Zatiel and Ezequiel were leaving the tower to complete their mission in the Endless Forest. Zatiel was wearing his black magic robe and carrying his one-handed sword on his waist, while Ezequiel had his white magic robe on along with his short sword.
As they were about to leave the first level of the tower, a group of three apprentices headed in their direction.
The one in the lead approached Zatiel and Ezequiel and spoke.
"Hello, my name is Leonard. Can we go somewhere more quiet to speak?"
Zatiel looked at the man and his followers, and after a moment, he nodded, and they moved to an unoccupied place on the first floor.
While they were moving, Zatiel assessed the apprentices. Two were male, and one was female. The female apprentice was a Rank 3 with blond hair and a well-defined, albeit skinny, body. One of the males was also a Rank 3 apprentice, towering at 2.2 meters with a robust body, huge muscles, and an ape-like face.
As for Leonard, he stood at 1.9 meters with a handsome face. Despite his thin body, his magnetic force field was the strongest among the three, evident by the constant coldness in his surroundings. Zatiel could sense that Leonard possessed the power of a Pseudo-Magus.
'This Leonard should be following the path of an Elemental Magi, corresponding to water energy, and he probably specializes in the cold intent of water. As for the woman, I can't feel a dominant element in her spirit, so she's likely following the Arcane path. As for the last man, I sense a constantly changing power in his blood, indicating he is a Bloodline Apprentice. It's quite a well-rounded group, covering their individual weaknesses.'
Magi have a variety of paths they can follow to strengthen themselves, but the most mainstream ones are the four great paths corresponding to elemental magi, arcane magi, bloodline magi, and body-refinement magi.
Each path has its advantages in certain areas, be it battle power, versatility, or endurance, so there is no superior path.
The Elemental path involves transforming the body and spirit with the natural energies of the world. While this path limits the types of energies and spells one can use, it imposes almost no restrictions on one's path through the ranks and provides incredible battle power.
The arcane path is for those who do not wish to be restricted by the energies of the world and instead use arcane knowledge to enhance their abilities. While they may not be the most formidable on the battlefield, those marked by an arcane magi can expect to face hundreds of curses and strange phenomena.
The bloodline path involves utilizing the blood or organs of a powerful magical creature to change one's body and transform into a humanoid magical creature. This path generally produces the strongest magi, as the other paths still rely on their base as vulnerable humans. However, there is a downside to this path: the bloodline shackles. These shackles affect every bloodline magi, eventually making it nearly impossible to advance beyond a certain point.
The body-refinement path focuses on constantly strengthening the body with radioactive substances or poisons to stimulate its potential. Like bloodline magi, they are extremely resistant to physical damage. However, the human body has limited potential, so most body-refinement magi do not advance far in the ranks.
Of course, there are always exceptions, and exceptional geniuses within these paths become extraordinarily powerful.
After a moment, they arrived at a secluded corner on the first floor where they were alone.
"First of all, let me introduce ourselves. As I mentioned earlier, my name is Leonard, she is Beatriz, and the big guy is Arnold," said Leonard with a relaxed smile on his face.
"I am Zatiel, and he is Ezequiel. So, what do you want?" answered Zatiel with an emotionless face. Ezequiel simply nodded.
Arnold, immediately showed anger on his face due to the rude way of speaking, but Zatiel didn't even look at him. Just as Arnold was about to shout, Leonard raised his hand and stopped him.
"I want to give you some information. According to recent news I received, Arthur, Nick's brother, is back from his mission and they are likely to make a move very soon. I must warn you that Arthur is a Fire Elemental Pseudo-Magus, and he has a sizable group of followers," spoke Leonard with a smile still on his face, as if he hadn't detected Zatiel's previous tone.
Just as Zatiel was about to respond, the chip's voice was heard in his mind.
[Bip.. spells are being used on the host. The function of the spell appears to be to collect information about the host's emotional state.]
Zatiel glanced at the arcane apprentice but chose not to expose her. After all, using this type of spell on him was useless.
"Oh, is that all?" said Zatiel, displaying little concern for the content of the information. As long as his opponent wasn't Rank 1, they posed no threat to either him or Ezequiel.
Leonard couldn't help but change his expression upon seeing the indifference on Zatiel and Ezequiel's faces. He had expected at least some degree of concern from one of them, but nothing happened.
Recalling his original intention, he continued to speak.
"Actually, we can help you if you join us. Arthur won't dare to attack you."
"No need. If that is all you wanted to say, we need to leave," Zatiel spoke without even considering the proposition and started to leave.
