The Invasion of Widia (1)
Leon drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. What exactly was the harmony of elements? In his mind’s eye, Arpina’s four elemental summons danced before him. Fire, water, wind, earth. An organic, cyclical balance among the four elements. Fire was destructive, yet through earth it nurtured new life. Water was soft and flexible, while wind brought change and renewal. Each possessed its own unique nature and power, but they grew stronger through interaction, intimately connected so that true perfection emerged only when everything existed in harmony.
Perfect balance…
The meaning flashed through his mind like lightning. A truth he had known for a long time suddenly felt brand new. He had gained a small insight.
The wood, lightning, light, and darkness attributes are no exception either.
Leon opened his eyes and turned his palm upward. A magic circle formed, and the energies of the elements flowed out in perfect harmony. He realized he had reached complete Beginner rank. With nine threads of will now available, he could even use nine-layered incantations. As long as his mana reserves held, he could unleash magic without limit. Mana quantity could be raised again by consuming elixirs, so there was no need to worry.
All that remains is to refine my Secret Magic.
The two-star version of Glory of Lightning consisted of brain-lightning and lightning current. Secret Magic began at three stars. Most mages would have at least one movement spell, but because this lineage specialized in offense, it contained nothing but Secret Magic.
Leon continued his training without pause. There was a mountain of delayed work. Not only did he need to master Glory of Lightning, he also had to push the B+ grade wood-attribute magic Ten Thousand Leaves to one star as quickly as possible. He needed to study the Secrets of Creation and gradually learn golem creation as well.
Golem creation shared similarities with pill refinement techniques. It was a craft that demanded learning through direct experience and trial and error. Leon only returned to reality when he needed elixirs. He would spend ten hours practicing meticulous mana control, complete his quests, then slip back into the orb.
He spent a hundred days inside the orb. In the real world, not even a full month had passed.
Inside the forest within the orb, Leon raised his palm high.
“Strike.”
Dark clouds slowly gathered in the sky, only to scatter in an instant. The magic had failed to manifest.
“Hoo… This is tough.”
As expected, reaching the end of Secret Magic Beginner rank within four months was impossible.
“The only one greedy enough to try mastering Secret Magic in four months is you.”
Kito grumbled from beside him. After she returned, their familiar contract allowed them to sense each other’s location at all times. They could even transmit thoughts through sheer will.
“Because I focused solely on this.”
Leon answered, his voice tinged with regret. He hadn’t touched Ten Thousand Leaves or the Secrets of Creation at all.
“I know. But even the most talented human would take years. At your current pace, you’ll clearly complete it in less than a year. There’s no reason to be impatient, is there?”
Kito’s words helped Leon calm his frustration. It was true that the massive incident at the lair had left him overly anxious.
“I’ll have to resume parallel training in reality then… What should I do about the training room?”
“I don’t understand.”
Kito perched on Leon’s shoulder. Her gently fluttering wings tickled the back of his head. She knew everything about his situation except that he was a possessor. Becoming his familiar meant he could no longer take reckless risks, so there was no harm in her knowing it all. She already knew about the orb anyway.
“Why do you insist on staying in Widia?”
“Hmm…”
“If you were still stuck at Apprentice, I wouldn’t say this. But aren’t you now unmistakably a high-ranking mage? Is there any need to keep hiding and accepting these restrictions?”
Leon had thought the same. But right after reaching Secret Magic, his foundation had been unstable, and he couldn’t bear to let Lia believe he was dead. After returning, he had caught the Tower Master’s eye and become his nominal disciple.
“Changing your attribute sphere is something that could be resolved anywhere but Widia, isn’t it? In fact, if you went elsewhere they wouldn’t even know your attribute had changed. They’d probably treat you like a precious treasure.”
“I don’t grow stronger to receive special treatment.”
“Then why do you seek strength?”
Leon recalled the feelings he had when he first wanted to learn magic. After regaining the ability to walk properly on his own two legs, he had wanted to step on every inch of this continent. He had also become utterly fascinated by the mysteries of magic itself. If he dug all the way to the end, what would he discover? What lay at the origin of magic, at its ultimate limit?
And the obvious prerequisite for achieving those two goals: he had to survive in this world overflowing with power inflation.
After encountering Forn, who had targeted his life in Widia, the conviction that he must grow stronger to survive had become even firmer. It had risen to become his top priority.
Leon told Kito the truth, omitting only the first reason.
“A mage to the core. Yet even now, you can’t seem to feel any sense of belonging. The responsibility to protect your own people, for instance.”
A bitter expression lingered on Kito’s face as she spoke. When Leon stared at her intently, she quickly changed the subject.
