VERSATILE MAGE: RISE OF A LEGEND

The city was tense as rain relentlessly poured down from the skies, drenching everything beneath it. The Alert system, which was rarely used, was buzzing, its colors blinking on screens and signs across the streets of Bo City. The people of Bo City had grown familiar with the first level Alert—Orange—which indicated a relatively controlled threat: a few magical beasts wandering near the safety boundaries. Two years ago, the city had dealt with an Orange Alert when a group of three hundred magical beasts had been spotted near the outskirts. Back then, Commander Zhankong had swiftly taken care of the threat before it could escalate.

But today was different.

Two streaks of light flashed over the sky in rapid succession, crossing one another like they were delivering a message from the heavens. These streaks, brilliant and ominous, could only mean one thing—a Blue Alert.

The mere sight of those two brilliant lights was enough to send shivers down the spine of the seasoned magicians and soldiers stationed across the city. A Blue Alert signified that there were far more magical beasts prowling the city's outskirts, likely in the thousands, hidden by the thick veil of rain. The threat wasn't merely approaching—it was already upon them. The city hadn't seen a Blue Alert in over ten years, and now that it had returned, it marked a catastrophe waiting to unfold.

Commander Wan Duanfeng, head of the city's defense battalion, stood beneath the pouring rain. His expression was unreadable, his coat soaking wet, and the tension around him nearly palpable. No one dared speak aloud the dreadful thoughts swirling in their heads. They were all seasoned battlemages, but this was something else entirely.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a jarring ringtone. The phone in Wan Duanfeng's pocket vibrated with urgency. For a brief moment, the only sounds that filled the air were the hammering rain and the shrill ringing of the commander's phone. Wan reached into his pocket, his hand steady despite the dread beginning to sink in. He brought the phone to his ear and muttered a low greeting, "Hello."

The voice on the other end belonged to Squad Captain Zhou Jin, one of the city's most capable men. But today, his voice was shaken, almost unrecognizable.

"Commander Wan… we've been attacked by a group of beasts. Our Light Magician… he's dead. We… we can't fire off the Brilliant Lights anymore," Zhou Jin's voice trembled over the phone.

Wan Duanfeng's body froze for a moment, the weight of the news crashing into him like a wave. His hand, gripping the phone, began to shake involuntarily. The Light Magician had been one of their key defenses—a symbol of hope during attacks. His death meant far more than just the loss of a valuable mage; it was the loss of one of their most powerful offensive capabilities. They had no one to fire the lights, no one to warn the city of the oncoming storm.

"If Bo City survives this disaster…" Zhou Jin's voice continued, thick with sorrow and fatigue, "please apologize to Boss Zhankong and… apologize to Pan Lijun."

There was a pause. Wan Duanfeng could barely breathe, let alone respond. The sorrow and regret in Zhou Jin's voice were clear, and in the background, Wan could hear the faint but unmistakable sound of magical beasts roaring.

Zhou Jin didn't wait for a reply. With a final note of grim determination, he hung up the phone, leaving only the ominous silence of the rain and the distant roars. Wan Duanfeng stood motionless for a moment, his face tight with anguish. He knew what that meant—Zhou Jin was already dead. No one could survive in such a situation and still make a phone call.

Closing his eyes tightly, Wan Duanfeng tried to stave off the despair that threatened to overwhelm him. The rain pelted his face like daggers, but no physical pain could match the ache in his chest. He could already picture Zhou Jin's final moments, a scene of carnage and chaos, the captain giving his life in a hopeless battle against an overwhelming enemy.

But there was no time for sorrow.

"Sound off the Blood Alert!" Wan Duanfeng suddenly barked, his voice cutting through the noise of the rain like a sharp blade. His eyes snapped open, now filled not with grief, but with the steely resolve of a man who had fought too many battles to give up now.

A stunned battlemage standing nearby looked at him in disbelief. "Blood… Blood Alert? You're not serious, are you, Commander?"

The others around them were equally shocked, frozen in place as if they hadn't truly processed the severity of the situation. A Blue Alert was already a crisis. But a Blood Alert? That was a catastrophe of unimaginable scale. Few had ever seen one in their lifetimes, and those who had were often haunted by the memories of it.

Wan Duanfeng didn't have time for their shock. His voice was firm, unyielding. "Do it now!" he roared. "We don't have a second to waste!"

