At Aldric's command, a mage slowly stepped out from behind him.
He was a small, unimposing figure, but the robe he wore shimmered in a faint shade of violet.
Kyle's "mother" had drilled this knowledge into him since as far back as he could remember: judge a mage's rank by the color of their robe, and act accordingly.
Light purple.
A Level 7 Mage.
Which meant that this unremarkable-looking man before him had already stepped into the ranks of high-level mages.
Kyle felt his scalp tingle, a creeping sense of danger unlike anything he had ever known washing over him.
"Kyle, remember this—if you ever spot a mage of this level from a distance, turn and run immediately."
"Don't hesitate."
"Leave, as fast as you can."
But now, all paths of escape had been blocked.
Behind him stood the kind-hearted stranger who had intervened earlier.
Kyle shut his eyes for a brief moment, and when he reopened them, they were filled with unwavering resolve.
He didn't know why they wanted to kill him.
Nor did it seem like they cared to offer an explanation.
But...
"I can die, but this traveler has nothing to do with me. Let her leave first."
A heavy silence settled over the four people standing opposite him.
The small mage lifted his eyelids at Kyle's words, his gaze flicking toward the hooded figure behind Kyle.
He hesitated.
He could have killed Kyle the moment the order was given. The reason he hadn't acted yet was precisely because of the mage standing behind the boy.
A deep hood completely obscured the stranger's face, leaving his/her identity unreadable.
A robe of dark gray—no obvious insignia or markings.
The mage could be a mere apprentice.
Or, could be a high-ranking mage on a secret mission, one who could not afford to be exposed.
As the third-ranked mage within the Rhein household, he had been personally assigned by Baron Rhein to protect Aldric von Rhein.
The Baron's instructions were clear: follow Aldric's orders unconditionally.
But above all—do not bring powerful enemies upon the Rhein family.
A high-level mage would have no trouble discerning the rank of a lower-level one.
He had already cast a detection spell in secret, attempting to assess the opposing mage's strength.
Yet, he found nothing.
His magic could not pierce through whatever protections concealed the stranger's identity.
Seeing his protector's continued inaction, Aldric shot him a questioning glance but refrained from pressing the issue.
For all his arrogance, he knew Elwin well—his bodyguard was meticulous and never hesitated without reason.
But the freckled boy standing beside Aldric grew impatient.
Behind him stood another mage—a Level 5. He is an earth-element mage.
This mage was not his personal guard, but rather a temporary escort assigned by his family to help him maintain good relations with Aldric.
They had only met earlier that afternoon.
Here in Silverleaf City, a remote, rural city, a Level 5 Mage was already considered top-tier.
Killing a mere commoner was hardly worthy of his involvement.
But the freckled boy cast him a knowing glance.
The mage understood immediately.
Elwin was likely refraining from acting out of pride—such a trivial task was beneath him. But this was an excellent opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Rhein family's top enforcer.
What better chance?
And so, he stepped forward, cold eyes locking onto Kyle.
The moment their gazes met, Kyle felt as if an icy spike had pierced his forehead—a chilling, sharp pain spreading through him.
The mage's stance shifted slightly—his body leaning forward, palms facing downward, eyes trained on the ground beneath Kyle's feet. His lips moved in a low incantation.
"Terra Potentia, Audi Me, Perfora Hostes!"
The earth beneath Kyle's feet trembled, a faint shudder at first—then something began to stir below, as if the ground itself had come alive.
Within twenty seconds, jagged stone spikes erupted from the earth with terrifying speed, lancing toward him, aimed to skewer him in an instant.
But at that exact moment, Ava—who had been frantically searching through the game's item list—finally found something that looked powerful enough to help.
Without a second thought, she made the purchase.
[Master-tier Magic Defense Artifact: Shadowguard Amulet — Price: $30]
[Item Description]
[Provides complete immunity to attacks from Mages of Level 1-9.]
[Can be assigned to a specific target.]
[Activates automatically.]
[Remaining uses: 10.]
[ Noland Continent Market Price: 100,000 gold coins.]
