One after another, all the apprentice crouched low to retrieve the beast cores embedded within the corpses of the fallen magic beasts.
Among them...
Kelvin remained where he was.Unlike the others, he made no move to retrieve a beast core.His eyes remained fixed on the shimmering barrier in the distance.It rippled quietly, just as it had since the battle began.Yet the two sentient magic beasts still hadn't appeared.His brows gradually furrowed.It didn't make sense.The ordinary magic beasts had stopped pouring out. Every wolf and serpent that had emerged had already been dealt with. By all logic, the two sentient magic beasts should have stepped onto the battlefield by now.
So why were they still waiting?The question refused to leave his mind.Were they observing?Planning something?
Or...
Had something changed?Kelvin couldn't tell.His gaze remained on the barrier for several more seconds before instinctively sweeping across the battlefield.The apprentices had relaxed considerably.
Some were talking quietly amongst themselves.Others had already begun collecting the beast cores scattered throughout the ruined street, their earlier fear replaced by excitement.
After all...
A single beast core could be sold for nearly a thousand dollars.For newly awakened sorcerers, it was a fortune.
Kelvin's eyes drifted across one apprentice after another before returning to the shimmering barrier.Nothing.
Not even the slightest movement.
His eyes swept across the battlefield once more.This time...They paused.Not because of the barrier.But because of the ruined storefront a few meters away from Sofia.At first, he thought nothing of it.Then...Something caught his attention.
A small patch of grey fur.Barely visible beneath the collapsed concrete.Had his eyes moved a fraction of a second sooner or later...He never would've noticed it.
Kelvin's breathing instinctively slowed.His gaze sharpened.The wolf wasn't moving.It remained completely still beneath the shadows of the ruined storefront.Only part of its hide and the edge of its snout could be seen through the broken debris.
Its crimson eyes never left Sofia.It wasn't hiding.It was waiting.Waiting...For the perfect opportunity.
Kelvin shifted his gaze toward Sofia.She had lowered herself even further.One hand rested against the carcass of the wolf while the other reached toward the beast core embedded deep within its chest.She hadn't noticed.She couldn't have.From where she was crouched, the ruined storefront lay outside her line of sight.Even if she heard something...By the time she looked up...Kelvin's expression grew grim.It would already be too late.It was only a few seconds before it came out.
His mind instinctively measured the distance between them.His heart sank.
Too far.The answer came almost instantly.Even if he sprinted with everything he had...Even if he ignored the limits of his body...He wouldn't reach her.
Again and again, his thoughts raced as he desperately searched for an answer.
His eyes settled on the wolf once more.
His raised hand.Manipulation it was the only way but ever since he reached first circle he had tried countless times complex objects he could not move and a living beast was far more complex that anything he had manipulated still he couldn't let his teammate die right in front of him
Kelvin extended his hand toward the hidden wolf.Without holding anything back...He poured every single strand of mana he possessed into the spell.
Mana surged through Kelvin's body like a river that had burst through its banks.
Every strand of it rushed toward his outstretched hand without the slightest reservation.He didn't leave even a single trace behind.His entire body trembled as the spell took shape.The invisible force crossed the distance between him and the hidden wolf in an instant.
For the briefest moment...Nothing happened.Then the wolf moved.It exploded from the shattered storefront.
Concrete burst apart.Broken glass scattered through the air.The deafening crash echoed across the ruined street.
At that same instant, Kelvin pulled.The wolf's charging body shuddered violently.
It was as though an invisible hand had seized it from the side.The wolf refused to yield.Its claws carved long trenches through the shattered vehicle as it fought against the invisible force dragging it away.
Kelvin pulled with everything he had.
Every strand of mana remaining within his body poured into the spell.The wolf's body was forced off its course.Only slightly.Not enough.It twisted its body with astonishing agility, forcing itself back toward Sofia.Kelvin's face paled.The veins across his forehead bulged violently.His outstretched arm trembled uncontrollably.The invisible force surrounding the wolf shuddered as though it would collapse at any moment.
The wolf lunged.Its bloodstained claws swept toward Sofia.At the very last instant, she instinctively turned toward the explosion.She didn't even have time to understand what was happening.
One of the claws grazed across her shoulder.
Tear!
Blood splashed into the air as the force of the blow threw her sideways onto the broken road.Kelvin's pupils contracted.
"No..."
His entire body shook violently.Every last strand of mana within him erupted.The mana fluctuations surrounding him suddenly became chaotic, spinning violently around his body.The invisible barrier that had restrained him for days shattered beneath the overwhelming surge.
Boom!!
He broke through to the third level The invisible force multiplied severalfold.The wolf's body was violently ripped away before it could launch a second attack.It crashed into an abandoned vehicle with a thunderous explosion, the impact caving in the metal before sending the entire vehicle skidding across the ruined street.
Only then did the battlefield fall silent.
No one moved.No one spoke.Every pair of eyes remained fixed on the abandoned vehicle.Its twisted frame groaned as it slowly rocked to a stop.The wolf lay buried beneath the crumpled metal.
For a brief moment...
Nothing happened.
Then A low whimper escaped from beneath the wreckage.Blood trickled from the corner of the wolf's mouth as it struggled to rise.Only then did everyone finally react.
"Sofia!"
Aiden was the first to move.He shot toward her at full speed, reaching her in only a few strides.She was already pushing herself up from the shattered road.One hand instinctively covered her shoulder.Blood seeped steadily between her fingers where the wolf's claw had barely torn through her uniform and flesh.
It wasn't deep.
But it was enough to leave everyone with a lingering sense of fear.Had the wolf advanced even another fraction...The claw would've struck her neck.She looked at the blood on her hand before turning toward the wrecked vehicle.Her breathing became uneven.Only now did she realize...She had nearly died.
Several meters away.At that same instant, every last strand of mana left Kelvin's body.The strength supporting his body disappeared completely.His legs gave out beneath him.He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as sweat poured from his face.
His vision blurred.Every breath felt heavier than the last.marcus was the first to react.
"Kelvin!"
He rushed toward him without hesitation.
Aiden, Noah and Sofia quickly followed behind him.The Azure Tower apprentices stood rooted to the spot, their eyes shifting between the wrecked vehicle and Kelvin, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
On top of the vehicle, Kenny's expression changed.The moment Kelvin dropped to one knee, he instinctively stepped forward.He was about to rush over.Daniel immediately reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"Did you forget the bet?"
Kenny didn't even look at him.
"I don't care."
His voice was firm.
"I'll give you the spell formula."
His eyes never left Kelvin.
"But none of my apprentices are dying on my watch."
Before Kenny could take another step...Kelvin slowly stood back up.His breathing remained heavy, and his face was deathly pale from exhausting every last strand of mana within his body.The violent mana fluctuations surrounding him continued to spin wildly.Kenny, who had been about to rush over only a moment earlier, slowly came to a stop.
His eyes lingered on the mana fluctuations surrounding Kelvin before the corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.The tension that had gripped him faded.A faint smile appeared on his face.
"The bet still stands."
As he could finally tell the reason Kelvin fell to his knees
Daniel shook his head
As Kelvin had stood back up.His breathing remained heavy as he steadied himself.Instinctively, he circulated the little mana that had begun recovering within his body.
His eyes widened.
The familiar resistance was gone.The bottleneck that had held him back for days had completely disappeared.Mana flowed through his pathways with a smoothness he had never experienced before.He had...Broken through to the third level
Just then, the shimmering barrier rippled violently.The air across the battlefield suddenly became heavy.Every apprentice instinctively turned toward it.The two sentient magic beasts...Were finally making their move.