"This spell... it's terrifyingly convenient," Leonard muttered to himself, glancing at the ground where the remains of his latest victim had dissolved into nothingness. "No corpses, no traces. It's like erasing reality itself."
He leaned on his staff, his thoughts turning inward. "The power of wizards truly is staggering," he mused, his eyes narrowing as the gravity of what he had just done sank in. "And yet, I'm not even an apprentice, just a novice with a borrowed staff. Still, I managed to take down a dozen trained fighters, including a knight."
Leonard couldn't help but wonder about the teacher who had so effortlessly introduced him to this world of magic. "If I, at this level, can accomplish so much, what kind of unimaginable power must soone like Alfonso wield?"
He recalled the teachings from the wizard manual. Wizards weren't the fragile glass cannons of legend; they were versatile, resilient; hexagonal warriors, as the manual had described them. But he was no true wizard. Not yet. "What I did today," Leonard muttered, "wasn't real power. It was an ambush, pure and simple. I had the high ground, the elent of surprise, and luck. If they'd caught off-guard, a single musket shot, a heavy blade, or an arrow would've been the end of ."
Leonard straightened, gripping his staff tighter. "But things will improve. Alfonso will teach more, and I'll grow stronger. I have to."
His gaze turned toward the yard, now eerily silent. A knot of unease tightened in his chest. "So many died today. I don't know who sent them, but they weren't just rcenaries. Knights like that don't co cheap. Nobles? Town officials?"
He thought of the implications. Alfonso had been collecting experintal materials; people, taken from nearby towns and villages. If one of those victims was connected to soone powerful, like a noble or an official, retaliation was inevitable.
"They'll send more next ti," Leonard muttered grimly. "Better trained, better prepared. And when they do, I'll need to be ready. I just hope it happens during the day, when Alfonso can handle them."
Determined to prepare, Leonard resolved to ditate harder and trigger more daily tasks from his mysterious system panel. Yet, the system was frustratingly rigid, only offering tasks when certain conditions were t. Completing these tasks rewarded him with experience points, which he could use to level up. Each level increased all his attributes, physical fitness, ntal strength, and more; by a small but tangible amount.
He had already felt the difference after his last upgrade. His ditation had beco smoother, more efficient. "It's like improving my qualifications," he realized. "The faster I progress now, the greater the rewards in the long run."
Still, it was an uphill climb. To upgrade his mutation ability from Level 1 to Level 2, he would need 1,000 general experience points, a daunting amount. Yet, the benefits were undeniable. The earlier he grew stronger, the better his chances of survival.
As he stood lost in thought, a voice behind him broke the silence.
"Well done."
Leonard stiffened, his body tensing instinctively. Then he recognized the voice and relaxed. Turning, he bowed slightly. "Teacher."
Alfonso stepped out of the shadows, his expression neutral. "You handled yourself well for a beginner," he said, his tone calm. "But you've left loose ends."
Leonard frowned. "Loose ends?"
"The four who escaped will return with reinforcents. And the knight you killed..." Alfonso gestured toward the yard. "Did you notice the Phoenix Claw crest on his armor?"
Leonard's eyes widened. "The Duke of Phoenix Claw's knight?"
Alfonso nodded. "Knights under noble houses like his are registered. If one goes missing or dies, it won't go unnoticed. You've drawn the attention of soone very dangerous, and you should know what nobles are like."
Leonard swallowed hard, the mories of his past life and his experiences in this world rging into one bitter truth. Nobles were greedy, ruthless, and utterly indifferent to the suffering of those beneath them. The so-called "laws" of the kingdom were re tools for the powerful, offering no protection to commoners.
He rembered an incident from his hotown, a dark stain on his mory. The tailor's daughter had been raped while gathering folk songs with a friend. When her father reported the cri, thugs ransacked their ho that very night. The tailor vanished, and his wife and daughter were dragged to the red-light district. They were seen there briefly before taking their own lives. The "constitution" ant to protect them had been nothing more than an empty promise.
Everyone in town knew who had assaulted the tailor's daughter. It was no secret; it was the baron's youngest son. Yet, despite the whispers and the outrage simring beneath the surface, no one dared to act.
