Arpina attended the duels of the Artistry-level magicians on the third day of the exchange event, just as she had done on the previous days. Despite her lack of expectations, Arpina was still one of the senior magicians of Widia, and the duels among Artistry-level magicians were undoubtedly the highlight of the event.

These duels were particularly intense because spells were exchanged with just a short incantation or even a simple activation word, making the battles swift and dynamic. With no need for memorized spells, the duels could continue for long periods without losing their intensity.

This was also why the duels were divided between apprentice magicians and Artistry-level magicians. It was generally agreed that no matter what tricks an apprentice might try, it would be nearly impossible for them to defeat an Artistry-level magician.

The consciousness of a magician at the Artistry level was fundamentally different, leading to a drastically shorter time for spellcasting as their mana manipulation became more refined. If an Artistry-level magician remained calm and simply waited for an apprentice to exhaust their memorized spells, the apprentice’s slim chances of victory would vanish entirely.

And then, there was the existence of "Artistry Magic." This powerful form of magic could be used once a magician reached the peak of the novice stage. Some even described the Artistry stage as a process of honing one’s Artistry Magic, which defined what it meant to be an Artistry-level magician.

“Bloom!”

Just then, a woman with light pink hair shouted from one side of the arena. It was her Artistry Magic, "Blossom of Ecstasy."

Flowers bloomed densely across the ground around her opponent, and as the petals began to flutter, they turned as sharp as blades, sweeping over her adversary. As her opponent struggled to respond to the storm-like onslaught, a nearby magician extended their hand.

Without any incantation, the thousands of petals froze in place.

“Roseline wins! With this, Protal School claims victory in the duel.”

The pink-haired woman bowed courteously and left the arena.

Arpina also stood up, as the defeated magician had been a student of Widia.

She turned to the female magician who had been sitting beside her and said, “Could we talk for a moment?”

“What’s the matter?”

“The other day, you mentioned something about Tenelon. I’d like to hear more about that.”

Although Arpina had already advised Bervford to inquire about Tenelon at the upcoming conference, she was also interested in gathering information on her own.

“Well… If you wish, I don’t mind sharing the details.”

The woman smiled softly and stood up to follow Arpina.

“If you want more precise information, you’re welcome to come to our city and ask directly.”

The woman mentioned that there were remnants of the Black Tower held within their city.

“I thought you might prefer to ask them yourself, Arpina…”

“Hmm…”

As Arpina hesitated, the woman spoke again.

“It would be good for our students to interact as well. My disciple is quite curious about yours. It would be an opportunity to broaden their horizons by observing the magic of other schools.”

Arpina briefly thought of Leah, who spent most of her time secluded in the training room, and nodded.

“Swell.”

As Leon uttered the activation word of the spell he had memorized, the wooden sword floating in the air suddenly grew massive—three times his size.

This was the basic spell of the "Moonlight-Scattering Sword."

When Leon first encountered this magic, it had two significant issues.

One was that the proper magic formula was only half intact.

The other was that it demanded overwhelming talent and had a convoluted structure, making it risky to use. Mishandling the spell could easily result in mana distortion, damaging one’s core.

However, since Leon became an All-Attribute Constitution, these restrictions had somewhat lessened. Of course, this only applied to basic spells. He hadn’t dared to touch the advanced spells, which formed the core of this magic series.

Even though the basic spells were complex, they had their limits. Leon had enough talent to fill in the missing parts of the formulas through deduction. He also had plenty of reference spells stored within his orb.

Despite this, he hadn’t attempted to modify the spells until recently because there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

It was only after obtaining the wooden sword, which Kito claimed was a cursed sword, that Leon decided to attempt the calculations seriously.

He thought that if he could combine the sword’s abilities with the spell, it might prove quite useful.

Leon began to use up time inside the orb, fully dedicating himself to mastering the magic.

He attended the duels of his fellow disciples as needed, but after realizing that Robert wasn’t particularly concerned about his participation, he stopped attending other duels and secluded himself in the orb.

The first star of the Moonlight-Scattering Sword dealt with basic spells.

These were all spells that an apprentice magician could learn, and there were five in total.

The spells were all extremely simple.

The first was the Swell spell Leon had just used, which enlarged the sword.

The second was Pierce, a spell that launched the sword quickly to stab an opponent. It was so simple that it only outpaced basic telekinesis in speed.

Then there was Blade, which simply slashed, Fusion, which increased the number of swords, and Luna, which infused the sword with mysterious mana.

Leon had already learned Pierce and Swell.

He hadn’t had enough time to learn Blade yet, and the other two spells had a unique structure that made it difficult for even Leon to deduce the formulas.

The five spells were not meant to be used in combination but individually.