The battlemage quickly snapped out of his stupor and rushed to sound the alert. A Blood Alert was the highest level of danger that could befall the city, reserved for only the most severe of threats. It meant that thousands of magical beasts were approaching—if not tens of thousands. Delaying the alert even by a moment could result in the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent people.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled violently, as if a great force had slammed into the earth. The noise was deafening, a sound like thunder ripping through the heavens. Wan Duanfeng turned his head toward the source of the commotion, his heart pounding in his chest.

From the back of the mountain, a towering figure emerged, standing proudly atop a pine tree that swayed dangerously under the weight of the rain and wind. The creature stood like a king surveying its domain, its posture regal and terrifying. It was a wolf—a massive, three-eyed magic wolf. Its red eyes glowed ominously in the rain, casting a hellish light across the landscape.

The creature stood motionless for a moment, its gaze fixed on the human station below. It was as if it were looking down on them, mocking their feeble attempts at defense. It was an apex predator, and the battlemages below were nothing more than prey.

"T-Three… Three-eyed Magic Wolf!" one of the younger battlemages stammered, his voice barely audible over the storm.

The battlemages were paralyzed with fear. It wasn't just the three-eyed magic wolf that terrified them—it was the army of shadows gathering behind it. From the treeline, more and more magic wolves emerged, their eyes glowing with the same savage, red light. They moved with purpose, falling into formation behind the three-eyed wolf like a pack following its leader.

The battlemages watched in horror as the pack continued to grow. Dozens of wolves became hundreds, their howls filling the air like a chorus of death.

"They're calling for more!" one of the summoners cried, his face pale as he watched the wolves howl into the sky. "They're summoning their comrades!"

The battlemages knew then, without a doubt, why Wan Duanfeng had ordered the Blood Alert. This wasn't just an attack—it was an invasion.

The wolves surged forward, a tide of dark green fur and glowing red eyes, sweeping over the mountain like a storm. The battlemages readied themselves for the inevitable battle, but in their hearts, they knew the truth—there was no way they could hold back a force like this.

Bo City was on the brink of destruction.

And in the heart of the city, deep within the Underground Holy Spring, Light sat cross-legged, unaware of the chaos unfolding above him. His mind was focused, his face a mixture of excitement and concentration as he meditated on the power flowing through his body. But something felt wrong. His brow furrowed, and a sense of unease crept into his thoughts.

Then, the tremors hit.

The ground beneath him shook violently, sending a shockwave through the underground chamber. The sealed door at the far end of the room burst open, and a woman in a milky white uniform rushed inside, her face pale with fear.

"Captain Liang!" she shouted as she ran toward the center of the room.

Light's eyes snapped open just in time to see the carnage around him—the guards who had been stationed to protect the Underground Holy Spring were dead, their bodies torn apart and scattered across the floor. Blood pooled around their lifeless forms, mingling with the rainwater that had begun to seep in from above.

Before he could process the horror of the scene, a massive creature emerged from the shadows. Its body was grotesque, its eyes burning with a deep hatred. The Blood Mark Colossal Rat. It was as if death itself had taken form, its claws digging into the stone floor as it prepared to strike.

Light's heart raced.

Light's heart pounded in his chest as Lin Yuxin's scream echoed through the underground hall. His eyes widened as he saw something out of the corner of his eye—a figure hurtling through the air with terrifying force.

It was the Intermediate Magician, Liang Weichan. The man had been thrown like a rag doll, crashing into one of the massive pillars that supported the underground structure. The impact was thunderous, shaking the entire hall. The stone pillar cracked, and with a sickening snap, it split in half, debris raining down on the ground below.

Liang Weichan lay crumpled amid the broken stones, but Light noticed a faint shimmer around his body—a protective Water Barrier. Without it, the impact would have left him severely injured, if not worse. Still, the sheer force of the attack sent chills down Light's spine.

Light's gaze shifted, his mind racing to identify the threat. He scoured through the fragmented memories of his Magical Beast classes, desperate for something useful. Then it clicked.

"This… This is a Blood Mark Colossal Rat!" Light muttered under his breath, his voice trembling with both recognition and fear. His mind latched onto every detail he had learned about the creature. Its massive, muscular body, covered in dark, rough fur. Its eyes, glowing like red lanterns, were fixed on them with deadly intent.

The question that immediately followed sent a surge of panic through him. **Why was it here?** The underground hall was supposed to be protected, guarded by elite magicians and soldiers. Had all of the guards been killed by this beast? The thought was terrifying. He hadn't seen a single one of them since they entered.

