"I have something to do."

Arpina wasn’t disheartened by Leon's refusal.

She understood the reason why.

Arpina glanced at the human form of the strange bird that was asleep.

"Is it because you have to find it within a month?"

Arpina had overheard the conversation between Kito and Leon.

Leon nodded, lifting Kito onto his head. After using magic recklessly without a core, he had to find one within a month.

Naturally, he couldn’t store it inside the orb.

Arpina clicked her tongue in regret.

"The Mystic-class dark magicians will chase after me, so scattering might be one way."

"Wait a moment."

Leon used a search spell.

"That guy should be dead..."

Arpina thought Leon was trying to locate any surviving dark magicians, but that wasn’t the case. When Leon suddenly flew up to a spot on the ground that resembled a dugout, Arpina stopped talking and watched quietly.

Leon hovered over the dirt for a while before stopping at a particular spot.

"Dark Hound."

Leon called forth the earth elemental summon, which began to dig.

Soon, a silver broomstick with faded colors emerged.

Seeing it, Leon's face showed a tinge of regret.

"Persistent fellow… It could be repaired by a magical engineer."

Despite the impact of a grand spell, the artifact, an A-rank item useful even for Insight-level magicians, hadn’t been destroyed. It was only damaged.

Leon stole a glance at Arpina.

Noticing the meaning behind his gaze, Arpina chuckled.

"You can have it."

"Thank you."

"And take this too."

Arpina handed Leon a book.

[Arpina’s Law of Harmony.]

It was an advanced magic book, covering upper-level magic of the four basic elements—fire, water, wind, and earth—along with wood and electricity. It extensively dealt with magic for these six elements and how to harmonize them.

Leon, who had given up on obtaining multi-element magic as a reward, was thinking of creating new magic that linked various elements. This magic that dealt with harmony was sure to be a great help.

Summoning powerful creatures of the six elements alone made it at least a C-rank magic book.

"Consider it a parting gift."

"… Is it okay for me to accept this?"

"You’ve already learned my magic, right? It seems like you’re putting it to good use?"

Seeing Leon carefully accept the book, Arpina hid her satisfied expression.

‘If he learns this too, he might no longer be just my student.’

Hiding her ulterior motives, Arpina glanced at Ria and smiled bitterly.

"I’m already worried about how much she’ll blame me when she wakes up."

"Please speak well of me. I’ll come to visit."

"Sure."

The golden wings attached to Leon's back flapped.

"Once you’ve completed your task, come to the empire and find the Astellia faction."

Leon mentioned that he was heading to the Forest of Beasts in the west. While he didn’t reveal what his plans were after that, it was clear he couldn’t keep evading Teneuron’s pursuit forever.

Though they could wait for Teneuron to retreat into the shadows once again, as long as the master of Teneuron’s tower had reached the Insight Intermediate level, it wouldn’t be easy to shake him off.

And it would be a waste for someone with Leon's talent to stay hidden for too long.

"… Are you confident you can avoid being tracked?"

"Yes."

Arpina looked at Leon with a mix of regret and concern.

"Will you come back?"

"I will."

The dark magician, Hayden, along with eight other magicians, was chasing after a boy of the Beginner Mystic rank who was fleeing with golden wings.

Among the eight dark magicians, Hayden had reached the Advanced Mystic level, while the other seven were at the Beginner Mystic level. Even though the Mystic-class magicians had split up to capture Arpina, there were still enough of them to easily capture and restrain a single Beginner Mystic magician.

"Can a magician be this sneaky?"

"This is the first time I’ve seen someone more cunning than us dark magicians."

They had initially mocked the black-haired boy when they saw him floating in the air as if waiting for them.

But then, as if magic wasn’t something to be conserved, he unleashed nine spells in rapid succession and fled with a flap of his golden wings.

When they caught up again, he would already be brimming with mana and would unleash another barrage of nine spells. In the chaotic exchange of magic, one of their companions was killed with a wooden sword embedded in his neck.

After witnessing that, he fled once again.

Sometimes, his trail would disappear completely, only to be found in a place they had already passed. He must have had some sort of stealth artifact.

Having done this over ten times, they were beyond frustrated—they were utterly exhausted. Originally a group of twelve dark magicians, they were now down to eight.

"Damn it, I can’t take this anymore."

"Do we really have to chase that brat all the way?"

"If we fail too, after failing to capture Arpina, what do you think the boss will say?"

"But we’re about to reach a civilian city."

"We have to catch him before then. If he hides in a civilian city, we’ll have a real headache."

The civilian city of Silin was just ahead. In a civilian city, no one could openly use magic.

Even though Teneuron had boldly invaded Widia, it wasn’t necessary to make an enemy of the entire kingdom.

Of course, just because they couldn’t openly use magic didn’t mean that dark magicians couldn’t secretly kill anyone. In fact, a person might be more likely to die without even being able to defend themselves.

