Meisen scratched his chin, his gaze settling calmly on Leon.

"Do you accept?"

Leon glanced briefly at Fez. When he first arrived in the Elven Forest, he’d held back on his detection magic to avoid offending anyone. But now, with Fez openly challenging him, Leon assessed his level.

Fez was a high-level advanced mage, roughly equivalent to Leon’s own current rank.

Leon felt confident—unless he was facing a transcendent mage, Fez posed no serious threat to him.

Still…

"I came here for the branch of the World Tree, and this delay is stretching on…" Leon sighed and said, "Let’s make it quick."

"..."

He briefly considered sending Zirka instead, but decided that handling this himself would be faster.

Fez’s expression tightened, but he’d been the one to initiate the challenge in the first place.

With a nod to Meisen, Fez said, "Your evasion skills are impressive. However, as a member of the clan under our lord’s protection, I couldn’t let this go without challenging you."

Leon nodded slightly, though he had no particular desire to understand Fez’s reasoning.

"...Understood."

He retracted his golden wings into his dimensional pocket. Using Primal Radiance was out of the question.

Fez took a deep breath, then offered, "Would you like to rest first? You must have exhausted some mana in the duel with our lord."

"...I’ll be fine."

Though Primal Radiance had consumed a significant amount of mana, he had more than enough left to handle Fez.

"In that case… let’s begin…"

"Thunderburst."

Before Fez could finish speaking, Leon instantly summoned ten orbs of lightning around him.

With his multi-attribute core, Leon’s calculation speed far surpassed that of a mage at Fez’s level. Though incomparable to a transcendent mage, Leon’s speed was well above Fez’s.

Despite performing a tenfold incantation, Leon showed no delay.

Ten lightning orbs formed behind him, filling the space at his back with electric energy.

Each orb was now as large as a fist, a size increase that reflected his growth to high-level advanced mage.

Leon picked just three orbs and launched them at Fez. The orbs sliced through the air, crackling sharply as they sped toward him.

Leon didn’t bother correcting Fez’s earlier comment, which implied Leon’s offensive magic might be weak.

Fez reacted quickly, startled, and began chanting.

"Reoma..."

Mana swirled around Fez as a sturdy wall of earth rose before him, a defensive spell designed to cover a wide area.

The mana residue suggested he was planning to create additional layers of earth walls, but the lightning reached him faster.

While it was true that lightning magic was typically weak against earth, Leon’s charged Thunderburst tore through the earth wall on contact.

Leon’s talent in enhancing spell potency and his D-grade mana quality combined effectively with Glory’s Thunder, which was designed for high-impact attacks.

The shattered earth wall emitted crackling currents, spreading electricity into the surroundings.

Had Leon released all ten lightning orbs at once, the shockwave would have triggered a chain reaction, detonating beyond his control.

This was why he had limited himself to only three orbs.

"Argh…"

Fez winced and staggered back, his body faintly trembling as though pricked by residual electric currents.

He attempted to retreat from the affected area, but Leon intercepted him with another barrage of lightning orbs.

Fez’s attempt to turn in another direction was met by yet another orb closing in on him.

Within moments, seven orbs had surrounded Fez on all sides.

Leon spun the orbs around him in circles, signaling he could strike at any time.

"..."

The duel ended in a single exchange. Fez, unable to move, wore an expression of thinly veiled bitterness and self-reproach.

If this sparring match had been a simple exchange, Leon wouldn’t have ended it so abruptly with a tenfold incantation. But he had no intention of dragging things out with Fez.

"I… concede…" Fez forced out, clenching his jaw.

The gathered elves looked tense, their faces stiff as they watched Fez, who hadn’t even managed a proper counterattack before declaring defeat.

Meisen sighed and stepped forward.

"Didn’t I tell you to stop?"

Fez bowed his head, his voice trembling. "Forgive my display of foolishness."

"No need."

Meisen didn’t blame him.

Amid the tense silence, another elf stepped forward from the crowd.

"I…"

"Enough."

Meisen cut him off firmly. His tone left no room for further challenges.

Turning to the other elves, Meisen spoke concisely.

