Leon was feeling slightly troubled.

‘I don’t have any magic that can deal with multiple enemies at once…’

Since he had never faced fifty opponents at a time, he hadn’t realized it before, but he lacked area-of-effect spells.

‘I need to learn Mystic magic quickly,’ he thought.

While he was pondering this, the Guardian Robe activated.

Leon turned his head and saw Sengor holding his sword, looking shocked as the blade was deflected. When his companions charged in, Leon floated up into the air.

The Guardian Robe could only block a single attack. The fact that one of its magical circles had been used up by that crude slash made Leon's expression darken.

Leon glanced at Daif with a questioning look. Daif, still bewildered, stammered out a response.

"Th-these guys are lowlifes. I didn’t think they’d go this far, even against a magician..."

Leon began to understand Sengor's party’s mindset. They had never encountered a Mystic magician before. They assumed Leon was using memorized spells and that he would need a long time to chant.

Even though Leon had cast nine consecutive lightning strikes, they hadn’t fully grasped the significance. They simply thought he needed time to recover after using such powerful magic.

As Leon floated out of reach, Sengor hastily dropped his weapon and knelt.

Leon immediately sent an electric orb that had formed on his fingertip flying toward Sengor.

Zap—

"Arghhhh!"

Sengor’s body convulsed violently as the electricity coursed through him. He collapsed to the ground, his hair standing on end, smoke rising from his body.

Leon looked down at Sengor with a cold expression. He was certain that sparing him wouldn’t lead to anything good.

"W-wait a minute!"

Just as Leon created four more orbs, a desperate voice cut through the tension. It was the only female member of Sengor's party, who stepped away from the others and clasped her hands together.

"I-I didn’t want to betray you, Magician! I only followed orders because I didn’t know what would happen to me if I didn’t. Please, show mercy just this once..."

"What are you talking about, you ugly old hag?" Karin interrupted, her voice dripping with contempt.

"When you were happily cheating others with Sengor, but now you’re pretending you were forced into it?"

Karin ran her hand through her hair, her expression full of disbelief.

"We know all about your crimes, so try making excuses."

"...."

The woman fell silent. Being so close to death, the fact that she could say nothing more probably meant she had no defense left.

Just as the conversation between Karin and the woman ended, one of the adventurers turned and tried to run away.

Leon, without hesitation, threw the four orbs at them. All of them fell to the ground, lifeless.

No matter how vile they were, four lives had been snuffed out in an instant by the simple spells of a magician.

Perhaps that’s why Daif was watching Leon with a tense expression.

"..."

Leon took a moment to look at the dead adventurers, steadying his breathing.

‘Killing them was the right thing to do.’

There was no way these people would have reflected on their actions if spared.

But as he saw these adventurers fall so easily compared to a magician, Leon couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. The power to kill people as easily as stepping on an ant evoked more discomfort than a sense of omnipotence.

Leon realized once again the vast gap that separated him from these people.

"I apologize. I didn’t even realize they were planning to ambush you..."

"Stand up."

Leon, forcing his expression to soften, descended from the air and landed on the ground.

"It was my mistake too, getting so carried away that I led us this deep into the forest."

Seeing Daif tremble with fear, Leon sighed and spoke.

"Let’s part ways here."

"What? You mean..."

"Don’t get any strange ideas."

Leon pulled out a green flute from his pocket and handed it to Daif. It was a D+ rank artifact that could summon a guardian golem.

"This... this is..."

"Blow the flute, and a golem will appear to protect you. It should give you enough time to escape even if you encounter a large group of monsters."

While the artifact was no longer of much use to Leon, who planned to create his own golems, it would be more than sufficient to protect Daif's party as they made their way out of the second zone. Most good artifacts required magic power to use, so this flute, which could be used without such power, was a valuable tool for a group needing to escape.

Leon was now planning to head deeper into the Forest of Beasts. Having displayed his power, there was no longer any reason to hold back.

"Are you sure it’s okay to give us something so precious? We’ve only shown you how incompetent we are..."

"It’s fine. I’m sorry I can’t escort you back myself."

Leon placed the flute in Daif’s hand.

"N-no, we’ll treasure this flute as a family heirloom!"

"Why would you keep it as a family heirloom? It’s meant to be used to protect the party."

"It’s not that valuable. Just use it in an emergency to escape. And... I trust you’ll speak well of me to the guild."

"Of course, don’t worry."

Daif nodded quickly, catching on.

"I’ll be careful with my words."