However, this didn’t apply to the Beginner Mystic boy.

"Hey! There he is, waiting for us."

He was standing there with his palm raised, as if waiting for them. They already knew what that gesture meant.

Boom—

Nine lightning bolts fell.

They were accustomed to blocking lightning, but they soon realized that one of the bolts carried an unusual power.

It was the power of a Beginner Mystic level spell.

Only then did they notice that the boy was holding a scroll in his other hand.

Hayden was struck by the Beginner Mystic level lightning bolt and fell to the ground.

Thud—

Hayden’s body hit the ground, lifeless. One of the dark magicians who had been staring in disbelief at Hayden's falling body spoke up.

"Hey... hey, let’s get out of here! He’s a monster."

"Was he hiding his power?"

"It’s the power of a scroll, you idiot!"

"Where can you even get a scroll like that?"

"How should I know!"

As they fled, the boy was now the one pursuing them.

In an instant, the situation had reversed.

"Get to the ground!"

They hurriedly descended to the ground to use their specialty, the shadow blending technique, and scattered in all directions.

Leon, who had also landed on the ground, smiled slyly as the eight Beginner Mystic magicians fled.

He regretted using his only B-rank magic amplification scroll, but now that he had the chance to thoroughly wipe out his pursuers, he couldn’t afford to be frugal.

Leon casually searched Hayden’s body and took the spatial pocket he found there. His actions exuded confidence.

Taking down the remaining Beginner Mystic magicians one by one was an easy task for Leon. Although he was at the Beginner Mystic level, he had already surpassed the level of a magician of that rank. His inherent magic skills were superior, and the artifacts he possessed were on a different level.

‘I’ve been facing opponents of much higher levels until now.’

Surviving those encounters had been lucky enough.

‘Let’s not get complacent.’

It seemed that regaining his composure had made him overly excited without realizing it. Leon wiped the smile off his face and immediately used the shadow blending technique to hide in the shadows.

Leon hunted down the dark magicians one by one, retrieving pouches from their corpses.

"Ah, you devil…"

Hearing that from the last remaining dark magician gave Leon a strange feeling.

"To you guys, being called a devil must be a compliment, right?"

"Our boss won’t let you go."

"Do you think an Insight magician would care about your deaths?"

"…"

It was just something he said, but there was no response. Maybe they really didn’t care.

Well, even Lairda was obsessed with his own training.

Leon drove a wooden sword into the dark magician's chest.

Leon pretended to head towards the civilian city but then immediately flew towards the Forest of Beasts in the west.

It took him a week just to reach it. And that was with him replenishing his mana constantly inside the orb.

Near the Forest of Beasts in the west, there was a free city called Crest.

Leon changed into a different robe while inside the orb and entered the city. Unlike other civilian cities, the guards in Crest didn’t pay much attention to the appearance of those entering and leaving.

It was, after all, a free city.

The streets were filled with adventurers of all kinds. Mercenaries and knights equipped with weapons were a common sight, and low-level magicians could occasionally be seen. These were wandering magicians who had left their magical towers.

They gathered in nearby taverns to drink or linger in front of low-tier weapon shops and armor stores.

The atmosphere was lively and free, unlike the quiet magic cities.

After wandering around for a bit, Leon, with his robe pulled low over his head, was standing inside the adventurer's guild, facing a receptionist.

The woman at the desk stood up abruptly.

"What? A third-rank apprentice?"

Her voice was loud enough that the other adventurers inside turned to look.

Leon pulled his robe down further over his head.

To find Kito’s core, he had to delve deep into the Forest of Beasts in the west. Before doing that, he chose to become an adventurer to gather information about the forest.

The receptionist had told him that he could quickly earn a bronze adventurer’s badge if he proved his skills. With that, he figured he could move in and out of the entrance to the Forest of Beasts with ease.

Leon concealed his rank as a third-rank apprentice.

In reality, there was no longer any need to hide his rank.

He had already far surpassed the abilities of those at his rank, so showing himself as a Beginner Mystic would be no different than concealing his true power.

However, if a Beginner Mystic boy suddenly appeared in a free city, Teneuron might take notice. Although this city was far from Widia and Meira, there was no harm in being cautious.

‘The difference between an apprentice and a Mystic is huge… third-rank should be fine, right?’

…or so he thought, but the reaction was unexpected.

Were wandering magicians not very skilled?

"Please wait a moment!"

The receptionist quickly looked him up and down, then exited the desk and went up the stairs to the second floor.

Soon, she returned with a man whose face was covered with a thick beard.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Maxius, the guild master."

He bowed politely.

"A third-rank apprentice magician?"

Leon, who was used to the world of magicians where people would immediately cast a search spell to assess each other’s rank, was taken aback by the respectful attitude.