Outside the manor, two hooded figures lurked among the trees.
The one leaning against a trunk was only about a meter tall, while the other sat perched on a nearby boulder.
The man on the stone crossed his arms. "The client says he's only a First-Level Wizard Apprentice. I don't think we need to waste a spell trap on him."
The short one propped against the tree shook his head. "This client is extremely generous. The kid might be hiding his true strength; it's better to be safe than sorry. When he heads back to White Stone Town, he'll have to take this road. Once he triggers the trap, even if he's stronger than he looks, he won't be able to fly away."
After a pause, the seated man added, "The banquet ended an hour ago, and he still hasn't come out. Our target is probably still cozying up with Lady Alsha…"
Suddenly, the dwarf cut in. "He's coming!"
Down the path, a black-haired teen with natural curls stepped out of the manor's grand gates.
The man on the stone leapt up—he was over two meters tall, yet as thin as a bamboo pole. He peered toward the gate. "So he really is leaving. I thought he might stay the night…"
The short wizard hissed, "Shut it. He's heading this way."
But moments later, something unexpected happened. The two assassins watched as their target veered off the road and headed into the woods on the opposite side.
The dwarf's face darkened. "Why is he going into the trees over there? There's no way he spotted us from that distance—he isn't even a Formal Wizard!"
The tall, skinny wizard frowned. "What now? Do we keep waiting?"
Thinking of the massive reward, the dwarf clenched his teeth. "No more waiting! We strike together. Even if he turns out to be a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice, he won't live to see morning!"
...
Damian adjusted his collar as he stepped out of the manor's back garden.
The great hall was already empty, the long tables of food and wine completely cleared away. Back in the garden, Lady Alsha had chatted with him for ages—so long, in fact, that it had almost felt like a date.
Before he left, she had formally invited Damian to join her private exchange circle. Since arriving in White Stone Town, Lady Alsha had organized a monthly gathering for local wizards to share information and trade rare resources.
Her invitation had been so unabashedly flirtatious that Damian had almost wondered if he had Veela blood. It was incredibly easy to misread her intentions.
Stepping outside the gates, he looked for a secluded patch of woods so he could Apparate away. He had already tested and confirmed that both Apparition and Portkey creation worked perfectly in this dimension.
However, after taking just a few steps, his eyes narrowed. Through his raw magical senses, he could feel two wizards lurking in the woods to his right.
The main road to White Stone Town split the forest in two, with a matching stand of trees lying on the left. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Damian casually slipped into the left-hand woods.
Yet the moment he entered the tree line, he sensed the two wizards moving to follow him. Damian frowned. Whoever they were, they were definitely here for him.
With a flick of his wrist, his wand slid smoothly into his hand. "Disillusionment," he whispered, the charm washing over him like cold water as he vanished completely from sight.
A moment later, the tall and short figures skidded to a halt in the clearing behind him.
The lanky wizard cursed. "Damn it—he's gone!"
A sharp whistle suddenly split the air. The short wizard frantically rolled aside as a translucent severing charm scythed past where his neck had just been.
Heart pounding, the dwarf realized how close the wind-like blade had come. "He spotted us," he muttered in shock. "But how? Only Formal Wizards possess true magic perception!"
"He's too young to be a Formal Wizard," the tall one argued. "He must have a detection magical artifact!" Greed flashed in his eyes—such artifacts fetched astronomical prices on the black market.
He plunged his hand into his robes and produced a fist-sized, crystalline eyeball. "Reveal!"
The eyeball floated into the air, pulsing with a sickly red light. The artifact was designed to strip away any invisibility in the immediate vicinity.
A heavy ripple of foreign magic washed over Damian, forcibly unraveling his Disillusionment Charm. He snapped back into view.
While the eyeball was rising, the dwarf had already begun his incantation. A translucent blue arrow materialized between his hands—his signature first-circle spell, the Ice-Burst Arrow.
The exact moment Damian reappeared, the dwarf finalized the spell model and flung the spear-thick shaft of solid ice directly at his chest.
"Protego!" Damian snapped his wand up. A translucent, dome-like Shield Charm flared to life in front of him.
The ice arrow punched through almost instantly, shattering the magical shield like glass.
Damian dove sharply forward. The icy bolt skimmed inches over his head and exploded violently behind him, spraying jagged spikes of frost in every direction.
In his left hand, Damian clenched the sapphire Link had given him. With a single thought, he activated it, instantly triggering the stored Mage Armor.
The gem flared brightly, then dulled to clear glass as the spell deployed. Glowing, hexagonal plates of magical force snapped into place around Damian, effortlessly deflecting every single flying ice spike.
Seeing the sheer destructive power of their local spells, Damian decided it was time to end this quickly.
A winter forest was the absolute perfect environment for advanced Transfiguration. He targeted a massive, ancient oak tree that would take four men to encircle. With a sharp slash of his wand, the heavy trunk violently twisted.
Thick branches split and rapidly wove together, forming two massive, wooden arms.
The treant guardian was inspired by a video game from his past life. Normally, it would just hurl heavy stones or smash enemies with its giant fists. However, winter had left this tree completely bare of leaves, giving Damian another idea. He aimed his wand at a neighboring pine tree, transfiguring its trunk into a colossal wooden broadsword.
The newly animated treant guardian hefted the massive blade and stepped forward, slamming it down toward the two assassins.
Their faces blanched in sheer terror. What kind of Apprentice could do this?!
They had been completely lied to! The dwarf mentally cursed their client to the darkest pits of hell; no First-Level Apprentice could manage such god-like power!
Forget the bounty—he screamed, "Run!"
But the ground beneath them had already shifted. Thick, snake-like roots whipped out of the snow, coiling tightly around their ankles and pinning them in place.
Trapped, the two assassins could only throw up desperate, glowing Shield Charms.
The treant's titanic sword smashed down with a deafening roar, obliterating their shields and hurling a massive geyser of snow and earth sky-high.
A moment later, peaceful snowflakes drifted down through the sudden, bloody silence.
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