"All of you, disperse."

With that single command, the elves began to withdraw. Meisen nodded at Leon.

"Let’s go."

Leon, Zirka, and Ria approached as Meisen enveloped Leon in mana.

In an instant, they ascended into the air.

"Are you okay?" Ria asked carefully.

"...Yes, I’m fine."

Ria seemed to notice Leon’s slightly tense expression, but understanding his intention to be cautious here, she didn’t press further.

Then, as they flew, Meisen broke the silence.

"Do you know who the founder of our clan is?"

"No."

What was he about to say…? Meisen’s unexpected question made Leon slightly anxious.

"Our founder lived during an ancient era… the one humans refer to as the Age of Ancients. Back then, before our clans had divided, he lived among humans."

"So back then, humans and elves coexisted in harmony?"

Meisen nodded.

"Do you wonder why we understand your language? It’s a legacy from that time. Our current magical system also originated from a single lineage. It was only when our ancestors began to separate that elves and humans developed different systems."

Leon hadn’t heard this before—that elven and human magic stemmed from a common root.

But it wasn’t surprising.

Though brief, their duel had demonstrated that the fundamentals of their magic were similar. The only significant difference was the elves’ affinity for earth and wood elements.

"You must understand how difficult it is to create a magical system. Even creating a single spell is a tremendous feat, but creating an entire system demands extraordinary effort and natural talent."

"I agree."

"Our founder was gifted in all elements."

"All elements…?"

"Yes, including both light and dark."

Meisen turned and gave Leon a contemplative look, a trace of what seemed like expectation in his eyes—or was Leon imagining it?

"Perhaps, as a young man, he resembled you."

"..."

Leon didn’t respond. Meisen had likely figured it out.

‘Aside from Kito, he might know the most about me by now.’

For a moment, Leon wondered if he’d revealed too much to this king.

Yet, if Meisen had intended to threaten him after discovering the magic sword’s presence, he would’ve done so already. And even after recognizing Leon’s rune magic abilities, he hadn’t reacted with hostility.

Instead, Meisen had compared Leon to their founder, showing something close to respect.

‘It’s too soon to let my guard down, though…’

Meisen observed Leon’s silence for a moment, then turned his gaze away and spoke.

"Well, there’s no harm in being cautious."

His tone softened, losing its earlier edge.

"I didn’t expect a figure like you to suddenly appear in our village. Perhaps I should call it fortune…"

"I’m not as exceptional as you seem to think."

Meisen chuckled and shook his head.

"You said the same thing before using rune magic. Revealing your skills, then downplaying them afterward, is hardly genuine. I’m sure you’ve been frustrated, being led around here in a foreign place…"

Meisen seemed to have sensed the emotions Leon had channeled during his duel with Fez. Leon’s use of Primal Radiance had indeed stemmed from Meisen’s unexpected pressure.

Meisen laughed heartily.

"Thinking back, I regret not being kinder from the start. If you had requested an alliance, I’d have accepted without hesitation."

As he spoke, they neared the towering tree that pierced through the clouds.

Meisen began descending gradually.

"We’re almost there."

With a sidelong glance at Leon, Meisen added, "Now that I think about it, your cautious nature is something I haven’t seen in a while."

"As you said, I’m simply being careful in unfamiliar territory."

"I may have been somewhat forceful, but you should know I meant you no harm."

Throughout, Meisen’s attitude had straddled the line between courtesy and impudence. But in the world of mages, respect was relative.

It was the same even now.

‘Why the sudden change in attitude?’

Even if he acknowledged Leon’s talents, Leon was still only a high-level mage.

For Meisen, a transcendent mage who stood far above Leon in understanding and influence, there was no need to lower himself to this extent.

‘Hopefully, he’s not planning to ask for something strange…’

Coming to the Elven Forest had been a carefully considered decision, one that would not have been made if not for the magic sword’s unusual response.

Taking on another request here was not part of Leon’s plan.

But strength was necessary to say no. Only when he was certain of his power could he turn down any demand outright.

As soon as he left the forest, Leon resolved to devote himself even more to his training.