Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

EP.37 Invasion of Widia (3)

The square-jawed man emerged from the shadows.

In front of him stood a long-haired man with black hair, twirling a silver broom.

The long-haired man chuckled as he looked at the square-jawed man.

“Humiliating, isn’t it, Jatul?”

“…It would have been the same if you had gone.”

“Oh, not me.”

Jatul removed the robe covering his head and spoke in an annoyed voice.

“Did you think I expected this to happen because of one brat?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“…Sigh.”

He shook his head and sighed instead of answering.

He couldn’t explain it even if he wanted to.

A young Arcane Mage who could cast nine simultaneous incantations, continuously pull scrolls from an interdimensional space, and wield a bizarrely powerful wooden sword.

Trying to explain would only invite ridicule.

‘Even if he is just a beginner in Arcane Magic.’

Knowing that, no matter how talented, he couldn’t be a match for a mystic-level magician.

“You won’t have a say at the next round table meeting, Jatul.”

“Everyone else is only thinking about killing people, so wasn’t it my job to handle administrative tasks and report?”

“And yet, you subtly insert your own opinions. Did you think we wouldn’t notice?”

“Well… you’ll have to deal with it.”

The long-haired man placed the broom between his legs.

“So, where should I go?”

“…It seems they are splitting into groups and moving. I don’t know how many groups, but I’ve identified two.”

“They’re all heading to Meira anyway, idiots.”

“Oh, it seems Berford’s betrayal has been discovered.”

The long-haired man clicked his tongue.

“It’s already too late, especially with that bastard Raidera dead. Puh-hah! I wonder what their faces looked like when Berford stabbed them in the back. I’ll have to ask the boss later.”

Then he immediately flew off with his broom.

“Where are you going? We can just wait and attack them at the Meira pass.”

“That’s no fun. No fun at all.”

“Are you going to chase them?”

“Our little Zing Zing needs to have a taste too.”

Zing Zing was the nickname for the silver broom the long-haired man was riding.

Jatul made a nauseated face but managed to control his expression.

“Well, it’s an A-grade mobility artifact, so catching up should be easy…”

“Could you not talk about it like it’s just an object?”

“Tsk, just go. How many are you taking?”

“A hundred Arcane Mages will be enough. If they want to be defeated in detail, we should oblige them.”

“Even if you just reduce their numbers, it will make it easier for those blocking Meira to handle them, so don’t overdo it…”

Before Jatul could finish speaking, the long-haired man disappeared on his broom.

“Always chasing after men…”

As Jatul grumbled with clenched jaws, another figure emerged from the shadows.

“This sounds fun.”

A short-haired woman with heavy eye makeup opened a fan and covered her mouth.

“I want to go too.”

“Do you have a hobby of eavesdropping from hiding?”

“You knew all along.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

Before Jatul could finish speaking again, the short-haired woman disappeared into the shadows.

“Damn woman…”

Fortunately, no one else appeared in front of Jatul after that.

*****

Three hundred students followed Deke.

Among them were Leon and Ria.

Rowen followed Merlin.

After gaining some distance, Deke landed nearby.

He held the black brooch in his hand and infused it with magic, then touched it to each of the 300 students.

It was a process to check if anyone possessed an item with the same tracking magic as the brooch.

The black brooch emitted a buzzing sound twice when it resonated upon contact.

Deke mercilessly killed those who caused the vibration.

As expected, a black brooch was found on their bodies.

With the remaining students, Deke took to the sky again, his blue sleeves fluttering.

“Hurry to Meira…”

Deke’s words were cut short.

A flock of crows covered the sky, flying towards Deke’s group.

Each crow was infused with magic, indicating they were not real crows.

“So soon…”

Deke gritted his teeth and pulled a staff from his interdimensional space.

White gas emanated from the staff.

The gas, emitting cold air, froze the crows upon contact as they rushed towards Deke.

The frozen crows fell to the ground with a thud.

The ice chunks shattered upon hitting the ground, but from the fragments, small crows emerged again, flying towards Deke’s group.

“Everyone, block them!”