“The people of Widia aren’t your people, after all… Anyway, how about clearing your head? It feels like you’ve been here quite a long time.”
Leon thought her words were no different from the first reason he hadn’t mentioned, but he pretended not to notice and let it slide.
“I was thinking the same. I’ve stayed inside the training room too long.”
Once outside the orb, Leon returned straight to his personal room. After catching up on sleep, he pulled out the history book he had borrowed from the central archive. He felt he needed to know its contents to properly use Genesis Radiance.
He had just opened the book when—
It was a truly earth-shaking vibration. The entire city seemed to shake from the impact. Leon shot to his feet. When he left his personal room, he saw the defensive barrier enveloping the whole city. A massive black iron chain had pierced through one section of it.
It looked like a weapon wielded by giants. A high-grade artifact. But that wasn’t the important part.
The iron chain had smashed through the building directly in front of Leon and embedded itself in the ground. The building right in front of the personal quarters where Leon lived was the dormitory for entrance residents. It housed the children who had come from the same orphanage as him.
“Huh…?”
The building had completely collapsed.
What about the people inside…?
This was exactly the time when the entrance residents would have finished their work shifts. As Leon stared in a daze, cracks spreading from where the chain had pierced rapidly widened until the entire structure shattered into pieces.
The mages of Widia flying busily across the sky moved even faster. At the same time, an enormous flow of mana could be felt. Leon turned his gaze.
Beyond the city’s main gate, the sky had gone dark. It was an extremely bizarre sight, as if someone had drawn a line at the gate; the sky was pitch black precisely beyond it. Beneath that darkened sky, the tiny silhouette of a man in a robe could be seen. A colossal amount of mana was gathering before him.
Even in the clear sky above the city, dark clouds were gradually forming, darkening the heavens. A rumble of thunder rolled. It was distinctly different from the darkness outside the main gate.
Before long, Raidra appeared in front of the robed man. A similar flow of mana could be sensed around Raidra as well. From the ground in front of the robed man, something black surged upward. It was a colossal form tall enough to reach the man floating in the sky.
It had three heads, each perfectly round with no distinct features. Countless eyeballs were embedded across them. From its torso sprouted what looked like human arms, animal tails, and wings in chaotic disarray. The entire body was made of viscous slime.
It was a hybrid monster so grotesque it made one want to vomit just by looking at it. Rain began to fall from the cloud-covered sky. The wind grew fierce, carrying the energy of a storm. At the same time, countless lightning bolts rained down on the monster.
The lightning strikes fell without end.
Yet the monster didn’t budge an inch.
It was impossible to tell whether the attacks were landing or not.
“Leon!”
At the familiar voice in his ear, Leon turned his head. It was Lia. She rushed over and grabbed his arm, pulling him urgently.
“All the academy students and disciples have gathered. We need to go there now.”
Leon wondered if there was a designated shelter. But when they crossed the central street and headed all the way to the rear, he saw people gathered as if preparing to leave. Personal disciples, regular disciples, academy students—every young mage was assembled. Four Mystery-rank mages, including Arpina, were leading them.
Arpina spotted Leon’s arrival and spoke.
“We are leaving Widia immediately.”
Running away?
As Leon realized the situation was more serious than he thought, one of the students spoke up. It was a student who had been wearing a displeased expression while waiting.
“Can’t we stay and fight too?”
Arpina immediately shook her head, as if there were clear reasons they must leave.
“If we fight, it will only mean death. Especially for all of you. The other high-ranking mages will hold them off, so we will depart at once.”
“…Is the opponent someone we cannot defeat?”
“…”
She did not answer, instead turning her gaze toward the city’s main gate. She seemed to be observing the battle between Raidra and the robed man. Even after a long while, no answer came. That silence itself appeared to be the answer. Several students bit their lips, faces twisted in frustration.
Arpina turned away from those expressions and approached the other Mystery mages. She handed a spatial pouch to Deck, a Mid-rank Mystery mage.
“It contains the Tower Master’s token and his belongings. Hold onto it.”
Without waiting for a reply, Arpina raised her palm. The bodies of the numerous people gathered there floated into the air. Leon and Lia were mixed among the regular disciples. It seemed the regular disciples had been judged as outside of combat strength and were being taken along as well. At least they weren’t being abandoned as useless. That was fortunate.
Suddenly, one face among them caught Leon’s eye. It was Aaron. Ever since Leon had become the Tower Master’s disciple, the man had always avoided him, whether intentionally or not. His expression was different from the other regular disciples. While it showed tension, it lacked the anxiety the others displayed.
Leon, who had always kept a wary distance from Aaron, noticed it immediately. And for some reason, it bothered him greatly.