Arpina furrowed her brow as she fled with hundreds of people in tow.

It wasn’t the act of running away itself that upset her.

She had noticed that a group was already pursuing them, directly following their escape route from the city.

The reason she was trying to slip away without using any flying artifacts was due to their opponents’ bothersome use of displacement magic.

Flying as a group was, in her mind, the best way to resist their pursuers' shadowy movement techniques that allowed them to blend into the darkness.

However, the speed at which they were being pursued was alarming.

“It seems like they had us surrounded,” she said.

“They must have prepared thoroughly before attacking,” replied Melrn, a magician who was beside Arpina. He was the master of Rowen and a mid-level mysterious magician.

“Surely… the Tower Master won’t be overwhelmed, right?” asked Dek, another mid-level mysterious magician.

“With Verford there as well, they should be able to hold out for a while,” Melrn replied, but Arpina had felt it from the moment the man in the robe cast his first spell.

He had already surpassed the beginner stage of Insight.

“Damn that Acrifa…”

“The only reason those crazy Tenneron would do something like this is because Acrifa broke through the barrier and reached mid-level Insight,” Melrn reasoned.

“But if we can stall for time, the other magic towers will send reinforcements…”

“Do you really think the other towers are going to help us right now?” Arpina interrupted, causing Dek to fall silent as he recalled the recent major conflict.

“…It’s a headache because of the mess Verford caused, but the other towers won’t ignore the Black Tower’s rampage for long.”

“Once they’re directly involved, they won’t be able to turn a blind eye.”

Currently, they were headed towards Meira, the closest magic city to Widia.

The plan was to seek temporary refuge there and, once reinforcements from the other towers arrived, return to Widia together to repel Tenneron.

In the meantime, they had to prevent the unnecessary deaths of academy students and disciples.

“It’s strange that Verford would make such a reckless decision…” Melrn began, but before he could finish his thought—

Boom—

Something struck the barrier surrounding Arpina’s group.

Arpina had been using a levitation spell to keep a large number of people in the air, while Melrn maintained the protective barrier. Whatever had attacked them was strong enough to shake that barrier.

This meant that in addition to the group pursuing them, there were high-level magicians lying in wait along their escape route.

Arpina quickly cast a detection spell and realized that the one who attacked them was at least mid-level in the mysterious stage.

And it wasn’t just one.

‘There are this many high-level opponents?’

Realizing that she was the only one who could hold them off, Arpina spoke.

“Dek, take over the levitation spell.”

Arpina transferred the magic to Dek and broke away from the group.

“Go. If you delay any longer, those chasing us from behind will catch up.”

“Master!” Ria cried out in alarm from the group.

Arpina smiled calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll rejoin you soon.”

Her plan was to slow down the enemies pursuing them and put more distance between them and the fleeing group.

She had somewhat anticipated that it would come to this.

That’s why she had already handed over the Tower Master’s belongings.

Arpina turned away swiftly.

Dek clenched his teeth and infused more mana into the levitation spell.

They continued traveling for a long time.

What had started in the early evening lasted until the early hours of the morning, with Dek flying tirelessly without rest.

However, even for a mysterious magician, casting a levitation spell over hundreds of people while fleeing had its limits.

Realizing that the signs of pursuit had faded, Dek consulted with Melrn and another low-level mysterious magician, Juben, before landing on a mountain.

“We’ll rest here for a while before we continue,” Dek announced to the group, who then began setting up makeshift rest areas in their respective groups.

Everyone understood that they would have to leave again as soon as Dek’s mana recovered in a few hours.

As Dek sat cross-legged to meditate and regain his strength, he kept a watchful eye on those around him. The group maintained their guard, knowing they couldn’t afford to relax just yet.

About 30 minutes later, Dek felt a subtle presence nearby.

‘An ambush?’

Dek immediately stood up.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

As he gathered his mana, Dek found the situation odd.

‘How do they know exactly where we are?’

The enemies they had encountered so far were likely distracted by Arpina, meaning these were new opponents.

As the group quickly sprang into action, magic began raining down on them.

Leon found himself among the regular disciples, scanning his surroundings. His heart was pounding oddly.

Since witnessing the collapse of the entrance residents' dormitory, he had felt this way.

Anxiety, tension, and a slight sense of excitement.

His body felt so alert that it seemed ready to spring forward at any moment.

Then—

“Prepare for battle!” Dek’s urgent voice rang out.

Leon immediately sensed that it was no longer possible to hide his abilities.

