He lied since he felt that Afina also didn''t tell the truth about the points they earned.

    *Roar!!*

    Suddenly, they heard a powerful roar in the northwest and quickly looked over there.

    "That is an early grade-4 magic beast," Afina said as her eyes glowed slightly. ''Around seventeen hundred magic power, huh? Not bad.''

    "It looks like this mountain finally has grade-4 magic beasts because we didn''t encounter any grade-4 in the forest," Vernisia said with a fighting spirit burning in her eyes. "Let''s see who kills it first!"

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Zevien already started moving as he climbed from one tree branch to another towards the bulky sabertooth tiger with a horn on its head.

    "So fast¡­," Kaal mumbled as he also hastened. ''His physical prowess is way above average magicians. Could it be rted to the boost he''s having right now that also increased his magic power?''

    Afina spread her wings as well and flew forward before waving her hand.

    *Doob!*

    Suddenly, a hexagonal shield appeared in front of Zevien, startling him as he crashed.

    "So that''s how you want to y, eh?" Zevien turned to Afina and Kaal since one of them suddenly conjured a barrier in front of him.

    "Hehe, then don''t me us for doing the same thing," Vernisia chuckled as shemanded Lyn to fly while each of her hands conjured a ball of shadow with a ghost face: her 2nd awakening spell of Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth, [Shadow Ghost Possession].<novelnext></novelnext>

    If [Shadow Ghost Possession] hit them, then she will be able to control them for a short amount of time. But since she can only control their physical movement, they can still cast their spells. However¡­once the effect of [Shadow Ghost Possession] expires automatically or by Vernisia herself, the target will be nked out for a couple of seconds.

    The ghost-face orbs flew towards Kaal and Afina, and they quickly tried to dodge them. But the orbs still followed them with Vernisia''s control.

    Kaal remembered he destroyed this spell with his me shield that would retaliate to iing spells and used it again.

    Right before the orb was about to hit Kaal, a ming shield appeared in front of him. The ghost-faced orb crashed into the shield and the shield spewed out an intense fire in response and self-destructed with the orb.

    Afina also destroyed the ghost-face orb with an icy shield that froze the orb before both of them were destroyed into icy sparks and disappeared.

    "Nice. But it''s toote," Vernisia said with a smile as she bought enough time for Zevien to reach the grade-4 magic beast, Sabertooth Whirlhorn Tiger.

    Afina and Kaal quickly turned in the direction of the beast and saw Zevien already beside it and swiping his hand as a ck w shot towards the tiger.

    *Chriiiii!*

    The tiger was cut into three pieces before it turned into ck ink and disappeared, leaving behind a golden orb.

    "Well, better luck next time. Haha," Zevienughed as he picked up the golden orb and lowered it towards his bracer before it disappeared. "Nice, it gives 50 points," Zevien smiled after looking at the number.

    "Let''s go, brother! We gotta earn more points and win, humph!" Afina snorted as she pped her wings and started flying towards the upper areas of the mountain.

    Vernisia arrived beside Zevien as both of them also flew up higher on the mountain riding on Lyn.

    ¡­

    In the past seven hours, ck Hawk had done much digging and came to a shocking discovery that he didn''t want to believe, but he had no choice.

    The people who received the medallion were limited in the first ce, and he left Zevien as thest one to investigate. He contacted his other subordinate agents to look into people who won the contests and then matched their data with students who enrolled via medallion.

    He managed to match every student except for Zevien. This means that Alucard gave the medallion to Zevien.

    ''Tsk¡­and here I wanted him to join our organization,'' ck Hawk clicked his tongue in annoyance as he looked at Zevien''s photo. He then took out a weird finger-sized device, which was an encrypted calling device that forms a temporary line to headquarters.

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "Any findings?"

    ck Hawk¡ª, "Yes. Alucard seems to be a rtive of Zevien."

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "Zevien? The boy you wanted to rope in? Well, it''s unfortunate. But you know what to do, right?"

    ck Hawk¡ª, "I know, but I can''t do it. He is an orphan, so the orphanage is his only family. However, the security there is simply too tight. There are several 2nd ss magicians monitoring and even without them, the whole orphanage is tightly secured with defensive magic devices."

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "How about when his family leaves the orphanage? They aren''t holed up there every day, right?"

    ck Hawk¡ª, "Those 2nd ss magicians always apany them in secret, and avian bird devices are also looking after them 24/7."

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "Then forget about them and start looking for Zevien''s friends and their families. We will use them instead."

 Chapter 138 Dumbfounded Students

    Wild Magic Call concluded.

    1st ce: Zevien & Vernisia.

    2nd ce: Erica & Dan.

    3rd ce: Afina & Kaal.

    4th ce: Goji & Hira.

    5th ce: Roman & Hemil.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    10th ce: Tigger & Uwan.

    Out of 500 students, 6 pairs were eliminated. Expelled.

    All students who passed received 500 Skyward merits while 3rd to 10th ce got 1000 Skyward merits. 2nd ce got 1500 Skyward merits and 1st ce got 2000 Skyward merits.

    Aside from that, the top 10 also received tier-2 custom craft tickets. They can use this ticket and order a custom tier-2 magic item from a magic smith in the academy.

    ¡­

    The next day, the students woke up to a slightmotion. Some senior students arrived there and were calling the top ten pairs of yesterday''s Wild Magic Call activity.

    All twenty-something senior students were 4th and 3rd ss magicians, with one thing inmon. All of them were magic smiths.

    Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, and the other top ten pairs arrived there together to know what was all this about.

    "Are you the students in the top ten pair who won yesterday?" one of the senior students asked smilingly.

    "Indeed," Roman nodded with a smile.

    "Hahaha, perfect! We''re your seniors and our upation is magic smith. We are here to help you craft a tier-2 magic item in exchange for that crafting ticket you have."

    ''Hmmm? It seems like this ticket is valuable to them,'' Zevien guessed after seeing their expressions.

    "How does this tier-2 crafting ticket benefit you?" Erica asked as she took out the dark golden rectangle ticket made of wood with the word [Tier-2 craft] carved on it.

    "Ahem, let me tell you. First, you can only use those tickets in the academy, you know that already, I think. Second, there is an expiration date on that ticket if you check it. It will expire after a week. Third, these tickets are only valuable to us because we can exchange them for materials."

    Zevien and others nodded as they understood.

    "Alright, so here are our samples. Our best tier-2 magic items so far. Y''all! Take your shit out and line up!" a senior student said as he took out an armor from his storage ring.

    The other senior students also took out their own tier-2 magic items and lined up.

    "Now you can inspect our work and choose whoever you want to craft your custom-made tier-2 item."

    Zevien turned towards therge group of students who were watching enviously and smiled before he threw his ticket into a small forest beside the abode area. "Whoever finds my ticket can use it to get the custom tier-2 magic item for themselves."

    "We don''t need these tickets," Zevien whispered to Vernisia.

    "Ah, I got it," Vernisia nodded and smiled as she also threw her ticket into the forest.

    "LET''S GO!!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    All students were dumbfounded for a second before they shouted and roared.

    All of them rushed towards the forest madly in search of the tickets.

    Zevien did that because he didn''t want his tier-2 magic item from these students but from higher-tier magic smiths. He had money to buy them, so he didn''t want topromise.

    "Are you serious?" Roman was speechless.

    Dan and Ericaughed as they also threw their tickets into the forest. "Two more in the forest!" Dan shouted.

    "Meh, we also don''t need these tickets," Afina also threw her and her brother''s ticket into the forest. "Our tier-2 set is already being made."

    The remaining pairs were not like them and started checking the product of senior students.

    ? "Zevien, are we going back today or tomorrow?" Tigger asked since Zevien told him they would return to Starlight City a day before yesterday''s night.

    "We''ll go tonight after getting permission from the academy," Zevien said before he turned to Dan and Erica. "What about you two? Do you want toe?"

    "Nah, we''ll stay here since there''s no use for us going there," Erica shook her head.

    "I''ll go get permission for us and also ask about Kerolin," Tigger said with a nod. "Several students were already expelled, so they could at least take in Kerolin after looking at her capabilities."

    "By the way, nobody told us to go anywhere this morning, so is it a day off?" Dan wondered.

    "It is a day off," Afina said as she and Kaal arrived there. "We will have many days offs but whenever we have activities or sses, it will be hard. They wille here in the morning to inform us what to do and if they don''te, it means that it''s a day off."

    "But ckers will be expelled," Kaal said. "There are some training centers on this ind and we can go there to train. We are going there right now. Do you want toe?"

    "Nice, let''s go there," Dan nodded with a grin.

    "We won''t," Zevien shook his head. "We didn''t enter yesterday after the activity since we were exhausted."

    Erica and Dan nodded as they understood. Zevien''s second magicbyrinth entry was the next day after his first magicbyrinth entry. Vernisia''s was after ten days while Dan''s and Erica''s entry into their second magicbyrinth was after fifteen days.

    Everyone went their own way afterward. Tigger went to get permission, Dan and Erica went to training centers with Afina and Kaal, while Zevien and Vernisia went to the market to find the required materials to activate Vernisia''s 2nd relic, Yukan Ne, that she got the day before yesterday.

    After thirty minutes of wandering around the market, they managed to get all three materials since they were not that rare.

    ¡­

    They returned to their abode and entered their bedroom, where Vernisia activated her relic.

    "Done!" Vernisia said after sessfully activating it and wearing it.

    "It''s beautiful," Zevien said with a smile. It indeed looked beautiful. The ne''s chain was dreamy blue metal and had a dark turquoise-colored pendant with beautiful light green patterns.

    "Now let''s enter!" Vernisia said as she grabbed Zevien''s hand.

    Zevien nodded as he closed his eyes. "It''s going to be troublesome once we go inside. Becausest time, I was being chased by some old enemies that I made."

    "Don''t worry, we have already absorbed all the magic crystals we got in dungeons before sleepingst night," Vernisia grinned. "We are more powerful now."

    "Ahem, still gotta be careful," Zevien wryly smiled as he finally focused and disappeared after five seconds. Vernisia had to wait for a second before she also disappeared.

    ...

    On the other hand, darkness was approaching Vernisia''s and Erica''s parents.

 Chapter 139 Blood Monarchs Abyss

    "Why does it feel like this magicbyrinth is a bit more dangerous?" Vernisia sighed as she and Zevien escaped from the chasers and came out of the jungle, only to stand at the edge of a cliff.

    Zevien and Vernisia stood at the edge and turned around to face the jungle. Zevien had a burning boomerang in his hand that he was using as his weapon, and it was helping a lot.

    *****

    [Crimson Wind Boomerang]

    ->Tier-3 magic item.

    ->Type: Weapon

    ->Effects: Infusing mana in the boomerang covers it with fire and makes it more lethal. It can travel ording to the user''s strength and always return to the user in a curving route but can be blocked by objects.

    *****

    *Rustle!*

    "Hahaha, where will you run now?"

    Six men came out from the forest holding swords and staffs, and all of them were near the peak of 4th ss magicians, which means they possessed 4900-5000 magic power.

    "You managed to escape from us because the jungle helped you. Now, what will you do? Jump off that cliff? Hahaha, go ahead!"

    "You will pay the price for destroying Ufar''s merchant house whether you stay here or try to fly away from that cliff," a middle-aged man with ckbed hair spoke as he waved his hand and created a big magic wall behind them.

    "Go on, fly off from that cliff," another man sneered.

    Zevien and Vernisia looked at each other with a confused look because from what these men were saying, the cliff behind them was dangerous, even if they could fly.

    Zevien turned his head behind to nce and noticed that he couldn''t see the depth of the cliff; it was all dark. But he could see the ground a few hundred meters away from the cliff. So only the area between the cliff and the ground below seemed dangerous.

    ''We should be able to pass it by flying, but even if we can''t, I can use my Star Door relic to escape,'' Zevien thought as he grabbed Vernisia''s hand.

    Vernisia looked at Zevien after he grabbed her hand and saw him nodding before both of them jumped backward.

    The six men quickly moved towards the cliff with gloating expressions as they wanted to see the cruel fate of Zevien and Vernisia as they fell because no one had ever survived falling off this cliff, even if they could fly.

    "T-this¡­," Vernisia was shocked, and so was Zevien as they fell, not being able to fly despite Zevien trying his hardest to p his vampire wings.

    A powerful suction force was pulling them down, and it was increasing!

    "Shit, shit, shit!" Zevien mumbled as he quickly took out his Star Door relic and used it.

    *****

    [Star Door]

    -Type: Relic

    -Maximum uses: 4<novelnext></novelnext>

    -1st Effect: After infusing 5000 mana in the relic, you can conjure two Star Doors anywhere around you within your sight and travel from one Star door to another.

    -2nd Effect: You can infuse additional 5000 mana to conjure a Star Door in a ce out of your sight, but you must imagine the location perfectly, and it should exist.

    You can infuse 100 mana into the ne and open a portal that will lead you to a dungeon. Completing the dungeon will give you rewards ording to your performance. (One-time entry)

    *****

    Zevien quickly infused 5000 mana in the mini star door relic in his hand and conjured a Star Door five hundred meters below him before quickly looking to the side and conjuring a Star Door on the ground opposite of the cliff. But, a message appeared on his head that almost caused him to despair.

    [You can''t create Star Door outside Blood Monarch''s Abyss field. But taking this into ount, the 2nd Star Door will be conjured...at the very bottom of the Abyss.]

    The Star Door below Zevien and Vernisia that was floating in the air suddenly opened, making Zevien sigh in relief as it would at least guarantee their survival.

    "Look! A big door opened below them. What the...?" one man looking from the cliff spoke.

    "We should have killed them!"

    "Rx," the middle-aged man withbed ck hair calmly said. "Nothing can exit this strange field once they jump off this cliff. Even if they arrived at the bottom safely, only despair awaits them."

    "Chief, you seem to know about this ce. Can you tell us more? We only know that nobody survives here and nned to get them here, so in case they escaped from us, only one path awaits them."

    "I don''t know the details, but I have heard about it from old records and stories," the chief said as he creased his eyebrows. "A horrifying entity has died at the bottom, and that being''s power still haunts this ce."

    "A horrifying entity? Who?"

    "Blood Monarch!"

    ¡­

    Somewhere far deeper into the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth was a ck castle at the top of a mountain. The castle was entirely empty, not a soul in sight.

    But a secondter, a woman with long, dark crimson hair appeared on the throne.

    "It better be worth it to call me here, Mordred. I was in an important meeting in Revelry Storm Ind," the woman said coldly.

    Shortly after she spoke, a vampire bat the size of an eagle materialized out of blood particles in front of the woman. "Your Highness Morgana, two people fell down the Monarch''s Abyss and¡­"

    "And?" Morgana narrowed her eyes before she snorted. "Many people have fallen down and died. Speak fast and stop wasting my time. I have much more important things to do in Astral Land."

    "Hehehe. Calm down, Your Highness," the bat spoke while giggling creepily, "these two people survived somehow and are now at the bottom of the Abyss. Surely, you can use them to get the thing you wanted for so long. I also want to get back my master''s inheritance from that ce and let you inherit it since you are the rightful sessor."

    "Oh¡­," Morgana was visibly shaken at such good news as her eyes appeared slightly excited. Taking a moderate breath, she smiled. "They won''t be escaping any time from that ce. Alright, start working, Mordred. First, I want a clear connection with them. Go and do it."

    "As you wish, Your Highness," Mordred, the bat nodded and sighed. "If only I could go there physically, I would''ve brought everything to you, mydy."

    "No need to fawn on it anymore. Let''s get the things done, and I will also help you fulfill your wish," Morgana snorted.

 Chapter 140 Looming Threat

    Zevien and Vernisia came out from the star door at the bottom of the abyss and fell t on their faces.

    After they stood up and looked around, their bodies involuntarily shivered. They were in a garden, and the borders of the garden had four blood crystals that shone brightly and lit up the ce in red.

    A path led out from the garden towards a giant pce with ck clouds looming over it. The path also had red crystals to light up the way toward the castle.

    "What should we do now?" Vernisia asked as she locked her arms with Zevien''s arms. The atmosphere in this ce was too creepy and cold, making her shiver uncontrobly.

    Zevien''s expression was also somber as he felt the same thing. The danger of this ce was not something that he could bear, that was for sure. "Let''s just stay in this garden until we are kicked out of thebyrinth," he said.

    Zevien created an Omni-Barrier around them as both of them sat down on the red grassy ground of the garden.

    After thirty minutes of staying extra cautious and tense, Zevien and Vernisia loosened up because, aside from the creepy atmosphere and ce, there was nothing that seemed dangerous.

    "It seems that there are no living beings here," Vernisia said before she looked at the flowers. "Those blood rose flowers looked really mystical. I''ve never seen such red roses with shining silver patterns."

    "I''ll go check," Zevien said as he stood up.

    "Wait! I''lle with you," Vernisia said as she also stood up, and both of them walked towards the nearest blood rose flowers.

    Zevien crouched down and plucked out a blood rose flower. "Hmm, it looks like a high-quality ingredient, but I don''t know what tier it is."

    "Let''s wait before we pluck the rest of the flowers," Vernisia said as she looked around. "There''s no real danger so far, but my anxiousness is not going away."

    "Yeah," Zevien nodded as he also felt the same.

    Both of them cautiously sat down as Zevien cast Omni-Barrier around them. This time, he covered the entire garden by consuming more mana to increase the barrier size.

    After waiting another thirty minutes, they finally started plucking all the blood roses from the garden.

    ¡­

    In Starlight City, ck Star underground area¡­

    Inside a warehouse belonging to a gang in the underground area, four people were brought here just a minute ago. ck Hawk kidnapped them.

    "What do you want? Why did you kidnap us?" Amon asked with a frown. "For your information, we are government employees, so if we are missing, they will soon start searching, even if nobody told our disappearance to the police."

    "Release us without doing anything stupid, and we can reduce your punishment," Susan said with a somber expression.

    "W-why did you kidnap us?" the other middle-aged man with short blond hair said with fear in his eyes, unlike Amon and Susan, who were headstrong. This man was Erica''s father, Martin.

    The middle-aged woman beside him was Erica''s mother, Be. She had long hair, and they were red, just like Erica''s. All four of them were 3rd ss magicians.<novelnext></novelnext>

    All four of them were bound by a rope and sat on different chairs. Erica''s mother tried to remove the rope using her magic, but her face changed as the rope tightened when she tried to use her mana.

    "Don''t try to escape by using magic on that rope. It will backfire and tighten you more," said ck Hawk as he sat on the chair leisurely.

    "What do you want from us?" Amon grunted.

    Suddenly, a man entered the warehouse by opening the door. "Hey, boss. They are some big fish s-"

    Before the man could finish his sentence, a dark gold knife appeared in front of his neck. "I told you to stay out!" ck Hawk said under his breath, with a cold glint shing in his eyes.

    "You''re not a 2nd ss magician?" Be was startled, and so were Amon and others. They thought the kidnapper was a 2nd ss magician when they were on their way from here, but he turned out to be a 1st ss magician!

    "Get out! I''m sealing the door now. If anyone touches it, they will die," ck Hawk snorted before he spared the man.

    "Y-yes, s..sir."

    After the man left, ck Hawk indeed used a Curse-type enchantment spell that affected the warehouse. Now, whoever touched the warehouse from outside will instantly die as long as they were weaker than 2nd ss magicians.

    "Alright, so where were we? Ah yes, what do I want from you¡­," ck Hawk smiled behind his ck mask with white patterns. "Well, I did kidnap you today despite having made the ns just yesterday. Because today was a day off for you, and it was too good to pass on this opportunity. I haven''t had a wink for the past 48 hours for this, you know?"

    Leaning back on the chair and swinging it on two legs, ck Hawkughed. "I doubt the government will notice your disappearance until someone reports it to the police. Even if they did report, it would take time for them to reach here, and by the time they do, I will have achieved my goal. So, let''s start."

    ''Goal?'' Amon noticed something and had a bad feeling regarding this kidnapping.

    "What I want from you is a person called Alucard," ck Hawk smiled. "Now you may know him, but not personally. However, your daughter''s friend knows Alucard very personally. That friend is Zevien."

    "Zevien? Why would he know about Alucard?" Amon frowned.

    "Because Alucard gave his Admission Medallion to Zevien so he could enroll into Skyward Academy."

    "What does this have to do with my daughter?" Be asked as she creased her brows.

    "Well, your daughter is Zevien''s buddy as well, hahaha." ck Hawkughed. "I wanted to kidnap the parents of Zevien''s one more buddy. But I couldn''t find their information on such short notice. Though I think you four are enough, haha."

    "Call your daughters and tell them that if Alucard didn''t enter the ck Star underground area in the next two hours, I will kill four of you," ck Hawk said with a cold glint with killing intent clearly visible in his eyes.

    Amon, Susan, Be, and Martin were shaken as they felt this masked guy¡­was not joking at all!

    ''Tight security around the orphanage, secret agents, and even such high protection. Hehe, either Zevien or Alucard are closely connected to the government that they are providing such high treatment to an orphanage. They likely won''t hand over the X-Door crystal even if I threaten these four, but I can still try that before killing Alucard,'' ck Hawk thought as he cooked his n.

 Chapter 141 Urgency

    "Phew¡­Finally, we are out," Vernisia sighed as she came out from thebyrinth and appeared at the end. Several secondster, Zevien also came out before Vernisia quickly hugged him. "What was that at the end? That bat shadow wanted us to go inside the castle."

    "Yes," Zevien nodded with a frown on his face. "We also have no other choice but to go inside that castle because we can''t fly out of that ce. That castle might be the only way to escape."

    "Hmm? So many calls and messages?" Vernisia looked at the calls as they were mostly from Erica and her parents.

    Zevien also saw many messages and missed calls in his Digi-watch and read some of them before his face changed. Vernisia was also shocked after reading some messages.

    "Let''s go," Zevien said with a solemn expression as he and Vernisia left their abode.

    "Finally, you are out!" Erica said with a worried expression as she and Dan had been waiting outside for thirty minutes. "What do we do now? If Alucard doesn''t reach there in one hour and twenty minutes, they will kill our parents," she said as her eyes were almost teary.

    "How do we go there in the next hour? It''s too damn far," Vernisia said anxiously as she walked to and fro. "Can''t we ask them to give us more time?"

    "No, he rejected it," Dan said as he grit his teeth. "He believes that Alucard is in Starlight city."

    "Blood Sun Organization!" Zevien grit his teeth furiously before he took out his Star Door relic and infused 10,000 mana in it before closing his eyes. ''The best ce to open the Star Door would be that meeting room in the city lord''s office that I was brought to after that disaster,'' Zevien thought as he focused and tried to open the Star Door there.

    "Blood Sun Organization? Are they behind this kidnapping?" Dan asked.

    Zevien nodded while his eyes were still closed. A secondter, he opened them as he managed to create a Star Door in the meeting room and then opened another star door in front of him. "Yowen told me that there''s a 50% chance that the crystal that opened that portal belonged to the Blood Sun Organization. It''s the only major dark organization left on the Gaia continent after the recent purge."

    "So they found out that Alucard was the one who took their crystal, and then they found out Alucard''s linking with you¡­.probably via the Admission Medallion," Vernisia said as she became more anxious.

    "It could be other countries as well, but since Yowen said 50% chance of Blood Sun Organization¡­," Dan frowned.

    "They will definitely k-kill our parents," Erica as her lips trembled. "They are a cruel bunch and won''t hesitate to kill."

    "What should we do, Zevien?" Dan asked with a somber expression. "You have connections with powerful people. I''m sure we can do something to prevent the worst."

    "I''m going to Starlight City right now via this door," Zevien said. He thought for a moment and decided to get the academy''s help. "You three should go and tell the upper echelon of the academy about our situation. Listen, only tell the Headmaster and head teachers!"

    After saying that, Zevien walked towards the Star Door.

    "Wait, Zevien! Take this with you," Vernisia said as she gave him her first relic, Restore Stone.

    Zevien nodded as he took the stone and entered the Star Door with a cold glint in his eyes.

    ¡­

    Aftering out of the star door, Zevien saw City Lord Cargil and Merax pointing their weapons at the star door, ready to attack anytime, but they were surprised to see Zevien.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What''s the matter?" Cargil asked as he saw a somber expression on Zevien''s face.

    Merax stood up and locked the door.

    Zevien quickly told them about the entire matter in the next minute.

    "Merax, call Raven and tell her to gather near the Underground ck Star area with Touma and Blondina," Cargil said.

    "On it," Merax nodded.

    "I''ll call Yowen and let him keep tabs on the entire Underground ck Star area," Zevien said as he contacted Yowen.

    Yowen¡ª, "Yes, boss?"

    Zevien¡ª, "Yowen, we are in trouble. Vernisia and Erica''s parents were kidnapped and will be killed in one hour. The kidnapper''s target is Alucard, and they are likely from Blood Sun Organization because Alucard doesn''t have any enemies except for them since I stole that crystal."

    Yowen¡ª, "But I was only 50% sure of that crystal belonging to the Blood Sun Organization. Anyway, whoever is behind this kidnapping, we have to prevent the worst first. Tell me about the whole situation."

    Zevien told the whole situation to Yowen in the next minute.

    Yowen¡ª, "Alright, I''m on it."

    Zevien¡ª, "Also listen, when you see any information going far away from the city in some weird channels, track it. Tell Electra to follow it. Blood Sun or whatever is behind this kidnapping, I won''t let them live peacefully. We have to get their location. If you get it, then contact Vernisia."

    But Zevien hoped that it was indeed the Blood Sun Organization because, that way, even the academy would work together with them to wipe it out.

    "So, you''re going there?" Cargil asked calmly.

    "I have to go," Zevien nodded as he transformed himself into a vampire and took out his vampire outfit from the storage ring, and wore it.

    "We will do our best," Merax said with a nod. "Raven, Blondina, and Touma will enter the ck Star area in disguise after you. Since, once you enter there, they will focus on you."

    "Got it," Zevien nodded before he looked around the meeting room. "Is there a way to leave the building directly from this meeting room?"

    Cargil nodded as he released some of his mana and pressed it somewhere in the wall before the roof of the meeting room slightly opened.

    "Thanks," Zevien said before he flew out. This City Lord''s office building was one of the tallest, which made it easier for Zevien to travel directly to his destination without trouble as he was high in the sky.

    "Let''s hope everything goes well," Zevien muttered as he flew towards the Underground ck Star area.

 Chapter 142 Bloodied Grin

    In the warehouse, ck Hawk suddenly got a call from his agent.

    "Sir, Alucard has entered the den."

    "Good, lead him here," ck Hawk said before he cut the contact and smiled at Amon and others. "He ising here. Hahaha, once I get what I want, I''ll release you."

    Amon and the others frowned but said nothing. They didn''t know what to say.

    Five minutester, ck Hawk got a message that Alucard had arrived outside the warehouse.

    "Good, he''s here," ck Hawk coldly smiled as he walked towards the closed entrance of the warehouse and cracked a gap in his curse-type magic before opening the door.

    "Wee, Alucard. I suppose you went incognito after handing over that crystal to the government, eh?" ck Hawk said as he saw Alucard and his agent entering the warehouse. After they entered, he closed the door and filled the gap in his magic spell.

    "I''m here, so let them go," Zevien said inly, showing no emotions.

    "Oh, yeah?" ck Hawk smiled. "You are in no position to demand anything. Just answer a few questions and die. After that, I will release them."

    The face of Amon and others became grave because that means that they will also die after he killed Alucard.

    "I won''t speak of anything unless you let them go," Zevien said firmly.

    "Well, you don''t get to decide that," ck Hawk uttered coldly as he waved his hand.

    "Urgh¡­," Zevien groaned painfully as a ck crystal stabbed in his shoulder.

    *Puchi¡­*

    "T-this¡­," Zevien was shocked as he directly spewed blood.

    "It looks like you have high pain tolerance, hahaha. Well, how about this?" ck Hawkughed as he waved his hand again, and Zevien saw three ck shes before¡­

    "Arghhhhhhh!!"

    Both of his shoulders and ankles got pierced with ck crystals. Blood oozed out profusely as Zevien felt extreme pain coursing through his body because of those ck crystals.

    "They are my favorite torturing tools, you know?" ck Hawk gestured with his finger and controlled those ck crystals as they brought Alucard in front of him.

    *Snap!*

    ck Hawk snapped his finger as those ck crystals pulsed with magic power and slightly glowed before sending waves of pain into Zevien''s body.

    "Arghhhhhhhhhhh!" Zevien screamed in pain again as he felt a sharp stabbing like thousands of needles were piercing his bones and flesh inwardly.

    "S-stop¡­," Zevien raised his head slightly as he looked at ck Hawk, his eyes red.

    ck Hawk raised his eyebrows. Instead of seeing fear in Alucard''s eyes, he saw anger and coldness.

    Before ck Hawk could torture Zevien again, his secretmunication device vibrated slightly.

    ''Supreme Leader?'' ck Hawk picked up the call in their temporary private channel after creating a barrier around him.

    Yowen and Electra, who had the entire ck Star area under their radar, quickly noticed the signals that suddenly formed and started tracking them.

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "The esteemed guest from Astral Land is here. Finish your work and return. If you can get that stolen X-Door crystal, then bring it back so we can keep one while giving one to the guest."

    ck Hawk¡ª, "I''m not sure if I can bring back the X-Door crystal, but I will try."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Supreme Leader¡ª, "You should be here in five hours. If you can''t get the X-Door crystal, it''s fine. But you must return here in time."

    ck Hawk¡ª, "Got it. I will be there in time."

    After cutting off the call, ck Hawk removed the barrier around him and turned off the device to break the signal before looking at Alucard. "If you want your life, then return the X-Door crystal."

    "First, l-let them go," Zevien said with a bloodied grin on his face as blood oozed out of his mouth.

    Amon and the others couldn''t bear to see Zevien''s torture.

    ¡­

    "Hmmm, are you sure it''s the Blood Sun Organization?" Headmaster Noril asked as he rested his hands on the table.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan stood in front of him while Headteacher Karina stood beside them.

    "We are not sure, but there''s a high chan-" Vernisia was interrupted by a sound from her Digi-watch. She saw it was Yowen and looked at the Headmaster. "I will have to pick up this call."

    "Go ahead," Headmaster Noril nodded.

    Vernisia epted the call and put it on the loudspeaker since she knew that if Yowen called, it should be rted to their situation, and if the Headmaster heard it directly, he would believe more.

    Yowen¡ª, "We found it. The ones behind the kidnap are indeed from the Blood Sun Organization. We found their location as well!"

    "What?!" Headmaster Noril stood up, as he was not expecting to hear such tremendous news.

    Headteacher Karina was startled as well and approached Vernisia. "Where is it? Send her the coordinates."

    "Yowen! Quickly send the coordinates," Vernisia quickly followed up after Karina.

    Yowen¡ª, "Sent!"

    Vernisia opened the message and showed it to Karina while asking Yowen. "What is the situation in the city?"

    Yowen¡ª, "Last thing Electra saw before tracking the signal was a person with a ck outfit and mask torturing Zevien. Nothing happened to your or Erica''s parents."

    "Zevien¡­We have to get him and the others out of there!" Vernisia''s eyes teared up. She knew that her relic will save Zevien one time, but if he couldn''t escape from that ce, ck Hawk could''ve killed him again. The relic would basically revive him, but if he cannot get away¡­

    Yowen¡ª, "Don''t worry. He''s not alone. Now I''ll hang up."

    "Master, here are the coordinates. Their base is in the forbidden zone, White Coffin. Damn it, how did they make their base there?"

    Headmaster Noril took the coordinates and looked at Vernisia, Erica, and Dan with a solemn expression. "You don''t know yet how valuable this is, and for that, I will make a personal trip to your city and save your parents and that student."

    "Master?" Karina was startled.

