That Demon Orb was absolutely magical.
Obviously, reaching Late Stage Novice Mage was one of the best gains he could ever obtain in such a short amount of time. His combat prowess had taken a great leap forward.
However, the greater gains were reaching peak Small Success in both Noble Mage Arts and the expansion of his magical talents!
Controlling the Noble Arts became nearly as easy as controlling one of his limbs. Peak Small Success Stage meant that Ervin comprehended a full 30% of the Noble Arts, the power he can now exert could not be compared to just entering the Small Success Stage.
More power does come at the fact that his Mana reserves will be used up far quicker. However, with the Demon Orb enhancing his magical veins and red magical core, the depths of his Mana reserves expanded by over six times!
Ervin was reaching the standards of having the reserves of a yellow-core talent. Pehrpes with several more Demon Orb absorptions, Ervin would finally be able to upgrade his magical talents.
Ervin could hardly suppress the tingles of anticipation.
More than enough time has passed since his last killings. Even if the higher-ups were becoming more suspicious of complete patrol team killings, nobody had any way to link it to Ervin because of his Complete Invisibility state.
Ervin hoped this hunt would provide better gains with his new advancements. Admittedly, he wasn't quite sure where his limits lay since he had yet to fight a foe on an equal level.
Even then, Ervin was sure that facing any Late Stage Novice Mage was but a simple issue for him.
For now, Ervin took his aura-suppressing pills, ready to start another standard day of routine patrol.
...
The sun was finally setting, casting a dark evening glow over the entire Lightwall City.
Ervin's patrol day went by perfectly fine. The aura-suppressing pills did their magic in hiding Ervin's true power.
Although, there were ways Ervin could show off without revealing his new base, but such a thing seemed pointless for Ervin. The work he shows nowadays was more than enough for Ervin to be known as a good Mage Enforcer valued by the generals.
Ervin soon splits off from his team and began his usual preparation for his own style of hunt. He went into a typical secluded alleyway ready to cover himself at the right moment to sneak out.
Ervin didn't think anything different would happen today. It should just be another night of going into the forest for his hunt.
However, on this day, since he was still close to the resting areas of the city exit, a small group of Mage Enforcers happened to pass by the same alleyway Ervin was hiding in.
These three didn't look to be anything different from the common Mage Enforcers he had seen around. However, Ervin still decided to use his Magical Sense to see if he could gain anything useful.
What he thought to be a boring conversation was not true in the slightest.
Ervin's eyes slightly widened from what he managed to pick up on.
One of the men in the group was sighing, speaking with hope filling his tone. "Sheesh. The search party has been around for several hours and there's still not a single sign of that Non-Mage. I hope one of us finds her soon. It would be an utter failure on our part if she died just like that."
"Damn. I almost don't want to ask, but what would make a Non-Mage literally run into a death zone?" A woman in the group asked.
The calmest Mage in the group slowly said, "Most likely an unfavorable living situation at home. None of us should be surprised at the, let's just say, less-than-desirable living conditions for Non-Mages. But perhaps this can be a wake-up call to make some ripples. And let's not lose hope. I talked with the general, he said a team going west is the closest among them all to seeing the Non-Mage."
At this point, Ervin recalled his Magical Sense. Evident interest gleamed from his eyes.
Nothing about this Non-Mage herself could make Ervin care in the slightest. No. It was more the fact there are patrol groups specifically looking for this Non-Mage.
Search parties typically consisted of stronger Mage Enforcers than average. At the very least, they're far more powerful than teams with only Early Stage Novice Mages and one Adept Mage.
Ervin suddenly gained an idea. The risk of doing this was very high. But if he could pull this off, Ervin knew it would be utterly fantastic for his magical growth.
Everything depended on whether the search team in question was in a critical state where it would be more than simple to ambush them with his next skills.
With a risky plan in mind, Ervin instantly got to work.
