Chapter 238: Many died in the war

The Token on my chest began emitting a fluorescent light.

The next instant, I felt a layer of that light completely envelop my body.

My feet left the ground.

— Hm?

Before I could react, I began involuntarily rising into the sky.

The sensation was quite peculiar. There was no physical force pulling me upward. It was as if the Token itself had established an invisible connection with some distant existence and was now dragging me out of that world.

I continued rising.

When I reached a certain height, I looked around.

My expression changed slightly.

There were other points of light scattered across the sky.

They were undoubtedly acolytes, and each one was enveloped by the same bubble of light, floating a considerable distance away from the others.

After so many days of massacres, bloodshed, and pursuit, that scene carried a strange sense of tranquility.

My hand touched a Token I had obtained from a dead acolyte.

I examined it carefully, but felt absolutely nothing.

It seemed that the Token’s attracting force only worked on acolytes who were still alive.

These Tokens belonged to Level 3 acolytes from great Mage families. Fortunately, I had no need for them, since I had no interest in attracting the attention of those great families.

Being hunted by a Mage family just because of two Tokens would be a completely unfavorable trade.

I waved my hand, and the two Tokens were immediately thrown out of the luminous bubble. I watched them disappear into the distance.

There was still one more thing.

I took out an enchanted golden shield. I had obtained that artifact during the conflict and initially thought it might be useful. However, after carefully analyzing it with the Biochip, I discovered something that completely changed my opinion.

An extremely weak magical tracking force was hidden inside the artifact, continuously pulsing and sending a signal to somewhere outside the secret world. If I took it with me when I left the secret world, the enemy academy’s professors could immediately discover who had killed one of their most powerful acolytes.

As for the other items I had obtained from the dead acolytes, there was no problem.

I kept those and carefully organized them inside my storage belt.

A smile appeared on my face as I removed the Transfiguration Spell I had been using.

Throughout this entire time, no one had seen my true appearance inside the secret world.

The only person who knew my true face was my sweet Magaly, and I had left such a deep impression on that chocolate-colored MILF that, without a doubt, even if I died someday, she would still think of me.

My muscles began to contort, and my body changed.

Little by little, the appearance I had maintained for so long disappeared.

I suspected that after I left, the enemy academies would desperately search for an acolyte who simply did not exist. The more I imagined that scene, the more amusing it seemed.

And I would be standing right in front of them, appearing as nothing more than an ordinary acolyte specializing in engineering.

The exit of the secret world appeared before me. The light of the portal filled my field of vision, and then I stepped through.

My vision spun, and for a moment, I thought I was going to vomit. I had barely managed to regain my balance when a cold voice sounded beside my ear.

— Hurry up and move.

— Don’t block the way!

— Right.

I quickly bowed and left the exit area. Only then did I have time to look around.

It was practically the same scene I had seen before entering the secret world.

The three academies were arranged in a triangular formation. The Black Bull Tower and the Black Blood Tower remained relatively close to each other. Both were facing the Arcangrove Tower.

Even without anyone saying anything, the hostility was obvious.

It was then that I noticed someone who had not been there before.

A man dressed in a blue robe stood before the three presidents.

My attention was immediately drawn to him.

Who was that man?

Judging from the presidents’ behavior, his identity was clearly not ordinary.

My curiosity grew.

I fixed my gaze on him.

And then...

Shua!

The man turned his head.

He had noticed my gaze.

Our eyes met.

At that instant, the world stopped.

Everything around me seemed to freeze.

The people walking around transformed into blue crystal statues.

My mind went blank.

Only those eyes remained.

Then the statues around me began opening their mouths.

— George...

My heart sank.

— George...

One after another, they began repeating my name.

— George!

— George!

— George!

The sound grew louder and louder.

What was happening?

I tried to scream.

But no voice came out.

Then—

Peng!

The statues began to move. Green dust fell from their bodies as they surrounded me, completely drowning me in their midst.

— Argh!

I suddenly regained consciousness.

I gasped heavily.

My chest rose and fell rapidly, and cold sweat covered my forehead.

I looked around.

The nearby acolytes continued on as usual.

No one seemed to have noticed what had just happened to me.

I did not dare look toward the presidents again.

Then I felt something land on my head.

Two thick hands.

A white, incandescent light enveloped my head.

The feeling of discomfort gradually disappeared, and I immediately recognized that energy.

— Professor Totil!

I bowed deeply.

Under that white light, my mind finally returned to normal.

— Was it you who saved me?

Totil smiled.

— I wouldn’t exactly say that I saved you.

— I merely did you a small favor.

He led me back toward the Arcangrove Tower’s gathering area.

As we walked, he explained:

— Official Mages always possess some kind of defensive force field around their bodies.

— In most cases, they are activated instantly or remain active continuously. As for higher-level Mages...

Totil paused.

— Their force fields are even more powerful. An ordinary acolyte cannot even approach them.