    However, Headmaster Noril was no longer in the room as he disappeared after a brief silver sh.

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were shocked.

    "Come and sit," Karina wryly smiled as she sat down at the table. "You don''t have to worry anymore."

    "Teacher, how strong is the headmaster?" Dan asked.

    "His strength? Well¡­"

 Chapter 143 Mission Failed

    "You know about 5th to 1st ss, but after 1st ss magicians, the path of magic elevates to a new height," Karina said as she waved her hand and used her mana to write some words in the air.

    [Novice Mage]

    [Adepta Mage]

    [Master Mage]

    "Novice magees after 1st ss rank, thenes Adepta mage, and then Master Mage. I know about these three for a reason, but I don''t know whates after that," Karina said with a smile as she erased the words. "Headmaster Noril is a Master Mage. He is the most powerful on the Gaia continent."

    "Master Mage¡­that sounds powerful," Dan was fascinated, but then he became doubtful. "But if he is that powerful, then couldn''t he find the Blood Sun Organization easily?"

    "We tried to find it everywhere," Karina wryly smiled while shaking her head. "When Headmaster Noril came here to be the Headmaster five years ago, he didn''t like all these dark organizations. Two years ago, we wiped all of them by joining hands with other countries, but the Blood Sun Organization escaped."

    "You said it was in some forbidden zone. Is that why you couldn''t find it?" Vernisia asked.

    "Yes," Karina nodded. "We checked all ces except the forbidden zones. It is practically impossible for 1st ss magicians and lowers to survive there, so it''s a shock to us how they made their base there. The environment kills everyone below Adepta mage. Even signals shouldn''t pass through such zones, but it seems that they have found a way to do that too."

    The more Karina spoke, the more she frowned. "It''s like they got support¡­"

    "From Astral Land?" Erica muttered a guess.

    Karina stood up abruptly with a shocked expression. "It''s possible! All forbidden zones are near the boundary, and if somehow they or someone from Astral Land made a path to that forbidden zone and helped the Blood Sun Organization?"

    "Astral Land is much more chaotic. The onlyw there is power and backing. Each city, Kingdom, Empire, n, and whatever you see has its own rules andws," Karina sighed as she sat back down. "That''s why when you go there, you must ally with some power there or stay low and hidden without attracting trouble."

    Vernisia, Erica, and Dan were startled.

    "So the disaster that happened in Starlight city ismon there?" Dan asked as he scratched his head.

    "Of course not," Karina shook her head with a rueful smile. "If that weremon, Astral Land would''ve been destroyed. The bnce is always there. Order is also present in the chaotic Astral Land. If either order or chaos suppressed one another, the world would end. I won''t be able to exin Astral Land to you. So, you can see it for yourself when you reach that point."

    "I wonder what is going on in Starlight city," Vernisia muttered in a worried tone.

    "No need to worry. The Headmaster will fix everything, as he should be already there with his teleportation magic. It''s hard to use in Astral Land, but the Gaia continent''s space-time is weaker, so he can teleport far easily," Karina said with a grin. "Master should''ve swept them by now."

    ¡­

    Inside the warehouse, Zevien floated in the air all bloodied, with two ck crystals stabbed in his shoulders and two in his ankles. The pain he was feeling right now was making him mad, and he even wanted to faint, but he stubbornly looked at ck Hawk and grinned. "Is that all?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You''re insane¡­ You know I am going to kill you, right?" ck Hawk asked speechlessly. "Why don''t you just contact your buddies in the government and tell them to drop the X-Door crystal in the coordinates that I send you?"

    "Let those four go, and I will contact them," Zevien replied before spitting blood from his mouth. ''Damn, hurry up and save us! What are they doing outside?''

    "Stubborn asshole!" ck Hawk gritted his teeth in anger. It was the first time he had seen someone this stubborn and managing to stay awake despite his torture. He was nning to heal after torturing him, but seeing Zevien awake and showing that stubbornness, he was getting frustrated and wanted to torture Zevien more.

    ¡­

    "Ravana, you are sure about it, right?" Raven asked as she, Blondina, and Touma were at the back of the warehouse, standing at a stall selling raw ore materials. "I don''t want to risk getting them killed by the kidnapper after seeing us. So my n is also not bad."

    "Don''t worry, I will handle it," Ravana said confidently. "The one inside is just a 1st ss magician. I can prevent him from killing others."

    "Alright, do it."

    Ravana, the ck crow, used its power to create a shadow passage into the warehouse without breaking the curse-type magic spell and entered inside.

    However, ck Hawk noticed abnormalities of something passing through his spell since he''s still connected to his magic spell. Startled, he quickly turned around, waving his hand, and used a tier-5 spell; ck Crystal Barrier.

    The barrier materialized with him as the center and covered Zevien, Amon, and the others. "Touch my barrier, and I will kill all of them!"

    *Caw!!*

    Ravana broke the barrier before its eyes released two shadow chains that bound ck Hawk in a second before he could do anything.

    "Y-you¡­you, Adepta stage magic beast? H-how?" ck Hawk was shocked at the power of the giant crow he was seeing. That power surpassed a 1st ss magician. He was confident of getting away even from multiple 1st ss magicians, but the shadow chains that bound him told him that his fate was set in stone.

    Raven, Blondina, and Touma were shocked to see Zevien''s condition and rushed toward him.

    "Finally, you ar-," Zevien''s eyes showed relief, but he couldn''t even finish his sentence before fainting.

    "He could stay awake until now purely because of his will," Blondina said as she checked Zevien''s condition. "Raven, remove these crystals."

    Raven quickly removed those crystals as Blondina used her healing-type magic spells on Zevien while Touma poured a magic potion into Zevien''s mouth.

    "He is one tough and stubborn rascal," Touma said with a smile, but his eyes showed worry. He took out a bed from his storage ring before Raven ced Zevien on the bed.

 Chapter 144 Solved

    "Hahaha, it seems that the mission failed. Well, whatever. You can finish me," ck Hawk grinned.

    "Finish you?" Raven coldly said as she walked in front of ck Hawk and kicked him in his crotch. "Not so easy."

    "Indeed," Blondina said while checking Zevien''s condition. Even her eyes showed fury at seeing Zevien''s condition. "The torture on Alucard''s internal body is not something that even I have ever done to someone. Those ck crystals are vicious. It''s a miracle that Alucard stayed awake."

    "Hahaha, that''s right! I guess that shitty vampire was really undead," ck Hawkughed. "I should have killed him, but I wanted to torture him before killing him since he stole our precious thing. But I''ve never seen someone stubborn like that damn bastard."

    Raven conjured a ck de and pierced it into ck Hawk''s abdomen before the de turned into some mystical liquid and entered his body.

    "Cough¡­it seems that you also want to torture me," ck Hawk spit out some blood before grinning. "Hahaha, even if other 1st ss magicians arrived here, I had ns, but I was not expecting something like that," he said while looking at Ravana, the ck crow sitting on Raven''s shoulder. "A power surpassing 1st ss in here, heh. Talk about a surprise."

    "Blood Sun Organization, right? You are over," Touma said as he also walked in front of ck Hawk. "We got your headquarters'' location."

    "Blood Sun Organization? What are you talking about?" ck Hawkughed. But inwardly, he was shocked. ''How did they know?''

    "No use bluffing because we are not bluffing," Raven snorted. "We already know your location."

    "It seems that I was a bitte."

    Everyone was startled and looked up to see a middle-aged man with a dark orange beard flying near the warehouse''s roof as if he had just recently entered from the top.

    "He is more powerful than me," Ravana said, making everyone stand on edge as they looked cautious except Raven.

    "Headmaster Noril?" Raven recognized him.

    Touma and Blondina were startled. They had heard the name but never seen him.

    "Indeed," Headmaster Noril nodded as he caressed his beard with a smile. He looked at Zevien, and his eyes briefly glowed before he frowned. "That''s cruel," he said before waving his hand as a magic potion flew towards Blondina.

    "Pour it in his mouth. It will recover him in a minute."

    Blondina nodded as she carefully poured the magic potion into Zevien''s mouth.

    "ck Hawk, right?" Headmaster Noril flew down and stood in front of ck Hawk as Raven and Touma backed away.

    "Hehe, look who is here. The great Headmaster Noril who killed our previous leader," ck Hawk scoffed.

    "It seems that you have epted your fate," Headmaster Noril nodded as he waved his hand and trapped ck Hawk into a transparent bubble with a faint silver hue. "How are you living safely in that forbidden zone and even doing your business as usual? Your organization can''t do these without someone''s backing from Astral Land.

    "Tell me who is backing you from Astral Land, and I will give you a less painful death," Headmaster Noril uttered icily.

    "Staying in a forbidden zone? No wonder they managed to stay hidden," Touma frowned.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Hahaha, I don''t know anything! Even if I knew, I wouldn''t tell you," ck Hawk manicallyughed before the magic power readings from him suddenly increased and¡­

    *Dhoof¡­*

    He exploded from inside, but the bubble that Headmaster Noril created contained everything, so nobody was harmed.

    "I''ll be taking back my student while you take these four away. As for the Blood Sun Organization, your country doesn''t need to get involved in that because Astral Land is in the picture," Headmaster Noril flew towards Zevien and used his mana to let him float in front of him.

    A secondter, a silver aura covered them, and a magic circle formed above them for two seconds before they disappeared.

    "Student? Is Alucard a student at Skyward Academy? But that masked man said that he gave his medallion to Zevien¡­," Susan asked.

    "The old man vanished before spilling the beans," Raven wryly smiled. They didn''t utter Zevien''s name even after entering here, but now these four knew.

    Indeed, Amon guessed it.

    "I was feeling some simrities, but now it''s confirmed," Amon smiled. "Zevien is Alucard. Haha, Vernisia''s choice is solid."

    "We are in this situation because of him," Susan snorted.

    "Don''t tell me you are still opposed? Are you serious?" Amon frowned.

    "No, I am not opposed, but what I said is true, no?" Susan sighed and shook her head. "Forget it. He came for us and suffered that torture while telling that guy to let us go the entire time. How can I not approve of him?"

    "Do you even know why they were after him?" Raven scoffed as she walked in front of them. "Without Zevien bringing that crystal and notifying the government about it in advance, the causalities in that recent disaster could be even higher. Not just that, but he has other contributions aside from this. Just know that the recent increase in the country''s economy and overall strength is because of him."

    "Yes, that spell gauntlet is indeed very good," Amon nodded, but then he nced at Martin and Be because only he and Susan knew that the actual owner of Zenith Corp was Zevien.

    "Oh? The spell gauntlet is invented by him?" Martin asked in surprise.

    Raven was speechless and shook her head. "No, but he had a small part in it and your daughter, too. Not much though, so don''t feel proud."

    While they were talking, Touma and Blondina were inspecting the ropes that bound them.

    "These ropes are tricky. They are tier-4 items. Hmmm, we need a single instance of a concentrated attack on the rope to break it," Touma said as he looked at Raven. "Can you do it?"

    "I can try, but better to let Ravana handle it," Raven said as she looked at Ravana. "We could also break it with a sharp enough pure physical weapon at tier-4, but none of us has something like that, right?"

    "Unfortunately," Blondina and Touma nodded. They didn''t use sharp weapons like swords inbat.

    Ravana pped twice as two feathers separated from its wings and floated in front of it. The feathers became shining ck with a dark-blue hue as Ravana reinforced them before they flew towards Touma and Blondina. "These feathers should be able to cut those ropes."

 Chapter 145 Good Deal :)

    "It''s good that I''ll be leaving the Gaia continent with a piece of good news," Cargil put on a rare smile in the meeting room as Raven, Blondina, and Touma returned and told him about everything that happened.

    "Haha, good luck in Astral Land, old man. Don''t drop out too early," Toumaughed.

    "So what kind of Labyrinth Artifact did you manifest after bing an Adepta mage? You still haven''t shown it to us," Raven said with curiosity in her eyes.

    "It''s called Moon-Rend, a broad sword," Cargil smiled as he took out an exquisite broad sword with mystical patterns carved on its ethereal night-blue de and metallic dark-silver handle. "I''ll add a tier-5 shield into its slot to see how it turns out."

    "That''s nice, hehe. Anyway, I''ll catch up to you soon. Don''t worry," Raven grinned.

    "We gotta hurry and retire after surpassing 1st ss magician so we can also go to Astral Land," Merax said with a faint smile. "With the transformation in magicbyrinths and new resources like magic crystals, our progress has been really fast. I''m ready to be a 1st ss magician."

    Blondina and Touma nodded as they were also ready to break through to 1st ss magicians.

    "I''ll leave tomorrow morning for Astral Land, but I will leave the country tonight for some matter at the Magic Guild," Cargil said as he stood up and slightly bowed before looking at everyone with a faint smile. "Don''t die halfway; I will do my best toy the groundwork for future generations like others while getting stronger myself."

    ¡­

    After half an hour since the conclusion of the incident in Starlight City, inside one of the important guest rooms in the central pce of the Skyward Academy, Zevien was sleeping on the bed while Vernisia, Erica, Dan, and Tigger were sitting at a table.

    Zevien''s eyes slowly opened as he saw an unfamiliar ceiling and got up groggily. Even though he was healed because of Headmaster Noril''s magic potion, he still had to take some rest, so he slept for thirty minutes.

    "You woke up!" Vernisia stood up and rushed towards him before hugging him tightly.

    "I''m alright," Zevien smiled as he caressed Vernisia''s back a few times before gently pulling her away by grabbing her shoulders. "What happened after I fainted? Do you know?"

    "No," Vernisia shook her head. "Headmaster dropped you here and left to deal with Blood Sun Organization."

    "So, Yowen found their location¡­ haha, good!" Zevien said as he chortled. "Those pests can finally be gone forever."

    "Yes," Dan and Erica nodded. "Those bastards¡­ truly without morals to unleash that thing in the city," said Erica while gritting her teeth.

    "Let''s return," Vernisia said as she pulled Zevien away from the bed and got down with him. "Teacher Karina said that we can leave after you wake up."

    "We will have to return to the city with Tigger for his and Kerolin''s Magician Growth Boost," Zevien nodded.

    ¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    On the other hand, Headmaster Noril was at the Blood Sun Organization''s headquarters and was astonished to see the magically advanced base. "This is definitely the work of some force from Astral Land," he muttered before waving his hand and conjuring an icy spear with ck patterns before shooting it towards the base.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    The spear hit the barrier first, but it broke the barrier and continued before hitting their watch tower and destroying it.

    After that, he flew towards the base at his full speed and used another spell as it conjured a hundred tiny Eye-birds. Eye-birds looked exactly as their name suggested; a round eyeball with wings.

    The Eye-birds spread everywhere while Noril stood in one ce and closed his eyes to observe all the scenes one by one quickly. He could see all the feedback from the Eye-birds from his eyes at once, but he went through them one by one quickly and found his destination as he quickly broke a wall and entered inside.

    The entire base was in an uproar with red alerts, but nobody knew what hit them in such a brief span of time.

    Noril found arge hall with many kids that were kept like livestock. He waved his hand to cover the entire hall with his most powerful barrier magic spell.

    "I wille back for you after finishing these vile pests," Noril muttered while looking at the kids before he left the hall, breaking several structures, and appeared at the central main hall.

    However, after reaching there, he was startled. "You¡­Gray Swamp n?"

    "Indeed," a man in a gray robe with ck patterns said as he stood there nonchntly. The Supreme Leader of the Blood Sun Organization was standing behind him.

    "I will not spare you even if you are from the Gray Swamp n," Noril snorted coldly as he conjured two spears.

    "Hahaha, I know. I am weaker than you, so you can kill me. But the retaliation from our n will be high," said the man from the Gray Swamp n as heughed fearlessly before he narrowed his eyes and smiled. "But we can make a deal as well. A deal where both of us benefit."

    Before Noril could speak, the man waved his hand and took out a scroll from his storage ring that flew towards Noril. "Let me and some people return to Astral Land. In return, the Blood Sun organization will cease to exist as per your wish. If you agree, the items listed in that scroll will be yours. I can order someone to bring them here while we stay hostage for you."

    ''Damn, what a deal!'' The Supreme Leader thought with slight excitement before he observed the Headmaster''s expression.

    "Good Deal," Headmaster Noril nodded with a smile before he put away the scroll.

    "Hahaha, I kne-"

    *Booom!*

    Before the man from the Gray Swap n could finish his sentence, the spears floating beside Noril flew forward as they pierced him and the Supreme Leader before exploding in countless tiny silver shards that destroyed the entire central building.

 Chapter 146 Progress, New Member

    After Headmaster Noril returned, Tigger, Zevien, and Vernisia went to him for Kerolin''s matter.

    "Headmaster, we have a very talented friend; she wants to enter the academy. I can guarantee that she definitely deserves a spot in this academy," Zevien said sincerely. "Once you see her capabilities, you will know."

    "Although we usually don''t take students halfway, there are always exceptions that we make each year," Headmaster Noril smiled. "Bring your friend here. If she passes the test, we can admit her."

    "Um, I want to make her my partner," Tigger said with a hesitant smile before he quickly followed up. "Of course, she would also agree."

    "I''ll arrange it," Teacher Karina nodded with a smile. "What''s the name of your current partner?"

    "Uwan."

    "I''ll arrange for him a new partner since we will have to shuffle a bit because of recent expulsions. The next wave of expulsion will be in about six monthster if students cannot meet our expectations."

    ...

    At six in the afternoon, Tigger, Zevien, and Vernisia boarded the ne and left for Starlight city. They bought the tickets for an expensive magic jet ne from the town to reach the city in 2 hours instead of 6 hours so they can return on the same night.

    After arriving in the city, Tigger called Kerolin and Zevien called Touma as he arranged for their potions. Before hanging the call, Touma asked, "When did you reach the city?"

    Zevien¡ª, "Just now, why?"

    Touma¡ª, "Ah, you missed only by half an hour. Old man Cargil is officially retired from here and will live in Astral Land to progress in his path of magic. He just left 30 minutes ago."

    Zevien¡ª, "Oh? Unfortunately, I couldn''t meet him, but no worries, hahaha. We will catch up to him and you all quickly."

    Touma¡ª, "Indeed, this change in magicbyrinths is awesome. Everyone is progressing faster, haha. Alright,e to theb as soon as you can. The serums are ready."

    ¡­

    Twenty minutester, Zevien and the others arrived at theb. Touma started the process right away. Theb was now bigger because of renovation, with five beds in the ss chamber.

    "How many people have got this boost so far?" Vernisia asked curiously after Tigger and Keroliny on the bed with the orb that manifested their magic eidos body physically.

    "A total of thirty-eight," Touma answered with a grin before he injected the serums in Tigger and Kerolin''s physical and magic eidos bodies. "It will be forty after these two get their boost."

    "Any mishaps?" Zevien asked.

    "Not mishaps, but someone died inside the magicbyrinth," said Touma with a wry smile. "This boost is good, but if you die inside, you die for real. After that incident, not many people want it for their kids."

    "Ah, that indeed makes this a double-edged weapon," Vernisia nodded as she ruefully smiled. "Just recently, we were so close to death and are still close to death when we enter Zevien''s 2nd magicbyrinth next month."

    "That ce is mysterious," Zevien said as a glint passed through his eyes. "When there''s an opportunity, there''s danger. We have to somehow ovee the danger and see what is in that castle. Of course, our first priority is to escape from that ce because it''s clear that we are currently too weak."

    "What''s your magic power now?" Touma asked curiously.

    Zevien grinned and showed his Digi-watch''s magic panel.

    *****

    [Zevien]

    -Magic Power: 1086.7

    -Mana: 10,867/10,867

    -A.Magic Spells:- <Somatic Violet Four Vehemence>, <Blood Morphing Art>, <Blood Hook>

    -Magic spells (Weaved):

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Only one magic spell weaved?" Touma asked with some confusion.

    "Well, you know that I already have versatile spells because of my first awakening magic spell and my transformation of Tarto''s powers. So now, I am learning a tier-4 magic spell."

    "A tier-4 magic spell already?" Touma was a bit speechless. "It will take up your entire space in the magic core, and you will also need more mana. But I guess with that transformation, you can cast tier-4 spells. How much boost do you get with that transformation now?"

    "It gives me 2300 magic power boost. If I tried to get more, it will affect my control."

    "What about you, Vernisia? What''s your progress?" Touma asked.

    *****

    [Vernisia]

    -Magic Power: 977.7

    -Mana: 9777/9777

    -A.Magic Spells: <Shadow Bind Hex>,

    , <Shadow Ghost Possession>

    -Magic spells (Weaved): <Fire Burst Steps>, <Discharged Beam>

    *****

    "You both are pretty close to each other."

    "Yeah, we are sharing resources," Vernisia nodded with a smile. "We both used one Gray-rank magic crystal and one Yellow-rank magic crystal. We still have one Yellow-rank magic crystal saved, as too much increase in magic power can disrupt your control of mana for a short time, and we have to get used to it by practicing."

    "Yep, be careful about that. Don''t use all magic crystals at once for a sudden power up," Touma nodded as he knew such cases. "Using two magic crystals is enough, and then you have to spend several hours practicing to regain your mana control."

    *Groan!..Arghh¡­*

    Everyone looked at Tigger and Kerolin as they were near the final stage.

    "It''s time," Touma nodded at Zevien.

    Zevien moved in between Tigger''s and Kerolin''s bed before touching both of their foreheads with his hands and infusing his mana in them. This process is necessary so they can awaken their 2nd magicbyrinth with Zevien''s powers.

    "Tigger and Kerolin, resist the force that will send you to your new magicbyrinth! Don''t enter there now. You can enter after we return to the academy, so resist it for now," Zevien said.

    ¡­

    Everything was finished after ten minutes as Tigger and Kerolin opened their eyes, showing that they sessfully resisted.

    They left theb right away, as they had to return to the academy quickly. Zevien and Vernisia didn''t visit the orphanage, since it would disrupt the children. After all, they had just told them they won''t visit them anytime soon before they left for the academy.

    They returned on the jet flight and arrived at approx 11 PM.

    "There''s still time. Let''s go order our custom armors," Vernisia said after theynded at the town''s airport.

    "We''ll be returning to the academy since we quickly want to enter our magicbyrinth," Tigger said with a smile.

    "Thank you very much again," Kerolin said as she bowed. Excitement was clearly visible in her eyes, as she could stay with Tigger and study at the Skyward Academy starting today.

    "Haha, no problem," Zevienughed heartily.

    "Good luck," Vernisia also nodded with a smile. "See you tomorrow at the magic upation sses."

 Chapter 147 Magic Eruption Spot

    Zevien and Vernisia finished at 1 in the morning after ordering their custom-made magic armors. It cost them 4000 Gaia credits each, a whopping amount because they decided to get tier-3 custom armors.

    They spent an hour selecting and drawing the armor type and design they wanted.

    Afterward, they returned to the academy via a flying ship from the flying ship station of the town and went to their abode before sleeping since they would need to wake up early.

    ¡­

    At 5:30 in the morning,

    "All students! Line up outside on the ground in the next thirty minutes!"

    A thundering sound reverberated, waking the students who were still sleeping and reminding students that were ready.

    After twenty-five minutes, everyone was outside.

    The bulky man with a bare upper body showing explosive muscles was waiting for everyone toe out, and after seeing everyone present in twenty-five minutes, he nodded. "I am Headteacher Dux. ording to the schedule, you were supposed to go to the magic upation ss, but that''s currently dyed. You will attend it tomorrow instead."

    The students were surprised and wondered what new ns the academy had for them.

    "Today, we are going to a small magic eruption spot that appeared three hours ago in the northwest, 20 kilometers away. The magic beasts that erupted from it are not that strong, so it''s a perfect training ground for you students.

    "Think of it as apetition because you can exchange beast cores you collect into points and use those points to buy anything from a temporary special shop we will open for you students. That special shop has everything!" Dux said before he grinned at the end. "You can also buy magic crystals!"

    *Woah!*

    The students were startled and then got excited!

    "Alright, follow me to the ship station! Our big ship is getting ready there!" Dux said as he flew away while all students followed on foot.

    "Holy shit, bro! We are going to do this!" Dan said as he grinned. "I am gonna buy magic crystals and nothing else."

    "Let''s see who collects the most points," Tigger smiled with excitement as he grabbed Kerolin''s hands.

    "It looks like your confidence increased after the Magician Growth Boost, huh?" Erica rolled her eyes. "Don''t forget that we are your seniors in that regard."

    "But not weaker, hehe," Kerolin chuckled.

    "I won''t hold back in the slightest," Zevien said as his eyes lit up fiercely. "We are kinda in a pinch right now, so I need to be a 4th ss magician in the next thirty days."

    "Haha. Not that hard, honestly," Danughed. "We are already close to 1000 magic power since we got magic crystals from dungeons. So we just need to get some magic crystals from here and hit the 1500 magic power limit."

    "I wille with you in your 2nd magicbyrinth again. Don''t expect me to listen to you regarding that," Vernisia said firmly as she grabbed Zevien''s hand.

    "Woah, Woah, are you two in some trouble in the magicbyrinth or what?" Dan asked as their conversation surprised him.

    Erica, Kerolin, and Tigger were also curious.

    "Don''t exclude us, y''all," Roman snorted as he, Hemil, Jacky, and Leena arrived.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Jacky and Leena greeted the group while Hemil''s downcast gaze lit up as he narrowed his eyes. "We have a new member," he said while looking at Kerolin.

    "Wait, didn''t you have a male partner? What is going on? Why do you have a girl partner now?" Hemil questioned as he looked at Tigger enviously. "No girl epted me despite my gentle personality and handsome, pale face."

    Roman just sighed and didn''t even bother getting angry. If Hemil was not strong, he wouldn''t have teamed up with him.

    Tigger and Kerolin wryly smiled and shook their heads. They knew Hemil since the academy, so they were familiar with him.

    While talking andughing, they reached the station and hopped onto the biggest flying ship as instructed by Headteacher Dux.

    ¡­

    Ten minutester, they arrived at the magic eruption spot.

    All students looked down from the ship curiously, as most of them had never seen a magic eruption spot before.

    On the ground was a lush forest with a big river flowing north from its center. Magic Beasts were roaming everywhere in this vast forest. There was a giant vertical portal-shaped thing in that forest, but it was not slim. It was thick, like an egg.

    "Can you see that egg-like thing with a portal-ish structure if you look from one side? That thing indicates a magic eruption spot. When that thing appears, it covers a certain area where the magic beasts spawn from anywhere in the affected area. They spawn out of the air, from a pond, from a tree. All in all, they will suddenly pop out," Dux exined.

    The students nodded, and they could even see the area affected by the magic eruption spot because the affected forest was glowing with blue motes. Everything in the affected area was exuding ethereal blue motes.

    "The entire area exuding these motes is your battlefield! Kill magic beasts, take their beast cores, and gather them until you are fully exhausted. Then you cane back, recover on the ship, and go back again until this magic eruption spot disappears," Dux thundered.

    "So this activity officially starts, right?" Zevien asked Headteacher Dux with a smile.

    "Yeah, I''ll descend the ship now and let it stay in that river in the middle of the forest," Dux said as he contacted the control room of the ship with a device simr to walkie talky.

    "We''ll be leaving now if you don''t mind," Vernisia said with a smile as she summoned Lyn on the deck before she and Zevien sat down behind it.

    "Hahaha, no problem! Those who can fly can jump out and start right away! Clear those flying magic beasts!"

    *Neighh!!*

    Vernisiamanded Lyn as they flew out of the ship and descended. Other students who could fly also left the ship.

    While going downwards on Lyn, Zevien took out a blood vial and poured all the blood of it inside his magic eidos body. This blood was not vampire blood but Frigid Eagle''s blood, a 2nd-grade magic beast. He couldn''t expose vampire wings here, as people who had seen Alucard could easily recognize the vampire wings.

    "Let''s start the hunt," Zevien grinned as he produced beautiful dark blue feathered wings and jumped off from Lyn with Crimson Wind Boomerang in his hand.

    Vernisia also took out a whip as both of them flew towards separate flying magic beasts!

    *Crack!*

    *Boom!*

 Chapter 148 Constant Battle

    "He killed most of the flying beasts! All in one shot, whether 5th grade or 4th grade, damn!" A student cursed seeing Zevien kill thest flying magic beast above the forest by using his <Blood Hook> to pull it away from another student.

    Eight students could fly, and all of them were trying to kill flying magic beasts with lowpetition, but Zevien still killed the most. In two hours, they cleaned the entire area above the forest.

    "He''s using mana stones to recover his mana quickly, not holding back on costs in the slightest," Afina said with a pout. "We got money, so we should have bought tons of mana stones as well. Tsk, let''s go to the Headteacher and ask if he has mana stones for us to buy."

    "We can also submit our beast cores and see how many points we got," Kaal said with a nod. "I want to see the special shop."

    On the other hand, Vernisia approached Zevien. "Let''s return to the ship and convert our beast cores into points and take a brief break before diving into the ground battles."

    "Yep," Zevien said as he sat down behind her before Vernisiamanded Lyn to fly descend towards the ship on the river.

    After arriving on the deck, they went towards one of the teachers who was not busy and dumped all their beast cores, a total of 118 beast cores.

    Afina and Kaal were assessing their beast cores just beside them, so they were looking at Zevien and Vernisia to see how many they collected. Seeing the pile of 118 beast cores, their jaws dropped. That was more than double theirs!

    "Tsk, just what kind of power are you using that bolts your magic power beyond 5th ss?" Afina clicked her tongue and asked. "And how many mana stones you have?"

    "Secret :)," Zevien smiled and turned to the teacher, counting their stones.

    Vernisia was looking around and wondered. "Where is the secret shop?"

    "It''s inside," Dux answered whileying on the beach chair with closed eyes. His hand is pointing at the cabin stairs.

    After Afina and Kaal''s assessment was done, they got a card with their points added to it. "Let''s buy magic crystals with these points if we can. So we can power up over ourselves right away, humph. We have to do better," Afina snorted.

    "Yeah," Kaal nodded with his usual deadbeat response while having an expressionless face with drooping eyes.

    After they walked into the cabin, the teacher in front of Zevien and Vernisia was also done counting.

    "You have 86 5th-grade beast cores and 32 4th-grade beast cores. The point system we have is pretty simple. 10 points for each 5th-grade beast core and 30 points for each 4th-grade beast core," the teacher exined before she put away all beast cores into her storage ring and took out a card.

    She scanned the card with her own unique rectangle card and infused mana before [1820] appeared on the card.

    "Here''s the card," the teacher gave the card to Vernisia before smiling at them. "Good job."

    Zevien and Vernisia nodded smilingly before they walked towards the stairs descending into the cabin. Just as they entered, Afina and Kaal came out with Afina having a foul mood. "So expensive."

    "Don''t bother going inside if you don''t have 2000 points," Afina said as she looked at Zevien and Vernisia. "The lowest white-rank magic crystal cost 2000 points."

    "Oh¡­that''s expensive," Vernisia wryly smiled. "Well, let''s not waste time looking at the shop then."

    "Mhmm," Zevien nodded with a grin as he cracked his knuckles. "Back to the battlefield."

    "Teacher Dux, do you have mana stones for us? We want to buy," Afina shouted before she walked towards Teacher Dux. Kaal followed her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I have. But not many."

    "I will buy it all!"

    ¡­

    Zevien flew through the forest with his boomerang in one hand and a dark purple orb in his other hand.

    Since Alucard used all of Tarto''s magic spells in the contest, Zevien had not used any of Tarto''s magic spells here.

    He only used boomerang and <Rage Ball> to kill magic beasts. He kept his magic power at 3000 even though he could now let it reach 4100 because 3000 magic power was enough and he wanted to have a gap between him and Alucard.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Zevien threw his boomerang towards a 5th grade Horned-Owl ten meters away on a tree and killed it before quickly collecting its beast core and putting it inside his storage ring.

