"Leon is listening as well," Ria responded.
"Is that so? You've been out for quite a while. Wouldn't it be about ti to return? You asked to be inford if we found traces of the blood mages."
"Understood," Leon replied.
Although he had remained here due to the matter with Zirka, if not for that, he would have already returned to Astelia.
After wrapping up his conversation with Arpina, Leon took a mont to organize his thoughts.
"Now then, regarding the issue with Zirka..."
He thought of those he knew who might be able to help.
Given the current situation, it would be wise to gather as much support as possible.
However, the problem was that Leon's connections were minimal.
Of those he knew from the orphanage, only Ria survived after Teneron's invasion. His connections in Wydia were limited to Arpina and Rowen.
If he could count anyone, there was the adventurer party of Dave, whom he t on a trading escort mission, as well as Erika and Hydra Velix from the Forest of Beasts.
‘They did say they’d lend a hand if I ever needed it...’
But calling on them imdiately was not an option.
Even with his connections in Astelia, it wasn’t easy to mobilize people.
After much deliberation, Leon concluded internally.
‘Creating a faction imdiately is impossible.’
Instead, he considered delegating tasks that he couldn’t handle while staying in Astelia.
After all, he would likely form new bonds and find more opportunities to connect with others while fulfilling his duties.
‘If there’s anything I can delegate right now...’
The connection between dark magic and blood magic ca to mind.
Astelia was already tracking down the blood mages. Given Zirka’s history with Nersunbella, the Black Tower, it was best to keep him away from anything related to them.
‘Maybe I could have him investigate Teneron... or perhaps send him to Bastirion.’
Another idea occurred to Leon.
‘I should send him to search for the witch.’
Since the witch hadn’t co looking for Leon yet, it was possible her fight with the Black Tower had extended, or she encountered other complications.
Or perhaps sothing else had delayed her.
Since facing her directly was challenging, sending Zirka in his place seed like the better option.
‘If she finds before Zirka reaches her... I’ll have to prepare for any actions he might need to take.’
If the witch finished purging the Black Tower forces in Bastirion, working there would be far easier.
Additionally, a high-level witch with advanced insight would be an invaluable ally in helping Zirka establish a base.
Leon asked Ria, "You ntioned before that Rowen might be affiliated with another school."
Ria looked a bit surprised by the question but soon nodded.
"Yes? ...Yes, that’s right."
"Do you know where that might be?"
Ria looked at him, puzzled.
"Are you thinking of bringing Rowen into an external faction?"
"No... not necessarily. I just thought it would be wise to keep tabs on her whereabouts."
Rowen was the closest person to Leon among his limited connections. Gathering information about Teneron while learning Rowen’s situation might not be a bad idea.
If Teneron hadn’t fallen yet, Rowen was likely restricted in her movents.
‘Sending her to Basprion would solve several matters.’
Leon and Ria left Pirein and reunited with Zirka in a nearby area.
Leon handed Zirka a communication orb.
Then, after checking the tracking compass to confirm that the witch was far away, he passed it to Zirka. The compass, containing the witch’s blood, would signal to her that Zirka was coming on Leon’s behalf if they t.
‘There’s nothing else to pass on....’
Leon handed him a large spatial pouch containing a few golems.
"Use them if you find yourself in danger."
"Understood."
With plans to report regularly via the communication orb, Zirka took off in the direction of the Bastirion Kingdom, where he would carefully trace Teneron’s presence while awaiting a chance encounter with the witch.
Until then, Leon simply had to wait for reports on Teneron’s movents.
Watching Zirka disappear into the distance, Leon and Ria turned back toward Astelia.
Upon arriving in Astelia, they went straight to Arpina’s office.
Arpina welcod them with a nod.
“You ca right away?”
“Yes, we were just about to return.”
“Good. I trust nothing major happened?”
Leon detailed everything that had happened from Pirein to the Elven Forest.
He had no reason to withhold information from Arpina, and he hoped the intel from Zirka might aid in tracking the blood mages.
Arpina listened intently, nodding in understanding.
“You rember the magic circle and the rituals you ntioned for contacting the blood mages, right?”
“Yes.”
