Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

The Gargantu's skin was a rugged armor of dark, polished rocks, streaked with glowing veins of lava that pulsed like fiery arteries, illuminating the surrounding forest.

Its eyes, three molten yellow orbs, reflected a primal fury as it towered on four massive legs equipped with claws as sharp as swords.

Fortunately, there seemed to be only one of these monsters.

Unfortunately, the monsters walking beside and behind it seemed even worse.

Faster, smaller, more lethal. And, above all, in great numbers.

A group of creatures known as the Filthy Swarmers advanced, slithering through the bushes.

These monsters were covered in black, slimy skin, with multiple red eyes that flickered like tiny flames in the darkness.

Each of their movements emitted a sinister hiss, as if the bones in their bodies were creaking.

But it was not their bodies. It was their mandibles, constantly in motion.

At the sight of these horrors, the students recoiled. There was no difference in rank, whether Bronze 2 or Bronze 5, whether they had an artifact or not.

None of that mattered.

Their eyes met those of the monsters, a few kilometers away.

Chills seized every single student.

Even Lian was not spared.

Despite being the strongest among them, the terror he felt looking at those creatures was real.

He had only faced normal monsters before; he had never heard of things like these.

Beside him, Clara trembled visibly, the sword in her hands, given by Lian, wobbling weakly, threatening to slip away.

"Do not be afraid; they are just weak monsters!" A girl stepped forward, her long sword glowing faintly green, her posture perfect.

"Observe them carefully! They are weak Iron ranks! We can wipe the floor with their bodies!" another intervened, joining the woman. He wielded a two-handed greatsword with arrogance.

"Exactly, there is no need to be scared. Do not be cowards," the third chimed in, handling an artifact shaped like a staff.

"If you must cry, do it for the Gargantu; that is a truly terrifying monster," said another, nearly breaking the atmosphere of confidence created by the previous three.

Other figures positioned themselves behind each of their leaders, creating a scene of unprecedented hope.

Lian recognized the voices of the first three boys. They were vaguely familiar…

"Finally, they stepped up!"

"It is them; we are saved!"

"Rebecca, kill them all!"

"Trevor, Christopher, I am counting on you!"

"Devis, take on the giant monster, you bastard!"

The students' voices echoed in the clearing.

So, the Yellow Tiger leader is named Devis, huh… good to know; he was not there last time.

Lian sighed, shaking his head. He could not deny that the courage of the four had reassured him. Now he was no longer as scared as before.

He was not scared of the strength or numbers of their enemies, but of their sheer appearance.

After composing himself, Lian turned to look at Clara, who seemed to have stopped trembling, her breathing more controlled.

Then he turned his head toward Rick.

"Huh?" Lian tilted his head, taking a step toward his friend. "Everything okay?" he said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Lian felt Rick's body trembling. He thought he was scared. He was about to offer some words of encouragement, but the expression on his face did not match Lian's thoughts.

"They are all mine!"

A strange smile lit up Rick's face as he advanced fearlessly toward his enemies.

He had no weapon in his hands, yet he was rushing toward the army of monsters without fear.

"Damn it, Rick!"

Lian was so caught off guard that he reacted with a few seconds' delay.

Rick had already overtaken everyone, his body no longer visible due to the dark mist he left behind, like a trail.

"Stupid idiot!" Lian shouted, chasing after him. He could not leave him alone, or he would get himself killed.

He did not understand what had gotten into him, but it did not matter.

Unlike him, Rick was only Bronze 3.

The monsters had power ranging from Iron 1 to Iron 5, but their aura was nothing like the Stone Bulls he had hunted with his father in the past.

Not at all…

The monsters' red eyes glowed in the darkness, their jaws opening and closing intermittently.

They were running straight toward Rick.

The four leaders of the academy's most powerful factions, flanked by the other two members of their teams, watched Rick move with speed, followed by Lian.

"Is that not the guy who made us look bad at the arena?" Trevor spoke, his eyes narrowed.

Rebecca followed him with her gaze, her eyes wide with shock. "What the hell are they planning to do?"

The question was redundant.

It was obvious.

They were about to farm a ton of points!

The bracelet on their wrists not only allowed them to be rescued, forfeiting rewards, but also kept track of points earned from killed beasts.

High above, in the dark sky faintly lit by the moon, two figures exchanged words about the event.

"This batch of students is pretty pathetic…" the voice belonged to a woman, her appearance veiled by the darkness. "If it were not for those good seedlings, their spirits would already be broken…"

"Do not say that, Cristalda. They are just young kids," the man known as Festos shook his head. "Anyway, the show is getting interesting."

His eyes were fixed on Rick's figure.

He was the first to rush toward the crowd of monsters, heedless of the danger.

"Yes, you can say that again. A kid with such a low level but such a high affinity for shadows. He could be a good seedling to invest in."

"Stop calling everyone 'seedling'; it is embarrassing… you sound old, and it makes me seem old too!"

Cristalda laughed faintly, turning her gaze to the boy behind Rick. "Things are getting really exciting."

"What is a tree doing among seedlings?" she added with excitement.

Festos rolled his eyes, helpless.

"It is a surprise to me too. From what we were told, he only advanced recently," he said, coughing a couple of times. "By recently, I mean a few hours ago…"

Cristalda did not respond. She fixed her gaze on Lian with undisguised interest, then smiled.

Her teeth gleamed with the moonlight, illuminating her face.