    *Rawr!*

    Zevien saw a 4th-grade bear magic beast suddenly spawning in front of him and then crashing into him as he couldn''t stop in time. The bear was pushed back a bit, but it roared and swiped its glowing ws and roared again to release a sound wave attack.

    Zevien was speechless at such an incident but he dodged the w attack and released a fully charged <Rage Ball> costing him 1000 mana thatunched towards the bear''s head.

    The range was too close, so the bear couldn''t react fast enough to do anything as its head exploded.

    Zevien sensed its beast core''s location and cut its chest with the boomerang''s sharp edges before taking out the beast core with his hand.

    *Creeeeee!*

    Zevien heard another magic beast''s cry behind him and quickly turned around to see a big mantis with sharp green ws rushing towards him.

    "Another 4th grade? Haha, nice!" Zevienughed as he quickly infused mana in the boomerang and threw it towards it.

    The mantis tried to dodge, and it seeded in doing that, but Zevien didn''t move away from his spot and just stood there with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

    The mantis became even more ferocious after seeing Zevien not running away and increasing its speed. However, when it was just a meter away from Zevien and was preparing to swing its sickle-like w, its head rolled down and Zevien caught his boomerang that was burning with dark green fire.

    After taking the beast core of the Sickle Mantis, Zevien continued hunting for more beast cores.

    ¡­

    Four hourster, Zevien and Vernisia decided to take a break and returned to the ship with their haul.

 Chapter 149 Big Haul

    Both of them dumped their beast cores in front of the teacher, who revealed a speechless expression. "You guys are fast. Are you constantly using mana cores to not run out of mana?"

    "Exactly," Vernisia grinned. "We have many mana stones with 50,000 mana in them. Hehe, high-quality mana stones."

    "Rich," the teacher was even more speechless before she started counting the beast cores and separated the pile into 4th and 5th-grade beast cores.

    "A total of 337 beast cores. Two-hundred and seventy-six fifth-grade beast cores and 61 fourth-grade beast cores. Total points 4590. Give me your card," the teacher said after exining and putting all cores in her storage ring.

    Vernisia took out the card and gave it to the teacher, who added points to the card before returning it.

    "We have 6410 points now," Vernisia smiled. "We can buy a single Yellow-rank magic crystal."

    "No, wait. Since the magic crystals increase our magic power by a percentage it''s better to use three white-rank crystals that increase 10% magic power each, rather than a single yellow-rank magic crystal that increases 30% of our magic power at once," Zevien said thoughtfully while walking towards the edge of the ship with Vernisia. "To hit the 1500 magic power mark, we need four gray-rank magic crystals and two white-rank magic crystals."

    "So we need a total of 20,000 points, huh¡­" Vernisia wryly smiled as she and Zevien jumped off the ship andnded at the riverbank. "Well, let''s continue hunting until we are mentally exhausted, or this magic eruption spot disappears."

    "Haha, yep! That''s the only way. Gotta grind hard," Zevienughed before he unfurled his dark blue feathered wings and flew away while Vernisia summoned Lyn and flew away in another direction.

    ¡­

    Twelve hourster, Zevien and Vernisia were finally exhausted mentally, but the magic eruption spot was still there. Zevien called Vernisia using Digi-watch and told her to return to the ship.

    After they returned to the ship, they saw many students resting on mattresses provided by the academy to rest. Many students were injured as well so they were resting and some were getting treated by the medical staff of the academy.

    Fortunately, the ship was big enough for more than half of the students to rest concurrently. Still, half of the students were hunting in the forest since they had taken a rest early.

    Only Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, and Dan fought for a longer period without taking a break because they had mana stones.

    The group of Starlight city was also resting on mattresses with magic crystals in their hands. They were absorbing the magic crystal''s power to increase their magic power.

    "It seems that they had already bought magic crystals and are absorbing them," Vernisia said with an exhausted smile as she looked at the group.

    "Let''s see how many we got," Zevien grinned. "We should have enough to reach our goal, I think."

    Both of them walked toward the same teacher who counted and assessed their beast cores previously and dumped their beast cores in front of her.

    *nk, nk, nk, nk,¡­.*

    The continuous sound of beast cores hitting each other soon attracted the students.

    "Jeez, Zevien and Vernisia. Just how long were they fighting to gather that many?"

    "That Dan and Erica also made a big pile, but this one is bigger."

    "Sigh¡­ I was happy with how much I gained, but now I am depressed again."

    The teacher weakly smiled and looked at her peers. "I could receive some help, you know?"

    The other teachers wryly smiled and parted the pile of magic crystals before they started counting and separating them into different piles.

    "Call us when you are done," Vernisia tiredly smiled. "We''ll take some rest there."

    "Good work," the teacher nodded with an encountering smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Nice haul," Teacher Dux grinned and thumbs up towards Zevien and Vernisia.

    Zevien and Vernisia nodded with a smile in return before they sat down on an empty mattress. They sat cross-legged and entered meditation to remove their exhaustion and slowly recover their mana. They didn''t use mana stones to recover beforeing here as they had decided to take some rest.

    After several minutes, the teacher called them.

    They opened their eyes and walked toward the teacher with anticipation. "Let''s hope we have gathered enough," Vernisia said.

    "Ahem, so the total beast cores you have gathered are 1345. Of them, 1096 are fifth-grade beast cores, and 249 are fourth-grade beast cores. That''s a total of 18,430 points."

    *Uproar!*

    The students had perked their ears to listen to the figure and were dumbfounded after hearing the points.

    "Alright, good night. It''s already 1 AM. We should sleep."

    "Just how long were they hunting for continuously?"

    "I don''t know, but definitely very long."

    Vernisia gave the card to the teacher with excitement in her eyes. Zevien was also excited as they could be 4th magicians soon.

    After getting their cards back, Zevien and Vernisia entered the cabin to see the special shop.

    Dux activated his Digi-watch and opened the shared database where all pairs'' total points were recorded.

    1st. Zevien & Vernisia:- 24,840 points.

    2nd. Dan & Erica:- 20,780 points.

    3rd. Afina & Kaal:- 18,670 points.

    4th. Tigger & Kerolin:- 17,150 points.

    5th. Roman & Hemil:- 14,980 points.

    6th¡­.

    7th¡­.

    "Big gap. The hunting speed of Zevien and Vernisia is quicker," Dux nodded. He had also asionally observed their fights with his Scout-type magic spell. He felt they were more experienced in battle and killed fast with precision. Of course, no resting was a big factor as well.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia were looking at a big screen with items disyed.

    The first row had three images disyed. Yellow-rank magic crystal, Gray-rank magic crystal, and White-rank magic crystal.

    The second, third, and fourth rows had ten items each, ranging from gemstones, magic equipments, magic potions, and such things.

    There was a counter table in the cabin with a board in front that had--[Come here to buy after looking at the items on the disy]--written on it.

 Chapter 150 2nd Evolution

    "How did the academy get magic crystals for students?" Vernisia wondered as she looked at the special shop.

    "No idea, but I feel like it should be rted to the Magic Guild and Astral Land," Zevien said. "Astral Land is fundamentally different from the Gaia continent. Maybe magic crystals are easier to get there? Also, I found out that there are magic crystal mines in my Invible Blood Gardenbyrinth. So Astral Land might have such mines as well."

    "Yeah, that''s possible," Vernisia said before she and Zevien walked towards the main desk in the cabin and gave the card to the person sitting behind the desk.

    "What do you want to buy?" the man in histe twenties asked before taking the card and inserting it into a tablet device. "W-what the¡­ so many points!"

    ...

    After buying four gray-rank magic crystals and two white-rank magic crystals, they kept the rest of the points and went back to their mattress before meditating with the magic crystals in their hands.

    After an hour, they absorbed two gray-rank and a white-rank magic crystal each and hit the 1500 magic power limit.

    Opening their eyes, they let out a heavy sigh. "Let''s sleep for a while," Zevien said.

    "Right," Vernisia nodded in agreement beforeying down and pulling out a nket from her storage ring to cover Zevien and herself before closing her eyes.

    Zevien created a small Omni-barrier around them and covered it with mist by casting a magic formation of the mist concept from the tier-2 spell, Decaying Poison Mist. He had learned the spell concept of this spell, so he used the mist concept from it and created its magic formation before using mana to cast it and creating a simple mist to obstruct others from seeing inside.

    Many students had created barriers around them since no one wanted to let others see their sleeping posture.

    Dan and others had already slept while Zevien and Vernisia were absorbing their magic crystals.

    ¡­

    Five hourster, Zevien and Vernisia woke up and saw that most of the students were gone from the ship.

    After stretching themselves, they also stood up. "We can''t trigger our evolution right now. We need to practice and empty our entire mana reserve twice to get used to this power-up before triggering our evolution," Zevien said.

    "Yeah," Vernisia nodded as she popped her arms and neck by stretching. "Let''s gather some more points while we consolidate our magic core," Vernisia smiled.

    "Oh, we shouldn''t recover our mana directly from the mana stones for now. Let''s recover it by meditation as it will also help us consolidate," Zevien said after they arrived at the ship''s edge.

    "Alright, let''s return to the ship after two hours then," Vernisia nodded before she jumped from the ship and summoned Lyn below her while she was in the air before flying into the forest.

    Zevien also used Blood Morphing Art to absorb eight drops of blood from Frigid Eagle''s blood in his magic eidos body and produced wings from his back before flying into the forest.

    He internally cast <Raging Body> of Somatic Rage to enhance his physical prowess and took out the Crimson Wind boomerang from his storage ring.

    After ten seconds, he saw a 4th-grade magic beast rushing towards a student from behind while the student was still fighting a peak 5th-grade magic beast.

    Zevien narrowed his eyes and pointed his palm towards the 4th grade Green Fang monkey, who was going to attack the student, and cast <Blood Hook> as a bloody hook conjured in front of his palm.

    The hook shot towards the monkey and wrapped around its neck as Zevien dug the point into its skin.

    *Chaaaa!*

    The monkey quickly screeched and turned around before finding Zevien, but right after that, Zevien exerted his strength and pulled the bloody rope connected to the hook to yank the monkey towards him.

    *Screeee!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    The monkey screeched with anger as its body exuded poison liquid and blew it from its mouth to release poisonous phlegm.

    Zevien snorted as he dodged the attack before throwing his boomerang while the monkey was getting yanked towards him and cut off its neck.

    Zevien straightened the palm with which he pulled the bloody rope as it pierced into the beast''s chest when it reached him and took out its beast core before throwing it to the side.

    "Thanks a lot, mate!" the student thanked Zevien while dodging an attack from that giant frog and finished it off with his next attack. However, when he turned around, Zevien was nowhere to be found.

    ¡­

    Once Zevien almost emptied his mana, he sat down on a thick tree branch and used an Omni-Barrier with thest bit of mana he saved and rested to recover his mana.

    One can recover their mana automatically, but if they meditate, the recovery is faster. Mana recovery speed always corrtes to magic power. So no matter how much mana they have, even if they emptied everything, one can recover it in the same time frame.

    For instance, Vernisia has 15,000 mana, and it takes 20 minutes to refill her mana pool by meditating. Zevien has 30,000 mana, but he also takes 20 minutes to refill his mana pool by meditating.

    Time passed, and after spending two hours, they returned to the ship on time and met there. They emptied their mana pool twice and meditated to recover it twice, which sufficiently consolidated their magic core.

    After getting 1480 points from their two hours of hunt, they walked toward Headteacher Dux.

    "Teacher, can we get a private room or something?" Zevien asked.

    "So, you''ve decided to trigger your evolution, huh? Well, good luck," Dux smiled before he signaled a teacher. "Get them an empty room on the 2nd floor below."

    ¡­

    After Zevien and Vernisia entered the room, they locked it from the inside and sat down on the bed.

    "This is our 2nd evolution, and it won''t be as simple as the first," Zevien said. "There will be some kind of test, but we have toplete this evolution in one try."

    Vernisia nodded with resolve. "We can do it on our first try."

    Both of them closed their eyes and entered meditation before triggering their 2nd magic core evolution.

    Soon, Zevien and Vernisia''s bodies disappeared from the room before they appeared in different mystical ces.

    Zevien appeared under a waterfall and instantly got wet.

    [Comprehend the magic circle and receive magic essence from Magia realm for your 2nd evolution. Do not move away from the waterfall no matter what happens, and maintain all of your focus on the magic circle. If you cut off your focus and can''tprehend the magic circle in 6 hours, you will fail and lose 200 magic power.]

    Zevien took a deep breath and looked at the magic circle with focus.

    *screee!*

    Just a few secondster, a sharp screech reverberated. Zevien slightly trembled to the sudden screech and almost looked toward that sound''s direction, but maintained his focus.

    ''Uneptable. I almost screwed up.''

    Zevien soon entered the deeper focus state and didn''t get distracted by the next gimmick as he continued toprehend the magic circle as his eyes only saw the magic circle and nothing else.

 Chapter 151 Return

    [Congrattions! You have sessfullyprehended the magic circle. Prepare to receive the magic essence from the Magia Realm that will evolve your magic core.]

    Zevien suddenly felt a mysterious power before it surrounded his magic core and infused it inside. After that, Zevien clearly felt his magic core evolving. The process took five minutes.

    The size of his magic core didn''t change, but its quality increased such that the spell formations weaved on it shrank in size as they took up less space than before.

    [The remaining two sub-spells of your Somatic Violet Four Vehemence awakening spell are upgraded. Your Blood Morphing Art awakening spell is also upgraded. You can now overflow-cast your awakening magic spells for enhanced damage and effects.]

    ''I already knew about the upgraded versions of the remaining two sub-spells, but I was not expecting to get an upgrade in my Blood Morphing Art.'' Zevien thought as he was surprised and checked the information on the upgraded Blood Morphing Art in his head that appeared.

    *****

    <Blood Morphing Art>

    ->1st Effect:- You can absorb a certain number of blood drops of any creature to transform yourself into that creature, entirely or partially. The number of blood drops you can absorb, and the amount of magic power you have determines your physical prowess boost.

    ->2nd Effect:- You can now store two kinds of blood in your magic eidos body and absorb both to disy the traits of the two creatures in your physical body.

    *****

    "Aweso-" Zevien failed to finish his sentence after he read the spell in his head because he felt some strange pull and disappeared from under the waterfall and appeared back in the room.

    Vernisia was already there, but her eyes were closed as if she was checking something. But she opened her eyes shortly after Zevien arrived and showed a V-sign with her hand while smiling.

    "Haha, we both seeded," Zevien said with augh before he stood up. His clothes were not wet even though he was under a big waterfall just several seconds ago.

    "I got the 3rd style of Primal Conjuring, Raging Inferno Phoenix!" Vernisia said with excitement. "I can''t wait to see how I can cast it in different ways, like the idea you gave with the Wind Roaring Tiger."

    "What about your other magicbyrinth? Got a new awakening spell, or one of those two upgraded? " Zevien asked as he was curious about it.

    "I got a new awakening spell, which I canbine with my other two spells," Vernisia smiled. "It''s called Shadow st. Normally, I can release an orb of shadow with high shadow-attribute damage, but if someone is affected by Shadow Bind Hex or Shadow Ghost Possession, I can directly conjure a Shadow st around them and damage them. Basically, once someone is caught by one of those two spells, I can spam Shadow sts to defeat them."

    "As expected," Zevien wryly smiled. "That''s a deadlybo."

    "In a way, this is good." My first magicbyrinth''s awakening spells are single-target spells that can affect individuals hit by them, while my second magicbyrinth''s awakening spells are AOE spells as they affect arge area directly with devastating damage," Vernisia smirked. "It''s perfect."

    "Yeah, that''s true," Zevien nodded with a smile before he stood up. "Let''s go out now. The ship seems to be moving, which means that the magic eruption spot is gone, and we are returning."

    "We still have some points. Let''s buy some things if we can," Vernisia nodded as she stood up before both of them went to the cabin.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Can we still buy things using points?" Zevien asked after he and Vernisia arrived at the counter table.

    "You can," the man behind the counter nodded.

    "Alright then, give us two white-rank magic crystals," Vernisia said as she gave the card. They had a bit over four thousand points, so the only thing they could buy were two white-rank magic crystals.

    ¡­

    After they got the crystals and went to the desk, they saw they had already arrived at the academy. The ship had slowed down as it was going to dock at the station for maintenance.

    "There''s onest important announcement. Go to the abode area and wait for me. I will be there in a few minutes. Oh, and I know it''s already noon, but you can still go and take some rest after the announcement. The magic upation sses will start at 5 in the afternoon," Dux said before he flew towards the central part of the academy.

    Everyone returned to the abode area and only had to wait for a minute before Headteacher Dux returned.

    "Ahem, so I will give you the next two months'' timetable," Dux smiled. "You will have one ss of your magic upation every week that willst for an entire day. For the rest of the days, you can do whatever you want. But...

    "You will have to visit the quest center and finish at least fifteen quests within the next sixty days. Most importantly, all students must also be 4th-ss magicians within the next sixty days. If you can''t, we will expel you. Onest thing, all students mustplete level 2 stages in all training centers in these two months. If you fail to do that, we will expel you," Dux finished speaking before heughed. "Hahaha, now you can go take some rest!"

    The students saw Dux leaving while they stood there nkly.

    "Level 2 stages in all training centers? Fuck! I tried level 1 of the Siege Defense stage and couldn''t clear it."

    "Hehe, I am excited! Those training stages are hellish, but only by clearing them can we call ourselves a cut above the rest!"

    ¡­

    Dan, Erica, Kerolin, Tigger, Jacky, Leena, Roman, and Hemil were fighting for three hours straight after waking up, from morning to noon, so they went to take a rest.

    Afina and Kaal were the same.

    However, Zevien and Vernisia had spent an additional 6 hours in their evolution space, so they had sufficient rest.

    "Let''s go get your tier-4 defense-type magic spell. After that, we''ll learn our tier-4 magic spells until the magic upation ss starts," Zevien said.

    "Yeah, we have more space in our magic core now, which means we can learn more magic spells," Vernisia smiled. "This Magic Eruption Spot and the special shop were an unexpected boon for us."

    "Indeed, everyone progressed significantly because of that."

 Chapter 152 Gray Swamp Clan

    After buying a tier-4 defense-type magic spell for Vernisia, they both returned to their abode and started training.

    Zevien started learning the spell concept of <Ruination Mist Cannon> while Vernisia started learning the spell concept of <Roving Aegis Guard>.

    They continued their training until it was time for the magic upation sses. However, the progress they made was barely 10%. After all, the spell concept of tier-4 spells is not that easy toprehend.

    ¡­

    In the magic upation ss, Zevien learned about ingredients and the introduction of three methods to bring out the essence power of the ingredients.

    "You all managed to bring out the essence of those ingredients in the previous ss, but it was still not perfect," teacher Raina said as she looked at students with her arms crossed. "There are different levels of essence you can bring out; First level: Motes, Second level: Golden River, and Third level: Dream Flow.

    "The essence power you all brought out in previous sses didn''t even reach the first level. The ingredients just glowed, that''s all. Glowing indicates that you barely seeded, and you can use it for an official mystic chef cooking. But¡­" Raina paused before picking up an ingredient from her table and showing it to everyone.

    The ingredient looked like a tomato with green stripes and was surrounded by light blue motes.

    "As you can see, this tier-3 magic ingredient is surrounded by light blue motes because I have brought out 100% of its potential," Raina smiled as she controlled the ingredient and showed it to every student up close. "Any dish cooked with this ingredient as the main ingredient will have its effects increased. Not to mention, its signature taste will be extremely delicious. People will not even look at the temporary effects after tasting its deliciousness."

    The students were surprised. Just how delicious would it be?

    "Keep in mind that you won''t graduate if you can''t reach the first level when bringing out the essence power of ingredients. There will be a progress check every three months, and if you can''t reach our expected progress, we will expel you."

    "Just first level? Teacher, you said that there are two more. What about them?" A student asked curiously.

    "You think it''s so easy to reach 1st level: Motes?" Raina snorted. "Even I haven''t reached 2nd level: Golden River despite being a 1st ss magician."

    "What about methods of extraction?" Another student asked.

    "I was going to tell you that," Raina nodded as she consumed her mana and waved her hand before creating a mystical tiny whirlpool in front of her. "This is the first extraction method I am going to teach you, Whirlpool Needle Extract."

    The students looked at the watermelon-sized whirlpool with focus and noticed that it was entirely made of liquified mana with many tiny shining needles inside.

    "In the whirlpool extract method, one needs to create a whirlpool of mana filled with extremely slim and tiny needles of mana in them before putting ingredients in the whirlpool," Raina said as she picked up an ingredient from her table that looked like a purple apple with orange hues on it and put it inside the whirlpool.

    "You must have absolute control over the whirlpool as you slowly let those needles insert inside the ingredient and extract its essence."

    The students were dumbfounded because it looked extremely hard to do!<novelnext></novelnext>

    After a minute, the ingredient started oozing out light blue motes! Raina took out the ingredient and showed it to the students while diffusing the whirlpool. "Done!"

    "Ohh!"

    The students looked amazed. She finished it so quickly!

    Raina put the ingredient on her table before smiling. "There are two more methods of extracting, but you should focus on one method and master it first. Open the drawer in your tables, and you will see a book with three extracting methods. Aside from the one I just showed you, the other two are Fire Wave Extract and Pressure Extract."

    Zevien also started reading as the book had a detailed exnation of how to learn these extract methods.

    "For Fire Wave Extract, you will need to learn a talent for fire magic like those alchemists and Magic Smiths. We have fire magic crystals, so you can use them to learn fire magic talent. It will be free. For the next seven hours, you all will practice these three methods and find which one is suitable for you. You can ask me if you need help or if you don''t understand anything."

    ¡­

    After seven hours, Zevien returned to the abode since he was a bit tired of constantly practicing. Vernisia was also like that after she learned some new knowledge regarding the jewelist magic upation.

    "How was today''s ss? Mine was really exhausting," Vernisia said as she released a tiresome and heavy sigh.

    "Same," Zevien said as hey on the bed. "There were three ways of extracting essence power from ingredients, and after fiddling with all three methods for hours, I decided to go with the Whirlpool Needle extraction method."

    "The Jewelist teacher also introduced us to three methods of essory and gemstone crafting," Vernisia wryly smiled. "The method I focused on is called Symphony Engrave crafting method."

    Both of them talked for ten minutes before dozing off on the bed.

    On the other hand, the Gray Swamp n in Astral Land had be chaotic because the little brother of the n master was killed.

    "Find me the culprit as soon as possible!" The n master of the Gray Swamp n angrily shouted before he sat down on his elevated seat in the main hall of the n. "Hmph, just because I recently became n head doesn''t mean anyone can take me lightly!"

    The members of the n were standing in the hall as they trembled with fear from Fragard''s thundering roar.

    Two men were standing on the right and left of Fragard on the tform. They were protectors of the n.

    "n head, your little brother was fiddling around in the Gaia continent''s dark organization. After investigating, I found that he hasn''t returned from there." A middle-aged man wearing a gray robe spoke. He was one of the senior Adepta Mages of the n.

 Chapter 153 Training Challenge Centers

    Fragard gritted his teeth in frustration as he looked at the Life Crystal of his little brother that was broken into pieces in his hand. "If he died on Gaia continent, then only one person can kill him. Who is the current headmaster of Skyward Academy?"

    "It''s Noril," a protector standing left side of Fragard said. "I have fought him, and he is a tough nut to crack because of his Force Spiral magicbyrinth''s awakening spells and his Labyrinth Artifact that isbined with a rare space-attribute magic item."

    The right-side protector nodded. "He is indeed a powerful Master Mage. However, the n head is one rank higher than Noril. You should be able to deal with him."

    "But we can''t do anything on Gaia continent," a middle-aged woman said as she raised her head towards the n head. "The Magic Guild Association won''t let us create trouble there. If they found out that we broke the rule, they will wipe us out."

    "Yes, n head. Gaia continent is off limits. That tiny ce is fragile and would break easily if multiple people above Novice rank stayed there. Moreover, it is a major source of people for the MGA. They recruit people from Gaia continent and train them for their constitution," another person said.

    Fragard frowned and spoke, "How about we get help from an Empire? After all, senior members of the MGA are from well-known kingdoms and empires. If we can bribe a higher-up of the MGA to give up on Noril¡­"

    Many people''s faces changed after hearing that.

    The left protector shook his head and exined, "We can''t do that. It will cost us too much to bribe a higher-up."

    "Then what do you want? I forget about my brother''s death?!" Fragard bellowed, "Noril must die!"

    "Let''s all think of a solution together," said the protector on the right side. "It''s not like Noril will always stay in Gaia. He will definitely return to Astral Land, and that will be your chance, n head."

    ''Bastard, it''s because of you that your brother was doing things without thinking about consequences.''

    ''d he is dead, but I hope this n head doesn''t bring down the entire n because of his damn revenge.''

    The people in the hall cursed in their minds. Most of them were unhappy with this development.

    ¡­

    Because of the Magic Eruption spot and special shop event, a total of 28 students managed to be 4th ss magicians.

    Two dayster, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, Tigger, Kerolin, Leena, Jacky, Roman, and Hemil went towards the training area together.

    "Let''s do Obstacle Race training first," Dan said with a grin. "Erica and I have tried it while you were in Starlight city, but we couldn''t even clear the first stage."

    "We should be able to clear it this time since we''ve learned a tier-2 movement-type magic spell and also became 4th ss magicians," Erica said.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The group entered the Obstacle Race''s training center. This training center was situated at the foot of the mountain, and from this training center to the top of the mountain, a ss roof covered it all with a ten-meter wide passage.

    After Zevien and the group entered inside, they saw a screen that disyed a student climbing the mountain from that ten-meter wide passage while dodging the obstacles that were produced from some kind of device at the top of the mountain.

    The rule of this training was simple. One had to climb the mountain via that passage while dodging the obstacles. The student gets 100 points when starting the training challenge and each object that hit the student deducts points from 100.

    The obstacles were all phantom-type created from mana. The moment they touched a student, they would disappear and deduct a point.

    To pass the first level, a student needs to dodge every single obstacle and keep their 100 points until they reach the top of the mountain. Once they pass their first level, and it''s recorded in their badge, they can unlock the second level.

    1st and 2nd levels of the obstacle race were for 5th and 4th ss magicians. The 3rd and 4th levels were for 3rd ss magicians, 5th and 6th levels were for 2nd ss magicians, while 7th and 8th were for 1st ss magicians. Naturally, if someone''s magic power went past 3000 while they were in the 1st or 2nd level of the obstacle race, their record wouldn''t count.

    "I''ll go first," Dan said after the student reached the mountain with 89 points.

    He moved towards the entry door and stood in front of the gate, which scanned his badge before it opened and an electronic voice sounded. "Dan, First level. Enter the passage in three seconds."

    Dan entered the passage that was ten meters wide and five meters high since the tunnel was covered by ss.

    Outside, Zevien and the others saw Dan appearing on the screen as he started running.

    "The current record for the first level is 14.38 seconds by Lamia," Kerolin said as she pointed at the leaderboard of all levels. "So you must also climb fast while not getting hit by any objects."

    "There are rewards," Leena said as she pointed at the reward poster on the wall. "If you clear the 1st level within 30 seconds, you get 100 Skyward merits. If you break the level 1 record, you get an extra 150 merits."

    "Shhhh, stop talking and look at Dan," Erica snorted. "Although the obstacles pattern will be random, you can be prepared if you observe these obstacles. Look, they also throw phantoms of cats and dogs at you."

    Ten seconds had passed, and Dan had so far dodged every obstacle while maintaining his speed. He was using a tier-2 magic spell, Air-Pressure jets, and his 1st awakening spell, Demonic Armament was also activated as it increased his physical capabilities by arge margin and also gave him a burst of flying move.

    After eight more seconds, he finally reached the top, but he was hit by two obstacles near the end.

    "Idiot!" Erica stomped her foot and walked towards the entry door. "I''ll go now and teach him a lesson. How can he fail near the end?"

    Everyone wryly smiled hearing her.

 Chapter 154 Obstacle Race

    "But that was a good attempt; he finished it in 18 seconds," Roman said with a nod. "His speed was really fast, despite dodging a lot of obstacles."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    "He wanted to beat the record, but his general speed was still slow," Zevien said.

    "Oh? Erica''s speed is faster?" Vernisia was surprised, and so were the others.

    Everyone watched the screen as Erica had tiny dreamy white clouds wrapped around her ankles and wrists. On top of that, she was releasing a burst of wind from the soles of her feet.

    "That''s her awakening magic spell," Hemil narrowed his eyes. "It''s from Clouds of Nineveh magicbyrinth, a top-tier magicbyrinth for Auxiliary-type magic spells."

    "Yeah, those tiny clouds wrapped around her ankles and wrists are increasing her speed and also helping her move extremely nimble and flexible somehow," Leena nodded while showing a curious look in her eyes. "How are those clouds helping her like that?"

    "Those clouds are supporting her entire weight, which basically means that she''s flying," Jacky said as he observed. "She has only let her feet touch the ground twice. That was for her movement boost and to dodge two obstacles."

    "She must have gotten that new awakening spell after reaching 4th ss magician," Roman wryly smiled. "It''s honestly powerful, just like all awakening spells. Unfortunately, I don''t have any movement-type awakening spell."

    Everyone watched with bated breath as Erica neared the end and¡­

    "She passed!" Vernisia smiled happily and quickly looked at the timer. "15.78. Wow, almost broke the record."

    "I''ll go next," Zevien said with a faint smile as he walked towards the ss tube entry door. "I am going to try something extreme. I won''t pass on the first try, but I want to pass using that method."

    "Sounds interesting despite not knowing what you are talking about," Hemil said with a smile. "Let''s see your method of climbing."

    As Zevien walked towards the entry door, he used Blood Morphing Art inwardly to absorb eight drops of vampire blood and took out a vial from his storage ring that had the blood of a 3rd-grade beast, Virivolent Sparrow.

    Everyone saw four beautiful wingsing out of Zevien''s back as they lightly sparkled with light green and light-blue hues due to the same colored wings.

    The door opened with the electronic voice as usual. Zevien entered and saw the slope filled with trees, grass, and obstacles suspended that would soon fall in three seconds or the moment he stepped foot from the metal floor into the mountain ground.

    But he waited for the countdown and observed the entire passage with full focus. His gaze captured everything as he increased his magic power up to 2999 by activating Shaman-seed and infusing mana in his wings and body to empower them while further enhancing his physical capabilities by internally casting <Raging Body> sub-spell.

    Even when the countdown hit 0, Zevien didn''t move from his position but observed for two more seconds as many magically conjured obstacles like big ck jaws, magic beasts, tables, chairs, spinning fans, and more fell down.

    He captured their position by wasting two seconds as he pointed his palm towards a tree and used the <Blood Hook> as a hook shot towards the tree before he pulled himself up while rapidly dodging the obstacles by controlling his wings.

    "What the f¡­?" Roman and others were dumbfounded from watching that huge rocket boost from the start.

    ''Zevien, you said you might not seed on the first try, but I know you want to,'' Vernisia thought as she saw his determined expression on the screen.

    Zevien was using his <Blood Hook> and his very nimble four wings to maneuver himself through the obstacles and cut long distances. In just five seconds, he had crossed half of the path and continued moving quickly. ''The toughest part is cleared. Damn, now I want to clear it and break the record!''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Damn¡­" Hemil muttered. "That''s awesome. I also want to try this method."

    "If you have those wings, sure. You can try it," said Leena as she rolled her eyes.

    "It''s not about wings, but about focus," Roman said with a somber expression. "He is walking several steps ahead and calcting by watching all obstacles from the top."

    "That''s true, but those wings and that hook are helping him keep up the pace," Leena said.

    Roman agreed and nodded his head. "That''s true as well, but it doesn''t look as easy as how he''s showing it."