The reason was simple: the baron's family held the town in an iron grip. The chief of police? The baron's brother-in-law. The mayor? His younger brother. And then there were the baron's private guards; hundreds of them, ard to the teeth with muskets and patrolling the estates like hawks.
In this town, the baron's word was law. And if a baron could wield such unchecked power, what chance did the common people have against the layers of nobility above him? Viscounts, earls, marquises, dukes, princes; each one a parasite, feeding off the kingdom's lifeblood. The laws, no matter how often rewritten, were nothing more than paper shields for those without power. The kingdom itself was a decaying body, riddled with these leeching aristocrats.
Leonard's thoughts were interrupted by the distant crack of gunfire echoing through the forest. His body tensed as he turned toward the sound, his eyes scanning the treeline. Monts later, a tall, shadowy figure erged, weaving deftly through the woods with inhuman speed. The moonlight caught its silhouette, revealing sothing... unnatural.
As it ca closer, Leonard's eyes widened in recognition. "David?" he whispered, almost disbelieving.
Earlier that morning, David had been nothing more than an ordinary assistant in Alfonso's laboratory. Now, under the moonlight, the transformation was unmistakable. The creature standing before him had sleek, tallic scales that shimred like armor, and a hulking, muscular fra built for battle. It knelt on one knee, its reptilian eyes gleaming with obedience.
"Master, everything has been resolved," the lizard man reported, its voice gravelly yet clear.
Leonard stared, still processing what he was seeing. The lizard's powerful form radiated strength. It wasn't just a warrior; it was a weapon, forged in Alfonso's laboratory. And what was most astonishing was the simplicity of its creation. Leonard had seen Alfonso working on the potion earlier that week. The process had been straightforward, the ingredients shockingly inexpensive. To mass-produce creatures like this... the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
The power of wizards wasn't just their spells or personal strength, it was their ability to reshape the world around them in ways that defied logic.
"There's no trouble for now," Alfonso's voice broke through Leonard's thoughts as he stepped into view, his tone calm yet firm. "But it won't stay quiet here for long. You need to prepare to leave. Pack your things and go to the town. Buy a carriage and head south to Bangor Port."
"Wait, what?" Leonard blurted, caught off guard. "Leave? Now?"
Alfonso raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "The potion worked, didn't it? You'll need him." He gestured toward the lizard man. "I'll give you the control spell for him. The magic traps on this house are disabled, so you're free to move about. Now, go."
Before Leonard could respond, Alfonso stepped closer, tapping him lightly on the forehead. A strange sensation spread between his brows, like an itch just beneath the skin.
Leonard blinked, trying to focus. "Teacher—"
But he was already heading upstairs, hiz figure disappearing into the shadows.
Closing his eyes, Leonard sank into his consciousness. The space within his mind felt vast, dark, and alive. In its center, seven earth rings rotated slowly, like celestial bodies in a miniature galaxy. Next to them floated a glowing blue rune, its intricate design pulsing softly. Leonard focused on it, and information flooded his mind.
The rune was the control spell Alfonso had ntioned. It had two primary functions: 'forced prohibition' and 'punishnt'. The first could halt any action the controlled unit was performing, rendering them immobile. The second inflicted intense ntal pain, adjustable in severity through a slider-like chanism within the spell.
A thin, translucent blue thread extended from the rune, connecting to sothing or soone, outside his consciousness. Leonard opened his eyes and followed the thread, his gaze landing on the lizard man kneeling in the moonlit yard. The line extended directly to the creature's forehead, linking it to him like a puppet on invisible strings.
Leonard stared at the lizard man, his mind buzzing with questions. "So this is what the teacher ant by 'control.' he's already trained him, prepared him to follow orders."
The lizard man remained motionless, its gleaming scales catching the faint moonlight. It exuded raw power, a testant to Alfonso's mastery. And now, with the control spell, Leonard realized it was entirely under his command.
For a mont, he felt a flicker of unease. The creature, once a human, was now a weapon; obedient, unthinking, and terrifyingly efficient. Leonard tightened his grip on his staff, steeling himself.
"David," he called out, his voice steady.
The lizard man raised its head slightly, awaiting orders.
"We leave at dawn," Leonard said, determination hardening his tone. "There's lot to do lets move."
Reviews
All reviews (0)