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George's Explosion Charm struck the Stone Giant, instantly shattering one of its arms.
Seeing that the spell was effective, he quickly cast a second Explosion Charm, this time targeting the giant's leg.
"Boom!"
The left leg of the Stone Giant broke, impairing its mobility. George immediately followed up with a third Explosion Charm, then a fourth, and finally a fifth.
In total, five Explosion Charms hit their mark, and by the time the Stone Giant reached George, it had been reduced to a pile of small rocks.
"Let's see if you can explode them faster than I can regenerate my Stone Giants!"
Just as George finished dealing with the first Stone Giant, Howatts summoned another one.
He believed that, as a top-tier magician with over a thousand years of experience, his magical power far surpassed that of a mere magic panda.
He couldn't believe that this panda could destroy three or four Stone Giants—let alone eight or ten.
"You want to compare magical power with me?"
As the second Stone Giant charged at him, George couldn't help but smile to himself. Despite the gap in their magical reserves, George's wizard bloodline allowed his magic to regenerate quickly. Even if he kept casting spells until dawn, his magical power would hardly diminish.
A war of attrition? That was exactly the kind of battle he thrived in.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The continuous explosions rang out as one Stone Giant after another collapsed. Howatts began to realize something was wrong.
His mimicry magic required considerable magical energy to sustain, and George's explosion spells should be taxing on his own magic as well. Yet, Howatts could feel his magic reserves depleting while George seemed completely unfazed, as if he were barely exerting himself.
George didn't seem in the least bit anxious.
Just then, a sharp eagle's cry pierced the air. Turning around, Howatts saw a massive steel eagle swooping down toward him. Standing on the eagle's back was none other than his rival, Balthazar.
"You'll regret this!"
Caught between a pincer attack, Howatts knew staying here would only lead to defeat. He quickly pointed toward the glass of a nearby shop.
"Mirror World!"
He leaped into the mirror, disappearing without a trace.
"That's a neat spell!"
George didn't immediately pursue. He knew that the old magician had a wide range of tricks up his sleeve, and rushing in without caution could lead him into a trap.
The spell Howatts had just cast was called "Mirror World," a high-level space magic recorded in the Book of Morgana.
It allowed the caster to use a mirror as a medium to enter a completely reversed mirror world.
This magic had many uses: it could be used for escape, as anyone who didn't understand spatial magic would be unable to pursue once their target entered the mirror world. Additionally, one could exit the mirror world at any time by finding a mirror, returning to the real world.
It was also useful for infiltration.
For example, one could enter the mirror world and then find a mirror at a location in the mirrored world to emerge at the desired destination in the real world.
Lastly, it could be used to trap someone.
By forcing an enemy into the mirror world and destroying all nearby mirrors, the enemy would be stuck, unable to escape unless they found another mirror to return through.
"He escaped!"
The metallic eagle landed, and Balthazar jumped down. Seeing that Howatts had already vanished into the mirror world, he looked slightly disappointed. He glanced at David and then at George.
"I saw a large number of police rushing here while I was in the air. Come aboard my eagle; we can leave this place and talk properly."
"You're the magician who gave me the ring ten years ago," David said, stepping out from behind George. He immediately recognized Balthazar.
George, on the other hand, leaped onto the eagle first, using his telepathic abilities to reply:
"Of course, no problem."
Balthazar's skill in Mimicry Magic was on par with Howatts. The metal giant eagle he had summoned looked impressive to George.
He planned to practice Mimicry Magic until he perfected it, then place several similar large metal statues around the school. That way, if any enemies showed up, they would first have to face a barrage of strikes from the statues.
"I'm fine with that too," David said.
Seeing George climb onto the giant eagle, David followed and sat beside him. After George had saved him earlier, David trusted him more than ever.
Balthazar, still confused by George's panda appearance, nevertheless quickly took control of the giant eagle, causing it to rise into the air.
Having lived for over a thousand years, he had seen extinct dragons, but a magical panda capable of telepathic communication with humans? That was a first for him.
It was clear, however, that this panda was on their side, a friend of David's, which was a good thing.
The giant eagle flew swiftly, carrying the three of them to the rooftop of a building. This was the same building George had observed when he first started investigating this world.
After landing, they began conversing on the rooftop.
Ten minutes later, Balthazar spoke up.
"So, George, you turned into a panda due to a special magic, and now you want David to help turn you back, right?"
"That's right," George replied through his telepathic abilities. "After all, you've been searching for the reincarnation of Merlin, and David, with the Dragon Ring, must be Merlin's reincarnation.
Of course, if you could help me return to my original form, I'd be extremely grateful."
Balthazar examined George closely, then shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't help you. I can't detect any transformation magic on you, so perhaps only someone with the strength of my teacher could help you change back."
He wasn't lying—he truly couldn't sense any traces of a transformation spell. It was as if George had always been a panda, and Balthazar could only regretfully shake his head.
However, he could sense that George possessed immense magical power—though not as much as his own, George was certainly skilled, likely around level 300.
What surprised him was that George could hold his own for so long against Howatts, who was over level 700.
"Just to be clear, I really don't want to get involved in such dangerous situations anymore. I may not be able to help you."
David spoke up. He was just an ordinary university student, passionate about physics, and he didn't want to experience any more life-threatening pursuits like the one earlier.
Balthazar didn't lecture David, but nodded in understanding.
"That's fine. As long as you help me retrieve the sealed nesting dolls and seal Howatts again, I won't disturb your peaceful life.
But if you don't, even if we leave you now, Howatts will come after you again. You are the reincarnation of Merlin, destined to become the most powerful wizard. He won't stop until he kills you."
Balthazar had already noticed that David had kept the Dragon Ring for the past ten years, indicating that he still held some lingering interest in magic. With a little more manipulation, Balthazar was confident that David would eventually be tempted.
For now, this was just a delaying tactic.
(End of Chapter)