    "I want to learn that hook spell. It looks very convenient. Vernisia, is that spell avable in the library here? What''s its name?" Leena asked.

    "Nine seconds and zero obstacles hit," Jacky said as he clenched his fist. "Maybe he can do it."

    Zevien was at thest phase, and seeing a giant snake obstacle with a wide range, due to its long and unnaturally spread body, Zevien instinctively made a decision as he shot his <Blood Hook> on the ground from his right hand to dodge the snake. His face hit the ground before his body as he mmed, but still went upward and shot another <Blood Hook> from his left hand to pull himself towards the finishing line.

    *Tin¡­tin¡­tin¡­tin¡­tin¡­*

    A festive rm rang before an electric voice reverberated everywhere.

    [Congrattions to Zevien for breaking the existing record of the level 1 obstacle race. The current record for the obstacle race is now 9.89 seconds.]

    This announcement rang in all training centers, causing an uproar.

    "A hundred meters of obstacle race in 9.89 seconds¡­ fuck. Who is this guy?" a random senior student muttered in another training center after hearing the announcement.

    "The previous record for level 1 was 14 seconds something. Jeez, this is a huge gap. How did he do it?"

    The teachers also got the news as they became surprised and impressed.

    ¡­

    "Damn, bro! You nailed it," Danughed as he saw Zeviening out of the exit at the top of the mountain. He and Erica were sitting at a table under a tree. There were a few more tables, and it looked like a pic spot at the top of the mountain with trees blocking most of the sunlight''s baring, yet gentle rays andfortable wind that created a cozy atmosphere.

    There was also a big screen that showed the student''s performance in the training challenge.

    "Tsk, I have to admit that was a cool method," Erica clicked her tongue. "We''ll do another attempt with that method. Ok, Dan?"

    "As you wish, mydy."

 Chapter 155 Records Breaking

    Everyone managed to pass the first level of the Obstacle Race after Zevien, but none could break his record. Dan and Erica tried Zevien''s method but couldn''t clear it. So Dan had to make a 3rd attempt to pass, but he ranked just after Erica and cleared it in 16.98 seconds.

    Vernisia cleared it in 17 seconds as she only had one movement type spell. Her speed was not that fast, but her focus and dodging were great, which resulted in her taking 17 seconds to pass the level very smoothly.

    Kerolin also cleared it in 17.39 seconds, while Tiger cleared it in 19.11 seconds.

    Jacky took 23.09 seconds, Roman took 21.48 seconds, Leena took 22.34 seconds, and Hemil took 18.03 seconds to clear in his second attempt after he failed in his first attempt since he tried Zevien''s method.

    After everyone cleared the 1st level, they attempted the second level of the obstacle race.

    The ground started constantly trembling while wind currents appeared asionally on this level.

    Zevien took two attempts to clear the 2nd level, but his 1st method is not working on this level due to the wind currents. He couldn''t predict the positions of obstacles perfectly.

    While descending from the mountain towards the training center base, Zevien muttered, "Well, I can do better if I try a few more times, but 17 is good enough."

    He didn''t feel like wasting his time more on this because they still had to challenge other training centers.

    Roman smiled wryly after Zevien entered the training base. "17 seconds to clear the 2nd level. Well, you once again broke the record."

    "Where did you get that blood hook and wings spells? I want to buy them!" Leena asked with anticipation. She really felt that those spells were useful in general.

    "You can''t buy," Zevien shook his head while smiling. "They are awakening spells."

    "Oh¡­ wait, awakening spell?" Leena was confused. "But¡­ ok, I understand. So you have those sub-spells type awakening spell, huh?"

    "Yeah," Zevien didn''t bother to rify that he had 2nd magicbyrinth because she would soon know about it on her own.

    "Let''s not attempt the 2nd level right now and clear level 1 stages of other training challenges first," Vernisia said. "Zevien did it, but you all know that it''s going to be harder to clear it and will take more time."

    "Yeah, we can first gather Skyward Merits after clearing all level 1 stages, so we can buy some things and use them to boost ourselves," Jacky nodded.

    "Then next we go to ughter Spiral," Dan grinned as he rubbed his hands. "It''s about staying in a big field for 30 seconds and killing as many magic beasts as possible while keeping our health points above 50. Naturally, those magic beasts are fake as they are conjured from some kind of enchantment magic formation like those obstacles."

    "They give us a bangle that disys 100 HP, and if they hit us, the HP reduces," Erica exined. "The current record for level one is held by someone named Donxin. He had 78 HP left and had killed 94 magic beasts in 30 seconds."

    "What''s the passing condition? Is it just to keep HP above 50?" Hemil asked with doubt. "That sounds easy."

    "Ah¡­ nope," Dan shook his head. "You also have to kill at least 50 magic beasts while keeping HP above 50. The tricky thing is that the magic beasts will disappear after releasing their attack, whether long-range or close-range. So we have to react fast and kill them."

    "Let''s get moving," Zevien said with a grin. "I want to break all records today."<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    [Congrattions to Zevien for breaking the existing record of level 1 ughter Spiral. The current record for ughter Spiral is now 87 HP and 113 beasts killed.]

    "Not again! What the heck is going on? He just finished breaking the level 2 record of Obstacle Race for god''s sake."

    "If you break a record, you get bonus Skyward merits, Keke. This guy is going to hoard a lot of them, it seems."

    ¡­

    [Congrattions to Zevien for breaking the existing record of level 1 Siege Defense. The current record for Siege Defense is now 1 minute and 12 seconds.]

    "Screw it. I am going to watch his performance. Sounds interesting; since he broke some records already."

    "Yeah, let''s see what kind of beast he is."

    By now, many students were actually following Zevien''s group to watch their performances. Currently, at the Siege Defense training center, they were watching, in pin-drop silence, Vernisia''s performance.

    The Siege Defense was about defending a big building from powerful beasts. The beasts sometimes came in waves, or sometimes a big beast would arrive. This training center was the size of two cricket grounds. Four Entrancement boards with magic formations were stationed in four directions that would spawn magic beasts towards the center where the student had to kill them and prevent them from damaging the base.

    They would eventually overwhelm students and destroy the base, but it was about who could defend the longest.

    The students were watching Vernisia as she was defending and had actually surpassed Zevien''s time while the base was still 4% left. Most of the credits went to her 3rd style of Primal Conjuring, Raging Phoenix Inferno.

    A big phoenix made of pure fire had created a ring of inferno surrounding the base that killed all the beasts that approached and also shot fireballs from its mouth as controlled by Vernisia.

    "That is her awakening spell for sure, but which magicbyrinth is that? That spell is so freaking powerful!"

    "I''ve been trying to find a record regarding simr spells that she disyed, but I couldn''t find any. There are elementalbyrinths, but this one is by far the most extreme since I assume that the tiny fish that created the whirlpool, that wind tiger, and this phoenix are part of the same awakening spell, and all of them are pure offense-type spells."

    "Yeah. Well, her phoenix ran out of gas. But she seeded in breaking the record."

    [Congrattions to Vernisia for breaking the existing record of level 1 Siege Defense. The current record for Siege Defense is now 1 minute and 18 seconds.]

    "Those big area spells really worked in this mode," Erica smiled before she snickered at Zevien. "Hehe, your record was broken."

    "Haha, not that I have anyint against that," Zevienughed heartily.

 Chapter 156 Idea, All Training Challenges

    After Siege Defense, Zevien decided that he would let others have two tries to break existing records so they could get bonus merit points.

    So, in each training center, they decided on their order of entry ording to their choices.

    They went to Hit & Hide training center after Siege Defense. In Hit & Hide, there was a small town that would spawn phantom magic beasts. Students had to kill magic beasts while hiding. If they were discovered, they would lose a point. Everyone had ten points and had to kill 20 beasts while keeping five or above points. This was mostly a mind game because the town structure forced students to observe carefully and stay cautiously.

    Once they were done with Hit & Hide, they went to Descending Force, which tested the physical endurance and willpower of the students. They had to stay under a floating piece of a magical stone that would exude pressure on them. One must stay for one minute to pass the 1st level. The record was 1 minute and 37 seconds but was broken by Erica, Dan, Vernisia, and Zevien one by one.

    Afterward, they went to One Shot Fiesta where students had to kill a magic beast every two seconds in just one attack. The existing record was nine magic beasts killed in a row with one-shot attacks.

    Thest one was the All-Around Everywhere training challenge. This training center was the most chaotic because they put students on a football-sized ground filled with enchantment magic formations of different types. Sometimes, they will have to save someone. Sometimes, they have to swiftly kill a magic beast before it killed a child, and sometimes, they had to defend themselves.

    The students would get instructions every five seconds when a new mode would start, and they had toplete at least five instructions consecutively without failing to pass the 1st level of All-Around Everywhere.

    In the end, the entire academy was in an uproar because all level one records in every training center were broken in one day¡­ multiple times!

    This was the final status-

    Obstacle Race levels 1 and 2:- Zevien

    ughter Spiral level 1:- Zevien

    Siege Defense level 1:- Vernisia

    Hit & Hide level 1:- Zevien

    Descending Force level 1:- Zevien

    One Shot Fiesta level 1:- Zevien

    All-Around Everywhere level 1:- Zevien

    ¡­

    "How many Skyward merits you got total?" Dan asked as he looked at Zevien and Vernisia.

    "Hmm, total 700 from Obstacle Race''s both levels, and 250 from the rest of the training challenges," Zevien said. "Total 2200 Skyward merits."

    "It was a good idea to let us try to break the record first to get a bonus of 150 Skyward merits," Roman sighed. "Shame. We tried but failed to break all existing records except for a couple of ones."

    Vernisia managed to break all records after Siege Defense once.

    Dan and Erica managed to break the records of Hit & Hide, Descending Force records, and All-Around Everywhere records once.

    Tigger managed to break Descending Force and One Shot Fiesta records once.

    Kerolin managed to break Hit & hide & All-Around Everywhere records once.

    Hemil managed to break Descending Force and All-Around Everywhere records once.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Roman managed to break One Shot Fiesta and All-Around Everywhere records once.

    Jacky managed to break Hit & Hide and Descending Force records once.

    Lastly, Leena managed to break Hit & Hide and All-Around Everywhere records once.

    ¡­

    Everyone returned to their abodes after clearing level 1 in all training challenges.

    Zevien and Vernisia continued learning their respective tier-4 magic spells after returning.

    Dan, Erica, Kerolin, and Tigger also went to find suitable tier-4 spells after learning Zevien and Vernisia''s n. It was true! They indeed had more spells because of two magicbyrinths, so they could instead get tier-4 magic spells to fill in the gap of the type of spell they werecking instead of learning multiple low-tier spells.

    Now that everyone became 4th ss magicians, they could learn two tier-4 spells and still have some space to learn a tier-2 spell.

    Dan and Erica had learned two tier-2 spells, so they had to remove one if they wanted to learn two tier-4 spells. But they could do itter.

    In the next nine days, Zevien and Vernisia spent most of their time learning their tier-4 spells and finally seeded.

    As they had finished creating spell formation of their tier-4 spells and weaved it in their magic core, they were still outside because they were testing their spells.

    But after that, they decided to test their spells against each other.

    Vernisia overflowed her casting of <Roving Aegis Guard> magic spell by consuming 15,000 mana. That was almost all of her mana since she possessed 1513 magic power, thus having 15,130 mana in her mana pool. When one cast a magic spell with overflowing mana, that magic spell''s power increases significantly, making it worth the additional mana consumed. It could lead to the failure of a spell since it would put pressure on the spell formation and magic core, so one must be careful and cast it stably.

    *****

    <Roving Aegis Guard>

    -Type: Defense-type tier-4 magic spell

    -Effect: Consume 10,000 mana to conjure four crystal tower shields around you that will protect you. You can keep it in connecting barrier mode for 360¡ã defense or keep them separate for higher concentrated defense.

    *****

    The initial spell power was level 4 physical defense and level 4.5 magic defense, but since Vernisia overflow-cast this spell by 5000 mana, their power increased by 1 level. Overflow-cast can stretch a spell formation to its limit, so it also takes a toll on one''s magic core.

    A magician can''t do multiple overflow-cast consecutively because it could risk destroying their own magic core.

    Four floating crystal tower shields appeared around Vernisia and surrounded her before they released their power and created a barrier around her. However, Vernisia controlled the shields and brought all of them five meters away from her and stacked them vertically. "Come on, I am ready!"

    "Alright, hahaha," Zevienughed as he aimed his palm towards Vernisia. "Let''s see if Ruination Mist Cannon can break past all four shields."

    "Try without using Shaman-seed first," Vernisia said as she crossed her arms. "I want to see which of these two spells is better at simr magic power in an overflow-cast."

 Chapter 157 Magic Guild Headquarters

    "My magic power is still higher than yours, at 1638 because we had already entered my 2nd magicbyrinth after absorbing our magic crystal loot from dungeons," Zevien said with a smile before casting the <Ruination Mist Cannon> spell.

    *****

    [Ruination Mist Cannon]

    ->Type: Offense-type Tier-4 magic spell

    ->Effect: Consume 1000 mana to manifest a cannon barrel attached to your hand from which you can shoot a cannonball by consuming 8000-10,000 mana. It can deal devastating damage. It deals more damage to defense-type spells and explodes into a ruination mist with destructive properties that can reduce defenses. The cannonball can also deflect iing magic spells, but it will explode uponing into contact. But you can still control the ruination mist after the cannonball explodes.

    *****

    A cannon barrel manifested in Zevien''s right hand before he consumed 15,000 mana to release an overflow-cast cannon ball that pushed the cannon barrel to its limit as cracks appeared on it.

    *Swoosh¡­*

    A spinning dark green cannonball shot towards the shields and broke the first shield easily before breaking through the 2nd shield with an explosion. Then the ruination mist appeared after the cannonball exploded, which flew towards the 3rd shield and corroded it.

    Not much ruination mist was left after destroying 3rd shield, which resulted in the 4th shield being intact.

    "Jeez, it destroyed three shields," Vernisia wryly smiled. "This spell is really a defense breaker like its description suggested."

    "Yeah," Zevien said with a pleased smile as he was satisfied with the power of the <Ruination Mist Cannon> spell. After all, <Roving Aegis Guard> was one of the most powerful tier-4 defense-type spells, and <Ruination Mist Cannon>, which was created from that strange chalice, managed to break three of its shields.

    Not to mention, this was in favor of <Roving Aegis Guard> as they concentrated it in one direction for stacked defense.

    "Now the next step is to find an appropriate magic spell that we canbine with our tier-4 spells and make it tier-5?" Vernisia asked with a grin.

    "Exactly, hahaha. It''s gonna be fun," Zevienughed before he thought of something. "Actually, we will wait for a month and choose a tier-4 spell after we enter our magicbyrinths again. Who knows? We might get something good inside."

    "Yes, we can also enter my second magicbyrinth in 2 days," Vernisia said with a nod before she smiled. "You have yet to enter my secondbyrinth, hehe. It''s really good, very colorful."

    "You bet. Its name is Primal Conjuring, and your awakening spells are primal elemental based. It''s gonna be versatile and colorful for sure," Zevien said with a grin before he grabbed Vernisia''s hand. "We''ve been working hard on learning our tier-4 spells for the past nine days; how about we go to the Magic Guild headquarters for a break? That ce is safe, and we can also finally see the peak of Gaia continent''s magic there."

    "Good idea. We''ll do that. Now let''s take a bath and then sleep. It''s alreadyte in the night."

    "Ok, but we bath together."

    ¡­

    The next day, Zevien and Vernisia woke up and flew out of the academy on their flying ship. The distance between Skyward Academy and Magic Guild headquarters was not that long, just twenty kilometers. So they arrived there in fifteen minutes.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When they were in the flying boat, they saw a giant pce building with many small buildings on the vast ground. Many people were going in and out of buildings.

    All structures were made of magical stones and woods. Their designs were a mix of modern and old age tradition with exquisite wood and stone decorations of various types.

    After descending at the giant entrance gate, Zevien put away their flying boat before entering.

    Many people nced at them because of the Skyward academy badge they wore.

    Shortly after entry walked through the central path, a man in histe twenties with short, dark yellow hair approached them. "Hello, are you interested in joining a n? Our Sword Swan n is not the top n, but we already have two seniors students from Skyward academy who are 3rd ss magicians."

    "Nope, we are already a part of a n," Zevien politely refused with a smile.

    "Oh," the man was disappointed, but he still gave a brochure to Zevien. "Take a look at this brochure. It contains recent ratings of all ns issued by the Magic Guild. If you change your mind, then you can contact me. I wrote my number on the back of the cover."

    The man left after that. Zevien and Vernisia went to an almost empty resting ground, with benches to their left, and sat down on a bench.

    "Since we are here, why don''t you create a n? Of course, Alucard as the head because we want to avoid standing out," Vernisia said thoughtfully. "After what Headmaster and Teacher Karina said about Astral Land, I think we should start thinking about our future early."

    "Yeah, Astral Land sure sounds like a dangerous ce, so we can have a reckless front like Alucard and test waters," Zevien smiled with some excitement. "It will be good if I can go to Astral Land early by using Alucard''s identity."

    "Yes, but don''t you dare get reckless," Vernisia pinched Zevien''s hand and took out her Restore Stone relic, that Zevien returned to her. "Take this Restore Stone relic, it will be more useful to you."

    "No!" Zevien firmly shook his head. "You keep it."

    Vernisia pouted and shoved the relic into Zevien''s chest. "You keep it! I also have that Yukan Ne that can save my life. If you don''t take it, I will not talk to you."

    Zevien weakly smiled and took the relic with a sigh. "Please don''t be stubborn like this next time."

    "Hmph, I will do whatever I want," Vernisia snorted cutely, "and you have to listen to me."

    But then Vernisia gently smiled and looked at Zevien lovingly. "You will be in more danger than me in Alucard''s identity, so keep it."

    "Fine, then let''s go to the restroom here."

    "Huh, why?" Vernisia asked.

    "I will change my look to Alucard and finish the procedures to create a n while you gather some information. After I create the n, I will revert to Zevien again and meet you before we join Alucard''s n."

    "Nice. Alright, let''s do it."

 Chapter 158 Untold Legend

    Zevien finished all the procedures to create a n. It required an intelligence test, a moral test, and a test of hisbat ability.

    Before even attempting thebat ability test, one has to at least possess 3000 magic power.

    Alucard''s full magic power met the requirements, and he also passed thebat ability test. After which he sessfully registered a n with the name, Untold Legend. Quite high-sounding, but he decided to go with that, considering Alucard''s personality.

    When he was returning, a group of three young 4th ss magicians approached him excitedly.

    "Alucard!"

    "Did you create a n? If so, we want to join!"

    "Yeah, you came from the n creation section, which means that you already have more than 3000 magic power and passed the tests. You progressed fast, hahaha. Actually, we were 5th ss magicians when we saw the contest you participated in."

    "Yep. The way you fought was cool. If you have a n, please let us join. Today, we came here to join a n and start our journey officially, so this was a good coincidence."

    The sudden assault of enthusiasm by these three people startled Zevien. Two of them were men, and one was a woman. They looked like twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

    "Haha, that''s nice," Alucard said with a lightugh and a dashing smile. "If you want to join, then register yourselves in my n. Once I get the notifications, I will approve of you three."

    "Awesome!" the man with short ck hair said with a grin. "We''ll go right away! Reika, Mihan, let''s go!"

    Reika had long light-blond hair, while Mihan had short spiky blond hair. They were siblings.

    They went to the n joining section while Alucard went to the men''s restroom and changed himself back to Zevien before leaving the restroom and returning to Vernisia, who was standing in a corner of the central hall.

    "Who were those three? I was observing as you came out of the n creation section," Vernisia asked curiously.

    "Haha, they were Alucard''s fans. It seems that the n worked," Zevienughed. "We need to create a big n, so members can mutually help each other."

    "Yep, it''s also good to have the three of them join the n first instead of us two," Vernisia said with a nod before she chuckled. "Now let''s go and pretend to look at the n list before finding Alucard''s n so we can join it. After all, we are also "fans" of that vampire who doesn''t fear daylight."

    Both of them walked towards the n joining section, where many people were looking at big screens and some videos of famous ns sponsored by the Magic Guild.

    When they entered the ss gates, Lax, Reika, and Mihan came out while talking.

    "I wonder when he will ept our registration?"

    "He should do it pretty soon since he knew we were going to join. Haha, I can''t wait to finish some missions and raise the n''s ranking."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah. By the way, he feels like a true vampire. It''s just my gut feeling, but if that''s true, would he make us vampires by biting our necks? I want to be one if possible, hehe."

    "Eh? But they are just myths, no? Though we have seen many strange beings in magicbyrinths, so I don''t doubt the existence of actual vampires."

    Those three passed by Zevien and Vernisia while talking, which created an awkward smile on the former''s face.

    Vernisia chuckled with a smile. "An enthusiastic bunch."

    Zevien and Vernisia entered the hall before pretending to look at the n lists and other information. After ten minutes, they feigned a surprised expression and went toward the counter.

    "We want to send a request to join the Untold Legend n," Vernisia said politely to thedy behind the counter.

    "Alright. Let me scan your Digi-watch. Wait, never mind. You got the Skyward Academy badge. Give me that," thedy said with a smile. "This badge contains your identity, so we can use it to register. If Alucard sees you are from Skyward Academy, he will readily ept you."

    Zevien and Vernisia nodded as they gave their badges to thedy, who scanned them on a device before returning them. "Alright, I have sent a notification to Alucard''s Digi-watch. If we get his approval, we will officially register your name under the Untold Legend n.

    "In case you are epted, you don''t need toe here to ept the mission, since you are Skyward Academy students. You can just go to Quest Hall in the academy andplete quests there. We can add those quests'' results to add contribution points in the n."

    "Thank you," Zevien and Vernisia smiled and nodded before leaving.

    As they left, Vernisia exined the information that she gathered while Zevien was in Alucard''s identity. "Every n starts at E rank, and we have toplete missions and gather contributions to increase the n''s rank. If we have a higher rank n, we can choose higher rank missions from the Magic Guild, which means higher rewards for us."

    "I see," Zevien nodded as he rubbed his chin. "Did you find the requirement to enter Astral Land?"

    "Yep. All S rank ns can enter Astralnd and establish their base there. They also get support from the MGA-Magic Guild Association inside Astral Land. MGA is like a parent to the Magic Guild here."

    "Interesting..." Zevien smiled. "Well then, let''s work hard to raise our n''s rank with our strength."

    "Yep. We''ll let our group of Starlight city know about the n," said Vernisia with a nod. "Let''s also take on some quests after returning to the academy since we need toplete 15pulsory quests. Two birds with one stone."

    Soon, they left the central hall and arrived back in the almost empty resting area with gentle trees and benches.

    After sitting on a bench, Zevien turned on Alucard''s Digi-watch to approve those three people and themselves to join the n.

    "Oh? I actually have two additional joining requests," Zevien was surprised. "Jonathan and Carmaine. Both are twenty-one-year-old 4th ss magicians."

    "Nice, haha. Let''s ept them," Vernisia chuckled happily.

 Chapter 159 Never!

    Zevien then approved all requests, and the seven people joined the n on its day of creation.

    "They sent me an application regarding the n structure," Zevien opened an application in his Digi-watch.

    "Me too," Vernisia said as she also got it after receiving a message that notified her of sessfully joining the Untold Legend n.

    *****

    [Untold Legend n]

    -Rank: E

    -Contribution: 0

    -Leader: Alucard

    -Vice Leader: Empty.

    -Officers: Empty.

    -Members: Lax, Reika, Mihan, Jonathan, Carmaine, Zevien, Vernisia.

    *****

    "There''s also n chat," Vernisia said as she explored the application in her Digi-watch.

    Zevien also noticed it and saw members talking.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Lax- [Oh, Alucard approved us! Yeah, let''s go!]

    Reika- [Hello, everyone!]

    Mihan- [Me, Lax, and Reika are going to ept an E-rank mission. Does anyone want to join us?]

    Jonathan- [I will join.]

    Carmaine- [Sorry, I am with two friends right now. I am convincing them to join this n.]

    Reika- [Yeah, I think joining a new n has its own merits, as we can feel a sense of progress when the n ranks up.]

    Jonathan- [I agree with that as we can also establish a sense of belonging and solidarity. Also, the leader is Alucard. Haha, I want to meet him soon and fight alongside him.]

    ¡ª¡ª

    Vernisia and Zevien were watching the members talking in the n chat in the application.

    "I should also a send a message. Both as Alucard and as Zevien," Zevien said with a smile before he sent a message in the chat.

    "I''ll do it too," Vernisia said.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Alucard- [Hi, it''s nice to have this many members already, haha.]

    Lax- [Woo-hoo, the leader is here!]

    Carmaine- [Hello, Alucard! I hope we can arrange a meeting for our members soon, so we all can meet up.]

    Reika- [Hehe, we already met Alucard. But yes, we should arrange a meeting and get to know each other. Oh, and decide on positions too.]

    Alucard- [Alright! I will post about the meeting in the announcement panel of the application after I find a good base location for our n. Let''s work together to make this n an S rank one!]

    Zevien- [Hello, everyone! Yes, Let''s get stronger and progress so we can enter Astral Land.]

    Vernisia- [Yep. Although Zevien and I won''t be joining you in missions since we are students of Skyward Academy.]<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lax- [Wow, Skyward Academy students! That''s awesome, hahaha. I heard you guys can add contribution points to the n bypleting quests in the academy?]

    Carmaine- [Yes, it''s possible. One of my friends is from Skyward Academy, and she told me that.]

    Zevien- [Yep. So we will be contributing bypleting the quests of the academy.]

    Jonathan- [Good luck.]

    Mihan- [Jonathan, we are waiting for you at the mission hall.]

    Jonathan- [I will be there in a minute.]

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia roamed around the Magic Guild headquarters and surrounding towns to gather some information for hours before they went to an exquisite pavilion restaurant to eat lunch at a nearby hi-fi town.

    The manager looked at them suspiciously as if they might not be able to pay for the food, but he didn''t look at them like that and nothing else.

    "I want a private booth," Zevien snorted as he took out his card.

    The manager was stunned before he quickly nodded and politely smiled. "Right away, sir."

    After a minute, they were led to a private booth on the upper floor.

    "n base''s location¡­ We saw a few, but I can''t decide," Vernisia said as she sat on the mattress in the private booth beside Zevien and ordered some food.

    "We''ll take some time. So, let others join the n first," Zevien said with a smile. "We can choose a good location after a week and then hold a meeting."

    "But how will Zevien and Alucard join the meeting at the same time?" Vernisia asked with a wry smile.

    "They won''t," Zevien shrugged, "But it will be suspicious if only I am absent, so you will also stay absent. As Alucard, I will say that I have already met us."

    "Yeah. After deciding the n base''s location, we can go there to meet while Alucard is absent," Vernisia said.

    "Hmmm, I have never heard of a magic spell that can create a clone, but there should be one, right?" Zevien wondered curiously before nodding. "Yeah, there should be a clone-type magic spell. Actually... My Invible Blood Garden should have a high chance of giving me a spell like that."

    "Oh, you are right! Since you can transform yourself into a creature whose blood you absorb using that awakening spell, there''s a high likelihood of you getting such a spell," Vernisia said as she nodded repeatedly. But suddenly, her face fell as she remembered the situation in the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth. "Thatbyrinth¡­"

    "Mhmm, the situation there is pretty tight," Zevien sighed. "That shadow called us inside to serve some purpose. We just don''t know what that purpose is."

    "Let''s follow that shadow once we go inside next time," Vernisia said with a determined face. "We can''t just stay in the garden and waste your progress. Since we''ve survived, we should take that opportunity."

    Zevien grabbed Vernisia''s hand as he adopted a serious expression.

    "What?" Vernisia raised her eyebrows, but seeing Zevien''s eyes, she understood and vehemently shook her head. "No! I will not leave you alone in that ce. Never!"

    Zevien squeezed his grip over Vernisia''s hand before speaking. "Please listen to me just this once."

    Vernisia''s eyes became moist as she became emotional. "Why?! It''s better if we are together in there!"

    "Please," Zevien weakly smiled. "Let me go inside alone. I promise I will not leave you alone after this once. You trust me, right?"

    "I trust you more than me," Vernisia slightly sobbed as her eyes reddened. "But I don''t want to leave you alone in there."

    Zevien couldn''t bear to see her like that because he knew she was doing it for his sake. Sighing, he nodded. "Alright, give me some time to think."

    A smile appeared on Vernisia''s face after hearing that before she side-hugged him tightly and nodded. "Yep! We are still sixteen days away before we enter there, so we can prepare more. And two is better than one in that dangerous ce."

    *knock..knock..*

    "Sir, Ma''am. We have brought your order. Please open the door."

    Zevien opened the booth door as the servers put some dishes on the table.

 Chapter 160 World Ending Tide

    A dayter, it was time to enter Vernisia''s 2nd magicbyrinth in the morning as they got ready and wore their custom-made armors.

    Vernisia''s armor was a blue battle-frock with a tier-3 wool defense material worked on by both a Magic Smith and an Enchanter. She had silver shoulder tes over the blue wool defensive armor, and her leggings were visible as the front part of the frock was ck, and it only covered her thighs. But the wool defensive armor was lengthened in the backside until her ankles.

    Zevien''s battle armor was dark brown with tough leather materials and silver shoulder tes. The front of his outfit looked stylish, with leather belts and a silver chest te. There was also a wool coat ced behind his neck. The belts on his outfit and pants had dark golden locks that suited perfectly with his full armor. It looked like a ranger''s leather armor.

    "Haha, these armors are looking good on us as we imaged," Vernisia chuckled. "We''ll keep this design for our future stronger battle outfits as well."

    "Yep."

    After they were ready, both of them sat on their bed. Vernisia closed her eyes and entered into meditation. Five secondster, she disappeared. Zevien also epted the call a secondter and disappeared.

    ¡­

    "Eh? So you are living underwater?" Zevien was startled as he appeared inside an inn but saw that water and fishes were swimming outside the window.

    "Haha, yes. I was also surprised when I followed my quest chain and arrived in this underwater town," Vernisia chuckled with a smile and nodded. "This town is covered by some magical power. Come on, you will see once we leave the inn."

    Zevien and Vernisia left the inn. There was no water in the inn since it was covered by a magical bubble; all the buildings in the town were covered by a bubble.

    When Zevien and Vernisia exit the inn, they were automatically covered in a bubble and could swim while properly breathing.

    "Interesting," Zevien said as he looked around before turning to Vernisia. "Can you hear me clearly?"

    "Yep. I can," Vernisia nodded with a smile.

    "Nice. So, where are we going now?"

    "Follow me. I feel like the chain is nearby," Vernisia said as her wrist had a chain and the mystical string extended from it led outside this town.

    Zevien was even more surprised after he left the underwater town. "An underwater forest with exotic trees and ns¡­.wow."

    "I told you this magicbyrinth is exquisite," Vernisia smiled. "These nts and trees are very colorful."

    Zevien and Vernisia entered the forest that was unlike the usual green forest. The tree didn''t have thick trunks but a slim body and colorful leaves. Marshweed stuck to the seabed, radiant flower nts, various types of grass, and many exotic nt-based organisms.

    "Hmm, this forest-like area is big," Zevien said after they spent ten minutes swimming deeper.

    "You see thatrge light blue scaly rock with multiple holes? This chain''s thread ends there," Vernisia said as she hastened her pace and swam towards therge blue scaly rock.

    After they arrived there, Zevien and Vernisia curiously looked at the big rock and touched it.

    "Hmm, how can I activate the relic trial? The chain already ends here," Vernisia said confusedly before thinking of something. "I should try to infuse mana in that hole."

    "Yeah. If nothing seems to work, always try using mana, haha."

