Enrico and the others were helping a child, guiding him to hide near a house while they fought some relatively weak enemies. Until that moment, everything seemed to be under control. However, the situation changed when a hooded man appeared in front of them, as if he were running away from someone.
As soon as he stopped in front of the group, the man took off a necklace and activated its power. A light enveloped everyone present, and before anyone could react, their bodies disappeared from the location.
The transfer happened so quickly that no one had time to stop it.
"Where are we?"
When the light disappeared, they found themselves in a forest near a river that flowed toward a waterfall. Tall trees surrounded the area, and the sound of the water echoed in the distance. Confused, everyone looked around, trying to understand what had happened.
Meanwhile, the hooded man remained hidden behind a tree, watching the group.
His name was Tilios Mertis, a rookie considered the individual with the greatest potential within the cult. The necklace he had used was a device designed for a sacrificial ritual. Its function was to transport the victims to an isolated location, where both sides would be forced to fight to the death. In the end, those who lost would be sacrificed.
Tilios had failed his original mission, but he could still take advantage of this opportunity to obtain new victims.
'I may not have managed to complete my mission, but at least I'll get some sacrifices for my lord's body.'
Enrico examined his surroundings, trying to locate whoever was responsible for that transfer. Unable to find him immediately, he turned to Raul.
"Raul, where is he?"
While they were running to help other civilians and that child, he had asked the others to explain some of their abilities.
"Behind that tree."
As soon as he heard the answer, several magical attacks were launched at the indicated location. Tilios jumped backward, dodging the attacks and landing at a safe distance from the group.
He was on the verge of reaching the Fourth Circle. Upon realizing that all his opponents belonged to the Second Circle, he showed no excessive concern. The difference in power between them was considerable, and his only obvious disadvantage was being outnumbered.
Arvanys observed the opponent cautiously.
"He doesn't seem weak. I think we should be careful."
Enrico agreed with her assessment and signaled Kaela to stay behind him. Among those present, she was the one who had reached the Second Circle most recently, which meant she still had less experience dealing with opponents of that level.
He did not need to do the same with Lan. A simple glance at the boy's behavior was enough to realize that he would not stop talking about his own strength, even in a dangerous situation.
However, Enrico remembered an important detail.
"Wait... Lan, how long ago did you reach the Second Circle?"
"Today. Why?"
Enrico remained silent for a moment before answering.
"...If you want, you can stay behind a tree."
"Hey! I'm not that weak!"
Before the argument could continue, a dark shadow silently appeared among them. Its shape distorted and transformed into Tilios, who raised his hands and launched a series of stone spikes at the group.
The attack struck several of them. However, Kael seemed to suffer the worst impact, taking a direct hit to the stomach.
For a moment, the others thought he had been seriously injured. However, when the affected area began to dissolve into water, everyone realized that his body had transformed into an element to avoid the damage.
"Wait... You can already transform into an element?"
Tilios did not have time to finish the question.
Kael appeared in front of him and kicked him in the face, making him turn slightly to the side. However, the impact was too weak to cause any significant damage.
Tilios regained his balance and smiled, apparently pleased with the attempt. His smile disappeared when Enrico punched him in the face, causing blood to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
"Shadow Steps!"
Tilios's feet darkened, and his body shot around the group at an astonishing speed. His movements were so fast that those present began seeing ten images of him, as if several enemies were attacking at the same time.
Arvanys reacted immediately, creating several blades of snow and launching them at every image she could see.
"I'm already behind you."
Tilios's voice came from behind her. He pressed his palm against the girl's back and released a wave of darkness. The force of the impact sent Arvanys crashing into the trees. Her body passed through two of them before finally stopping.
"Lightning Spear!"
"Skeletal Hand!"
Two attacks emerged from opposite sides, converging on Tilios. The skeletal hand was closer to reaching him, but the hooded man disappeared before either attack could hit him.
"Shadow Steps!"
Tilios reappeared above them and fired a blast of dark magic at their heads. The force of the attack slammed them into the ground, raising dust and causing the earth to crack beneath the impact.
Kaela, however, did not remain still. She gathered fire mana in her fist and struck the ground beneath Tilios, causing an explosion that raised a dense cloud of dust.
'He'll certainly dodge. So, I'll try to do what the professor would do.'
Ever since she had started seeing Enrico as her professor, Kaela had researched his battles. She had spoken with teachers and students who had seen him fight. Everyone described him as a prodigy, but what caught her attention most was the praise for his decisions during combat.
