Magical Alchemy: Rising after contracting with a monster.

"Haha, haha, little brat, I'm going to skin you alive!" The bald man laughed viciously in a fit of rage. In his eyes, Ryan was just a bug that could be easily crushed underfoot. The laughter of his companions around him echoed in his ears, grating on his nerves.

Ryan wasn't afraid of the bald man, but he still had Deff behind him. Slowly, he took two steps back, increasing the distance between himself and the bald man. He then calmly asked, "So, are you going to apologize or not?"

"Apologize, my ass! I've lived this long and still don't know how to apologize," the bald man cursed furiously, enraged by Ryan's indifferent demeanor. As he cursed, he charged at Ryan, his fist—sized like a cooking pot—wrapped in chainmail gauntlets, surged forward with a strong wind, aiming for Ryan's chest. It seemed like the bald man didn't intend to kill Ryan outright.

"Even the heavens might forgive, but you're asking for death yourself. I gave you a chance," Ryan said, seemingly unfazed by the incoming punch. Calmly, he raised his hand, and a series of orange fireballs shot toward the bald man. His face remained serene, even as the fireballs blazed.

"Hehehe, a wizard, my god, there's a wizard here!" The bald man was initially stunned, then began to cackle. Wizards were not common in the Underdark; they were only used in research or city defenses. Down here, wizards were considered weaklings. The complex terrain and poor visibility made it difficult for them to fight, and the people in the Underdark had grown less familiar with them. Any warrior from the surface would have immediately backed off upon seeing Ryan cast fireballs, as wizards were their natural counter. Even archers would avoid them. But the bald man didn't retreat; instead, he raised his arms to shield his face and head, planning to weather Ryan's fireballs with his armor. He believed he could withstand this spell.

"Haha, haha, the bald man meets a wizard today! I should've gone instead. This kid's only a level-one wizard," his companions laughed. They had relaxed when they saw the fireball spell, knowing that a level-one wizard's fireballs wouldn't be a threat to someone like the bald man, a level-four swordsman. After all, fireballs primarily dealt damage through heat, and the bald man's armor, crafted by dwarves, was top quality. It would easily withstand the spell.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The bald man staggered back three steps, his face pale. He hadn't used his aura to strengthen his defense, as he wanted to show off his strength. He thought he had withstood the fireballs, so he lowered his arms.

"Boy, you're finished…" The bald man saw an opening after the fireballs, believing there was a brief gap between spells. He yelled, charging at Ryan with a vicious grin, aiming to land a punch to Ryan's head. But just as he yelled, his decapitated head rolled off his body, tumbling away. His body continued to lunge forward for a few steps before collapsing, and blood spurted out, spraying several meters high, casting a beautiful red arc in the distant glow of the volcano.

"You all deserve to die. Kill!" As the bald man's head rolled away, Ryan dashed toward the other knights, constantly releasing wind blades. The wind blades were hidden in the dim light, barely noticeable. The bald man's companions were left stunned by his sudden death, unable to figure out who had killed him.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The knights screamed as they saw their comrades fall. Most of the knights were covered in blood, some even decapitated. They finally realized that it was Ryan, the wizard, who had killed the bald man. Those who weren't injured immediately unleashed their aura and charged toward Ryan, with their massive mounts thundering toward him as if to tear him apart.

"Sigh." Ryan sighed. If it weren't for the knights' armor, only a few of them would still be standing. But in this brief moment, at least a dozen knights were incapacitated by Ryan's wind blades, losing their combat ability. As Ryan faced the remaining 20 or so knights charging at him, he couldn't help but smirk. No one knew magical beasts better than a wizard.

Ryan looked at the scaled beasts charging toward him. A small fireball appeared in his hand. He calmed himself, his gaze fixed not on the knights riding the beasts but on the scaled beasts themselves. As the first scaled beast entered Ryan's magical range, he raised his left hand and sent a small light orb into the sky. It was a light-based magic, similar to a flare, illuminating a radius of several dozen meters around him. Suddenly, the area became as bright as day. Ryan's fireballs, meanwhile, flew toward the scaled beasts.

"Ah! Damn it, I can't see!"

"Hey, what's wrong with my mount? I can't control it!"

"Which wizard is messing with us? Where are the archers, the archers?"

The knights, who had spent most of their lives underground, were suddenly blinded by the intense light. None of them stopped; they kept charging toward Ryan, but some of them were thrown from their mounts as the scaled beasts panicked and fled. Others were trampled by the fleeing beasts, and there were screams of terror everywhere. This was Ryan's tactic: scaled beasts had two major weaknesses. First, they were afraid of light, and second, their noses were their most vulnerable spot. Ryan's fireballs hit the noses of several scaled beasts, causing them to flee. Normally, these beasts, once trained, wouldn't run away, but when the lead beast fled, the rest followed. Some knights were carried away by the fleeing beasts, while others were dragged off or crushed underfoot.

However, several knights were unharmed and, once their vision returned, picked up their bows and began shooting at Ryan.

Ryan looked at the archers in the distance and suddenly dropped to the ground. He could only laugh bitterly. These guys weren't dead yet, and he had no other options. But then, he began to laugh. The knights saw Ryan drop and thought he was trying to dodge the arrows. However, the arrows they shot at Ryan all landed at least a meter away from him.

"Haha, haha, you damn bastards!" Ryan couldn't help but burst into laughter, and with a loud shout, he charged forward.

"Run!" The few knights exchanged glances, and though they were reluctant, they kept firing arrows at Ryan, but none of them hit. Suddenly, someone yelled, and the knights turned to flee down the passage, shooting a few more arrows as they ran.

"Ow! Damn it, how can a random shot hit me?" Ryan, who had been chasing them with enthusiasm, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He looked down to find an arrow lodged in his shoulder, making him shiver from the pain, cursing loudly.

"Damn it, luckily I can use light healing magic," Ryan muttered to himself. He collapsed onto the ground, gripping the arrow with both hands. Fortunately, it hadn't penetrated too deeply, so he managed to pull it out.

"Ahhh! Damn it, is this supposed to be healing magic?" As Ryan yanked the arrow out, blood spurted, causing him to gasp from the intense pain. He then focused and cast a healing spell on himself. As the wound began to heal, Ryan felt an excruciating sensation, as though his injury was being painfully manipulated by a giant hand. The pain was so intense that Ryan almost ground his teeth to dust. When the healing was complete, he collapsed onto the ground, completely drained, unable to move from the agony. Ryan had no idea that light healing magic could be so painful.

"What's going on? What happened?" Keta, unable to wait for Deff's response, sneaked forward to check. He was taken aback when he saw Deff standing in shock, with Ryan lying on the ground, blood still dripping from his shoulder. Keta quickly shouted, "What happened?"

"Hehe, just a little scuffle. These guys tried to kill me," Ryan replied with a smug smile, looking at the scattered knights lying around. He was in a better mood now, feeling quite pleased with himself.

"Outrageous! How dare they cause trouble in Muan City? They're asking for death!" Keta, enraged, slapped the air, and green light shot toward the surviving knights. Leaves sprouted from their bodies, and branches began to grow, transforming them into blocks of wood. Gradually, the wood withered and turned to dust, scattering like sand. It was as if nothing had ever happened—if not for the bloodstains on Ryan's clothes and the scattered armor and weapons on the ground, one might have thought it was all a dream.

"A master at erasing evidence!" Ryan was stunned for a moment, then realized what had just happened. The technique was impressive, but his comment nearly sent Keta into a rage. It sounded as though he was accusing Keta of murdering and silencing people.