He quickly spotted Aaron making suspicious movements and, without hesitation, drew a wooden sword from his subspace and hurled it at him.

Once his mind was made up, he didn’t hesitate.

Aaron had been about to pull something out of his pocket and throw it at their allies when the wooden sword struck him in the neck.

“Gah…!”

He flailed for a moment before dying.

The wooden sword would absorb his core, but Leon didn’t care about that for a traitor. Neither did the dark magicians. Leon had already made his decision.

The black orb that Aaron had been holding was caught in mid-air by Leon’s telekinesis before it hit the ground.

The regular disciples around Leon, who had been hastily preparing for the ambush, stared at him in shock and confusion.

Leon ignored them and turned his attention back to the situation.

Aaron wasn’t the only one acting suspiciously.

Other students from Widia were displaying similar behaviors, pulling black orbs from their robes and throwing them at their fellow students.

Pop—

The orbs exploded, releasing a green mist.

Simultaneously, dark magicians emerged from hiding and unleashed their spells on the Widia group.

Chains, black spears, and dark slime rained down, surrounding the group.

The magic was primarily targeting the academy students, and Leon recognized it all too well.

It was the same magic that Porne and the red-haired man had used.

Boom! Boom!

“We’re under attack!”

“Defend yourselves!”

“All those at the arcane level, move to the front!”

The resting area quickly turned into a battlefield.

Fortunately, Dek had noticed the threat early, allowing them to respond in time.

“Salang,” Leon called out, summoning the wind elemental spirit from Arpina’s magic.

“Blow.”

Wind rose from the ground, swirling into the sky. Though the area covered was small, Leon created nine separate zones of wind simultaneously.

The green mist around him was swept upward, dissipating into the sky.

“Thunderlight.”

Nine orbs of electricity floated around Leon.

He directed the orbs at the enemies who had spread the mist.

Zap—

“Aaargh!”

Nine academy students, who had been traitors, convulsed as they were electrocuted and collapsed.

But there were still more traitors, and the attacks from the surrounding enemies were intense.

The situation was chaotic, with enemies and traitors mixed together.

Some of their allies had already fallen to the mist, their bodies melting as soon as they were enveloped by the green fog.

It was a deadly poison.

‘Is it poison extracted from Kito’s body…?’ Leon wondered.

“Disperse,” Leon commanded.

Floating slightly in the air, he slashed his finger downward.

He continued to target the traitors one by one with lightning strikes, while using the wind elemental to lift the poisonous mist into the air.

His mana was rapidly depleting, but he had no time to worry about that.

The poisonous mist spreading within their ranks was lethal, and he had to act quickly.

Leon took the lead in eliminating the traitors.

As he darted through their ranks, the academy students around him stared in awe.

“What… what is that…?”

“An arcane magician…?”

They couldn’t comprehend the sudden appearance of a boy at the arcane level.

Then one of the students noticed the electric orbs circling Leon and shouted.

“That’s lightning magic… It’s the Tower Master’s magic! So, he really did become the Tower Master’s disciple!”

“But casting nine spells at once…?”

“And he’s only 14?”

It was impossible for them to make sense of it.

But they didn’t have time to dwell on such thoughts for long.

The battle was still raging.

“Get your heads together! He’s on our side! Leave the enemies to the senior magicians, and let’s deal with the traitors!” one of the older students shouted.

Some of the people near Leon quickly began organizing themselves to deal with the situation, while others prepared themselves for the enemy’s next attack.

The chaos gradually began to subside.

The traitors were being eliminated one by one, and those who had figured out that the black orbs contained poison were carefully handling the situation with magic.

Most of the attackers were arcane-level magicians, so while many of their allies had been hit by the initial strike, the tide of battle was slowly turning in Widia’s favor.

For one, they had far greater numbers.

Even if most of their members were apprentice magicians, the sheer volume of their spells was enough to make their enemies falter.

The enemy’s plan to use the traitors to overcome their numerical disadvantage had failed.

Having dealt with around 20 traitors, Leon shifted his focus.

He noticed a dark magician heading toward a secluded area where some of the regular disciples were gathered.

The group had initially been spared from the assault, but it was soon discovered that they were vulnerable and few in number.

“Pierce.”

Leon quickly sent his wooden sword flying toward the target.

The arcane-level magician turned and hastily erected a barrier.

“Huh… what?”

Thud—

Before the man could finish his words, the wooden sword had already pierced through the unstable barrier and impaled his head.

“Leon… sir? What is this…?”