Ava felt a bit uncertain. Due to the urgency of the situation, she had no time to carefully read the product description—not that she would have understood it anyway. In fact, with time pressing, the moment she saw the words "Master-level" and "Defense," she immediately clicked purchase.
Thirty dollars. Not very expensive, and the 'Master-level' looked impressive.
She wondered if this item could withstand the opponent's attack.
Just as the earth spikes were about to pierce Kyle, a teardrop-shaped blue crystal brooch suddenly appeared silently on his chest. From the brooch, a deep blue light erupted in all directions, forming a blue barrier that instantly enveloped Kyle completely.
The moment the spikes struck the barrier, a muffled impact sound rang out, but the barrier remained utterly unshaken. The spikes were forcibly stopped outside, unable to advance even an inch.
Elvin stood frozen, staring in shock at the protective amulet on Kyle's chest.
At that moment, the deep blue crystal continued to shine, and the barrier persisted for a full five seconds before slowly dissipating.
As the light faded, Kyle remained unscathed.
Even after the glow completely vanished, the powerful magical energy lingering in the air still left Elvin unsettled.
A Master-level magical artifact!
And it was casually given to a mere commoner!
This level of defensive magical item—he had only ever seen it once before, in the possession of his own teacher.
Even his teacher owned only one such artifact.
A deep sense of apprehension rose in his heart.
"It seems my suspicions were correct. The magician on the other side possesses unfathomable power.
"Luckily, I've always been cautious and didn't act recklessly just now…"
But even though he hadn't made a move, he had already become enemies with this enigmatic mage. A trace of frustration crept into his thoughts.
Aldric might be arrogant, but he wasn't bloodthirsty. Why had he personally come to kill this commoner this time?
At this thought, he glanced at the freckled youth.
It must have been that scheming Hoffmann family brat who goaded Aldric into this.
Despicable.
But now, it wasn't the Rhein family that had provoked a life-or-death feud with this mysterious magician—it was the Hoffmann family.
With that in mind, he cast a cold glance at the pale-faced, sweat-drenched magician beside him, his eyes flashing with ridicule.
"The Hoffmann family… a bunch of complete fools."
But in Aldric's heart, a tempest raged.
Though young, he was well-versed in the ways of the world.
He could tell at a glance—even if all four of them combined their strength, they would still be no match for that magician.
Yet Elvin was mistaken.
This afternoon, the one who had first proposed killing Kyle was not the freckled youth, Sebastian Hoffmann—it was Aldric himself.
That morning, Aldric had finally found an opportunity to orchestrate a "coincidence" and introduce his name to Isaac Grimwell.
When Isaac showed an interested expression, Aldric was overjoyed and was about to provide a more detailed self-introduction.
But at that moment, George hurried over and reported that the beggar at the academy gate had undergone an elemental affinity test—with a result of zero.
Isaac Grimwell immediately cut off his conversation with Aldric and left in a rush.
After that, Aldric never got another chance to speak with him again.
What was most infuriating was that an hour later, Isaac publicly announced that he had taken on a new personal disciple—and would not be accepting any more students.
That so-called lucky one had neither Aldric's talent nor his noble background.
He was merely—coincidentally—a fire-element mage.
The Rhein family had spent an enormous fortune just to gather this information.
They had painstakingly orchestrated that "coincidental" meeting of himself and Isaac Grimwell.
And now, all of it—ruined—by that damned beggar.
With a dark expression, Aldric made his first decision since arriving in Silverleaf City.
He would personally go and kill that beggar.
But he had never expected that lurking behind that mud-on-his-feet beggar was a mysterious magician.
His gaze darkened, and in an instant, he connected countless dots.
Was this all a deliberate setup against the Rhein family?
Or
A trap meant for him?
At that thought, a cold sweat broke out across his back. He cast one last deep glance at the magician opposite him—then turned and tried to leave immediately.
"Move."
Unfortunately, they no longer had a chance to leave
"Stop!" Ava and Kyle spoke at the same time.
