"Huaaa~"
Yawning and rubbing his eyes before tying his long red hair into a bun, Leo trudged uphill, his boots sinking into the snow with each step he took.
Climbing a snow mountain like this one wasn't a big deal for Leo.
In fact, he could climb this entire snow mountain range in a heartbeat if he wanted to.
But right now, it was early morning and he was sleepy!
Being an early morning person had never been Leo's cup of tea.
The thought of engaging in rigorous physical activity like climbing a mountain at the crack of dawn was nothing but a drag for him.
He would much rather be inside his tent, wrapped in the warmth of his bed and relishing a few extra moments of blissful sleep.
So, what drove him to climb this mountain at 7:00 AM in the morning?
Well, obviously his disciple is to blame for everything!
While Leo was peacefully dozing off, his disciple took it upon himself to sneak away and hunt the Ice-Claw Bear pack residing at the peak of this mountain.
Basically, he wanted a revenge match with them.
In reality, Leo was aware that his disciple was sneaking away, but he chose not to stop him for two reasons:
Firstly, Leo believed that Lucas was now prepared to take those mana beasts on by himself.
Within a single day, his silver-haired disciple had achieved a 20% mastery of the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art.
While he still wasn't as strong as Leo would want him to be, this degree of proficiency was more than enough to vanquish those low-level mana beasts.
And secondly… Leo simply didn't want to disturb his own sleep.
Anyway, when Lucas ran off to hunt down those Ice-Claw Bears, the echoes of battle and explosions resonated throughout the tranquil morning in the mountain range.
Naturally, Leo heard them and didn't give it much thought until now…
Right now, all sounds had ceased. No screams, explosions, or sounds of combat could be heard.
The southern mountain range was silent.
Of course, from time to time, Leo checked on his disciple using his Spatial Perception to see if he was okay.
And currently, Leo was on his way to check up on Lucas in person.
After around five minutes, Leo reached the top of the mountain.
"...Well, damn."
There he saw a gruesome sight.
Instead of seeing Lucas, all that lay before him were dead bodies sprawled on the ground and an eerie stillness.
Dozens of Ice-Claw Bears lay scattered, their corpses displaying the aftermath of a merciless onslaught.
It wasn't just death that they experienced; it was a massacre.
Their bodies looked like they were pulverized by a crushing force.
Some of them had severed limbs while others had their guts spilling out. Some had their head burst open while others weren't even recognizably.
The previously moon-white snow was now tainted by the spilled blood and entrail remains.
Leo casually walked through the carnage, making sure to avoid stepping on the gruesome remains of the beasts—guts, severed limbs, and lifeless bodies strewn across his path.
He, of course, knew what happened here.
How could he not? This gruesome sight was the result of the very weapon art that Leo taught Lucas just yesterday!
There was no mistaking it. What happened to these Ice-Claw Bears could only be done by the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art.
This specific weapon art requires the wielder to coat their weapon with mana causing it to twitch and wrench it around the weapon violently.
This can cause the air itself to crackle and manifest as tendrils of electricity around the weapon—a result of the surrounding air being compressed into plasma under intense mana pressure.
When an attack is dealt from a weapon under that much mana pressure, it crushes whatever physical object it comes in contact with.
Leo taught it to Lucas since this weapon art was very similar to Blossom Shattering Blast which he has already learned.
While the Blossom Shattering Blast emphasized speed and agility, the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art focused on power to deliver devastating blows that could leave a trail of destruction.
However, what confused Leo was how Lucas managed to perform the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art with such remarkable proficiency
He was certain that this level of destruction couldn't have been achieved with a mere 20% mastery.
It would at least require a mastery level of 40% or higher to be able to cause so much devastation.
Did Lucas really make such significant progress in a single night?
"As I thought," Leo couldn't help but grin, mirth visible in his eyes. "This kid... truly is interesting. Reynold must've gone blind not to recognize such talent. Hahaha!"
Using his Spatial Perception, Leo found the boy he was searching for after walking for a few minutes.
There he was.
Atop a hill of Ice-Claw Bears, corpses that loomed high above Leo's head sat a silver-haired boy.
His merlot-red eyes struggled to remain open, heavy with exhaustion.
His arms rested on the hilt of his gleaming red spear, its red crystal blade shimmering dimly beneath the layer of blood that had come from the body of the Ice-Claw Bear it had been embedded in.
Scattered amidst this mountain of carcasses lay even more lifeless bodies of Ice-Claw Bears.
Some of those dead bodies were scorched, others looked as if they were crushed under intense pressure, and a few were impaled through their skulls or hearts by the silver-haired boy's spear.
"Lucas," Leo called out to his disciple.
The boy slowly opened his heavy eyes and gazed at his master. "Do I look cool?" he asked with a smug grin.
"Yes," Leo replied with a chuckle. "Are you injured anywhere?"
"No," Lucas said, jumping down from his throne of corpses and landing in front of his master. "But I'm feeling tired."
"It's mana exhaustion," Leo nodded, scrutinizing Lucas and lightly patting his body to check for any hidden or internal injuries. "You've depleted your mana core to its limit."
Leo summoned a few vials filled with green liquid in his hand and handed them to Lucas, instructing him to drink them.
"Yeah, yeah," Lucas waved his hand dismissively, seemingly uninterested in what Leo was saying. "Can we eat them now? Can we?"
Lucas pointed at the corpses of the Ice-Claw mana bears that he had hunted—or rather, massacred.
"Oh, dear," Leo glanced between where Lucas was pointing and back at him, his expression troubled.
He couldn't bring himself to tell the boy that none of the game he had hunted was in a condition to be properly skinned, cut, or cooked.
Those that were usable were buried under other corpses, covered in guts, blood, and filth.
Leo let out a sigh and redirected his attention to Lucas. "How about we go to a restaurant instead?"
