When Leon cast a wide-area detection spell, he identified five individuals. Of course, there could be more, but if he hesitated any longer, it would be too late to act.

"Hold," Leon ordered, bringing his group to a stop and descending to the ground.

They landed in a forest where the shadows of massive trees were cast all around them.

"This place is just what the enemy prefers..." one of the academy students began to protest, but Leon quickly silenced them, "Shh."

Leon immediately merged into the shadow of a nearby tree, disappearing into it.

"Whoa," the academy students, except for Ria, gasped in surprise. The shadow blending technique Leon used was identical to the one employed by dark magicians, which sent a wave of unease through the group.

"Are you planning to fight?" one of the students asked, their voice tinged with nervousness.

Around that time, the five dark magicians reached their location.

Hiding in the shadows, Leon couldn’t gauge the level of one of them, but he realized that the others were all at the beginner level of arcane magic.

'One of them might be at the intermediate... or even advanced level?' Leon thought. However, it didn’t feel as threatening as before.

Leon emerged from the shadow of a tree near the dark magicians and immediately launched his wooden sword at them.

The strongest dark magician was positioned in the center of the group, making it difficult to target him directly.

"Pierce," Leon commanded.

The wooden sword, infused with magic, shot through the air like a beam of light toward one of the dark magicians.

The beginner-level dark magician, who first noticed Leon, hastily cast a defensive spell.

However, as soon as the sword made contact with the gelatinous barrier, it interfered with the spell's formation, as if static had been introduced, causing confusion. This brief moment of confusion quickly turned fatal.

The poorly formed gelatinous barrier was easily pierced. The sword embedded itself in the dark magician’s abdomen.

"Swell," Leon whispered.

The sword lodged in the abdomen suddenly expanded. The dark magician’s body was grotesquely torn apart, resulting in a gruesome death.

The enlarged sword disrupted the dark magicians' formation.

The dark magicians, initially bewildered by the magic that mimicked their own movement technique, quickly regained their composure and began hurling attack spells at Leon.

"Don’t try to block the sword; dodge it!" the leader of the dark magicians, a man who seemed to be in charge, quickly realized the abnormality of the sword.

The combined spells of the three beginner-level dark magicians were not a significant threat to Leon, who could simultaneously cast nine spells, but the leader’s spell posed a greater challenge.

The man with disheveled hair and dark circles under his eyes summoned a much larger gelatinous substance than the others.

'If I could have combined Pierce and Swell, it would have been much easier,' Leon thought, but he had to make do with what he had.

As the massive gelatinous substance divided into multiple parts and rushed toward him, Leon didn’t try to block it. Instead, he used a Blink Scroll to teleport to another location.

Leon immediately targeted the leader with a Grade-C scroll, Gravity Well.

“Damn it!” the man cursed as the intensified gravity pulled him to the ground, disrupting his spellcasting.

In the meantime, Leon threw five Grade-D scrolls at the remaining enemies. Having trained for three months, Leon had an abundance of Grade-D scrolls at his disposal. Although Grade-D scrolls didn’t have the power to deal a devastating blow to beginner-level arcane magicians, they were still effective.

Flames erupted around them, and long, sharp wind blades swept through the area.

While the dark magicians were busy defending against the scrolls’ magic, Leon retrieved his wooden sword and sent it flying again, causing the dark magicians to hurriedly retreat into their shadows.

“Ria!” Leon shouted.

Ria immediately understood and cast her spell.

“Light Flare!”

A blinding flash of light exploded, spreading throughout the area.

The dark magicians were forced out of their shadows, exposed once again.

“Fall,” Leon commanded.

Already prepared, Leon summoned lightning bolts that struck down on them.

But these were no ordinary apprentice magicians; they were experienced in battle.

"Defensio!" the dark magicians shouted, each pulling out a token from their robes.

The lightning bolts were blocked by the protective barriers that formed around them.

Leon recognized these artifacts designed to block arcane magic.

As the dark magicians deflected the spells, their attention briefly shifted toward the group where Ria was.

“A light attribute magician,” one of them noted.

That single comment made it clear to Leon that they had prioritized Ria as their primary target.

'Do they really have the luxury for that?' Leon thought, as he quickly retrieved a green potion bottle from his spatial storage.

It was one of thirty vials of poison he had taken from Forn’s secret laboratory, made from the venom extracted from Kito’s body. Though he hadn’t used it yet, considering it might be too easy to avoid if thrown directly at someone, the effectiveness of the betrayal poison mist had given him an idea for its use.

Leon threw four of the poison vials at the barriers surrounding the dark magicians.

Crash—

The vials shattered upon impact, spreading the green liquid across the barriers.

Sizzle—

As the barriers began to dissolve, Leon sent nine lightning orbs toward them.

“Damn it, block it! No matter what, block it! I’ll kill them all,” the leader of the dark magicians shouted in desperation.

The three beginner-level arcane magicians stepped in front of their leader, each casting three spells to block Leon’s magic, while the leader gathered his own power from behind them.

'Is he about to use arcane magic?' Leon wondered.

