Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

EP.36 Invasion of Widia (2)

Arpina frowned as she fled with hundreds of people.

It wasn’t the fact of fleeing that upset her.

She had noticed that there was a group immediately pursuing them as they escaped to the back of the city.

The reason Arpina was sneaking away without any other flying artifacts was because their movement magic was bothersome.

She thought that flying together as a group was the best way to resist their shadow-stealth movement technique.

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

“It seems they had us surrounded.”

“They seem to have prepared thoroughly for this invasion.”

The magician next to Arpina answered.

It was Merlin, Rowen’s master.

He was a mid-rank mystic magician.

“Surely… the Tower Master won’t be overwhelmed, right?”

Another mid-rank mystic magician, Deke, also spoke.

“With Berford there, they should be able to hold out somehow…”

Arpina had sensed it from the moment the robed man first used magic.

He had long surpassed the beginner rank of Insight.

“That bastard Acrifa…”

“The only reason those madmen from Tenelon would do something like this is because Acrifa broke through the wall and reached mid-rank Insight.”

“Still, if we buy time, other magic towers will come to our aid…”

“Do you think other magic towers will help us now?”

When Arpina asked, Deke fell silent for a moment.

He was reminded of the major conflict that had occurred recently.

“…It’s troublesome that Lord Berford caused an incident, but the Black Tower won’t hold back when they’re rampaging like this.”

“If we get directly involved, it won’t be easy for them to ignore us.”

They were heading to Meira, the closest magical city to Widia.

They planned to take refuge there for a while, and once reinforcements from other magic towers arrived, they would return to Widia to repel Tenelon.

Until then, they had to prevent the meaningless deaths of the academy students and disciples.

“But it’s quite a coincidence that Lord Berford made such a decision…”

Merlin was about to speak when—

Boom—

Something struck the barrier surrounding Arpina’s group.

Arpina was using levitation magic to lift the large group, while Merlin maintained the barrier, but the attack was powerful enough to shake it.

This meant that a high-ranking magician had anticipated their escape route and was waiting.

Using detection magic immediately, Arpina realized that the attacker was at least a mid-rank mystic magician.

And there wasn’t just one mid-rank mystic magician.

‘So many high-ranking individuals…’

Feeling that she was the only one who could stop them, Arpina spoke.

“Deke… Take over the levitation magic.”

After transferring the magic to Deke, Arpina stepped out of the group.

“Go. If you delay, those chasing us will catch up.”

“Master!”

Ria exclaimed in surprise from within the group.

Arpina smiled leisurely.

“I’ll join you soon, so don’t worry.”

She intended to use this opportunity to widen the gap between the pursuing enemies and the escaping group.

She had somewhat anticipated this outcome from the beginning.

Handing over the Tower Master’s belongings was for that reason.

Arpina immediately turned around.

Deke gritted his teeth and infused more magic into the levitation spell.

They continued to move for a long time.

Deke flew without rest from early evening until dawn.

However, even for a mystic magician, there was a limit to casting levitation magic on hundreds of people while fleeing.

Realizing that the presence of the pursuing enemies had disappeared, Deke, after consulting with Merlin and another beginner-rank mystic magician, Juven, decided to descend into the mountains.

“We will rest here briefly and then depart again.”

When Deke gathered the group and spoke, they each divided into small groups and created makeshift resting areas.

They knew they had to leave again as soon as Deke’s magic power recovered in a few hours.

Watching the group rest while remaining vigilant, Deke also sat down in a meditative position.

About 30 minutes passed.

Rustle—

Deke sensed a subtle presence nearby.

‘An ambush?’

Deke immediately stood up.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Even as he gathered his magic power, Deke felt puzzled.

‘Do they know exactly where we are?’

The enemies they had encountered on the way were supposed to be distracted by Arpina, which meant these were new foes.

As the group quickly became agitated, magic spells began to rain down.

*****

Leon was mingling with the general disciples, looking around.

His heart was oddly pounding.

It had been like this ever since he saw the dormitory for the entrance residents collapse.

Anxiety and tension. A hint of excitement.

Leon’s body was on edge, ready to spring forward at any moment.

At that moment,

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Deke’s urgent voice was heard.

Leon instinctively knew he could no longer hide his abilities.

He immediately sensed Aaron’s suspicious movements and drew a wooden sword from his interdimensional pocket, sending it flying.

Once he made up his mind, there was no hesitation.

Aaron was about to pull something out and throw it at his allies when the wooden sword struck his neck.

