"Alright, Rhode, you better get to it." The magic mirror began to flicker unstably.
Frank emitted a streak of white light from his hand, stabilizing the mirror's fluctuations.
"Anthony, I'm giving you one last chance. Swear the dark oath, and you still have the opportunity to regain my trust."
"Master, will I turn into an insect?" Anthony's tone was tinged with innocence.
"You already have the ability to become an insect," the old wizard's words were devoid of any emotion.
Anthony asked again, "I mean, will I permanently lose the ability to think?"
"That depends on how many insects you can turn into," the old wizard replied offhandedly.
"If you can become enough, someday you'll relearn how to think. Then, you can change freely like me."
Determination appeared in Anthony's eyes as he gritted his teeth, "Alright, Rhode, I'm sending this damned dark oath to those insects right now."
Then he locked eyes with Frank in the magic mirror, "If my father seeks the reason for my death, he will surely turn both of you into toads, and none of you will escape!"
Saying this, he knelt down, his voice cold, "Let the darkness bear witness! I, Anthony Dennis, swear to keep the secrets I know unto death, and if I break this vow, may I become an insect!"
The next moment, the magic mirror shattered.
Frank's merciless face disappeared from the mirror.
In the darkness, time silently flowed.
Anthony lay motionless on the ground, lost in thought.
The old wizard twisted his body slightly, his unease intensifying.
Suddenly, a white spark fell through the crevice into the cave.
The old wizard's eyes sharply contracted.
The white spark abruptly expanded and instantly burst into a dazzling white light.
"Damn! A lightbeam spell!"
The old wizard's body once again transformed into tiny yellow insects, swiftly escaping through the crevices of the cave.
Then, a loud explosion was heard as a giant fireball lifted the entire cave.
Outside the cave, three people and a cat appeared beside a sand dune.
The next moment, the tiger-striped lion cat leaped into the air, its claws swiping through the void, instantly sending four transparent scratches towards the yellow smoke.
A hoarse, terrified scream from the old wizard seemed to echo through the air.
Countless tiny insects scattered and splattered on the ground, blooming into pale flowers of death.
Eris, in a blue mage robe, conjured a portal, shielding them in front.
Meanwhile, Anthony, shrouded in the power of a curse, raised his head from the cave.
Nathan and Anthony's eyes met, with a ball of flame brewing in Nathan's hand.
The next moment, like a cheetah, Anthony leaped from the pit, charging towards Nathan with a sharp spear flickering with cold light in his hand.
"Remember what I've done for you, mentor Rhode!" Though his words seemed irrelevant, his actions were ferociously determined.
The spear swiftly pierced Nathan's body, yet Nathan's form shattered like bubbles.
Anthony roared in anger, and the spear disintegrated, turning into a swarm of flying insects.
The insects rolled in mid-air, forming a gigantic face that opened its eyes and suddenly expelled a stream of black mist in one direction.
Nathan revealed himself, launching a ball of white flame towards the black mist in mid-air, causing a violent explosion.
Casually, Nathan drank down a potion and then unleashed two spells in succession.
A ring of fire, formed from flames, flew towards Anthony, while another spell, originating from a magic ring, erupted into a Flame Cloud at the moment of release.
Anthony, while controlling the face formed from the cloud of insects in the sky, was caught by the sudden appearance of the fiery ring, which then abruptly contracted, pulling him into the midst of the Flame Cloud.
Anthony let out a pained howl.
The insect-formed face also seemed to contort in agony before fiercely expelling a breath of black mist.
The black mist hit the ground, lifting a small mountain of sand that covered the Flame Cloud.
Subsequently, the Flame Cloud extinguished instantly.
"Swish!"
Anthony burst from the sand, only to collide head-on with a small fireball whistling towards him, tumbling over.
An elderly man with a benevolent face swung an oak staff in a wide arc, striking him on the head.
"Oneiric!" the elder murmured in a dreamy voice.
Just as Anthony tried to struggle to his feet, he suddenly felt dizzy as a wave of green light enveloped him, making him feel heavily sedated and unwilling to move.
Nathan quickly approached, enclosing Anthony in a cage of flames.