As Leon rose into the air again and began to turn away, Karin called out from behind him.

"Will we see you again?"

Leon looked back to see Daif holding her back, a familiar scene. Leon gave a small, intentional smile.

"Maybe someday, if the opportunity arises."

With that, Leon flew off, heading deeper into the forest.

Leon didn’t stop as he continued deeper into the Forest of Beasts.

The endless green expanse stretched out below him, the varying sizes of the trees adding depth to the landscape.

From above, Leon could clearly see the movements of the monsters. It was as if they were preparing for battle, moving busily with purpose.

They gathered at specific points, formed formations, and even built nests, with some standing guard.

Taking in these sights, Leon flew until dusk began to fall.

He had entered a denser part of the forest.

‘Is this the third zone?’

Since flying monsters only appeared from the fourth zone onwards, there was no problem continuing his flight even at night.

Leon replenished his magic power with the orb and flew until he reached the edge of the third zone before stopping.

‘Just in case, I’ll wait until morning to continue.’

After confirming that there were no orc packs nearby, Leon descended and sat cross-legged. He chewed on dried meat to pass the time, using his cloaking cloak to hide whenever he sensed monsters passing by.

After spending the night quietly, Leon took to the air again at dawn.

One rest in the forest was enough.

"Thunderbolt."

As a griffon pursued him, Leon shot an electric orb at it, easily fending it off.

Realizing that flying monsters weren’t yet a serious threat, Leon continued flying without worry, even as night fell.

He had been flying for about five days.

In terms of zones, he had reached what could be considered the fifteenth zone.

No adventurer had ever ventured this far, so it wasn’t likely to have an official name.

At this point, the magical energy in the forest grew thicker. While still not comparable to the space within the orb, it was denser than the usual environment.

Leon was now fleeing from ten massive monsters chasing him.

Each was about five meters long, with bronzed bodies covered in tough scales.

Their long necks ended in crocodile-like heads with fiery red eyes that exuded wildness.

"Kito."

"Mm?"

When Leon called her, Kito, who was lounging on his head, responded sleepily.

"What are those?"

"They’re called drakes."

Just then, one of the drakes opened its mouth and spewed a stream of fire toward Leon.

Leon hastily used the acceleration of his golden wings to escape the flames’ reach.

He had already tried attacking them with magic, but while it seemed to have some effect, it wasn’t enough to kill them outright.

He might be able to handle one drake, but not ten.

That was why Leon was fleeing in a panic.

Fortunately, the drakes weren’t fast flyers.

This meant he could evade them.

‘I’m almost at the place Kito mentioned.’

Leon focused on dodging the drakes while using the orb to maintain his speed.

As he approached the area Kito had described, the very air around him seemed to change.

It felt as if the entire forest was holding its breath.

The color of the forest also changed drastically. The green leaves darkened until they appeared almost black. The trees here were much taller than those he had seen before.

The sense of having entered a truly deep and dangerous area made Leon proceed with extreme caution.

Kito had said she had hidden her core in a cave within this zone.

Following Kito’s guidance, Leon lowered his altitude, flying just above the densely packed trees when suddenly, he felt a powerful presence.

"A cheeky little thing has dared to enter my territory."

Then, something enormous began to rise before Leon’s eyes.

Its scales scraped against each other, producing a sharp, metallic sound. The creature’s body, which had been hidden beneath the trees, grew and grew.

In an instant, three heads rose to the height where Leon had been flying. Each head was shaped like a snake, large enough to swallow Leon whole. The body connected to these heads was long and serpent-like.

As the three heads opened their mouths and roared, the very air vibrated.

The roar was a chilling mix of a sharp screech and a deep growl, as if the air itself was being torn apart. Green liquid dripped from the creature’s sharp fangs.

Leon’s body instinctively froze in fear.

The creature’s six golden eyes focused intently on Leon.

Leon’s heart began to pound. This was the warning sign he had always experienced in moments of extreme danger.

As the monster’s gaze raked over Leon, it radiated primitive fury and hunger, but there was also a cold, calculating intelligence in those eyes.

Should he flee or fight?

Just as Leon was steeling himself for a decision and taking a deep breath, the creature suddenly spoke.

"Sister?"

"..."

The sharp, predatory gaze softened in an instant.

Kito, still lounging on Leon’s head, spoke nonchalantly.

"Oh, so you’re the one who took over my territory."

"Yes, that’s right, heh heh..."

What’s this?

Why does it look so gentle now?