"...What's going on?"
"Snap out of it, you idiot!"
Geliak finally regained his senses upon hearing the fierce shouts of his companions.
The shock was that intense.
The expensive scroll had no effect?
"We must act quickly before the professors arrive! Subdue him fast and meet the guide!"
"I know. Let's move!"
Geliak and his colleagues drew their weapons.
Although his companions were equally shocked, they knew that giving more time here was akin to suicide.
There was nothing more dangerous than a mage with ample time.
'Get in close!'
Geliak, gripping his weapon tightly, stomped the ground. mana surged within him, reinforcing his body with strength.
Currently, Geliak and his companions were wearing invisibility artifacts.
Scattered, they approached as fast as possible, knowing it was harder for the mage to target them.
"Spring forth."
"!?"
Geliak was startled to see a massive surge of water erupt above the temporary fortress of the mage.
What is this?
Suddenly, the water mass split, scattering into numerous beads.
The beads flew in all directions.
'What's this?'
It was a negligible attack, neither fast nor threatening in trajectory. One of his colleagues, deeming it trivial, swatted away the water beads with a gauntlet-clad forearm.
No matter how much they wanted to delay, such feeble attacks could not hold back the seasoned adventurers.
"Flash forth!"
Lightning struck at that moment.
Startled by the flash of lightning, an adventurer leaped back in confusion.
'How!?'
'Has the artifact been neutralized?!'
Their invisibility artifacts were no cheap trinkets.
They were powerful artifacts capable of withstanding most nullification spells.
"Stay away from the water! He's using it to locate us!"
Geliak was horrified.
Such a simple spell had neutralized the invisibility artifacts.
It was inconceivable.
After all, it was a method he had never seen before.
He had never seen a mage scatter water beads like this, nor one who could detect the altered trajectory of a few among them.
'How on earth...!'
"Flash forth, flash forth, flash forth, flash forth!"
"Argh!"
An adventurer who had just collided with the water beads seemed to have been caught by the mage.
Lightning continued to strike relentlessly. Though they were barely managing to defend, the rapidity of the attacks made it difficult.
"Help me, you bastards!"
"...Tch!"
Another adventurer pulled out a flask from within. Flames flickered inside the flask, a creation of first-class alchemists, the <Young Fire Dragon Flask>.
Geliak began to feel that even if they succeeded in this mission, it might still be a loss.
The flask flew swiftly through the air.
At that moment, a spell came from the enemy.
"Freeze!"
Crack!
The adventurers watched in dismay as the expensive glass bottle froze mid-air and plummeted to the ground.
"That mage...!"
"What on earth is he doing?!"
Under different circumstances, the adventurers might have seriously considered scouting their opponent.
A mage couldn't perfectly respond to every situation.
They could only use the spells they knew and respond to what they could handle.
But now, this unseen mage seemed to be anticipating and countering everything Geliak and his companions tried.
It was unbelievable.
If a mage of that caliber existed, surely rumors would have spread...
"It's no use. Abandon defense and charge."
"Abandon defense?!"
Even in this desperate situation, his companions hesitated.
Such was the recklessness of Geliak's command.
The standard approach to a mage was to approach as quickly as possible without being detected, dispersed, and fast.
Of course, even in a quick approach, one should never drop their guard.
A mage's area attack could be fatal in an instant.
Thus, they had to move as quickly as possible while preparing for an area attack, gathering mana around their bodies for defense.
Releasing this would mean they could pour more mana into movement, speeding up significantly...
"Forget him! At this rate, we'll all die."
"...Charge!"
"Dammit... Ugh!"
An adventurer, struck by the mage, finally fell.
Unable to withstand the onslaught of dozens of lightning strikes, he collapsed.
Seeing this, his hesitating companions changed their minds.
If they gave more time to a mage of this magnitude, real disaster could strike!
'May it not be me who dies today.'
'I hope it's someone else, not me.'
"Charge!"
The adventurers surged forward like fierce winds. Seemingly begrudging the magic used for their invisibility artifacts, they no longer hid their presence. Their speed was incomparable to before.
'Damn. Have I been discovered?'
Yi-Han clicked his tongue.
The adventurers thought of Yi-Han as a formidable great mage and feared him, but Yi-Han's situation was not favorable.
The students of the Black Tortoise had collapsed from <Magic Disruption Storm>.
Despite hiding behind various barriers, illusions, and skeleton warriors, if the adventurers got too close, he could be taken hostage.
'I thought my bluff would work...'
Yi-Han, mistaken by them for a fifth-year student, thought bluffing a bit more would make them retreat in fear.
The more time he bought, the better for Yi-Han.
But for some reason, the adventurers suddenly discarded their hesitation and charged like madmen.
Just by their movement, they didn't seem weaker than Yi-Han in a sword fight.
"Skeleton warriors, move! Gonadaltes, go!"
Yi-Han was neither scared nor panicked.
What mattered now was giving his best.
Clatter!
Skeleton warrior Gonadaltes, among other skeleton warriors, rushed forward, lifting its bone spear.
The other skeleton warriors also lifted their spears in unison.