    *Dhrummm!!*<novelnext></novelnext>

    The ground trembled with stone after Vernisia poured a bit of her mana into that particr hole.

    "Oh, is it a field trial like that crystal golem we did in your first trial?" Zevien wondered after he and Vernisia backed away from the stone that suddenly started cracking while expanding.

    "Let''s see¡­" Vernisia muttered. She was not sure.

    A few secondster, they were surprised as the stone turned into a big, stony hut with an open door.

    Zevien and Vernisia walked towards it and entered through the pitch-ck door before arriving at a shore of an ind.

    They heard loud sounds of tides and saw giant wavesing their way from the sea.

    "T-this¡­"

    Both of them were shocked to see the sizes of those tides as they were tall and wide enough to swallow the entire ind.

    "If we can''t escape before that tide reaches here, we are dead," Zevien said with utmost seriousness. "There should be something on this ind that can let us pass this relic trial."

    "Find any unnatural thing. Let''s go in different directions and search," Vernisia said as she quickly dashed while using mana around her and in her eyes to see things with abnormal magic power and mana.

    Zevien also did the same, as he enhanced his eyes with mana, which might let them observe something unnatural on the beach.

    *POOOOO¡­.*

    Both of them looked in the direction of the weird sound and saw a giant whale with crystalces over its body.

    Zevien and Vernisia looked at each other as they understood the assignment after seeing the whale.

    "Lyn!" Vernisia summoned Lyn while Zevien unfurled his vampire wings as both of them flew towards the whale. They met up on the way and grabbed each other''s hands.

    "A strange whale appeared here. It should be a hint to clear this relic trial!"

    "I found it the moment I saw the whale," Vernisia said. "The name of the relic chain I got was Tidal Seashell, and those crystalces on the whale''s body shape into a seashell."

    "Perfect," Zevien said before he used the <Blood Hook> magic spell towards the whale when they were near. After pulling himself and Vernisia on the whale, Vernisia started infusing mana into the crystalce.

    "I will need ten seconds!" Vernisia said after she saw a small part of crystalce shining and figured that she had to infuse all of her mana in all parts, which would require ten seconds.

    "Ten seconds¡­" Zevien muttered as he saw that the giant tide was just six to seven seconds away from them.

    He created a barrier around them before wrapping the <Blood Hook> around the whale''s body and trying to lead it in the opposite direction of the tide.

    "Fast!"

 Chapter 161 Magic Trial Crystal

    "If I was alone¡­" Vernisia muttered while infusing mana and slightly shuddered. That tide was too scary as it gave the feeling of the world ending.

    "No. I have noticed and confirmed that if two people are doing something together rted to dungeon and relic trial, the difficulty is adjusted ording to that," Zevien said with a wry smile.

    "Now that I think about it, you are right."

    The sound of the tide moving was getting louder as the tide got closer.

    "Just two seconds," Vernisia said before one second passed¡­ and then another.

    Just when Vernisia finished lighting up the entire crystalce, a pleasant horn-like sound reverberated and the giant tide turned into motes before rapidly shrinking and gathering around Vernisia. In the end, a beautiful seashell floated in front of Vernisia after two seconds.

    "Got it," Vernisia smiled as she grabbed the Seashell and checked the details.

    "Let''s get away from this whale first," the Zevien princess carried Vernisia before flying back to the ind where a portal had appeared.

    Vernisia had finished looking at the details and the requirements of the relic before they arrived on the ind. "Zevien, this is actually a first relic trial after we became 4th ss magicians."

    "Hmm, I see¡­" Zevien understood. "That''s why something like this happened. I guess the requirement of the relic also changed?"

    "Yep. This Tidal Seashell relic requires me to have the magic power of 2000 and some other rare materials to activate it," Vernisia wryly smiled.

    "Well, then. You should spawn a dungeon gate by infusing 100 mana in your Yukan Ne relic," Zevien said with a rueful smile.

    In Vernisia''s first magicbyrinth, they entered her Restore Stone''s dungeon and got the Yukan Ne relic. However, one can only spawn a dungeon portal after activating a relic, so they had yet to enter Yukan Ne''s dungeon.

    They didn''t leave this beach ind as Vernisia just spawned the dungeon portal by infusing 100 mana into the Yukan ne relic.

    ¡­

    *****

    [Fish Kingdom''s Illusion dungeon]

    -Escape from monsters and destroy all four nexus without dying.

    -You must not hurt any humanoid fish monsters.

    ¡ª>Complete the task of destroying four nexuses in ten minutes for a golden treasure chest.

    ¡ª>Complete the task of destroying four nexuses in fifteen minutes for a silver treasure chest.

    ¡ª>Complete the task of destroying four nexuses in eighteen minutes for a bronze treasure chest.

    *****

    "Uhh¡­ This is going to be troublesome," Zevien wryly smiled.

    Both of them were in the middle of an exquisite pce, like the pce of Antis. From the four passages, monsters were rushing toward them with spears and forks in their hands. These monsters were humanoid with shark-head and other various fish-heads.

    "We go separately to destroy the nexuses," Vernisia said before she quickly used the <Roving Aegis Guard> spell to create a defense around her and flew in the first passage.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien used the new defense-type spell of the Shaman-Seed set that he unlocked when he reached the 3000 magic power mark, the <Darkin Shields>, and then used the <Omni-Barrier> on top of it.

    Three wavy round shields appeared and rotated around him as he flew towards the second passage.

    The fish warriors threw their weapons toward him while he flew. The barrier blocked all attacks as he continued flying deeper into the passage before he saw a nexus, which was a star-shaped deep blue crystal.

    In front of the nexus was a giant humanoid monster with arge belly having a crab-face with crab hands.

    "Tsk, I need to use narrow attacks to destroy the nexus," Zevien clicked his tongue. He has to be careful not to identally kill monsters and that giant crab monster.

    "The sooner I destroy it, the better. If this passage is filled with more¡­" Zevien muttered as he quickly used <Blood Hook> to bind the giant crab humanoid monster and pushed it aside before releasing two <Rage Balls> with overflow-cast as they shot towards the nexus.

    *BOOM¡­ BOOM¡­*

    The first nexus was destroyed as Zevien sighed in relief and quickly flew back while blocking another wave of attacks from the monsters.

    Vernisia also sessfully destroyed a nexus as she had no problem defending against the attacks and used the <1st style: Water Terror Fish> magic spell to destroy the nexus as she controlled the fishes to pass by the giant monster quickly before exploding on the nexus.

    As Zevien and Vernisia entered the 3rd and 4th passages, they had to face more attacks, leaving them no choice but to defend. Zevien''s barrier and shield were broken twice, and he was slightly injured, but he still managed to destroy the 3rd nexus without killing anyone.

    On the other hand, Vernisia had no problem defending at all. She had to use a mana stone to fuel her <Roving Aegis Guard> a bit, but it went smoothly in the end.

    After the four nexuses were destroyed, the fish monsters disappeared, and a golden chest appeared in the center of the hall, along with an exit portal behind it.

    "It''s time for Rock, Paper, Scissors," Vernisia grinned.

    "Haha, let''s do it!"

    Rock, Paper, Scissor!

    "I won!" Vernisia snickered as she walked towards the golden treasure chest and opened it.

    Zevien peeked from behind and was surprised. "One yellow-rank, two gray-rank, and three white-rank crystals! A spell scroll, and what is that?"

    Vernisia picked up a strange crystal, and as soon as she touched it, she got the information in her head.

    *****

    [Magic Trial Crystal]

    -Infuse a tiny amount of mana in the crystal to open a trial dimension. You will get magic crystals ording to your result in the trial.

    *****

    "So we finally got our first Magic Trial Crystal," Vernisia said with some excitement. "Touma-sir told us about this along with other things, but we never got this thing before."

    "Yeah. Dan got one Magic Trial Crystal three days ago when he and Erica entered his 2nd magicbyrinth. He told me they got a total of seven magic crystals."

    "Let''s use it right away and see how many we get," Vernisia said with a smile as she infused some mana, which caused the crystal to glow and release some energy that wrapped Zevien and Vernisia before both of them disappeared.

 Chapter 162 Pivotal Meeting

    Zevien and Vernisia were in a jungle with three scorching suns in the sky and a hotter atmosphere because of fire-based nts and crystals that were a pain in the ass during their chase of killing monsters.

    They had just passed the trial, and Vernisia was opening the chest while Zevien was sitting under a tree nearby.

    "Nine magic crystals!" Vernisia''s eyes sparkled as she opened a wooden chest afterpleting the trial. Sweat was tickling down on her neck as they had just finished a rather steamy trial.

    "I thought the trial inside Magic Trial Crystal would be hard, but it was just like a dungeon," Zevien said as he wiped the sweat falling off his forehead.

    The trial was about catching the quick-running monsters and killing them fast in this jungle. There were no bronze, silver, or gold chests but pass or fail. If they pass, they get a chest with magic crystals depending on their performance. If they fail, they get nothing.

    From the chest, they got two Yellow-rank, three gray-rank, and four white-rank magic crystals.

    "We will spend them wisely and power up," Vernisia said before she put the magic crystals into her storage ring.

    "Let''s quickly leave this hot ce first. It''s too damn hot," Zevien said as he stood up and entered the exit portal with Vernisia.

    They arrived back at the Antis pce and entered the exit portal again before appearing on the ind. There, they again entered the exit portal and returned to the underwater ce with bubbles wrapped around them.

    "This feels nice," Vernisia closed her eyes after arriving back in the cool underwater ce.

    "Let''s go back to the inn and take some rest. This trip was really exhausting with back-to-back action," Zevien wryly smiled.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia returned to the inn and extended their booking of the room.

    After entering the room, they slept on the fluffy bed beside each other and just rxed.

    "Our total gain is three yellow-rank, five gray-rank, and seven white-rank magic crystals," Vernisia said with a happy smile as she snuggled on Zevien''s chest. "Our chance of surviving in your 2nd magicbyrinth increased yet again."

    "Hmmm, let me do some calction," Zevien said as he thought for a few moments and calcted before his eyes shone brightly. "We both can hit the 5000 magic power milestone if we use all these magic crystals."

    Vernisia was also calcted and quickly nodded. "You are right! And I still have additional two white-rank magic crystals that we bought with the remaining points. Should we try to reach 3rd ss magician before entering your 2nd magicbyrinth?"

    "We will try to do it for sure," Zevien nodded.

    Vernisia took out all the magic crystals andid them on the bed. "Two sets. 1st set: 3 white-rank crystals, 2 gray-rank crystals, and 2 yellow-rank crystals."

    "I''ll take this set," Zevien nodded. "The second set with 4 white-rank crystals, 3 gray-rank crystals, and 1 yellow-rank crystal will you more magic power in the end. Using them will get you over 5300 magic power. Save two white-rank crystals after bing 3rd ss magicians."

    "Yep," Vernisia smiled cheekily. "I would obviously keep it since you can power yourself up using Shaman-seed."

    "Good girl," Zevienughed as he pulled her to his chest and kissed her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ¡­

    After resting for an hour, they left the underwater town and swum upward to leave this ce.

    "I was sucked into a whirlpool before arriving here and I also saw many people going into thatrge whirlpool, so that is also an exit," Vernisia said.

    Soon, they reached the giant whirlpool and coincidently saw two beautiful womening out of the whirlpool.

    However, the brief aura they released terrified everyone at a vast distance, including Zevien and Vernisia.

    "They are so powerful," Vernisia muttered.

    Zevien nodded with a hint of severeness in his eyes. These two women felt even more powerful than Headmaster Noril.

    One of the women had reindeer horns and wore a kimono-like traditional robe. She had short white hair and looked like an aloof beauty. Her skin was light peach and her eyes were dark silver. The other woman had pitch ck hair and was very fair-skinned. There was a certain coldness around her but she was smiling and that changed her entire vibe. Her dark blue eyes appeared lively in stark contrast to her long ck hair and elegant ck dress.

    "They are approaching us," Vernisia suddenly stopped in her tracks as she became nervous seeing those two women approaching them.

    Zevien also gulped as he was nervous seeing theming towards them.

    "Hi, lovelydy and handsome gentleman," the reindeer-horned woman said with a smile. "Can you tell us the location of the Deep Abyss Chasm?"

    "Deep Abyss Chasm¡­" Vernisia''s eyes widened after hearing that, and she quickly exined, "that ce, I have only heard of it while I was in the town. It is very dangerous and only a few people have ever returned after entering there."

    "Thank you for worrying about us, but it''s fine. Haha, we can certainly safely return from there," the ck-haired woman said with a gentle smile. "You said about the town, right? Can you point us in the town''s direction if you don''t know Chasm''s location?"

    "Yep, we''d rather not wander about to find Deep Abyss Chasm''s location ourselves since we want to finish our work here quickly," the reindeer-horned woman nodded with a smile.

    "The town is in that direction," Zevien pointed his hand.

    "Thank you," the ck-haired woman said with a smile. She looked at Zevien with a deep gaze for a second before she turned to Vernisia and chuckled, "is he your husband?"

    "H-husband?" Vernisia blushed, then nodded. "Not yet, but soon."

    Zevien was also taken aback as his ears turned a bit red.

    "My name is Sen, and she is Linci," Sen said as she took out a ring and gave it to Vernisia with a lively grin. "We have seen men''s gaze swaying to various degrees after looking at our appearance, but this little guy only has eyes and heart for you. Haha, when youe to Astral Land, this ring will lead you to our tiny empire. Visit us when you get time."

    Linci took out a ring and gave it to Zevien with a smile. "this is for you. Exchange it at the time you deem appropriate."

    Zevien and Vernisia were dazed as they epted the rings and saw the two women quickly leaving without spreading a ripple and disappearing deep into the sea in the town''s direction.

 Chapter 163 Missions And Quests

    After returning to the ocean surface, Zevien and Vernisia flew to the sky and headed towards thend.

    "There is a sanctuary forest in thatnd," Vernisia said as she pointed her hand in the west direction where the sea ended, and thend started with lush trees. "You will see many people there, mostly natives. But I have seen some people from Astral Land passing by as well."

    "So, what''s the specialty of that forest? The name sounds good," Zevien asked curiously.

    "Haha, it''s very safe. You can''t attack anyone there, and others also can''t attack you. The only thing you can do there is to learn spell and magic concepts or practice your magic upation."

    Zevien was speechless as he didn''t imagine there would be a ce like that.

    ¡­

    Both of them soon arrived on thend and entered the sanctuary forest. There were many big trees and tiny glowing insects that radiated gentle lights. The entire forest was mostly green with colorful flowers and nts, tiny ponds andkes, a flowing river, and beautiful hills.

    Zevien and Vernisia sat on a wide branch of a gigantic tree as they decided to stay in this area until the magicbyrinth kicked them out.

    "Should we learn this tier-3 spell? It''s a movement-type spell, I think?" Vernisia took out the magic spell scroll they got from the dungeon''s golden treasure chest.

    *****

    <Lightning Dash>

    -Type: Movement-type Tier-3 spell

    -Effect: Consume 5000 mana to quickly dash anywhere around you within 20 meters radius, like a lightning bolt. During the dash, you can direct a lightning bolt to a target within 20 meters.

    *****

    "It''s a good magic spell," Zevien nodded. "Let''s learn it just for the sake of it. We can always use these magic concepts inside a spell concept when the situation calls for it. Hoarding knowledge is the basis of a strong magician."

    "Yep," Vernisia nodded with a smile as she stuck the scroll on the trunk before she and Zevien focused and startedprehending the spell concept.

    Since it was a tier-3 spell, they wouldn''t even be able toprehend it in a day. So, theyprehended what they could until the exit call from the magicbyrinth arrived and started meditating to resist the exit pull.

    ¡­

    "Nice, we managed to stay inside for 4 hours and 21 minutes," Vernisia smiled happily. "My magic power is 1628 now."

    "Good," Zevien nodded before he took out Alucard''s Digi-watch and activated it. "Let me see if Dan and others applied to the guild yet. They were going to the Magic Guild headquarters this morning."

    However, when Zevien looked at the join request notification, he was dumbfounded. "Woah¡­ twenty-two people requested to join."

    "So many?" Vernisia was startled before she shook her head and wryly smiled. "An E-rank n can only have twenty members. Well, add our group first. Normally, we''ll have to personally meet the people who want to join and assess them. But we can be full, for now, since it''s a new n."

    "Hmm, I''ve added Dan, Erica, Kerolin, Tigger, Jacky, Leena, Roman, and Hemil. Surprisingly, Afina and Kaal also applied," Zevien raised his eyes as he saw Afina and Kaal on the list.

    "Oh? Haha, that''s good. Let''s add them," Vernisia said.

    "Done. The n is full now." Zevien said. "There was a message from Carmaine that her two friends applied, so I added them."

    *****

    [Untold Legend n]

    -Rank: E

    -Contribution: 130

    -Leader: Alucard

    -Vice Leader: Empty.<novelnext></novelnext>

    -Officers: Empty.

    -Members: Lax, Reika, Mihan, Jonathan, Carmaine, Zevien, Vernisia, Dan, Erica, Kerolin, Tigger, Jacky, Leena, Roman, Hemil, Afina, Kaal, Laoshi, Medro, Rinisha.

    *****

    "Hmmm, we need 2500 contribution points to elevate n rank to D-rank," Zevien said.

    "We already have 120, haha. Lax and others must havepleted at least two E-rank missions, since one E-rank mission gives 50 to 80 contribution points," Vernisia said with a smile.

    *Ding¡­*

    Zevien got a message from Dan.

    [Hey, Zev. Since we are at the Magic Guild, we willplete some missions by creating groups and getting contribution points while interacting with the other members for today.]

    [Alright.] Zevien sent back a reply.

    On the other hand, the n chat became lively after many new members joined.

    [-n Chat-]

    Lax- [Ok, so that''s decided. Since everyone except for Zevien and Vernisia is present, let''s gather in the resting area in the Magic Guild and make three groups of six members. Group A will be Reika, Miha, Jonathan, and I. Two of you can join us to make itplete.]

    Dan- [Group B will consist of me, Erica, Afina, Kaal, Jacky, and Leena. Are you okay with that, Afina and Kaal?]

    Afina- [No problem.]

    Carmaine- [Hmm, Laoshi and Rinisha are my friends, so we three will be together.]

    Laoshi-[Yep. We three have good synergy.]

    Medro- [I am a solo, so I can join any group. Also, since we have students at the Skyward Academy, they will be in pairs. So, I''ll join Carmaine, Laoshi, and Rinisha while a pair from the Skyward academy can join us.]

    Hemil- [Me, me! Roman and I will join that group of three girls! Don''t worry, I am very gentle and good-looking. I can also be your sugar daddy if you want to.]

    Roman- [Don''t mind this guy. But Medro''s proposal is good. We''ll join you, so that''s the 3rd group ready.]

    Tigger- [Well, then the three groups are ready. Me and my Kerolin will join Group A.]

    Rinisha- [my Kerolin? Haha.]

    Tigger- [Cough¡­ mistakenly wrote that, but it''s true.]

    ¡­

    "Dan made a bnced team, haha. Since Tigger and Kerolin have two magicbyrinths, they can do better in other teams instead of all four of them in one group," Zevien said.

    "True. Anyway, since they are doing missions, then let''s alsoplete some quests," Vernisia said as she got off from the bed.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia left their abode and flew towards the Quest hall.

    After they entered, they went to the counter.

    "Hmm, they are mostly about bringing materials, ingredients, some parts of specific magic beasts, and delivering things to other towns," Zevien muttered as he looked at the quest list. "There are four quests that need to bepleted today. Let''s ept two each andplete them."

    "Alright," Vernisia nodded.

 Chapter 164 Evolution Fail

    In the next few days, Zevien and Vernisiapleted their quests and also absorbed magic crystals in a batch of threes.

    The n had also be a D-rank n after Alucard used 2500 contribution points to raise the n''s rank. The memberspleted many missions in the past week and gathered 3850 contribution points.

    Of course, Zevien, Vernisia, and other students of the Skyward Academy who were members of the npleted quests in the academy that resulted in that many contribution points.

    Even though the quests from the academy only add 20 contribution points per quest to the n, there were 12 Skyward academy students as members, and all of them had alreadypleted over ten quests in the past few days, so that alone generated over 2500 contribution points.

    Academy''s quests only gave 20 contribution points each because they were not as risky as guild missions due to arrangements from the academy.

    ¡­

    When Zevien was two days away before he had to enter the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth¡­

    "Finally, we have crossed the 5000 magic power mark," Vernisia smiled as she and Zevien had just finished absorbing thest two magic crystals that pushed them past 5000 magic power.

    Zevien''s magic power reached 5117, and Vernisia''s magic power topped him at 5288.

    "Yep. Now, let''splete abat-rted quest and consolidate our magic core before breaking through to 3rd ss magicians," Zevien grinned. "Tomorrow, we''ll enter our 1st magicbyrinth, and the day after tomorrow we''ll enter Invible Blood Garden."

    "Hmmm¡­ we''ll have to stay for 6 hours minimum inside our magicbyrinths after bing 3rd ss magicians," Vernisia frowned before she became determined. "We will definitely find a way to escape in six hours after entering your 2nd magicbyrinth."

    One part of Zevien still didn''t want Vernisia toe with him inside. But there was no changing it anymore. It would be disrespectful to Vernisia if he kept denying her entry with him.

    An uneasy feeling would creep on him whenever he thought of that ce, but there was no use overthinking it. ''Opportunity¡­ whether bad or risky, I''ll have to take it,'' Zevien remembered the words of Euclion and one of the three divine truths regarding the path of magic.

    ''One must not be afraid when ites to magicbyrinths and strive forward bravely. Although we are entering physically, so there''s a chance of dying, Tarto already told me that in the true path of magic, people will eventually have to enter their magicbyrinths physically. We are entering early to get used to risk and caution.''

    ¡­

    Five hourster, Zevien and Vernisia returned to their magic abode afterpleting two quests and also consolidated their magic core in the process.

    They didn''t have time to learn another tier-4 magic spell, so they weaved the tier-3 magic spell <Lightning Dash> in their magic core for now.

    "Let''s do it," Zevien said before he took a deep breath and triggered the evolution, causing him to disappear from the bed. Vernisia saw Zevien disappear and also triggered her evolution as she disappeared.

    ¡­

    Three hourster, Zevien reappeared on the bed with a nk expression. He failed! The evolution failed, and he lost 348 magic power.

    "Vernisia!?" Zevien quickly looked beside him but sighed in relief after not seeing her; this meant that she was still in the process of evolution.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I failed¡­ sigh" Zevien sighed as he couldn''t keep his emotions in check during the test.

    This 3rd evolution was not much different from the previous one. He had toprehend a magic circle, but the situation was slightly different. After seeing the illusions, he knew that this evolution was about strengthening his mind. However, he saw Vernisia''s death in the illusion at a point, and that caused him to falter, which disrupted his focus.

    Even if it was some illusion, the prospect of Vernisia''s death still affected him. He had lost her once, so he couldn''t lose her again. His mind and heart still wavered at that scene.

    After sighing again, Zevien wryly smiled. ''It seems that I''ll have to take a white-rank magic crystal from Vernisia to reach 5000 magic power again.''

    After failing this evolution, he was left with 4769 magic power, so he needed to absorb a white-rank magic crystal, which would increase his magic power to 5245.

    Zevien decided to talk in the [-n chat-] while waiting for Vernisia. None of the members, aside from Skyward Academy students, had seen him or Vernisia, so they were curious.

    When Zevien opened the chat, they were talking about epting some D-rank missions. E-rank and D-rank missions could be handled by 4th ss magicians, but even if the n reached Rank C, only 3rd ss magicians would be able to ept C-rank missions.

    However, the progress of every single magician in the existence was fast. Jonathan, Medro, Carmaine, and her two friends had already be 3rd ss magicians. They broke through one by one in thest two days, probably because they got magic crystals from their magicbyrinths.

    Dan and Erica spent some money to buy two white-rank magic crystals since they were just short of some magic power to hit the 5000 mark after they used their haul from Special Shop and their magicbyrinths. As such, they were also going to attempt to be 3rd ss magicians tonight.

    ¡­

    Approximately two hourster, Vernisia appeared on the bed.

    "Zevien?" Vernisia was surprised to see Zevien lying on the bed while using Digi-watch. His posture showed that he had been resting for a long time.

    "I failed, ha.. ha.. ha," Zevien said as he let out a hollowugh.

    Vernisia was silent for a few seconds before she spoke. "Was it me?"

    "Yes," Zevien nodded.

    Vernisia hugged Zevien and buried her head in his chest. "I almost failed too because of the illusion, but I managed to maintain my focus link."

    "It''s fine. I can pass it next time. It''s just, even if it was an illusion, I couldn''t ignore that," Zevien weakly smiled.

    "How much magic power have you lost?"

    "Not much. It can be recovered with one white-rank magic crystal."

    "Alright," Vernisia nodded as she got up from the hug and took out a white-rank magic crystal before giving it to Zevien. "I''ll also absorb the remaining white-rank magic crystal to get a boost."

 Chapter 165 Difference

    On his second attempt, Zevien seeded in evolving his magic core.

    In the 3rd evolution, every magician''s awakening spell would fundamentally upgrade. Their spell formations would get enhanced such that their effects would significantly increase by consuming more mana to cast them.

    If previously Zevien tried to cast the <Rage Ball> skill by consuming 5000 mana to increase its damage and effects, he would fail and injure his own magic core. However, after bing a 3rd ss magician, the limit of overflow-cast increased significantly.

    All sub-spells of <Somatic Violet Four Vehemence> could be cast with a maximum of 10,000 mana to exhibit significantly higher effects and damage.

    The cost of <Blood Morphing Art> awakening spell remained the same since it was a unique magic spell. However, it also enhanced, in a way, such that he could now absorb 15 drops of blood from two different creatures, which would significantly increase the duration of his physical transformation, and the physical boosts and traits he would get from them.

    The <Blood Hook> awakening spell''s overflow-cast limit increased to 10,000 mana. The hook, and bloody rope attached to it, would be much stronger and tougher, and the hidden effect that Zevien hadn''t discovered yet would also be more powerful.

    Hopefully, he would soon master the <Blood Hook> spell and activate its hidden effect permanently as he did with his <Rage Ball> spell.

    ¡­

    "Let''s sleep early and wake up at 4:30 in the morning," Zevien said as he stretched his arms. "We''ll enter our 1st magicbyrinths tomorrow."

    "4:30? You can enter that early?" Vernisia was surprised.

    "Yep. After going through the experiment, I managed to enter my 1st magicbyrinth again around 4:30 in theb, so it unlocks at that time, but I never entered that early since the first few times, haha."

    Soon, they fell asleep.

    Meanwhile, Dan and Erica had triggered their evolution at 8 in the night, so they would be finished around midnight.

    ¡­

    At a private garden on Skyward Academy''s ind, the Headmaster and headteachers sat at different tables while enjoying night tea.

    "Master, the Eye tower captured magic pulses. It seems that two new students have already be 3rd ss magicians, and two more are in the middle of their elevation process," Karina said while sitting at a table across from Headmaster Noril.

    "It''s good," Headmaster Noril smiled and nodded. "Astral Land doesn''t give much importance to anyone below Novice Mage. The sooner these kids be Novice Mages, the better. It''s even better if they fail in their evolution a few times to build their foundation better."

    "Sigh¡­ they will indeed fail a couple of times in 4th and 5th evolution," Dux said as he sighed. "When the old generation folks in Gaia continent failed in their 4th and 5th evolution, it would bring so much frustration trying to gather enough magic power again. But now, we have those magic crystals to reach the milestones quickly."

    "Indeed," a middle-aged man with a long ck ponytail said with a sigh. "I failed in my 5th evolution and lost a little over five thousand magic power. It was so frustrating."

    "Haha, you are all still lucky that I am your master," Headmaster Norilughed heartily. "I brought you all to Astral Land, so you could increase your magic power to the evolution trigger just by staying there, unlike the struggling magicians of Gaia continent."<novelnext></novelnext>

    In Astral Land, if one is below Novice Mage, their magic power constantly increases towards the evolution requirements.

    For instance, after young kids awaken their magicbyrinth there at the age between 16 & 17, they would gather 500 magic power in just ten days after entering their magicbyrinth one time. The magicbyrinth would only give them a small amount of magic power. Instead, Astral Land would give more.

    However, the magic power won''t increase past 500 until they trigger their 1st evolution and seed in it.

    But once theypleted their 1st evolution, their magic power would start increasing again just by normally living life in Astral Land and reach 1500 in just fifteen days. They can just sleep, eat, and shit daily while their magic power would increase automatically.

    So in one and a half months, the kids there could be 4th ss magicians. Naturally, the concept of ss magicians was not recognized in Astral Land since everyone is the same below Novice Mage in there.

    Because of the rapid progress, which is normal in Astral Land, the young people would fail in their evolution, mostly the 4th and 5th evolutions.

    But their magic power would increase just by living and entering the magicbyrinths so they could reach the higher milestones quickly, unlike the magicians of the Gaia continent, who could only increase their magic power by staying in the magicbyrinth every month.

    "How is your progress going, Master?" Karina asked curiously. "Can you tell us what stagees after Master Mage now?"

    "The progress is so-so," Headmaster Noril shook his head. "I am trying to break the limits of Master Mage and ascend to be an Astral Wizard."

    "Astral Wizard?"

    The headteachers repeated as they finally found the next stage in the path of magic after Master Mage.

    "Haha, give us a chance to catch up to you, Master. We are ready to be Novice Mages anytime, just waiting for your instruction," Duxughed.

    "Wait for two more months," Headmaster Noril said with a smile as he caressed his beard. "I have arranged good spots for you all in the MGA. If they see your good performance as recently ascended Novice Mages, they will be more impressed."

    "Nice. But I still wouldn''t be able to escape feeling envious of those young Novice Mages in Astral Land," a woman in her early thirties said with an envious smile. "How I wish our Gaia continent had the same magic atmosphere as Astral Land."

    "Haha, it''s fine! We can be proud of ouring generations. Just take our current students, haha. They are all progressing fast and will truly find their ce in Astral Land," Dux said.

    "Mhmm," Headmaster Noril nodded. "Only a month has passed, and we are already seeing studentspleting their 3rd evolution. In one year, many of them will be 1st ss magicians."

    "One year to go from 5th to 1st ss magician," Karina sighed. "Even Astral Land''s people couldn''t progress that fast before. But with these changes in magicbyrinths and the appearance of magic crystals... Sigh, it''s like a dream."

    "Nope, not a dream. I''ve never even imagined that such development would happen in the Magia Realm," said Headmaster Noril as he shook his head while smiling. "Just what lies at the peak of this magic path? Of this Magia realm? I truly want to see."

 Chapter 166 Devastated

    The next day, in the morning, at 4:30 sharp,

    Zevien and Vernisia woke up quickly as they went to sleep earlyst night. They freshened up in the shower and wore their battle outfit before entering the Violet Spectrum magicbyrinth.

    After theypleted some tasks in the kingdom''s adventurer''s guild, Zevi

    After seeing their descriptions, Zevien decided to establish a magic quest among them called [Call of the Night]. They had toplete some steps before finally establishing this magic quest.

    *****

    [Magic Quest Established: Call Of the Night]

    -Task: Find the ancient Night Temple and kill the evil people there who are plotting a sinister scheme that will result in a massacre.

    -Reward: A random chain and 20,000 gold coins from the Tsaarin Kingdom after they get the proof of this scheme.

    *****

    "20,000 gold coins?" Vernisia was surprised. "Since there''s such a high reward, then¡­"

    "Yep. High reward means high risk. Haha," Zevien said as he moved slightly to sitfortably on the big branch of a giant tree two kilometers away from the Tsaarin kingdom''s capital.

