It's really no wonder that any Mage is heavily depended on. Their powers are not only versatile but extremely dangerous to use.
Harvey was stunned into a brief awe.
While Ervin silently approached the team, deep in his own thoughts. As he got close, Jorge and Jerry were already digging out the beast's demonic core.
Dylan turned over to Ervin, faintly smiling at him as he said, "Keep up the good work and one day this will be your level of power."
Ervin silently nodded. While Harvey walked over, still in a slightly awe-inspiring stupor, murmuring out loud, "I see...seeing it up close is far different than videos and stories."
The reaction of Harvey was to be expected. To be calm like Ervin was a little bit rarer but nothing too uncommon.
Dylan faintly smiled as he could see a bit of himself in these two new aspiring recruits.
As the others were finished with the beast's corpse, Dylan said one last thing to them, "But always remember even with our level of power, having a team is an absolute must when going out to the Twilight Wood. You never know what kind of creature you can discover, even in the outer area."
"Understood." Ervin and Harvey seriously nodded.
It was especially telling for them to see how despite outclassed the Demonic Lion was, it still managed to struggle to the very end. Completely overpowering Demonic beasts was the only reliable way to kill them.
Once Jorge and Jerry were done collecting the demonic core, Dylan led them back on their patrol path.
Hours quickly slipped by on their long patrol.
Nothing too much of note occurred that got Ervin thinking. Everything went as one would expect.
He and Harvey personally killed one more Demonic Beast while Dylan team slayed several stronger Class 1 Demonic Beasts, including another one that was in the Perfection Stage.
The patrol was long and a bit tedious. It was also a drain on the mind since they were under the constant threat of getting attacked from any side.
Harvey certainly felt some fatigue flow through his body. But he never once issued any complaint.
Ervin was tired to a degree. But just like his partner, he never once said anything about it, already getting used to his role as a Mage Enforcer.
When night had finally come, their first patrol came to can calm end. The trail back to the city didn't have anything of particular interest to note. They were safe back inside the city walls in just a short amount of time.
Once inside, still near the city gates, Dylan and the others nodded at the new recruits. Each of them could confidently say they could see the making of good Mage Enforcers in both of them.
Dylan began to explain, "Excellent work on your first mock patrol. I will report back to our commanding officer and see how many more mock patrols you will need before forming your own team with a veteran. Until then, give me your phone numbers. When I text you, both of you will promptly come over to get the patrol started, understood?"
"Understood." Ervin and Harvey nodded while exchanging their phone numbers with Dylan.
Once everything was dealt with, Dylan, Jerry, Jorge, and Sydney gave one last nod to the new recruits before making it back over to the Mage Enforcer's estate.
Once they were finally alone, Harvey released a massive sigh. He slouched over in exasperation, his brows dripping with sweat as he said, "What a first day, huh? Doing that for weeks, months, years...no wonder Mage Enforcers are on a completely different level than us."
"They are all quite something." Ervin gave an indifferent nod.
Since they were going to be partners for the time being, it was much more beneficial to get along with Harvey than to simply ignore him, even as he wasn't interesting in Ervin's eyes.
At this point, Harvey caught his breath and slowly straight back up. Fatigue was evident on his face. But those tired eyes still gleamed a brilliant light of hope.
"Yea, one day, we'll be the ones showing the new recruits the ropes and inspiring peace across the entire city! Ah, no matter how long it will take, I know we can get there. But before any of that, I really need to get something to eat. What's your plan?" Harvey curiously asked.
Clear respect shined within his eyes when he looked at Ervin. The skills he has and the zero hesitation he has are enough to leave a deep impression in Harvey's mind.
Ervin could tell that Harvey most likely wanted to do something with him to further ties between them.
Not all that interested in doing more than he should, Ervin feigned the same fatigue and said, "Same as yours. Getting something to eat and resting up for tomorrow. This patrol is quite draining. Hopefully, it will get better once we get stronger."
"I know it will. Dylan and the others didn't even break a sweat this entire time! Alright, see you tomorrow, Ervin." With a smile and a goodbye wave, Harvey quickly walked off to take the nearest public transportation to get home.
Ervin began to walk off, but not towards his home. He instead went to a few specific streets, eventually getting close to a bustling neighborhood where the people walking had strange appearances.
Many of them wore sleek suits or dresses, exuding the elegance of any noble person. While many others dressed in pure black clothing while also using a mask to cover their identities.
The stores and buildings in this area held bright neon signs rippling with mystical lights of Magical energy. These lights of magic had the specific effect of pulling people's attention towards them, making anyone want to go inside and see just what was going on.
Before entering this area, Ervin went to a secluded alleyway to get changed. He switched his outfit to the similar all-black clothing with a mask that others were wearing.
In clothing, Ervin set his target on a neon magic sign that stated, 'Light Chances of Riches!'
Indeed, what Ervin wanted to do now was a little bit of gambling since he had some money to do so.
He wouldn't get paid for his mock patrols until later this week. And he wanted to get a headstart on reaching the middle stage of Novice Mage sooner rather than later.
The currency used is also what all Mages need in order to empower their Magical Cores, Magical Crystals.
Ervin has a considerable amount of the lowest form of crystals, the white magical crystals from killing Robert and Caryla.
With these crystals in his pocket, Ervin entered the Light Chances of Riches building and went straight over to play a 21-card game.
Ervin would consider his luck as decent. He had off days and good days, so he was fairly confident in winning a few rounds.
Ervin thought it would just be an ordinary day of gambling. However, as he got to the table, his ears managed to pick up on something.
Even with the loud bustling noise of the main lobby, Ervin used his magical sense to see if somebody here had anything of use to say.
And to his luck, two people's conversations truly intrigued him. He took a swift glance over to see that it was two genuine Mages of noble birth casually talking with each other.
The luxurious Mage robes donning their bodies already gave them a huge status that could not be ignored.
Without a care in the world, one of them was saying, "Take it easy man. We'll finally get our lucky break real soon. There are some rumors that the Heavy Black Mist may strike us again. And those fucking higher nobles are doing everything they can to pressure the mayor for some, as they say, 'contributions' for an emergency."
The man across from him took a swift sip of his drink. He loudly sighed with tired eyes, saying, "I hope something can finally happen. I may not be a higher noble, but we should have just as much glory as any of them!"
With that, Ervin turned those two out to focus on his own game. Noble Mage families had always faintly intrigued Ervin.