"?!"
Thump!
The nearest adventurer instinctively stopped in his tracks.
Not many dared to charge at full strength, abandoning defense, against the undead minions of a powerful mage.
'Damn. How strong is this guy? Surely he's not immune to physical attacks?'
Barriers, illusions, desperate situation.
The seemingly simple skeleton warrior felt like a powerful undead minion to the adventurer.
And Yi-Han precisely aimed for this moment.
"Strike down, Ferkuntra's Thunderbolt!"
"Aaaargh!"
The adventurer instinctively activated his shield artifact and fortified himself with magic, but soon realized his mistake.
This wasn't something to be blocked.
He should have dodged!
The force of the lightning was so intense that the shield artifact shattered, and his body was scorched. The adventurer tumbled down, unable to even scream.
"That...!?"
"Shoot!"
Yi-Han dismantled a skeleton warrior and began shooting bone fragments at random.
The movements of another adventurer, approaching amidst the ferocious barrage of bone bullets, slowed.
"Cloak, engulf me. I hide in the night!"
Simultaneously, Yi-Han whispered a small incantation, casting invisibility. The adventurers, still under the influence of illusion magic, failed to notice immediately.
"Gather, condense, and explode!"
Boom!!
A magic explosion spell detonated nearby, and another adventurer was hurled into the air.
Geliak could hardly determine how many of his comrades remained.
His mind was filled only with the thought that they had seriously messed up today.
To encounter such a battle mage.
He had seen battle mages more experienced than his opponent, and those using higher-level magic, but never one as impregnable as this.
'But I will not just die.'
Geliak pulled out a potion and drank it. Sensations and mana in his body began to amplify wildly.
It was the <Sambir Berserker's Potion>, known for its severe side effects, but its effectiveness was undeniable.
Geliak could now distinctly feel where the invisible mage was.
No matter how much the visual, auditory, and olfactory senses were deceived, the subtle changes in the sand could not be hidden.
The amplified mana began to condense on his sword blade. It was an aura, a crystallization of mana capable of splitting the magics of mages.
The moment he saw it, Yi-Han realized the situation had become complicated.
His opponent was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
Yi-Han hastily drew the Morning Star and gathered mana. But his opponent had already reached him first.
'Faster!'
Confronted with imminent danger, his instincts exploded. Yi-Han's sword quickened, colliding with Geliak.
Clang!
A collision of mana against mana
The black purplestone of the sword absorbed Geliak's mana, but Geliak, already half-spent, paid no heed.
Clang!!
Another collision.
Yi-Han felt his grip tearing, bleeding from the tremendous force.
'I need to gather more mana!'
Even if the Morning Star was a renowned sword, it was not more important than Yi-Han's life.
Yi-Han gathered more mana. Regrettably, unlike his opponent, he couldn't display such sophisticated technique.
To counter the sharply refined crystallization of his opponent's mana, he had to push with a brute amount of energy.
Clang!!!
A collision of mana against mana of a different magnitude shook the surroundings, causing some summoned creatures to vanish.
The clash destabilized the area.
This even affected the invisibility magic.
For a moment, Yi-Han's face became visible.
Geliak mumbled in a foolishly inappropriate voice.
"You're not a fifth-year...? Cough."
Suddenly, Geliak dropped his sword and clutched his throat.
Yi-Han sighed in relief.
"Principal!"
The skull principal, without a word, exploded with a blue glow and flew rapidly from afar.
Geliak fumbled and twisted open the lid of a ring, pouring its contents into his mouth.
It was a suicide poison, prepared for emergencies.
'What kind of relentless...?'
Yi-Han was shocked at the sight of Geliak, who had just been lively, choosing suicide at the mere sight of the skull principal.
“Where do you think you're running?”
The skull principal spoke coldly.
At that moment, Geliak, who had clearly lost his breath, lifted his head and stood up.
Geliak blinked in disbelief, realizing he was still alive.
"What, what...?"
“This is my domain. Without the lord's permission, death is not allowed. You wretch.”
Yi-Han was even more astonished than before.
When a person dies, it is the natural order for their soul to disperse from the body. However, the land of this magic academy was defying that order.
The idea that a soul was being prevented from leaving its physical form was incomprehensible.
Just what level of magic could achieve this was beyond guessing.
"Principal. This is..."
“Ask about the magic later.”
"No, it's not about the magic. I think there are more of their companions. They mentioned meeting a guide earlier."
Geliak looked at Yi-Han as if he couldn't believe it.
He heard that in the midst of the situation?
The skull principal immediately issued a command.
“Intruders have entered. Prevent the students from leaving and find the rats.”
-Yes, understood.-
Yi-Han wore a surprised expression. The skull principal was puzzled.
“What's the matter?”
"No... I might have heard wrong, and you believed me so readily..."
“Did you hit your head in the fight? Of course, I should take it seriously. Did you think I would doubt it just because it came from a first-year?”
"You are right, of course."
"...What did you just say..."
“I didn't ask you to speak.”
The skull principal then devoured Geliak whole. Geliak vanished without even a scream.
