7 Star Wizard.
The meaning of those words was by no means simple.
It was, in fact, the first step into the realm of Archmages and they were guaranteed to be given at least the title of Earl in any country on the continent.
The Kastkau Empire which was also called the Magic Empire listed the names of every 7-star wizard on a stone tablet in the Imperial Palace. An action that was considered by the wizards to be one of the highest honours.
Frey walked into his room.
Then he scattered frozen crystals that he had made whenever he had free time, around the room.
These were made with Adelia's advice and the effect was excellent.
Cold air immediately spread across the room as if it was winter.
Frey waited for a while and then sat when it was cold enough that he could see his own breath.
Then he took the elixir made from Torkunta's heart and drank it in one gulp.
Frey's face immediately turned red.
"…"
It felt like he had swallowed a ball of fire.
The sensation of it going down his throat was as clear as if he was holding it in his hand.
The first thing that had a reaction was the Frozen River that had been stored in his mana room.
Saaah.
Fire and Ice.
Similarly to when he was on the Drake Mountain, the two energies began clashing again and again.
However this time, the Frozen River was gently enveloping Torkunta's power.
"…"
Frey couldn't help but give a small smile. It was different from the last time.
At that time he could not control the power of the Frozen River and he had only been able to use Torkunta's unrefined power.
However the cold energy was now stable and Torkunta's heart had been refined to make it easier to digest.
As Adelia had warned him, the refinement had greatly boosted the ME, but that wasn't much of a problem.
He was rather pleased.
Kooo.
Frey sank into meditation and time passed slowly.
And by the time Mikel came to visit him, he had already made the power of Torkunta's heart his own.
In other words, Frey was now a 7-star wizard.
* * *
Holbridge.
This was the name of a small village that was located not far away from Uthiano.
Mikel seemed to think that there was a high possibility that the Apostle was there. And the moment that Frey set foot in the village, he was sure that Mikel's assumptions were correct. 'Divine power. Just feeling it makes me nauseous.'
He felt so disgusted that he had goosebumps.
More importantly, the village was too quiet. Even though it was still the middle of the day, somehow the village carried a dark feeling.
"It's a really small village. There are fewer than 500 residents here and because they are basically self-sufficient, they rarely interact with other villages."
"The perfect place for the Apostle to play some tricks."
"Exactly."
At Liamson's words, Mikel gave a nod.
Then Camille's ears pricked.
Several young and middle-aged men were approaching them.
A middle-aged man at the front looked at Mikel's robes before bowing his head.
"Are you a wizard from the Magic Tower?"
"That's right. And you are?"
"I am the mayor of Holbridge, Allard."
Allard answered him with a fearful expression on his face.
"…may I ask why Sir Wizard has come to our village?"
"Have any strangers come to this village recently?"
"Strangers you say…?"
Allard tilted his head to one side and seemed as if he was trying to recall to the best of his ability.
Soon he shook his head.
"At least, not to my knowledge."
"…"
"Are there any dangerous criminals hiding around here?"
"Well. There is a possibility."
Allard seemed like he wanted to assure them, but it was dangerous to conclude that it couldn't happen.
Allard began to look more frightened.
Then Frey stepped forward.
"I only want to ask you one thing."
"P-, please ask."
"Where are all the villagers?"
"Yes?"
Allard had a puzzled expression on his face.
Frey simply turned his indifferent gaze to the village.
"I can't feel the presence of any villagers. It's as if the village is deserted with no one in it. It seems like there is no one but the five of you."
"Ah…today is…they have work to do. In the forest nearby…"
"All of the villagers?"
Allard broke into a cold sweat.
"Not all of them. Some…"
"Liamson, check it out."
"Got it."
Liamson's figure disappeared.
Mikel watched this scene in astonishment.
This was because a Dark Elf, who was known for being a warlike and prideful race, had followed Frey's orders as though he was a loyal subordinate.
After a while, Liamson returned.
"There is no one in the village. And…"
He looked at Allard without any expression on his face.
"There were large pools of blood."
"…K, kuoh!"
Allard's expression changed instantly.
Then a change began to take place.
His back became hunched, the nails on his curled fingers began elongating and his mouth ripped all the way to his ears.
He became a monster that looked like a wolf.
It wasn't just Allard, but also the men who were beside him that also began to transform.
"Th-, the Demigod's creatures!"
Mikel shouted and used a spell.
"Flame Wall!"
A wall of fire rose up in front of him.
"Kieeek!"
But the monsters easily broke through the wall and pounced at Mikel.
"Oh my God!"
He didn't expect them to break through a 4-star spell so easily.
Mikel's entire body stiffened.
He was a wizard who didn't have much practical experience.
But Frey had already finished casting his spell by then.
"Wind cutter."
Pah pah pat.
Blades made of invisible wind tore the bodies of the monsters into pieces in an instant.
The easily crossed flame wall was immediately overshadowed.
Most of the monsters' blood and body parts fell into a puddle. Only Allard was left.
He stared at Frey with an unbelievable expression.
"I-, impossible. A creature who directly received his power…d-, died from just a simple wind cutter…"
Bam.
Thud!
"Ugh…"
Liamson overpowered Allard and Frey walked up to him before speaking in a cold voice.
"Tell me everything you know."
"I, I don't know anything."
"…"
Of course, he didn't expect him to open his mouth so easily since he was a Demigod Fanatic.
Therefore Frey decided to use the most efficient method of torture.
Fire.
"Uh, uh…wh-, what are you doing?"
Crackle.