Leon had already disclosed the contents of the book with the ritual circles found in the blood mages’ hideout, as well as the parchnt he’d taken from them.
“That contact magic circle was useful. We were able to trace it to the connected location.”
Leon couldn’t hide his surprise.
“...Was that even possible?”
Being able to track another location through a communication circle... such a feat required extensive knowledge of magic structures, sothing Leon was now beginning to understand as he gained more magical knowledge himself.
The communication circle was rune magic, no less.
Tracking a rune magic circle would require an in-depth understanding of its structure, which wasn’t an easy task.
‘This shows exceptional knowledge of rune magic.’
Arpina observed his expression and spoke calmly.
“Do you rember the magician from the Imperial Council?”
Leon recalled him instantly. The man with his red hair slicked back.
“The transcendent magician... you an him?”
“Yes. It would have been difficult without him. Few magicians possess such a deep understanding of magical structures. Given the Empire’s intense interest in dealing with the blood mages, we had no choice but to cooperate with him.”
“I see.”
He was the only transcendent magician Leon had t before encountering isen. While Leon still didn’t fully understand his capabilities, it was clear the man held authority in matters related to magic.
‘Is he an authority on ritual structure analysis? Tracking? Rune magic? Or all of the above?’
“Of course, given that there are many locations inscribed with these magic circles, finding each one wasn’t easy. You ntioned accidentally connecting with them before, right?”
“Yes, but I cut the connection imdiately.”
“They seem to have beco more cautious since then. We found that most of the places we tracked had already been wiped clean. The magic circle hasn’t been used much lately.”
“Where did you find remaining traces, then?”
“Fortunately, we found one place where they hadn’t erased the traces. A ritual altar still stands there, where it seems rituals are conducted periodically. Other places appeared thoroughly cleansed.”
Arpina looked at Leon.
“The altar we found had a magic circle similar to the ritual you described. It hadn’t been used in so ti, but the strange part was... there were signs of a fierce battle.”
Arpina ntioned gathering substantial information from those traces.
“Based on the parchnt you provided, it’s clear they had so significant goal and were preparing the ritual for it. However, it seems an unexpected event delayed their plans. There was a raid by a rival faction. We believe it was attacked by an opposing force they clashed with.”
Arpina t Leon’s gaze and added quietly.
“It appears they’re at war internally. That might be why they couldn’t fully erase recent traces.”
“Internal war...”
The parchnt found in the last blood mage’s spatial pouch suggested they were gathering other blood mages to bolster their ranks, indicating a faction opposed to their objectives.
“The remnants of a fierce battle make tracking easy.”
Arpina revealed that they’d been able to determine who was at an advantage and even identify which way the fleeing parties had gone.
“We can’t say for certain which faction is the one we’ve been tracking, but if they’re fighting internally, aren’t they all the sa? Regardless of the faction, they’re worth pursuing.”
“So, did you go after them?”
“They left recently. Our team is in pursuit as we speak.”
Leon sensed the montum of the ongoing situation and said, “I suppose there’s nothing more I can do.”
Arpina pondered for a mont, then shook her head.
“Not yet... if they manage to complete their objective sowhere, we may need everyone from Astelia to mobilize.”
“Then I’ll need to grow even stronger.”
Arpina smirked at his resolve.
“...Well, weren’t you heading straight to the training room anyway?”
Leon was montarily flustered by her remark, finding no way to argue.
Concluding his conversation with Arpina, Leon headed directly to the training room.
Ria followed quietly beside him, her training room located right next to his.
Entering the training room, Leon took a deep breath, absorbing the silence of the space.
‘My advanced arts have stabilized... it’s ti to train for the Mystical level.’
He recalled his previous transition from apprentice level to advanced arts.
Back then, he had been practically forced to advance with a high-grade elixir, reaching growth beyond any typical speed.
However, he was fully aware that while progressing from beginner to interdiate, and then interdiate to advanced, could be hastened, the leap to the Mystical level required personal insight and effort.
How much ti it would take to achieve that insight, even Leon didn’t know yet.
But as always, he trusted that the path would reveal itself in his training, and he closed his eyes, centering himself with determination.
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