    "But how do we find this Night Temple? Just finding it will going to take some time considering that it''s an ''ancient'' temple, which means that not many people would know about it," Vernisia said.

    Zevien nodded as he smiled wryly. "It''s not even on the map. Well, let''s start by asking around."

    "I''ll go check the kingdom''s library while you ask around here and in the surrounding old viges. If one of us finds the location, we''ll meet up after calling," Vernisia suggested. She felt that the library of the kingdom might also contain some information.

    "Good idea," Zevien nodded with a smile as he pinched her cheeks. "As expected of my Verny."

    "Give me a kiss instead," Vernisia pouted cutely.

    ¡­

    After three hours of struggling, they finally found the ancient Night Temple''s location.

    "This should be it," Zevien whispered as he pointed at a cave entrance with a broken wooden gate structure. This cave was very deep in a forest 10 kilometers west of the kingdom. It was located at the end of the forest that was blocked by mountain ranges, and this cave, which was situated on the mountain wall, leads into a mountain.

    "We should lure them out and fight instead of going inside the cave, which is their turf," Vernisia said.

    "Yep. But you hide here carefully while I''ll go and inspect it first," Zevien said with a grin as he had absorbed some blood of a tiny lizard and used <Blood Morphing Art> to transform into a palm-sized lizard.

    "Throw me towards that cave," Zevien said.

    Vernisia was slightly speechless. "It feels weird seeing you in this lizard form."

    "Cough¡­ just throw me quickly, haha."

    Vernisia wryly smiled and picked up the lizard-like Zevien before throwing him towards the cave.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zeviennded inside the cave entrance and moved deeper into the passage. After he took a turn in the passage, he arrived in arge cavern hall with a ck stone temple and four people sitting at a table outside the temple. They were discussing something, but Zevien focused himself on their powers.

    ''Hmm, from the slight magic readings I can sense, they feel like 3rd ss magicians,'' Zevien thought after focusing on them.

    Several secondster, he soon came out of the cave and transformed back, but he had also absorbed vampire blood, so he just reverted to it and unfurled his vampire wings before flying toward Vernisia slowly.

    "They are discussing something, but our task is to kill them. So, here is the n; I will revert back to lizard form and stand at the corner inside the cave''s entrance while you make some noise to attract them outside. Once theye out and see you, I will attack them from behind," Zevien said with a serious expression. "Be sure to use <Roving Aegis Guard> right away."

    "Got it," Vernisia nodded as she felt this n was good.

    Zevien went back to the cave''s entrance slowly and turned into a lizard.

    After seeing that Zevien was ready, Vernisia used her A-rank spell, Split Mana de, and released a sh into the cave to create some sound.

    Vernisia quickly hid amidst the leaves in the tree after that and waited. Soon, one person came outside. ''Only one came out? Oh well, this is good as well,'' Vernisia thought before she released <Shadow Bind Hex> towards the middle-aged man wearing a ck robe.

    The man sensed mana and immediately erected a barrier around him out of caution. "We are under attack!"

    Soon, the remaining three people rushed out. The middle-aged man also found Vernisia and waved his hand to use a magic spell that conjured a spinning ck shuriken that flew towards Vernisia quickly.

    Vernisia was ready for the attack, so she used the <Roving Aegis Guard> spell in full overflow-cast by consuming 15,000 mana.

    *Crrrrrrrr¡­*

    The Shuriken cracked the shield, but it disappeared soon as it ran out of power.

    "Attack her! We must not let her escape!" the raspy voice rang out from one of the four men.

    However, before they could attack, Zevien reverted into his humanoid form and quickly released four <ckout Bubbles> towards them.

    Four ck bubbles appeared in front of Zevien before they flew towards the four people from behind. However, they sensed some energy and erected a barrier to block whatever wasing from behind.

    But Zevien grinned as the head of a cannon barrel appeared in both of his hands, and he consumed a total of 30,000 mana to release two cannon balls of <Ruination Mist Cannon> from his hands.

    *Boom! Boom!*

    "Arghhh!!!"

    "T-this? My skin! My skin!"

    Vernisia also didn''t hold back as a cold light passed through her eyes. She used <1st style of Primal conjuring: Water Terror Fish> twice at the same time as two fishes flew towards the chaotic misty area where four men were suffering from Zevien''s devastating attack.

    *Shrrrrrrrrr¡­.*

    The fishes also joined the fray as they exploded into whirlpools that shredded the four people even further. They wanted to escape, but the whirlpool pulled them into the center forcefully. They could normally escape, but with the sudden attack from Zevien, they already suffered injuries.

    Despite trying their best to reinforce their body with Reinforce-type magic and using other methods, they still couldn''t escape death.

 Chapter 167 Ruthless Trial

    After those four men died, the quest waspleted, and Zevien got a chain.

    *****

    [Chain activated: ck Night Lace]

    -Follow the trail, find the location, and earn a relic.

    *****

    When Zevien saw the direction of the chain''s thread, he was startled. "The thread is going inside the cave! From the name, it feels like it''s rted to the temple as well."

    "Oh? That''s very convenient," Vernisia said as she jumped off the branch she was on with full power beforending beside Zevien at the cave''s entrance.

    "Let''splete the relic trial to get a relic since we are here. We still have over an hour, so we should be able to finish it," Zevien said.

    ¡­

    After Zevien and Vernisia arrived inside the cavern hall, they walked towards the temple with a female stone statue that had a ck star-shaped thing behind her head, a ck scythe in her left hand, and a book in her right hand.

    The thread of the relic pointed at the statue''s face, which was covered by a piece of ckce. It looked worn out.

    Zevien decided to infuse mana in that ce, which caused the ckce to glow. From looking worn out, it started shining with metallic ck sparks.

    Shortly after that, a ck whirlpool opened in front of the statue that forcefully sucked Vernisia and Zevien inside.

    *****

    [You have entered inside the ck Night Lace''s relic trial. Find and defeat the Night Wound to obtain the relic: ck Night Lace]

    *****

    They appeared in a pitch-ck ce that made them ufortable. Vernisia quickly used her <3rd style of Primal Conjuring: Raging Inferno Phoenix> to light up the ce.

    "All relic trials are tricky, so we gotta be careful," Zevien said as he looked around after Vernisia lit up the ce. "We seem to be in some kind of ruins."

    "The brightness of my phoenix is so suppressed," Vernisia frowned.

    *screeeeeeeee!*

    *puchi¡­*

    "Arghhh¡­" Vernisia groaned in pain before she looked at her left arm. "M-my arm¡­" she said as lips trembled and she stammered.

    The pain she was feeling was immense, but she gritted her teeth and didn''t scream despite tears already appearing in her eyes.

    "Damn it!!" Zevien cursed furiously. Vernisia''s arm was cut off from her elbow! "Hold on! I will suppress your pain."

    Zevien first used <Omni-Barrier> to protect them before quickly conjured the spell formation of <Dreadful State> in front of him. While he was creating the spell formation, Vernisia also cast <Roving Aegis Guard> to cover them over Zevien''s <Omni-Barrier>.

    Five secondster, Zevien finished creating the spell formation of <Dreadful State> and pushed it toward Vernisia''s chest before infusing inside her and then using <Healing Ray> of Somatic Happiness to close the wound.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I can''t regenerate the arm quickly," Zevien bit his lips before he looked around with anger in his eyes. "What the heck was that?"

    "I couldn''t see it as well," Vernisia said as she returned to normal. The pain went away after Zevien used his spell on her. "It was too fast. After hearing the screech, I brought my arm to my chest since I felt threatened, but didn''t expect my arm would be cut along with the tough bracer of this tier-3 armor. Whatever it is, it''s very sharp."

    "Let''s wait," Zevien said while looking around coldly with the absolute focus that he didn''t even show whenprehending spell concepts.

    However, thirty minutes passed by in this darkness with little light, but nothing happened.

    "It won''t attack while we are in the barrier, and we also can''t do anything while we are protected inside our barriers," Zevien said with a frown before he narrowed his eyes and walked forward. He opened a gap in his barrier before telling Vernisia to open a small gap as well.

    "You want to go outside?" Vernisia frowned.

    "Don''t worry, I will kill it before it does anything to me," Zevien said with utter coldness. "Just open it, Vernisia. I can do it."

    Vernisia heard the resolve in his voice and nodded as she opened a small gap. She knew that she couldn''t stop Zevien anymore after hearing that tone.

    As Zevien walked step by step, he unleashed the maximum limit of Shaman-seed possible. After he became a 3rd ss magician, he could get an even more powerful boost from it, making his magic power reach 8350.

    "Come on, little shit. Attack me," Zevien provoked whatever it was that attacked Vernisia while beingpletely defenseless.

    "Fine, I''ll close my eyes. Don''t tell me you still don''t dare toe at me?" Zevien said as he really closed his eyes. ''I have to sense and hear it because I can''t observe anything in this darkness.''

    Zevien put all of his focus on his sense of hearing and magic power sensitivity after closing his eyes.

    "Zevien, what are you doing?" Vernisia said worriedly after seeing him closing his eyes. "I''m going there."

    "No, just w- "

    Suddenly, a sharp ck dagger that was unobservable in this darkness shot toward Zevien when he opened his mouth to reply to Vernisia.

    However, his ears twitched, and he also sensed some magic power in a certain direction before quickly using Tarto''s new spell that he unlocked, <Chains of Neo-ck>.

    Ethereal ck chains conjured in the direction of the dagger as they shed. However, the chains quickly wrapped around the dagger and trapped it.

    Zevien controlled the chains and brought the dagger in front of him before conjuring an overflow-cast <Rage Ball> on it.

    *BOOOM!*

    Zevien saw the panel congratting him on clearing the relic trial, and he also sensed the existence of a new relic in his Magic Eidos Body.

    They also came out from that strange ck ruins ce and arrived back in the cavern hall.

    "The first requirement is to infuse 10,000 mana having the potency of 10,000 magic power," Zevien said with a surprised expression. "Guess I''ll have to wait."

    After that, he looked at Vernisia''s cut-off arm. "How are you feeling now?"

    "No pain after you used that spell on me," Vernisia smiled.

    "Alright, then let''s go back to the kingdom and regenerate your arm," Zevien said as he princess-carried Vernisia and unfurled his vampire wings before flying back to the kingdom at full speed.

 Chapter 168 Conflict

    After returning to the kingdom, Zevien and Vernisia first went to the clinic apothecary and regenerated her arm via a mixture of magic spells and a magic potion.

    "We could''ve waited for an hour and left the magicbyrinth," Vernisia wryly smiled. "The academy would regenerate my arm for free."

    "No," Zevien shook his head. "I don''t want to see you with that injury for even a second. Anyway, let''s go now and inform the kingdom about the Night Temple."

    ¡­

    After informing the kingdom about it, the king was very grateful as Zevien and Vernisia prevented a potential disaster. The king even paid back the cost of Vernisia''s arm regeneration on top of giving 20,000 gold coins.

    Once they left the castle, they roamed the kingdom''s market to find the materials required to activate Zevien''s new relic. After an hour of roaming the market and nearby town, they got all the materials. However, Zevien still needs to wait on the relic as he must get 10,000 magic power to activate it.

    "The pull wille soon, let''s return to the inn and meditate," Vernisia said.

    "Yep," Zevien nodded. Both of them returned to the kingdom and booked the best inn with separate big rooms with a big balcony that had a small pond. This inn was located on the outskirt of the kingdom, which was a beautiful natural ce.

    Both of them sat onfortable chairs and ate some food while resting. When they felt the exit pull after a while, they entered meditation and tried to stay as long as they could.

    When they couldn''t bear it anymore, they were kicked out and returned to their bedroom.

    "How much increase?" Vernisia asked right after they returned.

    "5675, which means that we stayed inside for six hours and twelve minutes," Zevien said with a smile.

    "Now it''s an increase of 1 magic power per minute," Vernisia said with a nod before she closed her eyes. "Now, let''s enter my Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth. My regenerated arm is weaker, and we also still need to strengthen our body after this huge increase in magic power."

    "Yep, let''s focus on killing magic beasts in your magicbyrinth whilepleting chain quests to absorb motes," Zevien nodded.

    ¡­

    While Zevien and Vernisia entered thetter''s 1st magicbyrinth, the n members who were on a mission encountered some trouble.

    "We found the herb," Lax shouted as he, Reika, Mihan, Jonathan, Carmaine, Laoshi, and Rinisha faced a group of six people in Earth Fall forest that was thirty kilometers east from the magic guild. This forest had some herbs and special magic forms that were only born here. Lax and others had epted some D-rank missions that required things from this forest, so they came here but encountered trouble.

    "Haha, we not only want that herb, but everything else you found as well," said the bulky man wearing full body armor. He stabbed his sword into the ground before speaking nonchntly. "Don''t resist pointlessly. Only three of you are 3rd ss magicians while the six of us all are 3rd ss magicians. You can''t beat us."

    "Bastards of Ravenous Wolf n¡­" Carmaine muttered angrily. "Why do you want to antagonize us without reason?"

    "We have a reason, hahaha. The reason is to loot you, so we don''t need to waste time exploring this forest."

    "We saw you leaving the Magic Guild five hours ago. So, you should have gathered quite some loot in five hours, hehehe. Obediently give us the loot you collected in this forest, and we won''t get rough with you."

    The other group threatened Lax and the others.

    "You know that you can be punished if we report this to the Magic Guild headquarters," Laoshi said while gritting her teeth.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh my god, I am so scared~ Hahaha," another man from the group said and mocked them. "Do you know what the punishment is? It''s money! Our guild leader will just pay for the offense we did by looting you, and the case is closed! Hahaha¡­"

    "Let''s fight these bastards," Lax said as he pointed his magic pistols at them and was ready to attack.

    The other group became serious after Lax pointed his guns at them and instantly became prepared for retaliation.

    "Wait! Don''t do anything reckless," Reika stopped as she pushed down Lax''s arms. Murder was rare in the Lankrena region among people, but it''s not like it didn''t happen.

    If someone killed an innocent and was found out, that person would get a death sentence as well. But it was not worth dying, so people stayed and conducted themselves cautiously.

    There were cases of big feuds happening between ns that resulted in mass killings as well. Moreover, if you kill someone out of greed or anything, then you have to fear revenge from rtives of the person you killed as well. As such, people avoided creating blood feuds and killings.

    However, robbing others by threatening them and beating them is amon thing.

    ''We are at a disadvantage, but if we can call some helpers¡­'' Jonathan was at the back of the group and sneakily sent a message in n chat.

    [-n Chat-]

    Jonathan- [We need urgent help in Earth Fall forest. We are at the center area of the forest and in conflict with the people of the Ravenous Wolf n. If they loot us, we won''t be able to submit three D-rank missions that we spent five hourspleting.]

    Medro- [I will be there in five minutes. Oh, someone contact those students from Skyward academy if possible. Some of them are strong.]

    Afina- [Dan, Erica, Tigger, and Kerolin won''te. They told us yesterday that today is their magicbyrinth entry day.]

    Kaal- [Afina and I areing, try to hold on for ten minutes.]

    Medro- [Did you two manage to be 3rd ss magicians?]

    Afina- [Yep. We just finished breaking through, haha.]

    Jonatha- [Great! Quicklye, and we can turn the tables!]

    ¡­

    Medro found them in the forest but didn''t approach them and stayed hidden to wait for Afina and Kaal.

    Medro saw both groups were bickering, but suddenly, a man from Ravenous Wolf n pointed his hand toward Lax and others before attacking them with a spell as a giant pressure-filled water bubble shot towards them.

    Lax and the others were already inside various barriers that they cast, so they defended themselves sessfully.

    "Hurry up and quickly hand us everything! Your barriers can''t block all attacks from us six 3rd ss magicians!"

    "Wait, we will do it," Jonathan said. ''I just need to buy a little time. Modred is already here.''

 Chapter 169 Taste Your Own Medicine

    "Hmph, consider yourselves lucky," the group leader of Ravenous Wolf n said after seeing three more peopleing to aid their prey. "Let''s go!"

    Six vs ten was bad for them. Moreover, five of them were 3rd ss magicians just like them.

    "What do you mean by let''s go? Are you dumb?" Afina snorted as she pointed her spear toward them. "Give us what you got, and then you can leave. Otherwise, we will fight here, right now!"

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Afina waved her sword twice as a cross sword sh released, resulting from her using her awakening spell.

    "You!" The group leader quickly created a round shield, but the cross sword sh broke it. However, another person quickly used a defense-type spell and conjured a rectangle shield that blocked the attack.

    "What? You think you can threaten to loot us, but we can''t do the same?" Afina sneered. "I don''t really need the junks you have. Even so, empty your loot, because why not? You also like to do the same, no?"

    Lax and others were surprised, but they also joined the fray. After all, they tried to rob them first!

    "Give us what you got, and we''ll let you leave this forest without harming you," Lax snorted as he pointed his dual pistols towards them.

    "Yeah, it''s time you get a taste of your own medicine," Carmaine smiled.

    "Assholes¡­" the group leader muttered, but he reluctantly took out some materials and resources. "You all, we won''t forget this, hmph."

    "Leader¡­" the other people in the group were unwilling, but they didn''t want to get hurt and beaten. Also, they might die in such reckless fights, so they didn''t want to take a chance.

    The group of Ravenous Wolf n dumped their materials and resources on the ground with unwilling expressions on their faces.

    "Yo, don''t you have any magic crystals?" Mihan asked.

    "I have one, but you can only take it over my dead body!" the group leader retorted. "I will at least take one or two of you with me to the afterlife if you want my magic crystal."

    "Fine, fine. You can get the hell away now," Afina said nonchntly. "We know magic crystals are important, so we won''t force you. But remember, there''s always someone stronger than you, and what you do to others might get done to you in the future."

    "Hmph. Let''s go, boys!"

    After the group left, Lax and the others walked toward the small pile of resources and materials.

    "Nice. They got some tier-3 and tier-2 magic potions, some herbs, ores, and magic beast materials."

    "This is a small fortune to us. We can sell these and get some money."

    "How do we split?"

    "Kaal and I don''t need any share from that," Afina said with a smile. "Anyway, we will leave now. You all enjoy."

    "Thank you for the help."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Haha, no problem. We are all n members, so it''s natural to help each other."

    ¡­

    "Hehe, it feels good to help," Afina chuckled happily as she and Kaal flew back to the academy on their flying boat.

    "Sis, don''t you feel that Zevien, Vernisia, Tigger, and Kerolin are slightly strange?" Kaal asked doubtfully. "They have many powerful spells that feel like awakening spells. Moreover, we can generally infer it since awakening spell from the same magicbyrinth has the same magic attribute powers, but these four¡­"

    "I noticed it too, but it could be normal magic spells too," Afina nodded before she hit her fist on her palm. "Well, we can just directly ask them. If they want to tell us, then it''s fine. If they don''t want to, then it''s fine as well. No hard feelings."

    Kaal was speechless. His sister was too frank.

    "Anyway, let''s not go to the academy right away," Afina grinned.

    "What? Why?" Kaal asked, confused.

    "I want to visit that famous Heaven''s Symphony town. I''ve seen many people talk about it in the Magic Guild headquarter, so I am super curious about it right now," Afina said.

    "No! We can''t ck our physical body strengthening anymore. Since our magic power is now past 5000, we have to refine our bodies using our stronger mana," Kaal said with a slightly stern voice, which was rare for him. "Thest strengthening we did was at 1500 magic power, so our physical bodies are very weak right now. Those tier-3 spells can insta-kill us if they hit us in our current physical constitution."

    Afina clicked her tongue, but she didn''t argue against that. "Alright, let''s return and refine our physical bodies. But we will go to that town after we finish our physical body refining."

    "Yes. Once we have reached the peak strength of our current limit, this also includes learning tier-3 magic spells," Kaal said with a serious expression, "We have progressed faster regarding our magic power but we are not as strong as other 3rd ss magicians."

    "I know, I know. Don''t go in your lecture mode. Fine, we will spend the next fifteen days learning some tier-3 magic spells and refine our physical body to the peak constitution possible before going out."

    There was a limit on how much refinement they could do to their physical body every day. So, after spending 3 to 5 hours refining their physical body every day, they would learn magic spells.

    ¡­

    Six hours passed by as Zevien and Vernisia returned from Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth. Their physical bodies had reached peak constitution possible after killing a few grade 3 magic beasts and absorbing their motes.

    "Nice, hahaha. This higher physical power really gives a sense of toughness in a way," Zevienughed as he stretched his arms and legs, feeling the powered physical constitution. A higher physical constitution means they would take less damage from magic spells corrting to magic power.

    For instance, now that Zevien and Vernisia''s physical bodies had reached the peak physical constitution possible, the spells with 5.2k - 5.4k magic power in the normal cast wouldn''t hurt them that much.

    "Come, hit me with a tier-3 spell in a normal cast. I want to check my physical body in normal condition and then after using <Blood Morphing Art> in vampire form. I want to see how much this awakening spell strengthens my physical body byparing injuries," Zevien said.

    "What? No," Vernisia shook her head. "You couldn''t see me get hurt, right? So why do you think I could see that? It''s not like we are sparring. What you are telling me to do could actually hurt you badly."

    "Hmmm¡­" Zevien fell into thought for a few seconds before looking at Vernisia seriously. "We need to talk."

 Chapter 170 Romance

    [A/N: This is gonna be a bit of a weird chapter. So, I hope that you, my dear readers, can be patient, ha ha (hollowugh), and I would appreciate the feedback if you could give some. Thank you. ^_^]

    -----

    "Hmmm¡­" Zevien fell into thought for a few seconds before looking at Vernisia seriously. "We need to talk."

    "What?" Vernisia raised her eyebrows, seeing Zevien''s serious expression.

    "We are not strong enough¡­ emotionally," Zevien said as he looked straight into Vernisia''s eyes.

    "Why do you say that?" Vernisia asked, confused.

    "We should be able to hurt each other," Zevien said with an astute expression. "Look, we know we love each other, therefore can''t stab each other with a knife, right? But we should be able to do that if it''s for training purposes."

    Vernisia put her hand on Zevien''s forehead. "You don''t have a fever."

    "I am serious!" Zevien said.

    "No, you are mental right now," Vernisia rolled her eyes. "What are you saying? Stab each other, the hell?"

    "Yeah, I don''t know. I might sound weird, but I don''t like that you don''t want to attack me. I want to measure my physical constitution," Zevien said as he scratched the back of his head.

    "Would you attack me if I said so?" Vernisia fired back as she narrowed her eyes.

    "Before I answer that question, hear me out," Zevien said before he cleared his throat. "Ahem, so listen. I want to measure my physical constitution, I won''t back off on that. Even if you don''t attack me, I can find others, right? You still might see me get hurt, and don''t say that you will just close your eyes since I am deliberately getting hurt, no!"

    Vernisia just looked at Zevien without saying anything while Zevien continued. "When that thing cut off your arm, I was angry. I was hurt. I wanted to find and kill that thing as soon as possible.

    "But¡­ but it''s fine between us," Zevien said as he grabbed Vernisia''s both hands and looked at her lovingly. "I want you to attack me so I can measure how tough I get after transforming. After that, you can care for me as I recover from that injury. We should be able to do everything for each other because we love each other, right?

    "As for the answer to your question¡­" Zevien stretched his hand towards Vernisia''s cheeks and caressed them, "If you ask me to attack you for training purposes or something like that, I will attack you. I will not look away. And after that, I will care for you in the gentlest way possible and show you how much I love you. After all...

    "We are not at the peak of our bond, but we will reach there gradually. I want to expose my vulnerable and weakest side to no one else but you. We will ept everything about each other and understand each other more," he said, holding her hands warmly.

    "There is something greater than love. Do you know what it is?" Zevien continued as he leaned forward and gently kissed her.

    "What?" Vernisia asked in a soft voice, a bit surprised.

    "It''s romance," Zevien smiled. "Romance means the way of love. You must have heard that normal couples or married couples, even if they had a love marriage, get problems and want to separateter. Why?

    "Didn''t they get together because they loved each other? Then why do some of them cheat or want to separate? Why do they fall into an affair? There are many reasons, but the main one, I believe, is ack of romance in their life."

    "We might get into a fight in the future, sh of opinions, and whatever, but that wouldn''t mean that our love for each other disappeared, right? That''s why¡­" Zevien wrapped his arms around Vernisia''s neck and whispered, "we will live as if we are having an affair with each other every day. So apany me outside and attack me.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "After that, we''ll have some romance."

    ¡­

    "Come on, I am ready," Zevien said as he stood there with his bare upper body, revealing his solid abs and muscles. The shapes of his arm muscles and abs were natural because of many years of training.

    "What spell should I use to attack?" Vernisia asked.

    "Hmmm, go with Wind Roaring Tiger. It has high pration power in those wind des and also good constant impact, which will be perfect to measure my body," Zevien said as he stretched his arms, causing his muscles to bulge solidly.

    He could make his body lean and slim while still having the same physical capabilities, but he wanted to show it naturally how it was before he stepped foot into the path of magic.

    After refining the body with mana, the physical body''s quality gets higher, and that''s how it gets tougher and stronger, so it doesn''t change its shape and grow muscles as people get by doing normal physical exercises and training.

    Girls had also trained their physical body and got physical shape and muscles, but after stepping foot into the path of magic and refining their body with mana for the first time, they would suppress the shape since they didn''t want to look buffy with muscles. Of course, some women liked that, so they kept their muscles.

    Vernisia had a slim figure and a good body shape, feminine as she wanted. However, her physical strength and Zevien''s physical strength were close in strength without being enhanced by spells.

    Vernisia took a breath before she pointed her right hand toward Zevien. She consumed 3000 mana and normal-cast the spell.

    <2nd style of Primal Conjuring: Wind Roaring Tiger>!

    A big wind orb flew towards Zevien and trapped him inside with potent wind pressure before countless wind des manifested inside and started shing him.

    Zevien had a calm face as he looked straight at Vernisia. The wounds were superficial, and he was already immune to this level of pain.

    In a few seconds, countless shes appeared on Zevien''s body, covering him in blood.

    But those were just shallow wounds. Not a single wind de had shed him deeply, and even though there was a lot of blood, not a single vein in his body was cut off. The wind des only shredded his skin superficially.

    After five seconds, the wind orb lost its power and disappeared as Zevien fell back to the ground on his two legs. He grinned and quickly moved as he appeared in front of Vernisia.

    "Dummy," Vernisia said as she flicked Zevien''s forehead.

    Zevien used <Healing Ray> on himself and healed his body to peak condition in a few seconds beforeughing.

    He grabbed Vernisia''s waist before pulling her close to him, his face just an inch away from hers. "This time, attack me in overflow-cast."

    Vernisia wrapped her arms around Zevien''s neck and kissed him for several seconds before pushing him away. "Fine, get ready."

 Chapter 171 Zeviens Strength

    "I''m ready. I will transform using <Blood Morphing Art> before your spell hits me," Zevien said as he stood with his arms crossed.

    *grrrr¡­.*

    This time, Vernisia released a 10,000 mana charged <Wind Roaring Tiger> in the overflow-cast towards Zevien.

    As the giant orb flew towards Zevien, Vernisia''s face changed. "You said you would transform!"

    Zevien didn''t transform into a vampire as he said, and the orb hit him before sucking him inside. Countless tiny wind des formed as they started shing him.

    "Don''t!" Zevien shouted with a resolute expression as he stopped Vernisia before she could diffuse her spell.

    "You!" Vernisia bit her lips as she was angry and worried both. She hesitated after hearing Zevien''s shout, but ultimately, she didn''t diffuse her spell after seeing Zevien''s expression.

    Zevien''s injury was much more severe this time. The wind des snapped his veins and even damaged his bones by shing them, but he stood still despite being airborne inside the orb and pressured by intense wind.

    Five secondster, the orb was diffused, and Zevien was smashed down. His legs trembled as he almost bent his knees, but stood still.

    Vernisia dashed towards him and took out a tier-3 healing option before emptying it over his body. "Open your mouth!" Vernisia said in a slightly agitated voice.

    Zevien obediently opened his mouth and let Vernisia pour a magic potion into his mouth.

    "Babe, you were more injured than this when you fought Kaal," Zevien sighed. "I wanted to save you before that spear hit you in the shoulder, but I didn''t because it would be disrespectful to you. If we can respect each other by not interfering like that, we should be more open to that kind of training."

    The wounds on his body rapidly healed with two tier-3 healing magic potions. After that, Zevien grinned at Vernisia while she looked at him with creased eyebrows. "Now tell me, what do you want to do?"

    "I want to p you, but no¡­" Vernisia said, but then she hugged him. "I want to stay like this for a while."

    "What are you two doing?" Erica asked as she looked at Zevien and Vernisia from the hill. Dan was also standing beside her as they had juste out from theirbyrinth and went out of the abode to test something.

    "Ahem, we are cultivating our bond," Zevien said while grinning.

    "You wore pants but nothing on the upper body? And why do your pants look so torn?" Dan asked doubtfully.

    Zevien had worn the tier-3 defensive pants of his battle outfit so that he won''t get naked when attacked by Vernisia''s spells.

    "He wants to measure his physical constitution, so I attacked him with my spells," Vernisia said.

    "Oh¡­ like a serious attack?" Dan asked curiously.

    "Yeah," Vernisia nodded before sighing.

    "Alright, I also decided," Dan said with a somber expression. "I was going to tell Zevien to attack me since I also wanted to check my physical durability in my normal form and after I get strengthened with the <Sanguine Body Armament> awakening spell. But now, I''ll ask Erica."

    Erica raised her eyebrows before she snorted. "Fine, I''ll not hold back."

    "The fuck?" Dan was dumbfounded before he looked at Vernisia and Zevien. "I feel like you had some dispute over there about this, but Erica¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien and Vernisia looked at each other before theyughed.

    "What?" Erica frowned. "I am prepared to see you getting beaten by me, but you will also have to attack meter. I want to check my <Nineveh Cloud Armor> awakening spell since it got upgraded in 3rd evolution like all other spells."

    Dan revealed a hesitant expression for a second before he nodded resolutely. "Alright! We are aware of our magic spell''s intensity, so if we are attacked with simr or somewhat close magic spell intensity by others in the future, we can act better in response."

    Zevien looked at Vernisia and smiled. "Alright, hit me with the overflow-cast <Wind Roaring Tiger> again. This time I will transform and see how much I am damaged."

    "Alright," Vernisia nodded.

    Zevien indeed transformed into a vampire right away by absorbing 15 drops of blood. Naturally, he suppressed his vampire''s physical traits and didn''t let them appear.

    ''The mana draining is small as usual,'' Zevien thought after checking the mana consumption every second.

    Thest time he checked, he consumed 600 mana every hour while he was transformed. However, to remain in transformation, he would require blood every hour as well. So, the problem was not mana, but blood. That''s why he kept a big reserve of vampire blood in his magic eidos body.

    "Are you ready?" Vernisia asked after moving back twenty meters.

    "Ready," Zevien grinned.

    *swoosh!*

    The giant wind orb hit Zevien again and trapped him inside. The tiny wind des manifested and started attacking him. Once again, his body was covered in blood and many wounds.

    However, Zevien wasn''t dealt as much damage as before. He nodded in satisfaction after the wind orb ran out of power and smiled. "Good. It''s about 30% less damage than before. So, my physical constitution is strengthened by around 30% when I''m in vampire form."

    "Once more, please," Zevien grinned as he activated his Shaman-seed to transform into cat-form as cat ears appeared on his head, and his nails also started increasing, but Zevien quickly suppressed the physical traits and just let the power flow in him like normal.

    The wounds on his body started healing quickly because, if he was in his cat-form via Shaman-seed''s activation, his physical healing factor was high, so the healing factor of vampire and the cat-formbined quickly healed his body in seconds.

    Unless it was very serious injuries, like a powerful magic attack''s energy stuck in his body and damaged him internally, both his physical and magic eidos body, these two healing factorsbined could work just like a tier-3 healing magic potion. Of course, only physical healing.