Enrico did not rely solely on the strength of his magic. He analyzed the circumstances, seized opportunities, and found ways to overcome more powerful opponents.
'To become the strongest, I'll follow some of his steps.'
Kaela moved through the cloud of dust, trying to find an opening to attack. Enrico also ran around Tilios, pleased with the girl's initiative, although he knew that strategy would hardly work against an opponent like that.
"Dark Explosion!"
A detonation of dark energy dispersed the cloud of dust, striking the area around Tilios and repelling everyone trying to approach him to attack.
Kaela was thrown backward along with the others. Realizing that her plan had failed, she felt a pang of frustration.
Enrico, however, did not reprimand her. As he regained his balance, he explained the problem with her strategy.
"It was a good decision. The only problem is the opponent's level. These tactics will only work for a second, so it would be better to attack quickly from another direction."
Kaela raised her eyes, absorbing every word.
"Thank you so much for the lesson, Professor!"
Tilios, who had been listening to the conversation, frowned. He could not understand how those two still had time to discuss strategies while fighting someone who could kill them at any moment.
"You two, you bastards! What are you talking about?"
Two claws of darkness rushed toward them. Enrico and Kaela jumped in opposite directions, narrowly escaping the attacks.
Enrico, however, could not completely hide his satisfaction at hearing Kaela call him professor. He liked that form of address more than he was willing to admit, so he decided to take the opportunity to continue teaching her.
"Sorry. It's my first time teaching someone."
"I don't mind."
Tilios showed considerable irritation at Enrico's words.
"Don't talk like that about my professor—"
Kaela had barely finished responding when a sphere of dark magic struck Enrico in the stomach.
The impact was brutal. Several bones broke, and he spat out blood before being sent flying into the distance. His body passed through part of the vegetation, landing several meters away.
Despite his injuries, Enrico did not remain on the ground. He quickly used his water magic to accelerate the recovery of his wounds and alleviate the most severe damage. He could not afford to stay out of the fight for too long.
As soon as he managed to stand up, he returned to the battle and punched Tilios. His opponent raised a stone shield, blocking the blow without difficulty.
"You're back already? I see... You must be the strongest one here."
"No! I'm the strongest!"
The voice came from behind Tilios.
A water spear struck his head and sent him flying directly toward Arvanys, who was already preparing a large blade of snow above herself. She had gathered a considerable amount of mana for that attack and knew she needed to take advantage of the opportunity to deal as much damage as possible.
"Destructive Snow Spear!"
The enormous blade advanced toward Tilios. The hooded man twisted his body to counterattack and summoned a shadowy claw, which firmly caught Arvanys's attack.
"Let me send that back to you."
The claw launched the blade back toward the girl.
Arvanys froze for a fraction of a second when she realized her own attack was about to hit her. If Kael had not reacted in time and pulled her out of the attack's trajectory, she might have died right there.
The attack struck the ground behind them, causing massive destruction.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Arvanys observed the damage caused by her own magic. Then, she quickly got up and prepared to fight again.
"Thank you."
Kael nodded, relieved that she had not suffered any serious injuries. Taking advantage of the brief interval, he approached a little and spoke in a low voice.
"Good thing you weren't hurt. I have a plan. That guy, Raul, seems to be hiding his power for some reason. But since we're about to die, he'll have to use it. I intend to create an opening so he can act."
Arvanys looked at him in surprise.
"...I didn't know he was holding back."
The two turned their attention back to the battle.
Enrico, Kaela, and Lan were attacking Tilios at the same time, trying to prevent him from focusing on a single opponent. The pressure from their combined attacks forced the hooded man to defend himself and keep moving constantly.
Upon noticing the opportunity, Raul finally took action.
He appeared above Tilios with his arm raised, his fist protected by a skeletal structure. Then, he delivered a powerful punch.
Tilios managed to block the blow, but the force of the impact was enough to destroy the ground beneath his feet.
'I found the strongest one. I'll have to deal with this guy first...'
Before he could continue, he sensed a threat rapidly approaching.
"Ice Blade!"
Tilios turned his body in time to see an enormous blade of ice advancing toward him. The attack forced him to retreat one step, interrupting his attempt to counterattack Raul.
'Damn! I only noticed it now!'
When he realized that he had turned his back on Raul, Tilios felt the danger increase. He knew he would not be able to avoid all the attacks this time. Therefore, he gathered as much mana as he could concentrate in his hand and began spinning his body, preparing a blow that would hit whoever was closest.
'I might end up getting hit, but this fight isn't over yet!'