“Gah…!”

He flailed his hands before dying.

The wooden sword would absorb his core, but Leon had no intention of caring for a traitor.

The same went for the black magicians.

Leon had made up his mind.

He used basic telekinesis to catch the black orb Aaron had been holding before it hit the ground.

The surrounding general disciples, who had been clumsily preparing for the ambush, stared at Leon in shock.

Ignoring their gazes, Leon turned his head.

Aaron wasn’t the only one showing suspicious movements.

Among the Widia-affiliated students mixed in with the group, there were others behaving just like Aaron.

They pulled out black orbs from their robes and threw them at the nearby Widia students.

Bang—

The orbs exploded, releasing green mist.

Simultaneously, black magicians emerged from the surroundings and unleashed their spells on the Widia group.

Chains, black spears, and dark mucous substances poured down, surrounding them.

The spells were concentrated on the large group of academy students, and Leon recognized them.

They were the same spells used by Forn and the red-haired man.

Bang— Bang—

“It’s an ambush!”

“Defend!”

“All Arcane Mages, step forward!”

The place where the Widia group had been resting turned into chaos in an instant.

Fortunately, Deke had noticed quickly, allowing them to respond in time.

“Sallang.”

Leon immediately summoned Arpina’s wind elemental.

“Blow.”

The wind rose from the ground where the black orbs had fallen, ascending into the sky.

Although the range wasn’t large, nine zones simultaneously generated wind.

The green mist spreading around Leon was lifted into the sky as it dispersed.

“Thunderbolt.”

Nine electric orbs floated around Leon.

He sent all the orbs towards those who had spread the mist.

Crackle—

“Argh!”

Nine academy students, electrocuted, convulsed and collapsed.

However, there were still many traitors, and the attacks from the surrounding enemies were relentless.

The situation was chaotic with enemies and traitors mixed together.

Some allies had already fallen victim to the green mist.

As soon as they were enveloped by the mist, their bodies melted away.

It was a deadly poison.

‘Is it the poison extracted from Kito’s body…?’

“Fall back.”

Leon, who had slightly floated into the air, drew his finger from top to bottom.

Leon sought out the traitors one by one, striking them with lightning, and used the wind elemental to lift the surrounding poison mist into the sky.

His magic power was rapidly depleting, but there was no time to worry about it.

The poison mist spreading within the allies’ formation was deadly.

He had to respond as quickly as possible.

Leon took the lead in eliminating the traitors.

The academy students watched in astonishment as Leon moved through their ranks.

“What, what is this…?”

“An Arcane Mage…?”

They looked at the boy, suddenly appearing at the rank of Arcane Mage, with bewildered eyes.

Then one of them noticed the electric orbs around Leon and shouted.

“Lightning magic… That’s the Tower Master’s magic! He really isn’t just any personal disciple!”

“But casting nine spells simultaneously…?”

“Isn’t he supposed to be 14 years old?”

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t understand it.

However, such thoughts didn’t last long.

The battle was still raging.

“Everyone, get a grip! He’s on our side! Leave the ambush to the seniors and deal with the traitors first!”

While those near Leon were belatedly organizing themselves, there were also those calmly preparing for the enemy’s attack.

Talented academy students who had reached the rank of Arcane Mage at a young age were doing so.

They encouraged their comrades to respond to the ambush as best as they could.

The chaos gradually subsided.

The traitors were being killed one by one, and those who realized that the black orbs contained poison mist dealt with them calmly using magic.

Although many had been harmed by the initial attack, as most of the attackers were Arcane-rank magicians, the tide of the battle began to turn as time went on.

The Widia side had far more numbers.

Even though they were apprentice magicians, the sheer volume of magic being cast caused the enemies to hesitate.

The plan to overcome their smaller numbers through traitors had failed.

After dealing with around twenty traitors, Leon immediately changed his target.

The most conspicuous figure was a black magician approaching a secluded area where the general disciples were gathered.

They had avoided the initial ambush due to their small numbers and remote location, but it was soon discovered that only weak individuals were gathered there.

“Pierce.”

Leon immediately sent his wooden sword flying towards the black magician.

The beginner-rank Arcane Mage turned his head and hastily formed a barrier.

“Uh… what?”

Thunk—

By the time the man made a foolish sound, the wooden sword had already pierced through the unstable barrier and impaled his head.

“Leon… sir? What is this…?”

The general disciples stared at Leon in a dazed posture, their bodies stiff.