    "Oh, that power... Alright," Vernisia said as she nodded and cast <Wind Roaring Tiger> in sphere-release again.

    *swoosh!*

    *cha..cha..cha..cha.cha¡­.*

    "Extra 15% reduction, hahaha. Awesome," Zevienughed as his wounded body was healed again in a matter of seconds. Shaman-seed was more on the magic power side and less on physical enhancement.

    It enhanced his magic power a lot, along with his senses that can physically affect his dexterity and agility. However, the fundamental physical strengthening was just 15%. But the nails that grow are magically powered, so they are stronger.

    "45% increase in your physical constitution after activating both forms," Vernisia muttered in a daze before she smiled brightly. "That''s great!"

 Chapter 172 Mordred

    After spending the whole day training and testing each other''s overall strength, all four of them slept tiredly.

    The next day, Zevien and Vernisia woke up at five in the morning. They spoke little, and their expressions were also somber as they wore their battle outfit after freshening up and sitting on the bed.

    "Ready?" Zevien asked as he held Vernisia''s hands while sitting in front of her.

    "Go," Vernisia nodded.

    Zevien closed his eyes and meditated. Five secondster, he entered his second magicbyrinth, the Invible Blood Garden. One secondter, Vernisia also disappeared from the bed and appeared inside.

    ¡­

    "So, you are finally back after a month. This poor soul was waiting eagerly for your return," said a flying bat''s shadow. It was not physical but was smoky and cloudy.

    Zevien and Vernisia looked at the dark red shadow of the bat with varied expressions mixed with surprise because they were expecting some danger. Not this.

    This thing appeared previously in thest few seconds and told them to enter the castle.

    Honestly, they were terrified to see this shadow suddenly appearing in front of them, while they were feeling a forceful exit pull from thebyrinth.

    In the end, just a few seconds after this shadow appeared and spooked them, they were kicked out after losing focus.

    After all, this ce was already creepy enough and subjected them to unknown pressure, causing them anxiety. So the sudden appearance of this shadow was a nail in the coffin for them.

    "What do you want?" Vernisia asked with a grim expression as she held Zevien''s hands tightly.

    "Please don''t be afraid, haha. I mean no harm to you. First of all, you can call me Mordred."

    "Mordred¡­" Zevien muttered before he nodded, his face stoic. "If you want us to go inside, then you will have to tell us about this ce," he asked. So far, this shadow was polite, but that doesn''t mean it is harmless. Still, talking and reasoning were better than sudden dangers.

    "Naturally, you deserve to know since you arrived here," Mordred said in a cheerful voice while thinking something else inwardly. ''s, whether you live or die depends on you, not me.''

    Zevien and Vernisia were surprised to see Mordred agreeing to tell them about this ce. Still, they remained skeptical and cautious.

    "So, I''ll start with the name of this ce; it''s called Blood Monarch''s Abyss. You can say that he was one of the strongest beings of thisbyrinth," Mordred said, dropping a bomb right off the bat.

    "One of the strongest?" Zevien and Vernisia looked at each other in shock.

    ''Even Tarto didn''t say that he was one of the strongest in his magicbyrinth. At most, he said that hees into the realm after the strongest ones,'' Zevien thought.

    "Indeed. One of the strongest," Mordred nodded. "Blood Monarch had many castles, and this is also one of his castles. He has even bigger castles deep within thebyrinth where other big shots stay."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I see¡­ but why do you want us to go inside this castle? Isn''t that like courting death for us to enter into such a powerful being''s castle?" Vernisia questioned as she nced at Zevien to signal him something with her eye''s nce.

    Zevien didn''t fully understand but decided to stay silent as he felt that''s what Vernisia was telling him.

    "You didn''t pay attention. I said that he WAS one of the strongest beings. Which means that he is not alive anymore," Mordred said.

    "Of course, I noticed," Vernisia frowned. "But even if he is not alive, this ce, this castle, still feels too dangerous for us."

    Mordred wanted to scratch his head. ''I can''t even force them to go inside. Hmmm, it looks like I''ll have to throw some carrots.''

    "It''s not dangerous," Mordred shook his head. "I know this ce like the back of my palm. After all, I am a forever servant of my master, even though he is no more."

    After saying that, Mordred flew closer to Zevien and Vernisia. Seeing this, Zevien and Vernisia quickly backed off.

    "Chill, no need to be so cautious, haha. Look, I want you to go inside and ept the inheritance of my master, so his legacy can be carried on. The only things inside are some weak monsters that are even more weakened because of the powerful enchantments of the castle. You two are strong enough to kill them," Mordred sighed. "You see, I am but a ghost of the past, bound to this ce forever until I find an inheritor of my master''s legacy."

    By now, even Zevien understood that this shadow is literally a shadow. Although he and Vernisia remained cautious, they felt that this shadow couldn''t do anything to them. It was talking, reasoning, and behaving.

    ''Its goal is clear, wanting us to enter that castle. But¡­'' Zevien thought as his gut feeling told him that there was still something wrong.

    Seeing both of them still hesitant, Mordred sighed deeply. "Look, there is a teleportation waypoint that will lead you anywhere you want on the map. The other waypoints are my master''s castles that were spread in thisbyrinth.

    "Despite many years passing, the other big shots haven''t touched his castle out of respect for him. I am sure you also want to leave this ce, so entering that castle is the only way."

    Zevien and Vernisia looked at each other and wryly smiled. They knew that if they wanted to leave, they would eventually have to enter the castle. Previously, they had tried to observe other things in this abyss, but the only thing visible was that castle and its paths toward this garden.

    "Fine. Let''s go inside," Zevien said as he nodded with a somber expression. "You will lead us inside."

    "Of course, of course!" Mordred happily spoke, his voice sending out joyous vibes.

    ¡­

    After walking for a few minutes on the path leading towards the castle, they arrived in front of the castle door.

    "Just push it. It''s open," Mordred said.

    Zevien took a deep breath as he stretched his hand and pushed the door open.

    However, when Zevien and Vernisia saw the castle inside, it shocked them. They didn''t expect to see what they were seeing!

 Chapter 173 Strange Box

    "Your highness Morgana, sorry to call you here again, but those two have returned and entered the pce," Mordred said after Morgana appeared on her castle''s throne.

    "Good. Now, get them to activate that waypoint, so that I could go there from over here," Morgana said as a smile appeared on her face. "Soon, that legacy will be mine."

    It was unfortunate that she couldn''t go into that castle from outside. Unless someone weak managed to survive the gap and reach the bottom via some means like Zevien and Vernisia did, they could end up there. But people like her would trigger the Blood Monarch''s power and die. She didn''t know why the Blood Monarch barred entry of people above a certain level that could survive the fall, but then trigger the power and die. While weaker magicians would never survive in the abyss with their meager strength.

    Of course, other stronger beings could easily go there, but they didn''t bother and respected the Blood Monarch''s boundaries.

    "Lead them properly inside, and don''t let them die stupidly before they finish their job," Morgana said to Mordred.

    "I will try my best, your highness!" Mordred said firmly. "It''s unfortunate that my shadow cannot do anything there except just exist. But I will do my best."

    ¡­

    "Is this really an old castle?" Zevien muttered as he and Vernisia entered the castle after being shocked.

    The castle was not how they expected it to be. It had exquisite furniture, carpets, beautiful dark red and dark goldmps that lit up the hall, and not a single spec of dust or anything.

    The castle looked very clean from the inside, unlike its gloomy appearance from the outside.

    "Let''s go to the throne hall. The waypoint is there," Mordred said before moving towards a corridor from the hall.

    Zevien and Vernisia nodded as they started following Mordred. Their anxiety was reduced by a lot after entering the castle, which is strange.

    After they went out of the corridor and went to the left passage, they encountered some wolves.

    "Uhh¡­ so, you were right," Zevien was speechless as he saw the wolves. The wolves were indeed big, and they looked dangerous.

    "Hahaha, I told you. These wolves have been trapped here for a long time. They are just bags of bones," Mordredughed.

    The wolves were lying on the floor, and all of them were shriveled. It''s like they were barely living.

    "They also need food to live and survive, but I guess they found nothing of that sort here," Vernisia wryly shook her head.

    "Well, just end their misery," Mordred said.

    Vernisia waved her hand and used <Wind Roaring Tiger> in its original form as a wide gust of wind blew forward with tiny wind des and killed all wolves.

    "Let''s continue," Mordred said as he continued moving in the same passage. "The throne hall is behind that door."

    Zevien and Vernisia could see a door at the end of the passage.

    Shortly, they arrived in front of the door, and Zevien pushed it open.

    "Wow," Vernisia and Zevien both were surprised to see the majesty of the throne hall. It gave such a high royal vampire vibe.

    There were stone statues on the walls, a dark-red carpet, two fountains on both sides, and many other decorations, along with the majestic throne at the end of the hall. It was made of stone and refined with metal. It had a dark-gold border and red pattern, but its seat was covered with ck leather filled with some soft material.

    On top of the throne''s seat was a palm-sized tiny exquisite box, that made Zevien''s heart beat fast involuntarily, and he felt strange.

    "Uhh¡­ you see that warped wings statue on the right side of the throne? That''s the waypoint. Just stand in the center of that and put your hand on that orb before infusing a small amount of mana to activate the waypoint. After that, you can teleport outside."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Let''s go, Zevien," Vernisia said as moved towards the waypoint while holding Zevien''s hand.

    Zevien nodded, but his gaze was stuck to the throne. ''What''s going on? The closer I get to it, the more I am getting agitated, and my magic eidos body¡­''

    Zevien peeked inside his magic eidos body and was startled to see the vampire blood he had stored there acting up. The blood was not still like it always used to be, but it was boiling and getting crazy.

    "Wait!" Zevien said as he paused on his steps, which also stopped Vernisia.

    Vernisia looked at Zevien, confusedly. "Any suspicious things?"

    "That box," Zevien said as he pointed at the box.

    Mordred was shocked beyond belief when he saw Zevien pointing his finger at the throne. ''HOW?''

    "What box?" Vernisia looked at the throne but saw nothing there. "I don''t see any box, Zev," she said with confusion on her face.

    "Eh? You can''t see that strange box on the throne?"

    "Hmm, no. There''s nothing there," Vernisia shook her head.

    Zevien looked at Mordred, but he couldn''t see this shadow''s expression due to its shadowy body. However, if he could see, then he would see a shocked face.

    "Do you see anything there?" Zevien asked Mordred.

    Mordred quickly got back hisposure and shook his head. "I don''t see anything there. You must be having some illusion or something. This throne tends to do that since master Blood Monarch was also proficient in charm magic."

    "Really?" Zevien muttered doubtfully. After thinking for a second, he used <Blood Morphing Art> and transformed into a vampire.

    "Arghhhhhhhhhh!! Y-y-y-y-you?" Mordred screamed and was shocked as he stammered and stuttered, even startling Zevien and Vernisia.

    "Why do you have master''s blood?!!" Mordred screamed on top of his shadowy lunge.

    "Jeez, you scared us," Vernisia rolled her eyes.

    "What do you mean? I got this blood from a blood pond when I just awakened thisbyrinth''s connection and arrived here," Zevien said before he remembered something. ''Wait!! Tarto said that there was someone below the pond. Could it be¡­''

    ''When you just awakened its connection? Damn it,'' Mordred cursed in his mind. ''So Master went to such a weak area and hid there so no one else could find him? Damn it! No wonder we couldn''t find his body anywhere deep in thebyrinth, nor those big shots knew about it.''

    "I want to see that box. It''s like I am being called," Zevien said as he moved towards the throne, but Vernisia quickly stopped him.

    "Are you sure?" Vernisia asked worriedly. "Are you absolutely sure that it won''t bring you trouble?"

    "Not sure, but there has to be a reason for me to have this feeling and the blood in my body acting up," Zevien said with a frown. "It really doesn''t feel like I will be harmed by that box."

    "Wait, no!! Don''t do that," Mordred quickly appeared in front of Zevien and stopped him.

    "Why?" Zevien asked as he narrowed his eyes.

 Chapter 174 Legacy, Trouble Approaching

    "T-that¡­ yes, right. You just can''t. You are too weak. That box contains something far above your strength. So, you are bound to die if you open it," Mordred said with a serious tone.

    Zevien smirked and continued walking. "Stop me if you can, but I am going to check it out because I don''t believe you at all."

    Vernisia also started walking beside Zevien and grabbed his hand again. "Alright, let''s see what that box, which I can''t see, contains."

    ''Damn, damn, damn, damn¡­,'' Mordred cursed inwardly as he saw Zevien and Vernisia moving towards the throne. ''Wait¡­ the legacy path really won''t stick to that brat, right? He is so damn weak! He can''t be chosen one, no!''

    "You should really reconsider this," Mordred said in a calm voice, unlike his previous behavior. "Opening that box won''t benefit you."

    Zevien paid him no heed anymore and picked up the box from the throne. The moment he touched it, it also became visible to Vernisia.

    "So it is this box? It''s so small. What does it even contain?" Vernisia wondered.

    "The blood inside me is really going crazy right now," Zevien said as his whole body was trembling non-stop after he touched the box. "I can''t wait," he said as he opened the box.

    Mordred saw with piercing eyes. ''Don''t stick to this guy, legacy orb. Don''t!'' He thought as he saw a blood orb floating out of the box with exquisite ck, red, and gold patterns over it. The orb was in a semi-liquid form, but the patterns over it remained perfect.

    ''Please, no¡­'' Mordred begged internally, but his hopes turned to dust when he saw the orb entering Zevien''s body with a sh.

    "Are you okay?" Vernisia quickly asked as she put her hand over Zevien''s chest, since that''s where the orb entered.

    "I''m fine," Zevien nodded before a frown appeared. "It doesn''t feel like anything entered me. The orb just disappeared."

    A secondter, he felt something in his hand and looked at the back of his palm.

    "This?" Vernisia was surprised to see a strange symbol on the back of Zevien''s palm. The symbol was blood red in color with ck and dark gold patterns. It had three points like a trident, but after that, three-point was aplicatedly woven magic formation of some sort via those patterns.

    "Sigh¡­ so you were epted. Well, whatever. But don''t think of activating that inheritance. You are too weak to activate it," Mordred sighed. ''That just means that you will have to die now.''

    "How strong do I need to be to activate it?" Zevien asked.

    "You at least need to be an Astral Wizard to activate it," Mordred said before he sighed tiredly. "Anyway, can you leave now? I am really dissatisfied that someone weak like you got the inheritance."

    ''Activate that waypoint, idiots!'' Mordred screamed inwardly.

    ¡­

    "How long, Mordred?" Morgana said with intense coldness and killing intent in her eyes. She was standing at the waypoint of her vampire castle, ready to teleport whenever Zevien and Vernisia activated the waypoint.

    "They are moving towards the waypoint," Mordred said obediently. "Your highness, it''s really not my fault. That brat could see that box, and even had master''s blood and transformed into a vampire."

    "What''s done is done," Morgana said indifferently, but her eyes were still filled with killing intent. "The moment they activate the waypoint, I will go there before they could teleport and kill them. The inheritance will naturally leave that boy''s body after he dies."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "No, your highness! You can''t kill him like that," Mordred quickly said. "You have to snatch the inheritance from his body forcefully first. If you kill him before, then the inheritance will also disappear with him. That''s how legacy orb works!"

    "Tsk," Morgana clicked her tongue in annoyance.

    "Get ready, your highness. They are just a few steps away."

    Morgana put her palm on the crystal orb of her waypoint and infused mana as it shined. She saw a map with many shining blue dots, but there was one gray dot among them, and it was the waypoint that Zevien and Vernisia were going to activate.

    ¡­

    "Go, go! Sigh¡­" Mordred kept acting sad and dissatisfied.

    However, Zevien and Vernisia smiled and didn''t activate the waypoint right away. They just stood inside the waypoint''s structure and looked at Mordred.

    "Mordred, so what was your purpose?" Vernisia asked with narrowed eyes.

    "What? What purpose?" Mordred was surprised.

    "We were sure of one thing when you wanted us to enter this castle: a purpose," Zevien said with a smile. "But you seem to have forgotten it, no?"

    "Hmph, what are you talking about?" Mordred snorted in annoyance. "I wanted to check if you were suitable for the legacy or not. That was my purpose."

    "Then why are you dissatisfied now?" Vernisia asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Zevien fulfilled your wish. He got the inheritance of your master."

    "Bah! That''s because I wanted other candidates¡­ Oh, screw it. There''s no point in exining it now. You got the legacy, so you can get out now. I will also disappear soon since you got the legacy," Mordred said as he started turning fainter. "See?"

    Mordred was going to say that candidates coulde here via that waypoint in his bullshit story, but if he uttered something about the waypoint, these two might catch on something, so he stopped.

    ''Phew¡­ it was a close call,'' Mordred thought while sweating inwardly. However, the next second, he was startled. "Why are you not activating the waypoint?"

    "Because there''s no need," Zevien grinned.

    ¡­

    "Your highness¡­ they are not activating waypoint," Mordred said with a pitiful expression.

    Morgana''s body shuddered with anger as she disappeared. She had activated a waypoint to teleport somewhere else.

    ''Since they are not activating it, then it means they found a way to leave that abyss. Hmm, I need to wait for them outside that abyss,'' Morgana thought as she flew with her full power towards the Blood Monarch''s Abyss.

 Chapter 175 Deep Reason Behind Rejection?

    Zevien and Vernisia didn''t activate the waypoint to leave the castle. After that symbol appeared on the back of Zevien''s hand, all of his fears about this ce vanished.

    Although Zevien and Vernisia were still feeling creepiness outside the castle because of the dark and gloomy environment, it did not scare them anymore since there was no danger.

    "How do we leave if we''re not going from the waypoint?" Vernisia asked aftering out and arriving back in the garden.

    Zevien grabbed Vernisia''s hand before carrying her. "We fly out. The pressure of this abyss doesn''t work on me anymore."

    Mordred silently watched them fly up as a very faint blood field appeared around Zevien that blocked all the pressure while flying up.

    ''Well, Morgana will reach the edge of the cliff before theye out. My work here is done,'' Mordred said before his shadow dispersed.

    Zevien and Vernisia had to spend a whole 30 minutes before they finally came out of the abyss.

    Zevien didn''t fly up on the cliff from where they fell, but on the other side of the cliff where a new forestnd started.

    "Phew¡­ finally we are out," Vernisia sighed a relief while smiling.

    Zevien still carried her and was going to put her legs on the ground by releasing his hand before both of them froze due to the intense pressure that descends upon them.

    A woman wearing a dark purple gown with red patterns slowly descended in front of them. She has a long wavy dark red hair, vampire wings, and dark red eyes with ck sclera.

    "I''ll be taking my stuff from you," Morgana said indifferently before she pointed her hand toward Zevien and wed at him as a sparkling dark red string shot towards Zevien.

    Zevien and Vernisia couldn''t do anything. They couldn''t even move their muscles in her presence.

    However, the symbol on the back of Zevien''s hand glowed as a mystic avatar manifested in front of Zevien. The avatar was of a handsome man wearing a suit and a cloak. He had white hair, red eyes, and majestic bat wings - even bigger than Morgana''s wings.

    With just his nce, the dark red string disintegrated before it could reach Zevien.

    "Blood Monarch¡­" Morgana muttered dazedly after seeing the avatar. She had seen his picture many times, so she easily recognized him.

    "Where is that ungrateful bastard?" Blood Monarch asked with a faint smile.

    "Not here," Morgana replied calmly before narrowing her eyes. "Are you still alive? If not, then I will take the inheritance from that boy."

    Vernisia and Zevien were still petrified and couldn''t move.

    "That is for me to decide," Blood Monarch said before he turned around and looked at Zevien. "Strange touch you have, boy. But you are too weak. Not worthy of this inheritance¡­ Yet."

    "Yet?" Morgana narrowed her eyes.

    Blood Monarch''s eyes glowed as the symbol on the back of Zevien''s hand started shining for a brief moment before half of it disappeared with a gesture from the Blood Monarch''s hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Morgana saw Blood Monarch turning around and pointing his hand at her, giving her a pleasant surprise.

    "Take half of the inheritance," the Blood Monarch said with a faint smile as he gave half of the inheritance to Morgana. The other half of the symbol also appeared on the back of her hand.

    "What would he do with the other half?" Morgana asked with a dissatisfied look as she looked at Zevien. "He is too weak and can''t even activate the inheritance to learn about your legacy. Look, he is still petrified and can''t do anything. His will is weak."

    Zevien''s eyes burned with anger after hearing that, and Vernisia was also furious. Everyone was born weak and had to grow stronger. Even this woman calling them weak was once weak.

    "What are you looking at, huh? Are you angry?" Morgana scoffed. "Ants."

    "You are also an ant to me,dy. Don''t forget that," the Blood Monarch said as he let out a light chuckle.

    *Crack..*

    Zevien opened his mouth, his will burning fiercely. "You¡­ can¡­ take¡­ this¡­ inheritance¡­ for I¡­ will create¡­ my own legacy! And then, I wille to you! Take it!"

    A strange glint appeared in the Blood Monarch''s eyes after hearing that. "You should know that this inheritance can help you grow faster. You can learn powerful magic spells, magic arts, mystic incantations, magic domains, and many other things one by one when you activate this inheritance in the future.

    "Once you have fully learned your half-side of the inheritance you both have, you will sh against each other, and the winner will take it all," the Blood Monarch finished speaking as his avatar slightly flickered.

    However, Zevien was adamant. "Take back the inheritance. I don''t want it."

    "If he says so, then take it from him and give it to me. The inheritance is a waste on him, and he knows it too," Morgana said with a snort.

    "Heh," Zevien coldly grinned as he looked at Morgana. "But I have a condition."

    "Interesting, haha. Go ahead and say it. I will make sure that she agrees with your condition as long as I find it reasonable," the Blood Monarchughed. "After all, I don''t see people like you, who are willing to give up such boons just to forge their own unknown future. I like it!"

    Vernisia also cracked a smile, as she was feeling proud of Zevien.

    But there was a deep reason behind Zevien''s rejection of inheritance that only two people knew. One was Zevien himself, and the other one was Tarto.

    "What is the condition?" Morgana asked as she squinted her eyes. "If you are going to ask me to spare you after I get the inheritance, then don''t bother. I am not bored enough to kill someone like you. Even if the Blood Monarch didn''t appear, I would have only taken the inheritance."

    "Haha, and here I thought you had no pride and self-esteem!" the Blood Monarchmented with a chuckle, "Though, a certain someone wouldn''t bat an eye to kill anyone for gains. I suggest you get rid of Mordred from your side. The sooner, the better."

    "Noted." Morgana nodded as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face before she looked at Zevien. "Go ahead and tell me your condition," she said.

    "The condition is simple. I¡­"/

 Chapter 176 Magic Quest Initiated (?????? ?)

    "Strange¡­ why did he ask for such a condition? It''s so easy for me," Morgana muttered as she saw Zevien and Vernisia flying away.

    The avatar of the Blood Monarch was still there, and he was also surprised that Zevien asked for such a simple condition.

    "Anyway, it was an easy bargain for you, I guess. Now, I should vanish for good, haha," said the Blood Monarch before his avatar dispersed into motes and disappeared.

    ¡­

    "Why did you ask for such a condition?" Vernisia asked with curiosity. "Also, I feel like there''s another reason why you rejected the inheritance."

    "That condition is basically like a favor. We might need it when we go Astral Land," Zevien said with a smile. "As for why I rejected the inheritance..." he trailed off before sighing.

    Vernisia was confused at seeing Zevien sighing.

    "I remembered Tarto telling me that there was something at the bottom of the blood pond," Zevien said as he narrowed his eyes. "He told me there was a being at the bottom of the pond, and it was half-dead and half-alive."

    "What?! Y-you mean¡­" Vernisia stammered as she realized something and whispered, "The Blood Monarch is still alive?"

    "Most likely, yes. I also felt that the inheritance was a scam. It was just my gut feeling, and this negative gut feeling regarding the inheritance increased when I remembered what Tarto said about the blood pond," Zevien sighed. "I feel like that the Blood Monarch is plotting something."

    "Damn¡­ it''s scary when we think about what these powerful beings might be plotting," Vernisia wryly smiled and shook her head. "Let''s just forget about today and move to another area in thisbyrinth."

    "Not before we destroy that Ufar House in the kingdom''s capital," Zevien snorted. "They are scumbags and almost killed us!"

    "That''s true as well," Vernisia nodded with a cold light in her eyes and said with anger in her voice. "I can''t believe their vile deeds are supported by the kingdom. I guess wealth and riches can indeed make people blind to injustice until it happens to them."

    Suddenly, a quest prompt appeared in Zevien''s head.

    *****

    [Magic Quest initiated, Cleaning of Vile Evil]

    -Step 1: Destroy Ufar house''s store in Kma town.

    -Note: this magic quest will be directly established after youplete the 1st step.

    *****

    Zevien paused in his flight, and so did Vernisia after seeing him stopping. "What happened?" she asked.

    "Magic quest initiated," Zevien said with a wide grin, "and it''s about destroying Ufar house''s store in Kma town."

    "Awesome," Vernisia beamed before she took out a map to check the location of Kma town. "It''s approximately 20 kilometers away from here, to the southwest of the kingdom''s capital."

    "Let''s go then. We still have five hours to spend in thisbyrinth," Zevien said before he and Vernisia started flying in the direction of Kma town.

    ¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    Soon, they arrived near the town and descended. Both of them wore robes and hid their faces with hoods before walking towards the town entrance gate.

    After they entered the town, they saw wanted posters with their faces drawn on them. But these posters were sketched as ''X'' and some were ripped since they were announced dead a month ago when they fell into the Blood Monarch''s abyss.

    "The security in this town is not that high. The town chief should be a 2nd ss magician, but other than him, the rest should be 3rd ss and weaker," Zevien whispered after he sensed that the town guards were equivalent to 3rd ss magicians.

    "My awakening spells are going to help a lot here," Vernisia grinned. "Let me handle the people after we enter the shop. We don''t want to harm unrted people."

    "Yep," Zevien nodded.

    After asking an olddy about the location of the Ufar store, they arrived at the store and entered.

    Vernisia was conjuring her magic, and after entering, she counted the amount of customers. There were customers inside the shop, two staff members who were probably just doing their job. ''One will cost 2000 mana. So thirteen, 26,000. Alright, I can manage it.''

    "Hello, dear customer. What do you want to buy? We sell all sorts of magic-rted things like weapons, items, spell scrolls, and magic potions," the manager arrived and said with a polite smile.

    "What is your name?" Zevien asked bluntly.

    "You can call me Romelo Ufar. I am a 2nd-star member of the Ufar family," Romelo said with a smile.

    "Good," Zevien nodded before he smiled and grabbed the man''s head as he used the <Hellzer> magic spell. "Burn away."

    A ck me released from Zevien''s hand and enveloped the man before turning him into ck dust that got swept by the winds.

    The ck me of Hellzer didn''t let out any sound. It was silent, just like all other Tarto''s spells. None of those spells let out even a ripple or sound when getting released or traveling.

    The manager also couldn''t scream since he died too fast to even react. After all, Zevien was at his peak power of 8000+ magic power right now, while the manager was equivalent to a 4th-ss magician.

    Vernisia also released thirteen <Shadow Ghost Possession> orbs that hit thirteen people when Zevien attacked the manager. Shemanded all thirteen people affected by <Shadow Ghost Possession> to leave the store at soon as possible.

    "W-what''s going on? My feet are moving on their own!"

    "Where is the manager?"

    "H-he¡­ he died. That person released a ck me from his hand and just evaporated his trace from this world," the person who witnessed the manager''s death spoke with dread in her eyes. But her feet didn''t stop, and she ran out of the store.

    Everyone panicked, but none of them could stop their feet and ran out of the store.

    Zevien and Vernisia also came out before Vernisia waved her hand and released the 1st style of Primal conjuring, the <Water Terror Fish> spell. She cast it twice as two fish entered the store before exploding into eight whirlpools that destroyed the entire shop.

    The guards came rushing and pointed their spears at Zevien and Vernisia. The spear glows as guards channeled their magic power inside and released sharp bullets.

    "Tell the Ufar House that we are back for revenge," Zevien said with a smile as he grabbed Vernisia''s waist and pulled her in before unfurling his vampire wings and flying away.

 Chapter 177 Cleaning Of Vile Evil

    After Zevien flew out with Vernisia, they continued flying until they were five kilometers away before stopping.

    "The magic quest has been established. Let me check," Zevien said as he checked the established magic quest in his head.

    *****

    [Magic Quest Established, Cleaning of Vile Evil]

    -Ufar House has been exploiting all border viges and subjecting them to very for their work. They are doing the same to neighbor kingdom Muriak''s border viges and keeping this fact away from that kingdom by bribing dukes who rule the bordends.

    -The people in those viges are treated worse than animals and are always in constant danger. Save them!

    -Task 1: Kill all guards stationed in border viges. Leave no one alive.

    -Task 2: Notify the neighbor kingdom about the Ufar house, which will give them a reason to go to war against the Amorph kingdom and uncover the hidden scheme.

    -Reward: A random chain and other rewards from the Muriak kingdom.

    *****

    Zevien was surprised. This quest was the biggest in scale so far.

    "What is the quest?" Vernisia asked as she saw his surprised expression.

    Zevien exined the quest to her. After understanding everything, Vernisia nodded and took out the map.

    "There are thirty-six viges in Amorph kingdom''s bordends," Vernisia said, and then fell into a thoughtful state before she frowned. "Zevien, we have toplete this quest before we leave thebyrinth. If we just kill the guards but fail to notify the Muriak kingdom, they will trap those viges once again and be more cautious."

    "We have around five hours¡­," Zevien muttered as he also took out a map and looked at it a few seconds before turning to Vernisia. "We have to work separately if we want toplete this quest before the deadline."

    "Yes," Vernisia nodded as she summoned Lynn and got away from Zevien before sitting on Lynn. "Let''s start without wasting any more time. You will take the northwest''s thirteen viges, while I will take the northeast''s thirteen viges."

    Zevien nodded before he pointed at a spot on the map and showed it to Vernisia. "Let''s meet here after cleaning those viges."

    "Alright."

    *Swoosh¡­*

    Both Vernisia and Zevien separated and flew in different directions. Working separately was the only way toplete the quest in time.

    ¡­

    After three hours, they had killed all guards in the border viges. They tried their fastest toplete this. Also, since these viges were near the border, the news wouldn''t reach the Amorph kingdom''s capital anytime soon.

    Zevien and Vernisia met at the ce they decided after finishing task 1.

    "We have two hours. Let''s quickly go to the Muriak kingdom''s capital and notify their king," Zevien said as he and Vernisia started flying toward the Muriak kingdom.

    The map they had was only of the Amorph kingdom. However, it did have the location of the Muriak kingdom in the north.

    After flying for twenty minutes into Muriak kingdom''s border, they encountered a town and went inside to buy the Muriak kingdom''s map. These maps of kingdoms were very rough. They were not detailed regardingndscapes and such, but had rough locations of their towns and viges.<novelnext></novelnext>

    After buying the map and getting the location of the Muriak kingdom''s capital, Zevien and Vernisia quickly flew there and arrived after flying for 30 minutes at their full speed.

    "This capital town is bigger than Amoprh''s capital town," Zevien said after entering the capital town with Vernisia.

    On the way, they saw small water streams flowing inside the town. These tiny rivers were three as the river entering the town separated into three streams before joining together at the other end of the town and exiting from there.

    "There should be a sea nearby if there''s this river," Zevien said.

    "It''s so clean and filled with fishes," Vernisia smiled.

    After crossing the river bridge and walking for a while, they arrived at the center of the town, where a big castle stood majestically.