At those words, the remaining members cast spells at the small crows.

Bang— Bang—

The small crows exploded upon contact with the spells.

However, there were too many small crows.

Deke had no choice but to cast a large-scale defensive spell.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

The small crows threw themselves against the barrier that surrounded the large group. There were hundreds of them.

Maintaining the levitation spell, the freezing spell, and the defensive spell all at once caused Deke’s mana to deplete rapidly.

Each small crow contained the power of a beginner-level Arcane Mage.

This was impossible unless the magician casting it was at least of the mystic level.

“Hahaha! Struggling all by yourself, aren’t you?”

The long-haired man following them on a gray broom laughed with his mouth wide open.

Despite his large frame, he sat daintily on the broom, which was somehow unsettling.

Several black magicians followed behind him.

“No matter how much you struggle, you’re just rats in a trap! Puhahaha!”

“…”

Deke couldn’t gauge the opponent’s level with his detection magic.

Deke was at the intermediate level of mystic magic, which meant the opponent was at least at the advanced level.

‘How many mystic-level magicians are there…?’

He couldn’t understand how high-level magicians seemed to be appearing endlessly, as if mass-produced.

But seeking perfect understanding in the midst of a battlefield would only slow down his judgment.

Deke, who was levitating hundreds of people, began a rapid descent to the ground.

“I can see all your thoughts, clearly!”

“Scatter! Run away!”

As soon as they landed, Deke shouted.

Even though he knew he couldn’t possibly face a high-level mystic magician alone, it was a decision he had to make.

Facing him alone would mean death, and facing him together would also mean death.

Therefore, the only option left was to somehow hold the enemy back.

“Freeze!”

He couldn’t use grand magic since he hadn’t reached the high-level mystic stage, but he unleashed a meticulously honed Arcane Magic spell.

The ground in front of Deke began to freeze, and ice pillars started to rise densely.

Each pillar emitted extreme cold.

The black magicians using levitation spells found their paths obstructed and their movements slowed.

“Freeze, you say?”

The long-haired man within the range of the spell smirked from atop his broom.

*****

Those quick to assess the situation didn’t hesitate to gather their companions and immediately took to the sky again.

Leon was among them.

Leon gathered about twenty regular disciples and academy apprentice students, including Ria, and flew off in a different direction.

Leon wore golden wings and enveloped the regular disciples with his levitation magic.

They couldn’t fly for long and had limited mana, so they needed Leon’s help.

“W-What will happen to us…?”

One of the academy students asked Leon.

But Leon didn’t know the answer either.

He hadn’t expected so many high-level magicians to pursue them.

‘Is it because of the artificial cores created in their hearts…?’

The only way to mass-produce magicians of such high caliber was through that method.

‘Wait a minute.’

Leon furrowed his brow.

Not long after they scattered, Leon noticed a group following them.

‘Deke…’

Even after using all his mana for the Arcane Magic spell, he couldn’t hold out for long.

However, the number of pursuers wasn’t that large.

It seemed the black magicians following the long-haired man had split up to chase the scattered enemies.

‘Is the silver broom chasing someone else? Or is Deke desperately holding that guy back…?’

There were no mystic-level magicians among those chasing Leon’s group.

Their pursuit wasn’t very fast.

‘If we keep going like this, we might not get caught.’

The problem was that even if they didn’t get caught right now, they didn’t know when or where the enemy might appear.

Leon could retreat into his orb, but the others couldn’t.

‘Heading to Meira feels unsafe.’

Their movements were already being closely monitored.

Even if they couldn’t use tracking magic anymore, it was easy to guess that the scattered groups were heading towards Meira.

Changing direction would make it harder for the enemy to predict their movements.

Leon considered splitting off alone like Arpina or Deke had done but quickly dismissed the idea.

If they split up and another enemy appeared, the others would be killed without being able to resist.

‘If we want to change direction, we need to deal with the pursuers first.’

Changing direction while being tracked was meaningless.

Leon maintained his speed to check for any followers, but as more people began to complain of mana exhaustion, he made up his mind.

‘Let’s take them all down and then go.’