The regular disciples, frozen in shock, stared at Leon.

Leon didn’t have time to answer their questions.

After securing the regular disciples, Leon threw his wooden sword at another dark magician who was clashing with an allied magician, and used scrolls to bolster defenses where needed.

As Leon began responding more aggressively to the dark magicians, the battle quickly started to tilt in Widia’s favor.

Dek and the other three mysterious-level magicians were locked in a standoff with a square-jawed man who appeared to be leading the attackers, along with another enemy.

The enemy’s ranks included one high-level and one mid-level mysterious magician.

Dek and his allies were struggling to hold off their attacks.

The square-jawed man scowled as he realized the battle was turning against him.

“Lucky you,” he muttered.

“…You failed in your ambush, and yet you still talk big,” Dek replied, recognizing that the attackers had likely discovered their location through the traitors. It wasn’t something they had been aware of before the battle broke out.

Even so, having successfully repelled the ambush, Dek felt some relief.

Melrn, however, remained tense and asked a question, his tone grim.

“Is Verford a traitor?”

He had even dropped the honorifics when referring to Verford, indicating he was almost certain.

“…Retreat,” the square-jawed man ordered, choosing not to respond as he quickly vanished into his shadow. The other magicians followed suit.

Dek didn’t pursue them but instead turned to Melrn.

“Do you really think Verford is a traitor, Melrn?”

“It was something I suspected after Verford made such reckless decisions… but now that there’s been an actual betrayal…”

“So, you’re certain now?”

“Yes,” Melrn replied, his expression grave.

Dek’s face grew serious as well.

“If that’s true, then the Tower Master…”

“….”

Melrn fell silent.

As the tension hung in the air, another magician approached and reported the casualties.

"Thirty-one people died in the initial ambush and from the poisonous mist, and nineteen are injured."

"So the death toll is higher."

"The poisonous mist melted their bodies as soon as it touched them, so there was nothing we could do. It was a deadly poison, but considering that, the casualties are relatively low."

"And the injured?"

"They’re in a condition that can be treated with healing magic."

"Then we should leave as soon as the wounded are taken care of."

"But what if there are more traitors?"

Dek rubbed his temples and turned away.

"Search the bodies of the traitors."

As some of the magicians began searching the traitors' bodies, Dek’s gaze fell on another part of the group.

He noticed a young boy with black hair whom others were hesitant to approach.

Dek understood the meaning behind their cautious gazes.

It was reverence.

The feeling one has when confronted with something incomprehensible.

‘I felt the same when I was young,’ Dek thought, remembering his childhood friend who had been personally taken by a transcendent magician from the Empire.

Seeing his friend’s overwhelming talent had not incited jealousy or envy in Dek, only awe.

‘At 14 years old, to be at the arcane level… That’s faster than him. Has anyone ever reached the arcane stage at 14?’

He could understand why they were staring.

Shaking his head, Dek approached Leon.

“Did the Tower Master teach you?” he asked, though he knew that just receiving instruction wouldn’t account for such impossible progress.

It was a question born out of a need to make sense of the situation.

“I received brief guidance,” Leon replied simply, having little else to say.

Given that he had openly used Glory’s Lightning, there was no other explanation he could offer.

But even that answer didn’t fully explain what Leon had accomplished.

A 14-year-old arcane magician, capable of nine-layered incantations, wielding a wooden sword and scrolls…

Dek had many questions but chose to leave them unasked for now. What mattered most was that Leon was on their side.

‘Did the Tower Master know about this…?’

It was highly likely. The Tower Master himself must have recognized Leon’s potential and taken the time to instruct him, despite being busy with his own training.

“…Take this,” Dek said, handing Leon the extradimensional pouch.

Leon accepted it with a questioning look, and Dek explained.

“It contains the Tower Master’s belongings. Since you’ve inherited his teachings, it’s only right that you have it.”

Dek then turned away and joined the others who were searching the traitors' bodies.

One of the magicians handed Dek something they found—a black brooch.

“It seems they were using this to track our location. Should we search everyone else as well?”

“….”

Dek, feeling a headache coming on, walked over to Melrn and Juben.

“What do you think about splitting up the group and heading out separately?” Dek suggested after a moment of thought.

Melrn frowned, considering the idea.

“If we split into smaller groups, it’ll be easier to identify any remaining traitors, and it will confuse the enemy,” Dek continued.

“Let’s do it,” Melrn agreed.

They quickly divided the group into three smaller factions and set off in different directions.