Chapter 9 - Wishing for Strength
Afterward, Zwei found several more cherry baboon corpses nearby.
Similar to the first baboon corpse, the majority of these corpses had died miserable deaths. A few were even mostly devoured, with only the hard-to-swallow parts such as the head and limbs left.
By inspecting this scene of carnage, Zwei discovered good news and bad news.
The good news was that, based on the footprints and some other traces he found, he could determine that the invading predator was alone.
The bad news was that the predator had a terrifying appetite. If ignored, it would destroy the ecological balance of Rockdoor Mountain before long.
After wandering around the mountain a little more and finding no additional clues, Zwei returned to his mage tower. As he stood before it, he hesitated whether he should head down the mountain to pick up Alyssa.
However, before he could come to a decision, he noticed his student's petite figure carrying a bamboo basket up the mountain path.
Seeing that she seemed alright, Zwei inwardly felt relieved.
—After a day of silence—
At sunset, Alyssa exhaled lightly and opened her eyes, ending her four-hour meditation session. She immediately discovered something different about her teacher. Instead of meditating with her like usual, he was standing by the window, looking out of the tower, with a disturbed look on his face.
Before the blond girl could speak, Zwei had already sensed that she had finished her meditation. Turning around, he asked, "Are you going home now?"
The girl nodded obediently, the braids on both sides of her head bouncing with her movements. Her appearance looked incredibly cute.
"I'll send you off."
After all, they were currently in a time of crisis. If something were to happen to his precious student, he would definitely regret it.
Zwei walked toward the door and picked up a crudely crafted staff.
Zwei's predecessor had had to chant his spells, and this staff helped speed up its user's casting speed. However, Zwei was now capable of silent casting. Since he could use magic near-instantaneously, the staff's spellcasting acceleration was no longer of much use to him.
However, this thing looks quite sturdy. On the off chance that I fail to cast my magic, I can still use it for melee.
Zwei felt that he was very thorough in his considerations.
"Huh? Teacher…" Alyssa never expected Zwei to make such a suggestion. For a moment, she failed to react properly as she blankly blinked aqua-blue eyes. Then, a faint blush spread across her fair cheeks as she lowered her head and protested softly, "That's not necessary, right…"
"It's okay." Zwei's mind was currently occupied with the mysterious predator, so he naturally didn't notice the little girl's beautiful and tempting look. "I'm your teacher."
In the end, Zwei ignored the little girl's objection and escorted her down the mountain. Fortunately, nothing happened during the journey.
After informing Alyssa that she didn't need to deliver dinner for him tonight, Zwei had her quickly head back home.
The little girl herself seemed to be in a good mood, as she skipped and hopped back to the village. Seeing this, Zwei felt a little relieved.
Until the matter of the predator was resolved, Zwei did not dare to meditate. After all, if a set of fangs were to greet him when he ended his meditation, his modern heart wouldn't be able to take it.
"I wonder if my body remains in the real world when I enter the dungeon…"
While Zwei was muttering to himself on his way back to his mage tower, he noticed a faint smell of blood in the air.
Maintaining vigilance, Zwei squeezed the staff in his hand and walked toward the scent's origin.
Shortly after, he came across a dead mountain moose near the mountain path.
The mountain moose had a hunting level of Level 1. The only thing it was good at was running; it had almost no means of attack. Moreover, its meat was tender, and its fur was gorgeous. Hence, it was the favorite prey of the village hunters that frequented Rockdoor Mountain.
However, the mountain moose before Zwei clearly didn't die a natural death. Its neck bone seemed to have been broken by a bite, and its neck was twisted at a very awkward angle. The majority of its internal organs had been eaten as well, the meat on its body basically devoured clean.
However, only a few flies had gathered around the corpse; this meant that it hadn't been long since the mountain moose got killed. Moreover, this indirectly showed that the predator was a quick eater.
If the predator's foraging route had deviated just slightly at the time, Zwei and Alyssa might've become its meal instead.
It might have been fine if it were before Zwei's transmigration. After all, Zwei's predecessor was a bona fide Basic Magician. Monsters below Level 10 were no threat to him at all. In fact, he even stood a chance against monsters above Level 10!
However, the current Zwei was merely an Apprentice Magician, just slightly stronger than an ordinary person. Aside from Magic Bullet, the only other magic he could use was Fireball! Moreover, it was even of an inferior grade!
If Zwei met the mysterious predator in his current state, it would be hard to say who had a better chance of winning.
Should I abandon this place and stay at Alyssa's for a while?
However, Zwei quickly dismissed this thought from his mind. Although there was no such thing as a heart demon in magic cultivation, there was still the possibility of suffering trauma. If that happened, it would definitely affect his ability to meditate to temper his magic power, as well as his ability to understand the magical mysteries.
Paraphrasing the words of a certain novel: if you can't even understand your thoughts, how can you improve your skills!
"As long as I do another dungeon run and gather the necessary Metal resource, I can construct the Dean's Mage Tower. Then, I won't have to worry about anything!"
Unlike Zwei's shoddy mage tower, a true mage tower came with magical defensive measures. Some powerful mage towers even had attack functions! If the system's mage tower was anything good, he wouldn't have to worry about that mysterious predator at all.
After thinking up to this point, Zwei plucked up his courage and vigilantly walked toward the stone building he called a mage tower.
Back at the mage tower, he dragged all the furniture inside to barricade the entrance. Only after doing so did he have a sense of security.
Then, he simply sat on the floor and started meditating.
There was still a lot of time before midnight. Even if he suffered mental damage, he still had to meditate desperately and seize every minute to improve his strength!
Previously, after discovering that the Magic Academy System was actually useful, Zwei had subconsciously relaxed. He felt that so long as he relied on the system, he could quickly surpass ordinary people, even without working hard.
However, the appearance of the mysterious predator had thoroughly shaken him to his senses. He understood that even if he had a system that defied common sense, if he did not strive to improve his strength, he could still become monster food!
Although the predator's appearance placed Zwei in a dangerous situation, it also gave impetus for him to become stronger. This had to be the so-called "good fortune follows upon disaster."