The bodies of all four opponents stiffened—they actually didn't dare take another step. They froze on the spot, eyes lowered, not even daring to look at the puppet.
The reckless magician who had cast the spell earlier was now so terrified he was on the verge of tears.
Yet to Kyle and Ava, their reaction was entirely misinterpreted.
The four aristocrats—lofty and untouchable—didn't even deign to look at them.
Neither Kyle nor Ava understood just how powerful the defensive artifact had been.
They also didn't know that the item still had nine more uses.
After all, Kyle's knowledge of magic came solely from a household servant pretending to be his mother. His understanding was, naturally, limited.
He assumed that magical artifacts were all single-use.
Yet Aldric's murderous intent before turning away cut into Kyle like a blade.
If they let them go now, who knew when they would return?
These guys can show up everywhere at any time.
Midnight, dawn, midday…
An attack could come at any time, impossible to guard against.
It would be best to resolve the issue now, to find out why they wanted to kill him—and to settle the matter face to face.
Actually, according to Kyle's true intentions, he genuinely wanted to kill the four people in front of him right now.
However, while he himself had no fear of death, he couldn't be so selfish.
Because of his personal affairs, he had dragged this kind-hearted magician into trouble.
As for Ava, her decision came from something simpler.
On her computer screen, the four red dots representing the enemies darkened to crimson the moment they turned away.
A mortal feud had formed—an irreconcilable grudge.
Heh.
She was already about to die. Even in a computer game, four NPCs went out of their way to pick a fight with her.
Huh???
Ava absentmindedly browsed the in-game store.
Amidst a sea of $10 and $20 items, she suddenly spotted a $50 magical spell.
She lazily cast one last glance at the four crimson dots on the screen.
Then, with a casual flick of her finger—
She clicked the left mouse button.
These four villainous NPCs had come all this way.
They wouldn't be leaving.
Ever.
...
Elvin was indeed worthy of his rank as a Level 7 mage—his combat experience was exceptional.
The moment he heard that sharp "STOP," he knew trouble was inevitable.
Positioning himself discreetly behind the other three, he gave the barest twitch of his right arm. A small, round button—no larger than a thumbnail—slipped into his palm. Its surface was polished to a mirror-like silver sheen, and a delicate ring of runes was etched along its edge.
Keeping the corner of his eye on Ava and Kyle, he silently activated the runes. A faint blue glow shimmered across the button's surface.
His heart pounded so fiercely that it felt as if it might leap from his chest. A single bead of sweat slid down his forehead. Only when the blue glow appeared did he feel the slightest hint of relief.
"Your honorable mage," he spoke carefully, his tone measured as he addressed the gray-robed spellcaster. "This is nothing more than a misunderstanding. Once we go back, I assure you—the Hoffmann family will provide you with an explanation."
But the two before him remained silent. Kyle, in particular, regarded him with an icy, unwavering stare.
Elvin clenched his jaw.
With a sharp breath, he raised the button high, his voice carrying an unmistakable edge of warning.
"I have already recorded your images. If you let us go, I swear on my honor that I will destroy the recording immediately. But if you refuse…" His tone darkened. "I will send this footage through a magic channel directly to the Rhein family."
"And then, you will have every mage and swordsman in the Duchy of Rhein hunting you down."
"To the death."
However, he was still too late.
The response to his threat came not in words, but in the form of a spell detonating in his ears.
The voice was like a god whispering at the edge of his consciousness—a sound that tore through his very soul.
"Ignis Aeternum, Magus Deleto!"
As the incantation rang out, the sky above them was instantly stained a deep, blood-red.
The very air seemed to ignite, twisting and distorting as a massive vortex of flames formed in the blink of an eye. From its darkened core, a jet of black fire erupted forth—a roaring dragon of destruction, hurtling straight toward them.
Everything in its path warped and withered beneath its searing heat.
Aldric and the others had no time to resist. The moment the fire touched them, it consumed them whole, their agonized screams piercing the air.
Within the inferno, faint silhouettes of their souls could be seen—writhing, burning, and finally disintegrating into nothing but ash.