Meanwhile, the academy students attempted to cast spells at the dark magicians, but their attacks were all absorbed by the gelatinous substance protecting them.

Leon retrieved his wooden sword and hurled it once more.

“Bastion!” one of the dark magicians shouted, throwing a black stone in front of them.

The stone quickly expanded into a large barrier that shielded them from the attack.

It was a new artifact.

The wooden sword, vulnerable to artifacts, bounced off the stone barrier. Without its special abilities, Pierce was just a basic spell.

Calmly retrieving his sword, Leon threw another vial of poison.

Sizzle—

“No! My artifact!” one of the dark magicians screamed as the barrier began to dissolve.

However, by then, the leader had gained enough time to prepare his arcane spell and ordered his subordinates to step aside.

“Move out of the way!” the leader commanded.

Just before the leader could complete his incantation, Leon pulled out the Bell of Confusion and rang it.

Ding— Ding—

As the purple bell rang, the leader grimaced.

“Argh…” “Grr…”

The Bell of Confusion was another artifact that disrupted mental focus. The leader’s arcane spell faltered.

However, this mental disruption also affected Leon’s allies, and the bell could only be used once per day.

'It couldn’t be helped…'

Leon didn’t hesitate, launching his wooden sword once more, this time impaling one of the dark magicians blocking the front line.

“Fall.”

Boom— Boom— Boom—

Nine lightning bolts struck the disorganized group.

“Fall again.”

The lightning didn’t stop, continuing to rain down on them. Meanwhile, Leon pulled out another scroll from his storage.

It was a Grade-C scroll, Giant Rock.

Unlike the dozens of Grade-D scrolls, he had only ten Grade-C elemental attack scrolls.

As Leon infused the scroll with magic, a massive rock formed above the dark magicians and came crashing down.

Boom—

Even after waiting for a while, no one emerged from the rubble.

'Phew… That was close.'

Leon’s remaining magic power was nearly depleted. Of course, this didn’t include the amount he needed to save for flight.

Enhancing the power of the basic Pierce spell with extra magic had drained more energy than expected. And casting nine spells simultaneously took its toll as well.

“Unbelievable… I can’t believe it,” one of the academy students remarked as they approached after the battle.

“It’s hard to imagine this is even possible. We might be witnessing the early days of a transcendent magician…,” the student added in awe.

Leon remained silent.

“Are you okay?” Ria asked worriedly from beside him.

Leon assured her that he was fine, then used another spell to break apart the large rock.

Beneath it, the ground was stained with blood.

“Ugh…” one of the apprentice magicians, who wasn’t used to such sights, grimaced at the sight of the crushed bodies.

Leon retrieved the wooden sword, which remained unscathed.

He didn’t bother searching the bodies for spatial pouches, as they might contain tracking devices.

As the others began to acclimate to the grim scene, the highest-ranking student among them approached Leon.

“I’ll keep silent about the dark magic you used…”

Leon gave a bitter smile. Having used dark magic, he knew there was no going back to Widia.

'Well, I’ve already revealed my full strength, so it’s only natural.'

Just as Leon was about to say they needed to keep moving, a high-speed attack spell was launched at their group.

Both the Guardian Robe Leon wore and the necklace Ria had on began to glow simultaneously.

A protective barrier formed around Leon and Ria.

Boom—

The barrier withstood the impact, but it was a powerful and stealthy wind spell.

Leon managed to endure it, but Ria was thrown back, and the other students were torn apart, their blood splattering everywhere.

The protective barrier withstood the impact, but it was a powerful and stealthy wind spell.

Leon managed to endure it, but Ria was thrown back, and the other students were torn apart, their blood splattering everywhere.

The female mage who had launched the attack, holding a fan in her hand, appeared before them, her face filled with curiosity.

"A beginner level arcane magician with a group of mere apprentices?"

The green-haired woman with short hair folded her fan and lightly tapped her lips with its edge.

Leon’s senses were on high alert.

‘A mystic-level mage!’

Leon quickly pulled out a Blink Scroll.

As he appeared beside the unconscious Ria and picked her up, another wind spell rushed towards him. The magic was clearly wind-based, but its stealthiness made it extremely difficult to counter.

Thanks to the automatic detection of the Guardian Robe, which activated a barrier on its own, Leon was able to block the spell once again.

He was about to use his Golden Wings to accelerate and escape, but something caught his attention, causing him to hesitate.

"That defensive artifact seems impressive..."

The short-haired woman licked her lips, but suddenly, she was engulfed in searing heat.

Whoosh—

A massive firebird, large enough to envelop her, flew straight at the woman.

"Tch."

She swung her fan to ward off the firebird, but it didn’t waver.

With an annoyed expression, the heavily made-up woman leaped backward, retreating from the flames.

"Arpina, you wretch..."

"If you mess with ‘my students,’ then you’d better prepare to die."

Arpina, riding atop a cloud of wind, descended in front of Leon.

Whether it was “student” or “students,” Leon couldn’t be sure, but seeing her standing protectively in front of him brought a wave of relief.