There was no time to answer their questions individually.

Leon gathered the general disciples and threw his wooden sword at the black magicians engaged in combat with other magicians, using scrolls to aid in defense wherever they were being pushed back.

As Leon began to actively counter the black magicians, the tide of the battle quickly shifted in Widia’s favor.

*****

Deke and the three other mystic magicians were confronting a square-jawed man, who appeared to be the leader of the attackers, and another enemy.

The enemies were at the advanced and intermediate ranks of mystic magic.

Deke’s group could somehow block and withstand their attacks.

The square-jawed man frowned as he sensed the increasingly unfavorable situation.

“You’re lucky.”

“…You failed the ambush and now you’re all talk.”

Deke realized that they had discovered their location through traitors.

It was a situation they had been completely unaware of until the incident occurred.

Even so, they had successfully responded to the ambush, so they could afford to relax a bit.

Following Deke, Merlin asked a question.

Unlike Deke, his voice was tense and rather serious.

“Is Berford a traitor?”

He had even dropped the honorifics for Berford, indicating he was almost certain.

“…Retreat.”

The square-jawed man didn’t answer and quickly disappeared into his own shadow.

The other magicians followed him.

Deke didn’t pursue them and instead turned to Merlin.

“Berford a traitor… What do you mean, Merlin?”

“It was too coincidental that Berford did something reckless, so I had considered the possibility. But with actual traitors emerging like this…”

“So you’re certain?”

“Yes.”

Deke’s expression also turned grave.

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

“…”

Merlin also fell silent.

In the midst of the silence, another magician approached to report the casualties.

“Thirty-one people died in the initial ambush and the poison mist, and nineteen were injured.”

“There are more fatalities.”

“The poison mist caused immediate body dissolution upon contact, so there was nothing we could do. It seems to be a deadly poison, but considering that, the number of casualties is relatively low.”

“And the injured…”

“They are at a rank where healing magic can manage.”

“Then, as soon as the situation is under control, we will leave this place immediately.”

“Aren’t there more traitors?”

“Ugh…”

Deke rubbed his head and turned away.

“First, search the bodies of the traitors.”

While several magicians searched the bodies of the traitors, Deke’s gaze landed elsewhere.

A black-haired boy whom people around him couldn’t easily approach.

Deke understood the meaning behind the gazes of those around him.

It was awe.

The emotion one feels when encountering something incomprehensible.

‘I felt that way when I was young too.’

His childhood friend, who was taken away by a transcendent magician from the Empire.

Facing his overwhelming talent, Deke had felt neither jealousy nor envy.

‘At 14, reaching the beginner rank of Arcane Mage… That’s even faster than him. Has there ever been a case of someone entering Arcane Mage at 14?’

He understood why people were looking at Leon that way.

Shaking his head, Deke approached Leon.

“Did you receive the Tower Master’s teachings…?”

He knew that simply receiving teachings wouldn’t make this rank of achievement possible.

Still, it was a question that popped out as he tried to understand it somehow.

“I received brief teachings.”

Leon, having nothing else to say, answered shortly.

He couldn’t make any other excuses, having already openly used the Tower Master’s Lightning.

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

A 14-year-old Arcane Mage. Nine simultaneous incantations. Wooden sword. Scrolls…

Deke had many questions but decided to let them go.

What mattered was that Leon was on their side.

‘Did the Tower Master know…?’

Since Leon had learned the Tower Master’s magic, it was highly likely that the Tower Master knew.

The Tower Master, busy with his own training, had taken the time to teach him personally.

“…Take this.”

Deke handed an interdimensional pouch to Leon.

When Leon received the pouch with a questioning look, Deke explained.

“It’s the Tower Master’s belongings. It’s only right that you, who have inherited his teachings, hold onto it.”

Deke then turned and approached those searching the traitors’ bodies.

As he approached, a magician handed him something.

It was a black brooch.

“It seems they were using this to track our location. Should we search the rest of the group?”

“…”

Feeling troubled, Deke approached Merlin and Juven.

“What do you think about identifying and eliminating the traitors before we move?”

“I’d like to, but we’re short on time.”

The situation was dire.

The fact that the square-jawed man had retreated without hesitation suggested he had another plan.

“…How about we split up?”

After some deliberation, Deke suggested.

“If each of us leads a group and scatters, it will be easier to weed out the traitors and confuse the enemies.”

“Let’s do that.”

As soon as the decision was made, they divided the group into three and each led their portion away.