“Perhaps they can only be linked at the Artistry level.”

It seemed that the last spell, Luna, which infused the sword with mysterious mana, was the key to the basic magic.

Leon canceled the spell and retrieved the sword.

“It definitely consumes more mana, probably because I filled in the missing parts of the spell.”

Although Leon had learned Pierce and Swell, he had deduced the missing parts of the formulas himself, meaning they were slightly different from the original spells.

Judging by the significant mana consumption, it was clear that something was off.

The spell absorbed as much mana as he put in.

The more he infused, the bigger and faster the sword became.

“Is this really a spell that an ordinary magician can handle?”

It was clear that Leon had meddled with something he shouldn’t have.

“Should I just be glad that there’s no backlash?”

Leon put the wooden sword into his subspace and exited the orb.

He thought about the ongoing duels between the Artistry-level magicians.

He was curious about them, but that wasn’t why he had interrupted his training.

The duels were the most popular part of the exchange event, which meant that most people were drawn to watch them.

There couldn’t have been a better time for Leon to discreetly sell his items.

After leaving the orb, Leon slipped out of his accommodation and once again sought out a secluded spot to change his clothes. It wasn’t like he could change inside the building and then walk out.

As he found a deserted alley and reached for the orb, Leon suddenly froze.

A cold shiver ran down the back of his neck.

‘Detection magic!’

Leon felt the flow of mana sweeping over his body.

He swallowed nervously.

He had scouted the area thoroughly before entering, so what did it mean if someone had used detection magic while hiding, only to cast it when he reached a secluded spot?

‘How long have they been following me?’

Leon’s nerves were on high alert as he quickly retrieved a bundle of scrolls from his subspace.

E-rank Blink, Triple Fireball, Flame, Barrier.

D-rank Water Prison.

As a last resort, a B-rank Emergency Designation Teleport scroll.

“Infusion.”

Leon murmured the activation word for the mana infusion technique he had memorized, and as mana surged, something rushed toward him.

Sensing an unusual magic, Leon panicked.

He immediately grabbed the shield token he was carrying.

“Defensio!”

A barrier formed around Leon in an instant, but he didn’t stop there. He quickly infused mana into the barrier scrolls.

By the time four layers of barriers surrounded Leon, a powerful impact had already struck the shield token’s barrier.

Boom—Boom—Boom—

As the magic hit, the barriers began to shatter.

The token in Leon’s hand didn’t withstand a single spell and shattered. The barriers created by the scrolls were also broken one by one.

Leon instinctively jumped back as he saw the black mass that had pierced through all the barriers heading toward his previous position.

Boom—

With a dull sound, the magic struck the ground, smashing it, but the black, viscous substance didn’t disappear. It remained there, writhing in place, making Leon feel a strange sense of nausea.

“Hm?”

A voice filled with curiosity came from the shadows, and a figure emerged from the darkness.

As a man with red hair rose fully from the ground, Leon’s sense of danger peaked. He felt it instinctively.

‘An Artistry-level black magician….’

Leon had come prepared to deal with an Artistry-level magician, but now that he was actually facing one, he couldn’t help but feel tense.

The red-haired man glanced at the shattered remains of the token that had fallen to the ground in pieces.

“…So, it was you who interfered with our plans? I wasn’t sure because you looked like an ordinary person.”

“….”

Leon was at a loss for words.

So this guy had attacked without even being sure of his target?

He was completely insane.

“You must have a way of hiding your power. But you’re definitely not Artistry-level.”

As the man sneered, Leon didn’t hesitate and pulled out the wooden sword.

“Pierce!”

Having just come from training, two of the four slots in Leon’s memorized spells were filled with sword magic.

The wooden sword, infused with as much mana as Leon could muster, shot toward the man like an arrow.

Of course, Leon didn’t expect this attack to work on the man.

After all, he was an Artistry-level magician. This was merely a way to buy time.

‘I’ll use the wooden sword to seize the initiative, summon a guardian golem, and then, since that won’t be enough, I’ll throw all the E-rank scrolls to buy time and then summon Arpina’s magical creature….’

As Leon’s mind raced with plans, the man simply raised his hand toward the incoming wooden sword.

“Block.”

The black, viscous substance jumped up, forming a barrier in front of the man.

The tip of the wooden sword struck the barrier.

Thud—

“Guh…”

The man grimaced as soon as the wooden sword touched the barrier.

In an instant, the black substance scattered, and the wooden sword embedded itself in the man’s chest.

The man, his chest pierced, was sent flying and crashed into a wall.

Boom—

His body slid down and collapsed to the ground.

“….”

Leon stood there with his mouth agape.

“…What?”

In his hand was a green flute that he had just pulled out of his subspace.