However, Anthony showed no resistance, his eyelids drooping as if he had fallen asleep.
The face formed by the cloud of insects in the sky lost control and scattered in all directions.
Nathan looked up thoughtfully at where the insect cloud face had been formed.
On the other side, the yellow smoke that the robed figure had transformed into had vanished without a trace.
The tiger-striped lion cat strode back.
Cliff glanced in the direction where the robed old wizard had disappeared, his eyes revealing a look of surprise.
Eris approached from a distance, examining Anthony, whose body was entirely blackened.
"This guy's resistance is really not ordinary," she noted.
Then she turned to Nathan, asking, "Are you alright?" Nathan shook his head, redirecting his gaze from the sky.
He seemed to have come to a realization.
"Eris, that spell, is it a kind of domain ability?"
Eris responded, "That, well, once you reach the grandmaster-tier, you'll naturally understand."
"The reason Anthony could use that kind of ability is merely because he utilized the spiritual nature of the insects themselves, which is quite different from a true Grandmaster Domain."
"A Grandmaster Domain involves harmonizing with an element to summon it for one's use, thereby externalizing one's will."
"Anthony treated each insect as an element, hence forming that black face. However, the power is vastly inferior."
"If you're interested, little junior brother, you can ask Master about this knowledge later..."
...
The trio returned to the academy.
Nathan took Anthony directly back to the Inspectorate.
Tonight, Sophia was not on duty; it was Luna's turn to keep watch.
She was surprised to see Nathan bringing Anthony back and quickly messaged Lam.
Inside the interrogation room, Anthony slowly woke up.
Upon realizing he was in the Inspectorate, he actually laughed, especially excited upon seeing Luna.
After her initial shock, Luna's face showed a complex expression.
However, before Nathan could begin interrogating Anthony, he saw two robed magi approaching the Inspectorate Department from outside.
Nathan recognized them as two elite magi from the Resource Department.
At this moment, only Nathan and Luna were present in the Inspectorate Department.
If the opponents intended to forcefully take someone, he would be unable to stop them.
Although such actions would put them in direct conflict with the academy, if they disappeared after taking the person, Nathan would be powerless against them.
With no other choice, he sent magical messages to others while casting a silence spell on Anthony, then left through the back door with him.
Luna, realizing the urgency, quickly followed behind Nathan.
Just as they stepped out the back, the sound of an arcane torrent shattering the front door echoed.
The two elite magi boldly entered the Inspectorate Department! A wide-range detect spell followed, a swift method to locate the person they were searching for.
Without time to observe the magical luminescence inside, Nathan, carrying Anthony, applied a spell of silent movement to himself, slightly increasing his speed.
Luna, small and agile, stuck close to his shadow, moving soundlessly.
The two swiftly navigated through the shadows.
Meanwhile, the two elite magi inside the Inspectorate Department, finding no one, ascended into the air, scanning the surroundings of the small building.
With several magical flames lighting up, the sky outside the Inspectorate Department was as bright as day.
The air twisted visibly where Nathan and his companions passed.
Suddenly, one elite magi noticed the anomaly!
He swiftly flew towards Nathan.
In his hand, he scattered a handful of Dust of Revelation.
Without waiting for the Dust of Revelation to take effect, Nathan immediately launched a Flame Cloud.
He then cast a flame shield on both himself and Luna, plunging into the Flame Cloud.
He aimed to use the Flame Cloud to conceal their figures, buying time until reinforcements arrived.
The elite magus reacted swiftly, unleashing a large-scale water-based spell, a rain invocation, drenching the area.
As the rain from the invocation fell, the Flame Cloud was instantly enveloped in a downpour, producing copious amounts of steam and seemingly about to be extinguished.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Instead of being doused, the Flame Cloud not only persisted but four large Flame Clouds spontaneously emerged.
These four Flame Clouds formed a sea of fire that nearly covered half the courtyard.
It was difficult to discern any figures within this fiery expanse, rendering the detect spell ineffective.
Moreover, such a vast area of magic was challenging to disperse.
The elite magus called out repeatedly, and his companion, noticing the situation, also appeared above the sea of fire through a portal.