When a small flame appeared in Frey's hand, Allard began shaking his head with a horrified expression on his face.
"St-, stop!"
"Liamson, hold his left eye open."
Liamson did as he said and forced Allard's left eye open and as he did that, Frey's flame began shrinking until it would be able to fit in his eye.
Allard's already pale face paled even further.
"Can a wizard from the empire do something like this?!"
"There's no law that says I can't. In my eyes, you've already become livestock. Don't expect to be treated like a human being."
Just as Frey's flame was about to reach Allard.
"Stop."
It was Camille's voice.
Frey simply threw her a glance.
Instead, it was Liamson who got angry.
"You're not going to talk about morality and ethics here, are you a teacher?"
"Of course not. It's just that there is a simpler and easier way."
After saying that, she began muttering in a low voice.
Frey recognized the language even though he did not understand her words.
'Ancient Elvish?'
Shiiik-
Something bizarre then appeared from Camille's shadow.
It was a creature with a round body and a single eye.
Only then did Liamson realise what she meant.
"Ah…! I see. You're thinking about stealing the information using the spirits of Darkness."
"Is that a spirit of Darkness?"
"That's right. It's a Dark Gorun, a high class spirit."
The Dark Gorun rolled its eye around.
Then Camille spoke in a calm voice.
"Take control of that man's mind."
"…"
The Dark Gorun spoke in a weird voice before transforming into steam and being sucked into Allard's head.
"Hu-, huiiiik!"
Allard shook, his eyes closed and drool began pouring from his mouth.
He was like a man with a damaged brain.
Mikel couldn't help but ask anxiously.
"What if he dies?"
"I can control that much. It might look like it's going wrong but it's fine."
"…"
As he saw this, Mikel got the feeling that even if he had to die, he shouldn't get captured by a Dark Elf.
After a while, Allard, who looked completely muddleheaded, spoke quietly.
"Words…do it…"
Camille glanced and Frey, hinting for him to ask his questions.
"Where are the villagers?"
"All are de…ad."
Mikel shivered.
Camille and Liamson on the other hand did not show any emotion.
"Why did you kill them?"
"The offering…we needed to."
"What offering?"
"…create the creatures…to liberate the power of the
Apostle…"
"Liberate? What are you liberating?"
"Uh, uhh…"
Allard began to shake and Camilla cried out in haste.
"Get back!"
At that moment, Allard's body swelled.
His eyeballs popped out like they were about to fall out of his head and a strange sound could be heard from inside his body.
Boom!
Allard's body exploded his flesh, bones and blood scattering everywhere.
Frey didn't receive any damage as he activated the spell in his Typhoon Earrings.
Camille approached with a stiff face.
"His mind was already being controlled. He was supposed to explode right before revealing any important information."
"That's cruel. He's treating his own men as expendable."
"The situation is not good."
Mikel approached with a stiff face.
He pointed at the monsters on the ground and continued.
"There are also grades among Apostles. Weak ones can't create creatures, and they're not too hard to deal with. If he can make creatures of this level then the power of this Apostle is considerable. This…this problem is out of our league."
"So? Do you intend to withdraw?"
"In the first place, this was only for reconnaissance. First, let's head back to the tower and wait for Honor Lukes to return."
"We have to continue."
For a moment, Mikel and Frey's gazes clashed in midair, neither of them appearing like they would back down.
Finally, it was Mikel who opened his mouth.
"Why?"
"The Apostle is already aware of our approach now. We don't know when Honor Lukes is returning and there is no guarantee that the Apostle would still be here when he gets back. Which means you might lose him."
"Is there any other reason?"
"He wouldn't have time to come up with a contingency plan to deal with us right now. These flimsy creatures and the empty village are proof. When you return the next time you can be assured that he would have prepared effective countermeasures to welcome you."
"…you don't know anything."
Mikel shook his head.
"I've heard your reasons. We can say that they are not wrong and that there are benefits to going now, however, the disadvantage of not having Honor Lucas still outweighs them."
"What do you mean?"
"He's a 7-star wizard. You need at least one Archmage to fight an Apostle head-on. It's not a recommendation, it's a requirement. Just like a knight uses a sword and a wizard uses a staff."
"I can fill the space for Honor Lukes."
"Ha."
A looked of coldness flashed across Mikel's face.
"I admit that you have great talents and accomplishments for your young age, but arrogance will only lead you to an early grave."
"I'm not being arrogant."
"Do you really want me to get angry?"
"…"
Frey simply stared at Mikel and at that moment Mikel felt a shiver for some reason.
'Wh-, what was that?' He had an indescribable feeling.
Then Frey held out one palm.
As Mikel looked at it in confusion, flames appeared over his hand.
Crackle.
"What are you doing?"
Frey didn't answer.
Instead, he held out his other palm, and on this one, cold air began to form.
Crack.
As Mikel's expression became strange, Frey slowly began combining the flames and the cold air together.
"What!?"
Mikel was startled.
The fusion of two opposing elements!
That was crazy.
It was a suicidal act and it wouldn't be strange if it caused an explosion.
It was then that Mikel tried to stop him.
"What are you doing!?… Huh?"
The two elements merged together smoothly.
A small storm of fire and ice had been created above Frey's palm.
Mikel's expression hardened like a stone.
"Perfect fusion of opposing elements…th-, that's only possible after reaching at least 7 stars…"
Shuk.
"…I."
The storm disappeared from Frey's hand and he spoke in his usual indifferent tone.
"I'll fill the space of Honor Lukes."