    "We have some important news that must be ryed to the king," Zevien said after getting blocked by the knight guards who guarded the gates.

    "You can''t meet the king directly," the knight guard shook his head as the metal helmet made a slight nk sound. "You can meet the Castle Minister and tell him the important news before he rys it to the king."

    "This news affects the life and death of a kingdom," Vernisia said with a somber expression.

    Hearing her, the knights were startled. "What do you mean?" the lead knight guard asked in a severe tone.

    "It means exactly what you heard," Zevien said with a serious, straightforward expression. "There''s no deep meaning behind it."

    Of course, the knights assumed that the life and death of a kingdom were indicated to their kingdom. s, it was about the Armoph kingdom. Naturally, Zevien and Vernisia didn''t rify it and purposefully said it like that.

    "We can''t tell you the news precisely because it''s a life and death matter for the entire kingdom," Vernisia said as she narrowed her. "If I tell you here, and the news gets leaked, do you know what will happen?"

    *Gulp¡­*

    The knights gulped and quickly moved away.

    "Please follow me. I will take you to the Castle Minister. My position is not enough to get you to the king directly," the lead knight guard said.

    ¡­

    Afterward, the lead knight guard led Vernisia and Zevien inside the giant castle, and after walking for five minutes and taking some turns, they arrived in a small hall where the Castle Minister was sitting on a chair and speaking with some people. He didn''t look toward the lead knight guard even after he entered the hall.

    "Minister, these two have some important news that can affect the life and death of the kingdom," the lead knight guard said in a serious voice.

    "What?" The minister, and the rest of the people sitting on the chairs, turned their heads towards the knight.

    However, when Zevien and Vernisia looked at a person among the guest, they were shocked. ''What is she doing here?''

    They nced at each other with a brief shock before quickly returning to normal.

    Shockingly, the woman at the forefront of the group was none other than the eldest princess of Amorph kingdom, Princess Nerissa!

    Zevien and Vernisia still had their heads covered by hoods, so Princess Nerissa didn''t recognize them yet. She and her entourage just looked at them curiously after hearing the words of the lead knight guard.

 Chapter 178 Rewards

    "You can leave," Castle Minister Mespien waved his hand and gestured to the lead knight to leave the hall.

    "Yes!" the knight nodded and bowed before he turned around and opened the hall''s door to leave.

    When the hall''s door closed, Mespien gestured to Zevien and Vernisia with his hand and pointed at the chairs. "Please sit."

    After Zevien and Vernisia sat down, Mespien put his elbows on the table and covered his mouth with crossed palms before speaking with a serious expression, "can you remove your hood before telling me the news?"

    "No," Zevien shook his head. "This is for our safety. We do not want to get into trouble after rying this news."

    Princess Nerissa felt some familiarity in the voice, but she couldn''t pinpoint it.

    "Also, we can''t say anything in the presence of people unrted to the kingdom," Vernisia said as she nced at Princess Nerissa and her group.

    Princess Nerissa stood up and smiled at Mespien. "Minister Mespien, I have ryed my father''s words to you. I hope you can present this proposal to King Muriak and discuss it. I am sure it will benefit both kingdoms."

    "We will discuss it," Mespien said and nodded inly.

    "Then we shall take our leave now," princess Nerissa bowed courteously before walking out of the hall.

    After the door closed, Zevien quickly said, "can you inform someone important in the kingdom to detain princess Nerissa and her entourage?"

    "Why?" Mespien was startled at the sudden request of these unknown guests.

    "Please do it quickly. You can just keep them via fake reasons like meeting the king or a feast and something like that because the news we are about to tell you is rted to the Amorph kingdom," Zevien quickly said with a serious voice.

    Mespien narrowed his eyes and deeply looked at them for two seconds before he took out amunication crystal and infused mana in it. "Chief Maid, quickly go and stop princess Nerissa and her group. Tell them to stay for a feast with the king so they can directly exin the proposal to the king."

    ''This old man is fast and decisive,'' Zevien and Vernisia thought the same thing.

    "Now tell me, what is the news?" Mespien asked.

    Vernisia proceeded to tell about the deeds of the Ufar house in the Amorph kingdom and Muriak kingdom''s bordends. Her voice was slightly agitated as she remembered the state of the vigers because it angered her a lot.

    "So that''s how they were doing it¡­ damn it," Mespien muttered before cursing. "Did you inspect the viges or just killed the guards and left?" he asked.

    "We didn''t have time for such things," Zevien shook his head. "We just killed guards to save the vigers in the Amorph kingdom and arrived here. However, the vigers in your kingdom are still suffering."

    "Why did you ask that?" Vernisia asked with a frown. "Was there something else in those viges?"

    "Sigh¡­ the growth of the Amorph kingdom has been increasing very fast in the past few years. We spected that they found some valuable ore mines in the undergrounds of their kingdom and even found some shallow proofs. But to mine such a thing and to mine it this quick, they need more people."

    "You mean¡­" Zevien was startled. "So those border viges had underground passage connected to the mine?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Most likely, yes. This task was likely handed over to the Ufar house since it is the biggest noble house in the Amorph kingdom, with connections to other kingdoms. They must have been selling these valuable ores to other kingdoms and gaining riches," Mespien spected.

    "What will you do now?" Vernisia asked.

    "They dared to ve our viges and subjected them to such cruelty, hmph. They will pay the price," Mespien snorted and stood up. "Once we confirm that our viges were also affected, we can start by punishing the dukes before waging war on the Amorph kingdom."

    "Then you will start mining those ores, right?" Zevien asked as he narrowed his eyes. "Will you do the same as the Amorph kingdom?"

    "Hahaha, you are looking down on our Muriak kingdom," Mespielughed and shook his head. "This mining work will be an opportunity for all themon people of their kingdom after we conquer it.

    "We will arrange a proper infrastructure of mining and let them work in the mines regrly and stably. We will pay them appropriately such that most of them would want to work there. All viges around the mine will be removed, but we will build a big town for them with proper housing and all necessities," Mespiel finished talking with a smile.

    Zevien and Vernisia were surprised to see him already nning to such an extent.

    "Indeed, if workers are healthy and have a willingness to work, then they can also work faster and produce more," Zevien nodded.

    Mespiel nodded with a smile. "Come with me. We must ry this news to the king, and you must get rich rewards for bringing such information and giving justice to those viges and people."

    ¡­

    The King of Muriak first gave 50,000 gold coins and entry into their royal library. They could choose two magic spells of their choice from the library.

    Afterward, some people took them on a tour of the town and let them choose any empty house they wanted in town. It would be theirs with the deed.

    After spending an hour looking at all the houses, they selected a house on the periphery of the capital town. It surprised Mespien that they chose such a small house at the periphery of the town.

    The house was small, but it was beautiful because it was at the periphery of the town, with little to no public and a silent environment. There was a river stream flowing out of the town near their house. This was one of the main reasons they chose this house.

    After settling in the house, Zevien activated the chain he got as a reward afterpleting this quest.

    *****

    [Chain activated, Wings of Symphony]

    -Step 1: Locate the ruins of the ancient n of the Skyuma family.

    *****

    "I got the chain, but let''s not follow it now," Zevien said as he sat down cross-legged on the mattress. "We only have thirty minutes or something left, I think. So let''s just meditate."

    "Yep. The atmosphere here is peaceful," Vernisia said with a smile as she also closed her eyes and entered meditation.

 Chapter 179 Another One, But Strange One

    After staying for a total of six hours and eighteen minutes, they were kicked out of thebyrinth and appeared back in their bedroom.

    They first went to take a shower and changed their clothes before leaving their abode and going to the library to buy tier-4 spells. They bought spells they couldbine with their existing tier-4 spells and make them into peak tier-5 magic spells.

    Two hourster, they returned from the library.

    Zevien bought a pure offense-type tier-4 magic spell called <Ignition Burst>, which he felt he couldbine with his tier-4 spell, <Ruination Mist Cannon>, to bring out even greater power, which will be a raw destructive power.

    Vernisia bought a counter-type spell called <Offset Waves> that she could pair up with <Roving Aegis Guard>. So that whenever the shields of her tier-4 defensive spells were attacked, they could counter with offensive shock waves that would disrupt the enemy''s mana cirction and also disarray iing projectile magic spell''s direction.

    Of course, they had only imagined how it would look if their spellsbine, but tobine their spell formations into a proper working one that could produce the effect was another thing. It would take them months tobine their spells together.

    ¡­

    A weekter, Zevien bought a mansion in Heaven''s Symphony town. This town is said to be the most luxurious town in the entire Gaia continent. It was also a town where most of 1st ss magicians resided.

    All the n members were shocked that Alucard bought a mansion in this town and got excited.

    From then on, that mansion became their base of operation, and everyone gathered there before moving out in groups toplete missions.

    Zevien and Vernisia also went to that mansion the next day and met with the n members.

    Six dayster, when they were just one day away from entering Vernisia''s 2ndbyrinth, Zevien finally arranged a n meeting.

    Of course, he attended as Alucard while Zevien and Vernisia were absent, which did not even surprise the n members since they were used to the absence of those two.

    In the meeting, Alucard gave the position of Vice-n leader to Lax and gave the officer position to three people: Carmaine, Medro, and Jonathan. He didn''t give any position to academy students, and they were fine with it since they were busy at the academy.

    During the meeting, Alucard also upgraded the n to C-rank since everyone had gathered 10,000 contribution points in thest fifteen days, which was the required amount to rank up the n.

    Everyone had a little party in the mansion that day.

    ¡­

    The next day, Zevien and Vernisia entered Vernisia''s secondbyrinth, Primal Elemental Utopia. Theypleted a quest and alsopleted a chain, which rewarded Vernisia with a relic called Gray Staff. However, this relic she got also requires her to have 10,000 magic power to activate it, just like the relic that Zevien got fifteen days ago from the Invible Blood Garden magicbyrinth.

    They still have 2 hour''s worth of time, so they went to a new area; the Heavenly me Mountain ranges.

    The entire mountain range was¡­ burning! Everything had fire elements. Trees were redwood, and their leaves were also dark orange, with fire sparks spreading around them. Same goes for the smaller nts and bushes.

    The rocks and mountains were also made of fire stones and hadva veins, despite those mountains not being volcanic mountains.

    It was rather ufortable to stay in this region, but they found two towns on top of the mountain ranges. Those mountains were cold because of some enchantment with gemstones created from ice and water crystals.

    The main attraction of this region was craftsmanship and cooking. They saw many workshops on the mountain range where people were crafting magic items and chefs were cooking dishes. The magic beasts in this area were abundant, all of them fire-attribute rted.

    While they were roaming the deeper parts of the mountain ranges, they came across a dungeon door and entered inside.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The dungeon was a vast ground separated into three sections. They have to destroy three giant red crystals protected by magic beasts within a certain time frame.

    It was rather easy for Vernisia because of her AOE magic spells of Primal Elemental Utopia.

    To get the golden treasure chest, they had to clear the dungeon within 8 minutes, but they cleared it under 6 minutes.

    "It''s time for Rock, Paper, Scissors," Vernisia grinned.

    "You''ve won thest two times, but I will definitely win this time," Zevien said with a confident smirk.

    "Quite confident, aren''t you?" Vernisia smiled as she stretched her hand and started. "Let''s see then."

    *Rock, Paper, Scissor!*

    Zevien carefully observed Vernisia''s hand and her muscle movement at thest bout before he pulled out scissors and, as he guessed, Vernisia pulled our paper.

    "You won¡­" Vernisia wryly smiled. "Alright, open it."

    Zevien turned to the golden treasure chest and opened it. A golden glow smothered the room and shone brightly before it subsided a secondter.

    The treasure chest contained only one item! However, that one item was quite useful as they had gotten it before.

    "A trial crystal would''ve been great, but this is also good," Vernisia said before she lightly whistled and shook her head wryly. "Though if I opened it, I would have gotten a trial crystal for sure."

    "Yeah, sure," Zevien rolled his eyes before he picked up the chalice. When he actually got its information in his head, he was surprised. "This chalice is different from the one we got before."

    Vernisia looked at the chalice andpared it to the previous one before noticing the difference. "The design pattern carved on this chalice is differentpared to the one we got before, but it also has three runes inside. So, what is it about?"

    "Touch it, and you will know," Zevien said as he gave the chalice to Vernisia.

    "Wow¡­," Vernisia was surprised after looking at the effect of this chalice. "The previous chalice we got was of Bronze-rank, but this one¡­

    This is a Profound-rank! We don''t know even know how many levels higher than bronze rank."

    *****

    [Magic Sacrificing Art-Creation Chalice]

    -Special Magic Item

    -Rank: Profound

    -Effect: You have to sacrifice¡­

    *****

 Chapter 180 Magic Art

    *****

    [Magic Sacrificing Art-Creation Chalice]

    -Special Magic Item

    -Rank: Profound

    -Effect: You have to sacrifice 100% of your magic power of the stage you are in and infuse three crude spell concepts of your idea into the runes before shaking the chalice. Will produce a magic art that requires no mana to activate and can sustain on its own by absorbing external mana.

    *****

    "What is magic art?" Vernisia questioned curiously.

    "I guess some magical power that requires no mana and can sustain itself?" Zevien guessed after reading the effect.

    "Yeah. I can see that, but I wonder how it will be? Headmaster Noril might know about magic arts since it seems like an advanced thing in the path of magic," Vernisia said.

    "Sacrifice 100% of the magic power of the stage we are in¡­" Zevien muttered. "This means if I use it, I will lose all of my magic power until it drops to 5000."

    "Yeah," Vernisia nodded thoughtfully, "it''s not a bad bargain, I would say. You should have a bit above 5.8k magic power, right? Then you won''t lose much of your magic power. You can recover it quickly with a magic crystal."

    "Yeah, it feels like this item was never meant to be used by weak magicians," Zevien said as he rubbed his chin. "Also, what will it produce just by sacrificing a measly amount of eight hundred magic power?"

    "Anyway, I think you should use it for that," Vernisia smiled. "To create your clone so that it can act as either Alucard or Zevien when the timees."

    "Oh¡­ that''s a good idea," Zevien nodded as his eyes shone before dimming almost instantly. "Wait, I need toprehend and produce three crude spell concepts rted to cloning for that. It''s not going to be easy."

    "You have fifteen days for that," Vernisia said with a wry smile. "After fifteen days, we have to enter our 1st magicbyrinths again, and it will increase our magic power. So¡­ If you want to gain magic power, you will have to do it in fifteen days."

    Zevien resolved himself and nodded. "Alright! From today onwards, I am going to seclude myself and focus on creating three crude spell concepts of my idea regarding cloning."

    "Mhmm. I''ll bring you food when it''s time to eat. You will also have to attend two magic upation sses in the next two weeks, so you have a full thirteen days to focus on only one thing," Vernisia said before she remembered something and smiled. "Meanwhile, I will learn my new tier-4 magic spell."

    Zevien wryly smiled as he would be behind Vernisia in that regard, but it will be worth it for this chalice to produce a magic art that can create his clone.

    ¡­

    Time passed as minutes turned into hours and hours into days.

    After fourteen days,

    "Last one¡­" Zevien slowly infused the 3rd spell concept he created into thest rune by grabbing it in his hand and pouring the concept into the rune with his eyes closed. The rune told him how to infuse spell concepts, and it was rather easy. He just had to create the form of the spell concept and infuse it into the rune as he would when infusing a spell formation. The form can be anything like drawing some lines and patterns using mana.

    Coincidentally, the moment he finished infusing thest spell concept into the rune, Vernisia entered the room with food.

    "Oh, is it done?" Vernisia asked after seeing the rune in Zevien''s hand.

    "Haha, yep! Though I don''t know how it will turn out, since these spell concepts are really crude," Zevien said.

    Vernisia put the dish on the table before she chuckled. "Let''s eat first and then do it. As they say, work is done better with a full belly, hahaha."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zevien wryly smiled as he got the irony and went to eat at the table with Vernisia.

    After eating, both of them looked at the chalice on the table.

    Taking a deep breath, Zevien started shaking the chalice.

    "Urgh¡­" Zevien felt ufortable as he could feel his magic power decreasing as he shook the chalice.

    Seeing Zevien ufortable, Vernisia grabbed his hand. But then her face changed. "My magic power is decreasing!"

    "What?! Leave my hand," Zevien quickly said.

    "I can''t. My hand is stuck. But actually, it''s fine. If more magic power sacrificed can produce a better result, then so be it," Vernisia said.

    "But you will lose a bit more than one thousand of your magic power," Zevien sighed. Vernisia had over 6k magic power, so she is going to lose a lot of her power.

    "It wouldn''t be fine if magic crystals didn''t exist, but it''s fine since they exist," Vernisia said with a smile.

    After a few seconds, they finally felt their magic power stop decreasing, and Zevien also stopped shaking the chalice.

    They both looked inside the chalice and saw a mystical white crystal orb with blue-misty sparks whirling inside it.

    Zevien grabbed the mystical white crystal orb and got information in his head.

    *****

    [Magic Art: Mystic Linked Clone]

    -Rank: Profound-rank magic art.

    -Effect: After learning this magic art, you can summon a clone anytime you want andmand it. It will always have some magic power as you and can use the same spells you have learned.

    -Note: Infuse mana in the orb so that you can add this crystal orb to your magic eidos body and use the magic art. You can use this magic art without learning it, but to improve this magic art''s rank and power, you will have to gradually learn this magic art and assimte it into your magic eidos body.

    *****

    "What the fuck?" Zevien said with a dumbfounded expression.

    "Why? Is it bad?" Vernisia asked as her eyebrows furrowed.

    "It''s scary¡­" Zevien muttered.

    Vernisia rolled her eyes as she took the crystal orb from Zevien''s hand and got its information in her head. After reading the information she got, it also dumbfounded her. "This¡­ isn''t this too powerful?"

    Zevien nkly nodded before he snapped out of his thoughts and sighed. "I feel like I used all of my good luck in getting that chalice from the golden treasure chest. You remember Euclion said that our luck will be really bad after we enter Astral Land because we are fateless. Now I think this chalice is a mark of thest bout of good luck I had."

    "We''ll worry about our futureter. Aren''t we already preparing for it by creating a n? Also, whatever trouble maye, we can solve it together," Vernisia said as she flicked Zevien''s forehead. "Now stop overthinking things and use that crystal orb."

 Chapter 181 Big Commotion

    "Right," Zevien nodded as he infused his mana into the crystal orb, which then melted into his hand and disappeared. When he focused, He saw this crystal orb appearing inside his magic eidos body before it floated beside the magic core and connected with it via a faint blue chain.

    Afterward, Zevien activated the crystal orb by infusing a bit of mana into it¡­.

    *swoosh¡­.*

    A magic circle appeared in front of Zevien before mana from the atmosphere started rushing towards the magic circle. It even disrupted several kilometers around the area!

    Vernisia and Zevien looked at each other, shocked! This bigmotion will be noticed by everyone for sure!

    ¡­

    The students around the area were shocked as well.

    "What''s going on?!"

    "All mana is going on that hill! That''s Zevien and Vernisia''s abode."

    "Damn, what are they doing?"

    Suddenly, Headmaster Noril and other headteachers arrived on the hill and stood outside their abode.

    "You all stay here and guard. I''ll go inside alone," Headmaster Noril said to the headteachers.

    "Master, do you know what is happening?" Karina asked.

    "This is a familiar phenomenon," said Noril while nodding as silver sparks started covering him. "Just stay here and guard," he said before he teleported inside the abode.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia saw Noril in the room in front of them. But they were not surprised because they knew that such a bigmotion would definitely attract him.

    "So it is indeed a phenomenon when a magic art is activated for the first time," Noril said as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

    Zevien and Vernisia wryly smiled. They didn''t know this would happen.

    Five secondster, the magic circle finally stopped absorbing mana from the atmosphere and produced mystical white and blue motes that gathered together to create an exact copy of Zevien, but it was naked.

    Zevien quickly took out a robe and covered his clone with it.

    "A magic art that summons your clone?" The spell surprised Noril. "How did you manage to get your hands on a magic art?"

    "Umm, you know¡­ we got a golden treasure chest frompleting a dungeon. I opened one and got the chalice from it," Zevien said as he told everything to headmaster Noril as there was no use hiding it.

    "Nice luck, hahaha," Norilughed while shaking his head. "My colleague from Astral Land recently contacted me about this same chalice as he also got one. So, what rank is that magic art?"

    "The chalice was of profound-rank, and the magic art it just produced is also a profound-rank," Vernisia answered.

    "P-profound rank?" Headmaster Noril''s eyes became wide in shock. "Quick, tell me. What are the characteristics of that clone?"

    "First, I can summon it anytime I want," Zevien said as he waved his hand, and his clone disappeared. But when he waved his hand again with the intent of summoning it, his clone re-appeared in front of him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Second, it will always have the same magic power as me," Zevien said before he activated his shaman-seed to check because he also wanted to know if the clone can benefit from shaman-seed power up or not. He didn''t go with full power but just increased his magic power by 1000.

    Surprisingly, the clone in front of him had also increased his magic power by 1000.

    "Lastly, it can cast all spells I have with mymand," Zevien said as hemanded the clone to cast <Raging Body> to increase its physical prowess.

    The clone consumed mana from its body and cast the spell!

    "Profound-rank magic art¡­ this can indeed be called a profound-rank magic art," Noril muttered before he sighed. "I''m speechless."

    "Headmaster, do you have a magic art?" Vernisia asked curiously.

    "I have one," Noril wryly smiled. "But it is below profound rank. I don''t even have any spells of profound-rank, but I am learning one right now. Profound-rank magics are generally used by Astral Wizard, and I am still one step away from being one."

    "Headmaster, can you please keep this a secret?" Zevien said with a wry smile. "Please don''t tell anyone that I have a magic art about cloning."

    "Oh? Why? It''s not like people can snatch magic art away from you. It''s bound to you," headmaster Noril said.

    "You already know I have another identity, right? Because of that incident with the Blood Sun Organization, I''m nning to use this clone for situations where both my identities need to be attended at the same time at the same ce or different ces," Zevien said.

    "Oh, I see. I forgot you had another identity, hahaha. Alright fine, I won''t tell anyone about it," Noril nodded with a smile. "Honestly, this chalice managed to produce a magic art because what you wished for was not too demanding in a way and could match your strength."

    Vernisia and Zevien nodded as they understood.

    "The conditions are alreadyid out there," Zevien smiled. "The clone will always have the same magic power as me and can cast spells I have. In a way, this isn''t too overpowered because it''s not more powerful than me. Though, the information mentioned that I need topletelyprehend this magic art and fully assimte into my magic eidos body to improve it."

    "Indeed," Noril said while caressing his beard with a smile. "If you infused crude spell concepts that you couldn''t handle at your level, it wouldn''t have worked. But this clone is perfect."

    "Haha, it was all Vernisia''s idea," Zevien said with a proudugh.

    "You would have thought about it sooner orter."

    "Credits where credit is due, darling."

    "Alright, this old man will take his leave now. You can continue to flirt, hahaha."

    ¡­

    Headteachers saw their mastering out with a smile on his face and were curious.

    "What was it, master?"

    "It looks like something good happened."

    Seeing his students asking questions, Headmaster Noril told them that it was just an effect of a relic they used. As he promised Zevien, he didn''t tell anyone about the magic art.

    "Anyway, we can expect a good future with these our current students," Noril said smilingly as he and other headteachers flew back to their academic pce. He was actually happy for Zevien to have magic art this early since it would aid him. Moreover, he was very impressed with Zevien and his gang''s performance. All of them were a hardworking bunch.

    ''I can''t wait till you all step on the big stage,'' Headmaster Noril thought with high hopes.

 Chapter 182 Time Skip

    The next day, it was the assessment day for all students, but everyone met the requirements, and most of them actually surpassed the requirement like Zevien and the gang since they became 3rd ss magicians.

    The academy clearly understood how much magic crystals were helping students grow, and they were fine with it, as they wanted everyone to surpass 1st ss magicians and step on the true path of magic.

    ¡­

    Time passed as everyone worked hard to learn magic spells and magic upations and spent their time wisely in their magicbyrinths to progress faster.

    Two monthster, Zevien, Vernisia, Erica, Dan, Tigger, and Kerolin sessfully became 2nd ss magicians, leaving everyone behind. After all, six of them had two magicbyrinths, which means double the progress rate.

    Everyone got new awakening spells from their magicbyrinths. Vernisia''s Shadows of Hex magicbyrinth gave her a new awakening magic spell, but her Primal Elemental Utopia unlocked the 4th style of Primal Conjuring: Devouring Earthly Dragon!

    However, they didn''t stop their progress there; they continued working hard and exploring their magicbyrinths to find dungeons and quests to get magic and trial crystals!

    Another two monthster, all of them reached 1st ss magicians, while the rest had be 2nd ss magicians, creating another wave ofmotion!

    The next day, after they became 1st ss magicians, they upped their game a notch.

    There was no more use staying in the academy except for when they had to attend magic upation sses. As such, they started epting guild missions to elevate their n to S rank so they could enter Astral Land while gradually reaching the peak of 1st ss magician.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia were sitting in their n mansion''s backyard in Heaven''s Symphony town while Dan, Erica, Kerolin, and Tigger went to magic guild headquarters to ept some A-rank missions.

    The n had gotten very big after bing an A-rank n because an A-rank n could have 100 members, and forty were inside the mansion''s hall right now.

    Other members were doing things like training, sparring, or doing missions. Not all of them could ept A-rank missions because only 2nd ss and 1st ss magicians were allowed to take them.

    After thirty minutes, Dan and the others arrived with two A-rank missions.

    "So how do we go about this?" Dan said as he put two scrolls on the table before sitting on a chair with the others at the same table.

    "Only two A-rank missions?" Zevien asked.

    "Yep. The rest of the A-rank missions were taken by other ns. We have toplete these two A-rank missions today, that''s it," Dan said with a wry smile.

    "You four take one while Zevien and I will take one," Vernisia said with a smile as he picked up the first scroll and read it. "So we have to kill a 2nd-grade beast in the Snowfall region, Limenfrost Fox?"

    "We''ll be going now since we were bored, hahaha," Zevien said as he and Vernisia flew away. Vernisia also had wings now. They were the result of the awakening spell she got when she reached 2nd ss magician, <Shadow Archwings> awakening spell when she reached 2nd ss magician.

    "There they go," Kerolin wryly smiled.

    ¡­

    Zevien and Vernisia flew towards the Snowfall region at their full speed.

    On the way, they saw several flying ships and other people flying to do their own things. Some people were flying on their fairy spirits while others were traveling with their fairy spirits on a flying boat or ship.

    After thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the Snowfall region.

    "I''ll scan the ce," Zevien said before he used his awakening spell <Blood Sense>, which could let him sense any living being with blood running in them around 2 kilometers from him.

    Naturally, he could do more than just sense them because he could instantly send his <Blood Hook> towards anything within 2 kilometers of him. The hidden effect of the <Blood Hook> awakening spell was that it could appear beside any ce where blood had spilled or near a bleeding target within his sight.

    After getting <Blood Sense>, he couldbine both spells such that he could instantly teleport his <Blood Hook> towards the living within the radar of his <Blood Sense> spell.

    "There are some, but the strongest one is in the northwest. It should be a 2nd or 1st ss magic beast," Zevien said before a purple crown appeared over his head, which was the awakening spell he got when he reached 2nd ss magician,

    .

    With the

    spell activated, he could suppress anyone he sees as long as his will is more powerful than the target. Moreover, once the opponent is suppressed for even a second, the crown above his head activates another effect and seals the mana flow of the opponent for five seconds.

    Soon, they arrived in front of the magic beast that Zevien sensed.

    *Roarr!!*

    But it was not the one they were looking for; instead, it was a 1st-grade magic beast.

    "Let me try to suppress it first," Zevien said as he flew in front of the Raging Frost Lion.

    *Roarrr!*

    The lion roared and was going to attack as powerful mana fluctuations appeared around it. However, Zevien''s eyes glowed as his will pressured the lion!<novelnext></novelnext>

    *Roarrr!!*

    The lion roared and tried to resist, but its eyes still dimmed for a second and was suppressed before the crown above Zevien''s head shone as faint purple chains appeared around the lion before they disappeared into it.

    "Let me enve it," Vernisia said before she waved her hand and used the awakening spell, <Shadow Envement> which she got from her first magicbyrinth when she became a 1st ss magician.

    A ball of shadow shot towards the giant 1st-grade lion magic beast and devoured it into a tiny shadow ball before it went inside Vernisia.

    <Shadow Envement> is an extremely powerful magic spell. It could result in instant death if the target couldn''t resist it, just like that lion.

    Since Zevien had suppressed the lion and even sealed its mana, it couldn''t resist Vernisia''s <Shadow Envement> magic spell and died. Moreover, if a target was killed by the <Shadow Envement>, then Vernisia could capture it as a shadow being in a shadow orb.

    She can use the shadow orb to summon the shadow of the magic beast for a one-time attack, which would be the most powerful attack of the magic beast.

    "Let''s continue," Zevien said as he had his <Blood Sense> magic spell activated to sense all-powerful creatures around him.

    After a few minutes, Zevien found another beast, but even though it was a 2nd-grade magic beast, it was still not the one they wanted to find.

    Finally, after thirty minutes of roaming around, they found their target and killed it before stuffing its body into their storage ring.

    On their return trip, they used a flying boat instead of flying using their wing-type magic spells.

    While they were flying, they saw a fight happening on the ground. Zevien and Vernisia were surprised because there were several 1st ss magicians involved.

    "What could it be?" Zevien wondered as he moved the flying boat towards them.

    However, a shield suddenly appeared below them and blocked them.

    "Go away if you don''t want to die! We don''t want any morepetition for this treasure, and if you still insist oning down, we will attack you!" A middle-aged man shouted from below.

    Zevien and Vernisia took a good look below and saw four teams there. Each team had 3 to 4 people and their leaders were 1st ss magicians while the rest were 2nd ss magicians.

    All of them had fifteen meters distance from each other with a magical tree at the center. The tree had four fruits that were glowing with white-blue sparks with a faint rainbow hue exuding from them.

    "Hmmm, that is indeed a treasure," Vernisia said after looking at the fruits. "I remember reading about these trees and fruits. The fruits are Magic Amplifying fruits and can boost one''s control over magic spells and mana. But they are useless for us since we have reached the peak of our control for now because of Magician Growth Treatment."

    Zevien nodded. The ingredients used in the Magician Growth Treatment were way more valuable than these fruits.

    "Even if we can''t benefit from the fruits, we can''t let them go," Zevien grinned. "Let''s get those fruits, and then we''ll hold an event in the n."

    "What kind of event?" Vernisia asked curiously.

    "I''ll tell youter. First, let''s get the fruits."

    "Alright."

    Zevien and Vernisia got out of their flying boat and floated in the air as Zevien put the flying boat inside his storage ring.

    The four teams looked at Zevien and Vernisia cautiously and looked at them with warnings in their eyes. They meant if Zevien and Vernisia descended, they would directly attack.

    "Vernisia, unleash your ves," Zevien grinned.

    "Are you sure? What if they die?" Vernisia asked as she hesitated.

    "Nah, it''s fine. They can definitely defend themselves. Nobody dies easily these days because of relics and magic items. Moreover, there are four 1st ss magicians."

    "I get it, haha," Vernisia chuckled as she understood Zevien''s intention and unleashed all tens of her shadow ves.

    Ten shadow orbs conjured in front of Vernisia before they spread and turned into shadows of ten gigantic magic beasts! All of them were shadows of 1st ss magic beasts!

    "Shit!!"

    The magicians on the ground panicked, and all of them used defense-type barrier spells before the ten gigantic beasts released their full-powered attack below at the same time!

    *BOOOOM¡­*

    "Now it''s my turn," Zevien grinned after he saw that all of them were still fine, with little injuries on their bodies.

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