However, the devil was annoyed and showed Adam its "wounded" body, "Master! Look! This stupid snake dares to spit on your lowly servant. I think you should kill it!"
Adam didn't believe a single word the devil uttered, suspecting that the devil was deliberately attracting this snake to vent his anger. Adam shook his head and ordered his devil to go away.
The giant python coiled up its huge body and stayed motionless in front of Adam; its transparent and extremely potent venom leaking from its fangs. Back on Earth, pythons are non-venomous, so Adam assumes that this must be a mutation.
The snake itself was on guard -- Adam smelled incredibly delicious, but it was afraid, since it could sense powerful magic radiating from his body. However, its desire to devour Adam was getting stronger and stronger.
Adam slightly shifted, and the snake sprang its body out.
The snake's poison slightly fizzled Adam's psychic barrier, but failed to dispel it completely.
Adam simply sliced its head off with a high-pressure water blade.
The snake's head aggressively bounced towards Adam despite it being decapitated, so Adam held its head down with telekinesis. He retrieved a special container from his portable space and collected all of the snake's venom into the container like a tap.
The devil floated gently above the snake, transforming into a vague female form, "Master, don't forget about the snake's gallbladder."
Adam nodded and cut open the snake's body, then retrieved the gallbladder the size of a human head and put it in his portable space before venturing deeper into the rainforest.
...
Peter Aum hid by the Moldo Elemental Tower, waiting for a chance to strike.
The Death Mark exuded a bright light, like a beacon in a dark night. He could easily track his grandson's murderer's location, but he didn't dare to enter the vicinity of the Academy. The moment the murderer leaves the Academy, he will pounce on him.
A qualified antimage like him had nothing but patience. He was prepared to remain idle for several years, but he didn't expect an opportunity to arise within a week.
The Death Mark disappeared from the Academy, appearing at another location. Peter immediately got up and flew towards the Death Mark.
"Big mistake leaving your sanctuary."
Even if an antimage like him was weak in the face of a qualified mage, he was confident he could escape after murdering his grandson's murderer. If he could devour his soul before the mage arrives to help, he would have enough power to leave the mage continent.
Two days later, he arrived at a rainforest, surrounded by a rune barrier, "This must be where he is."
Peter probed the entire rainforest and found that there weren't any mages inside the rune barrier. He smirked, "Poor little lamb. Seems like you die today by my hands."
As long as he could sneak into the barrier without alerting anyone, he could do whatever he wanted.
"A barrier like this is nothing to me."
Peter retrieved several things from his own portable space: a grey crystal ball, the tissues of several unknown creatures, a power stone, and a vial of his own blood.
He used the power stone as a base and arranged the body tissues of the creatures into a tiny tower. Then, he placed the crystal ball at the very top, forming an altar. He broke open the vial and let his blood soak, casting a mysterious spell.
The altar soon shattered and a hole broke open in the rune barrier. Peter entered the barrier without alerting anyone.
Meanwhile, outside the rune barrier in a tiny cottage, two mages were enjoying their time together. They felt a slight presence when the rune barrier was corroded. "Seems like a mouse entered our trial grounds."
Another mage spoke up, "The last war made those mice think that the Moldo Tower is somewhere they can come and go as they please."
"It's troublesome. They are too good at hiding."
"I can smell their stupid magic from here. If he uses any powerful spells, we'll be able to detect him. I heard a big rat like this one is worth a lot of ether crystals."
However, neither of them thought that the antimage would suppress his own abilities, making him concealed within the trial grounds.
...
If you fall behind, you'll be devoured. Peter didn't think that his infiltration would be exposed this quickly.
Fortunately, he was only a Level 1 Antimage, otherwise, the Guardian of the World, Annecroft would've smited him down as soon as he stepped foot on the mage continent. His heart was full of resentment thinking of this. Antimages live in the glory of the past, unable to adapt to the conformity of magic. They firmly believe that the mage world belongs to them.
Peter composed himself and hovered by some trees. As long as he didn't use any powerful magics, he wouldn't be detected by other mages. That didn't mean that his other magics would be weak.
In the past two days, Adam wandered aimlessly around the rainforest, killing any monsters that got in his way. He didn't know how big this trial ground was since he had yet to meet any other apprentices.
A crimson light shone behind Adam, and Adam shot out a water blade, killing the beast immediately. He saw that the beast resembling an ape was trying to sneak up on him.
Adam stepped forward to collect its body tissues, but the devil in his mind was thrashing around. He summoned the devil, and the devil frantically pounced on Adam, "Master, danger!"
Adam instantly brought up several additional layers of psychic barriers and leapt backwards. A dark light pierced towards his initial location, annihilating everything in its path.
Adam's pupils darted around the area -- this magic was extremely powerful.
Adam raised his hand to illuminate the darkness and he could see a figure hidden in a black robe hovering right in front of him. The energy radiating from the figure was extremely powerful, faintly distorting its surroundings.
The figure looked at Adam with bloodthirsty eyes, "I see. Clarke's death was not an accident."
Adam knew that he couldn't fight this antimage.
Peter lifted his hood, revealing his face and white hair. He slightly bowed towards Adam, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Peter Aum, Clarke Aum's grandfather. You are marked for death; you will die today."
Adam realised that the Death Mark exuded an incredibly evil aura.
Adam gathered his psychic powers to conjure up several runes at the same time -- he needed to attract the attention of the mages to save him.
Peter lifted a hand, and Adam could feel his magic weakening, "How rude! Why aren't you bowing and paying your respects to a clearly superior person? Shouldn't my grandson's murderer introduce himself too?"
Peter clasped his hand, and the pressure surrounding Adam increased, shattering his psychic barrier layer by layer.
Peter continued muttering, "No matter. It's easy to forget when you are indulging in a life like this. Mages like you are arrogant, savage, no sense of etiquette, wouldn't you agree?"
Adam remained silent; every joint and muscle cracked at the pressure, and his mage armour was about to shatter.
Peter's face contorted in anger, seeing that Adam is refusing to acknowledge him. With a single swipe of his hand, Adam was pulled into the air and flung into the distance, "You are just like them. You must be hanged, burnt, drowned for what you have done to my grandson!"