He surged his Complete Invisibility state along with his Physical Mage Art to dash straight into the twilight woods. His speed was noticeably greater than a week in a half ago when going at his full force.
Ervin made a great trek, directly heading deep into the west region of the outer area.
Rushing crazily in would be impossible for nearly all other patrol team. The noise they made, their magical auras, all of it would be an intense signal flare to any Demonic Beasts wondering even a mile from their position. They would get swarm in only under a few seconds.
No such issues plagued Ervin's movement. Complete Invisibility negated any possible risk of attracting the attention of Demonic Beasts.
Ervin ran quite far into the west region. He had certainly trodden far enough to a point where there wasn't a hint of another human behind for miles.
The lack of progress led Ervin to believe that this patrol team probably took another route.
However, right when Ervin was about to choose a different direction to run in, his Magical Sense quickly detected several magical auras!
A cold chill swept through Ervin's spine. These magical auras weren't anything to scoff at or even think about resisting. Each of them exuded a far higher Magical power Ervin could only hope of one day grasping in the future.
Their magical power could absolutely raze through smaller cities, killing all insides while crushing their buildings.
Groups like this would be the one Ervin instantly ran away from. It would only be a death mission to ambush these types of groups.
However, the group Ervin sensed also had very weak life auras. Such weak life auras to the point it was amazing they were still clinging on to their lives.
Many other Mage Enforcers would absolutely collapse from mental exhaustion with that little life aura left.
Still, not one to destroy his chances, Ervin swiftly got close to that group's position. He made himself comfortable when arriving, grasping a good look at the powerful yet also weak Mages.
This weakened patrol team was exactly the one Ervin hoped to find.
Two heavily injured Adept Mages, both supporting grievous gashes all across their bodies were carefully treading down the dirt path.
On one of the Adept Mages' backs was a young woman, stained with blood, but not as fierce as the ones around here. This young woman barely had any trace of magic within her, evidently being the Non-Mage that patrol teams were scourging around for.
There were four Late Stage Novice Mages surrounding the Adept carrying the Non-Mage.
These Novice Mages were just as brutally injured. Gashes covering their bodies with their tattered Mage robes doing nothing to cover them.
Given the sweat running down their brows, it was evident to tell that the patrol had just gotten out of a perilous situation by the skin of their teeth.
Even the Mana recovery potions they took didn't help much in quickly gaining back their reserves.
For a moment, Ervin was a bit curious about just what caused this situation to happen. He listened in with his Magical Sense.
It was at this time that the Non-Mage on the Adept Mage's back spoke, a violent tremor in her tone as feelings of regret overwhelmed her mind. "I'm-I'm-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...we're all going to die...all because of me..."
Tears threaten to leak from her eyes. A trail of dried tears could already be seen from small scars on her face not caused by today's incident.
Despite the overwhelming depression emanating from the young woman, none of the other Mages shared her regret.
The Mages, even in their worn down, injured battered state, began to crack a smile.
The Adept Mage carrying the young woman lightly chuckled. "Sweetheart, we're out here because we want to protect you. Being the guardian of all Non-Mages is simply our responsibility. If it's not us, then another patrol team would fight tooth and nail to bring you back to the city."
"And do not think you're the only case like this." The other Adept Mage spoke up. His expression became a bit strained at this point, but he still continued to say, "I can tell, the living situation around our city for Non-Mages, is, honestly terrible for many. Running away from home just to get away from it all happens more than we like to happen. But, while we can't do much for the majority, we will do what is best for you. I just can't leave a case like this alone."
"Haha! Well said, Captain! All of us wholeheartedly agree!" The other Novice Mage joyfully laughed, showing not even an ounce of regret in coming out here.
"You all...thank you..." The Non-Mage's voice cracked as she choked on her words.
She was overwhelmed by emotion. Hope began to sparkle within her mind. A smile, one genuine found its way onto her face after such a long time in a terrible state.