— That Mage from the Sus Tower did not do it intentionally. He merely looked in this direction. Even so, many acolytes were immediately trapped in hallucinations.

He looked at me seriously.

— If a professor hadn’t been here, I don’t even want to imagine what might have happened to you.

My expression became serious.

Totil then placed a hand on my shoulder.

— George, before you become an Official Mage, remember to keep your distance from any high-ranking Mage. If you don’t...

He didn’t finish his sentence, but I understood exactly what he meant.

— I’ll keep that in mind.

My voice was extremely solemn.

At that moment, my determination to climb higher on the pyramid of power in the Magical World became even firmer. I didn’t want my soul to simply collapse in the future because some high-level Mage happened to cross my path.

Dying as some random cannon fodder would be far too humiliating.

— It’s all right now.

Totil’s voice brought me back to my thoughts.

He smiled sincerely.

— Welcome back, son.

— I’m also glad to be back, Professor.

Only then did I finally have time to observe the survivors of the Arcangrove Tower.

There were only a few acolytes standing behind the professors, and most of them were carrying injuries. Some had vacant expressions.

The Arcangrove Tower had suffered enormous losses.

It was then that I heard a familiar voice.

— George!

My heart warmed.

I turned around.

— Lina!

I smiled and immediately hugged her.

Her voice trembled.

— I still thought that you...

Tears appeared in her eyes.

I could tell that she had genuinely been worried about me.

I carefully examined her body.

There were no significant injuries.

I was somewhat surprised. Considering the situation the Arcangrove Tower was in, surviving without injuries was already noteworthy.

Then Lina explained:

— I found Mily shortly after entering.

She took a deep breath.

— Then I encountered an extremely powerful enemy acolyte. A stranger saved me. Later, I found Katsu. He was the one who kept me by his side, so I managed to survive until now.

She pointed toward an acolyte standing behind one of the professors.

I looked in that direction, and it really was Katsu. After three years, he looked much more mature.

With a Level 3 acolyte protecting Lina, along with some luck, it wasn’t difficult to understand how she had survived.

I didn’t ask any more questions. After exchanging a few words with Lina, I turned my gaze back toward the exit of the secret world.

Acolytes continued emerging.

However, most of them belonged to the enemy academies.

Very few wore the robes of the Arcangrove Tower.

But then Ruby emerged, covered in blood and wearing her red dress. She immediately walked toward Lucius, who looked at her and sighed in relief that his experiment was still alive.

Perhaps, for a while, the Arcangrove Tower would have more professors than acolytes.

Peng!

Another acolyte emerged from the passage.

There were several holes in the acolyte’s clothes, injuries covered his body, and he was covered in blood.

One of his arms was missing.

My pupils contracted.

It was Toral Grast!

Toral staggered forward.

He took a few steps, then saw his teacher.

A smile appeared on his face, and he fainted.

Shua!

A white figure immediately appeared before him.

The person caught him before he could fall.

When the white light disappeared, I could finally see her appearance.

A beautiful vampire with red eyes and extremely pale skin.

She had a mature and elegant figure and wore a luxurious-looking robe.

It was Professor Marcelina.

Marcelina had been the one who led the airship that took me to the Arcangrove Tower when I was still an ordinary human.

She was also Toral’s mentor.

Furthermore, she had previously gifted Toral a magical artifact.

It was obvious that she cared greatly about that disciple.

Then a powerful voice resounded across the field.

— It’s over!

— According to my detection, there are no more surviving acolytes inside the secret world.

— Seal the exit.

It was the man in the blue robe.

The entire area fell silent.

Then murmurs began spreading.

— No! Where is my Deilok? He’s still inside!

— Supreme Golden Fist? Come out quickly!

— He’s a genius acolyte!

— How could the Arcangrove Tower have defeated him?

The shouts came mainly from the enemy side.

I watched silently.

Curiously, the professors of the Arcangrove Tower seemed to have already expected this situation. Despite the absurd number of deaths, their reactions were much more restrained than I had imagined.

Even Chory, one of the most outstanding talents in engineering, had died.

When Totil received the news, he merely let out a low, sorrowful sigh.

Then, from the other side, I heard a scream.

— Deilok!

An old man with a black beard looked completely desperate.

— Deilok! Where are you?!

He began searching frantically.

— I placed a Mana-tracking spell on his body!

— He must be among us!

The old man then began chanting an incantation.

— Lookyz~!

A black light appeared over Toral’s unconscious body.

Within that light, an indistinct image of a Token emerged, and the golden shield on Toral’s body began to glow.

My expression remained impassive.

But inside...

I was extremely grateful.

Because it was the golden shield and the Token that I had discarded.

The old man’s expression changed.

— My Deilok...

His voice transformed into a roar.

— I’ll kill you!

An enormous storm of energy appeared above him.

The pressure caused the entire area to tremble.

.....

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