His pulse quickened as the Blood Mark Colossal Rat turned its gaze directly toward him and Lin Yuxin. The creature's nose twitched, and its colossal head swung toward the source of the scent, as though it had finally detected something of interest. Light knew what it was after.

The Underground Holy Spring.

The rat let out a low, rumbling growl, a sound so deep it reverberated through the stone beneath their feet. Its claws—each one as long as a human arm—dug into the stone floor of the hall with ease. The sound of grinding rock filled the air as the creature tensed, its muscles coiling like springs.

It was preparing to charge.

The hall seemed to shrink as the beast loomed over them, its hulking body blocking any path to escape. Light's instincts screamed at him to run, but his legs wouldn't move. The sheer size of the Blood Mark Colossal Rat left him frozen in place, a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.

His heart hammered in his chest as he watched the rat's claws flex, its lantern-like eye narrowing as it locked onto its prey. He could feel the tension in the air, the storm of violence that was about to erupt. It was like watching a truck gun its engine before plowing into something at full speed.

"Close the door!" Liang Weichan's voice broke through the chaos, filled with urgency and desperation. He was still sprawled on the ground, struggling to get up, but his focus was on Lin Yuxin.

Light's eyes darted toward the exit, the massive stone gate that could be their only salvation. Lin Yuxin hesitated for just a second, her eyes locked on the approaching beast. Her face was pale, her lips trembling as she bit down hard, steeling herself.

There was no other choice.

With a fierce slap, she activated the mechanism that controlled the gate. The ancient gears groaned in protest as the massive stone door began to move, slowly but surely sliding closed. Dust and fragments of stone rained down from the ceiling as the door creaked shut, inch by agonizing inch.

But it wasn't fast enough.

The Blood Mark Colossal Rat bared its teeth, and with an earth-shattering roar, it launched itself toward them. The ground beneath Light's feet trembled as the beast's claws tore through the stone floor, sending shards of rock flying in every direction.

Light's legs finally moved. He grabbed Lin Yuxin by the arm, pulling her back just as the rat's massive body slammed into the space where she had been standing. The impact was deafening, a crash that echoed through the underground hall like thunder. Stone cracked and split as the rat collided with the gate, its claws digging into the edges to stop it from closing fully.

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The rat was caught halfway through the closing gate, its massive form blocking the entrance. The beast let out a snarl of frustration, its glowing eyes flicking from Light to Lin Yuxin, then back to the Holy Spring.

Light felt his stomach drop. **It wasn't giving up.**

He could feel the heat of the rat's breath as it shoved its snout through the gap in the door, its claws scratching against the stone. The massive gate groaned, struggling to hold back the creature's incredible strength.

"We can't hold it!" Lin Yuxin shouted, her voice breaking as the realization of their situation set in.

Light's mind raced, adrenaline coursing through him as he desperately searched for a way out. The Blood Mark Colossal Rat was too strong. The gate wouldn't hold for long. If they didn't do something, they'd be crushed, or worse, devoured.

Without thinking, Light's hand moved to his pendant, the Little Loach. He felt a strange warmth pulse through his chest. For a brief moment, the world around him seemed to slow, the chaos fading into the background as he focused on the artifact. He didn't know what it would do, but he had no other options.

Suddenly, the rat let out a pained shriek, its body jerking backward as if it had been struck. The stone floor beneath its claws glowed faintly, a soft, pulsing light that seemed to come from within the earth itself. The rat recoiled, pulling its massive body back from the gate, its eyes wide with confusion.

Light blinked, stunned. What had just happened?

Before he could even process the strange event, the door slammed shut with a final, resounding thud, sealing the rat outside.

There was silence. For a moment, all Light could hear was his own ragged breathing and the distant echo of the rat's frustrated snarls from beyond the gate.

Lin Yuxin collapsed to her knees beside him, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. "What… what was that?"

Light didn't have an answer. All he knew was that they were alive—barely.

The ground still rumbled, and the walls of the underground hall creaked ominously. The Blood Mark Colossal Rat was still out there, and it wasn't going to give up easily.

"We have to move," Light said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him. He glanced at Lin Yuxin, who nodded weakly in agreement.

The Underground Holy Spring was still safe—for now. But Light knew that it was only a matter of time before the rat found another way in.

They needed a plan, and they needed it fast.