"Wait, don't you think you're being too selfish by imposing your decisions on others?" said Leonard, now showing obvious anger on his face as he looked at Zatiel.
Zatiel immediately understood the meaning behind those words and couldn't help but make a mocking face at him.
"Little EZ, I think he is talking about you."
Ezequiel said nothing, but an immense killing intent radiated from him as he looked at Leonard. He understood the man's intention right away: to create friction between them and separate him from Zatiel.
How could Leonard know that, to Ezequiel, anyone who wanted to harm his relationship with his master was someone he would kill at the first opportunity?
The boy's reaction startled Leonard, who felt threatened by the intensity of Ezequiel's presence.
"There's your answer. Thanks for the information," said Zatiel as he left.
Ezequiel continued to stare at Leonard for a moment before following Zatiel.
"Bastards!" Leonard shouted as he saw the duo leave.
"Boss, that boy is truly terrifying."
The one who spoke was Arnold, whose back was now soaked in sweat. As a bloodline Apprentice, his instincts were keener than the rest, and he could subconsciously sense that he was in the presence of a higher life-form.
Leonard chose not to comment on Arnold's observation, as he too felt frightened by the boy. After a moment, he composed himself and looked at Beatriz.
"I sensed nothing from either of them, but that boy was ready to kill all of us without hesitation."
The reason Beatriz had remained silent during the meeting was that she needed to concentrate on releasing the spell and trying to sense the emotions of Zatiel and Ezequiel. Unfortunately for her, both of them had incredibly strong wills, and unless they wanted to show their emotions, they remained under control.
"Let's go. They are Arthur's problem now, and we will not interfere," said Leonard with an annoyed expression.
Both Arnold and Beatriz relaxed, knowing they would not be involved with those two.
...
The moment Zatiel and Ezequiel left the tower, they utilized their agility spells, enveloping themselves in shadows and lightning respectively, as they headed towards the Endless Forest.
Both of them had reached such a level of proficiency in their spells that the amount of Abyss Aura they used was almost equal to the amount they regenerated. Thus, as long as they only used it to enhance their speed, the cost was negligible.
After a couple of hours, they reached the Endless Forest. It was a place filled with gigantic trees, and immense mountains could be seen in the distance. This was a realm yet to be conquered by the Magi civilization.
The Endless Forest served as the home to powerful magical creatures of the Magi World, and it was also a place where various special herbs could be found.
Magical creatures controlled the forest, and the deeper one ventured, the stronger these creatures became. Finding magical creatures stronger than Rank 2 became easy the deeper one went.
The forest was always bustling with apprentices and Magi, either seeking the bodies of magical creatures or the special herbs they possessed. However, not all Magi returned as hunters; many became prey and ended up as food.
"Little EZ, remember what I told you. If you find yourself in danger, escape. Do not venture too far into the forest, only go deep enough to complete our mission. With our current strength, we can only act on the forest's periphery. If you go too deep, you may encounter a Rank 1 magical creature's territory. If that happens, contact me through the core, and I will come to help you," Zatiel spoke to the boy with a serious expression. After all, even he could perish in this treacherous place.
Ezequiel nodded, understanding the importance of never underestimating his opponents or overestimating his own abilities.
"And lastly, I'm sure we'll have some 'friends' from the tower keeping an eye on us. When the opportunity arises, you should take care of them," Zatiel said as he glanced in the direction of the tower. He could sense that someone was watching, but they were being cautious and staying hidden.
Ezequiel nodded, having also sensed that they were being observed. Although he lacked Zatiel's experience, the instincts of a Neo-Demon were exceptional.
"We will regroup here in a month."
Having finished speaking, Zatiel and Ezequiel parted ways and headed in different directions as they entered the forest.
Half an hour after their departure, seven figures appeared. They were all dressed in magical robes, with two men leading the group. One had tall stature, red hair, and a stoic face, while the other had a skinny body and a serpent-like face.
"Benjamin, you will take Nick and Robert and deal with the boy. I will take the rest and head for the other one," said the red-haired man to the skinny man.
"Brother, this is too much. I alone can handle that brat. Last time was just because he caught me by surprise!" Nick argued with the red-haired man.
"Shut up, you useless garbage! Haven't you already made me look bad enough?"
Though Nick was angry at being insulted, he didn't dare show it on his face and simply lowered his head.
"Benjamin, don't underestimate him. Something tells me he is dangerous."
"Don't worry, Arthur. I know what to do. Let's go," said Benjamin, the skinny man, before heading towards Ezequiel with two other apprentices.
Arthur watched them leave and then proceeded with the rest of the group in the direction Zatiel had gone.