Tilios was prepared to take an attack in exchange for landing his own blow. The others also believed that this was the perfect opportunity to finally injure him.
However, the result was completely different from what they expected.
Tilios's attack struck Raul directly in the chest, sending him several meters backward. His body passed through a tree before falling to the ground, apparently defeated.
Enrico saw everything happen. The veins on his face stood out, and his expression changed as he realized what he had just witnessed.
'That bastard deliberately let himself get hit...?!'
Raul was pretending. Enrico was certain of it, although he did not know exactly why Raul had chosen to act that way. At that moment, the only thing he could feel was anger. If given the opportunity, he would tear Raul apart to force him to explain his intentions.
However, he could not afford to waste time on that. There was still a powerful opponent in front of them, and Raul's apparent defeat had only made Tilios more confident.
"I thought that guy was strong, but it seems I was mistaken. Now it's your turn!"
Several shadowy claws emerged from Tilios's body and rushed toward the group, pursuing each of them. Enrico took a step back and then raised his other foot, using Charged Impulse to dodge one of the claws.
Even so, he felt the pain from his previous injuries bothering him again.
'Tsk! I can still feel the pain from that blow.'
"Hey, Kael! Didn't you say he was holding back? Damn it!"
Looking to the side, Enrico saw Arvanys desperately trying to escape one of the claws. Meanwhile, his clone was moving along the branches of a tree, searching for a favorable position to attack.
Besides fighting Tilios, Enrico still needed to answer the others' questions without revealing more than he should.
'Good thing I can change my voice so they won't be the same.'
Enrico mentally ordered Kael to move to the left while transferring his voice to his clone to answer Arvanys's question.
"I'm sure he was holding back! That bastard is pretending!"
"Are you sure? Because if you are, I'll kill him!"
On the other side, Lan gathered lightning in his hand. Raising his arm, he fired the energy into the sky, causing a small rain of lightning bolts to fall on Tilios.
"This time, I've got you!"
"Too naive."
Tilios appeared in front of him before the attack could produce the expected result. As soon as Lan stepped on the ground, he was launched into the air by a column of earth that emerged beneath his feet. Around the boy, several stone spears formed, pointing toward his body as he remained suspended in the air.
'I'm going to die!'
"Flame Impact!"
Enrico appeared in front of Lan and unleashed a series of strikes. His fists struck the stone spears, destroying several of them before they could pierce the boy.
As Enrico grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the path of the remaining attacks, Lan noticed that Enrico's fists were bleeding. The force required to destroy those spears had taken its toll, making the danger posed by their opponent obvious.
Kaela and Arvanys began moving around Tilios, searching for a way to create an opening.
'Since that strategy didn't work, I'll test the magic my professor told me to master.'
Kaela hesitated for a moment. Her biggest problem was the amount of mana required to execute that technique. She would only have one opportunity to land the blow, since the magic would consume about sixty percent of her reserves.
She needed to make sure the attack hit its target.
Meanwhile, Kael was fighting Tilios directly, trying to buy time. At one point, an attack pierced Kael's body, but the affected part transformed into water, allowing him to avoid the fatal injury without his companions noticing.
'How can he use this magic when he's only in the Second Circle? Is it a unique ability? Well, that doesn't matter now.'
Arvanys joined Kael, attacking Tilios head-on. While the boy pressured their opponent, she began producing tiny snow particles that gradually spread throughout the environment.
The particles multiplied, covering an increasingly larger area. Little by little, they began interfering with Tilios's movements, reducing his speed and making his reactions more difficult.
Upon noticing the effect, the hooded man released a wave of dark magic, destroying the particles before the freezing effect could intensify.
"How did you do that? Come to think of it, I think I understand."
Kael looked at Arvanys, showing surprise at the technique she had used.
"You're quite intelligent, even if you're crazy, Kael."
She sighed as she watched the boy charge toward Tilios again. Although the magic had been partially nullified, its effect had still reduced their opponent's speed.
"So? Are you having fun?"
"A lot!"
Arvanys could not help letting out another sigh when she saw him fighting with such enthusiasm in such a dangerous situation.
What she had done was both simple and complicated at the same time. Her original magic was Snow Blade, which meant that under normal circumstances, she could only create blades. However, by separating and refining the properties of her own magic, she had managed to divide it into two distinct affinities, although each was a little weaker than the original.
This new application allowed her to produce snow particles capable of interfering with her opponent's movements.
Arvanys focused on Tilios again and raised her hand.
"Let's go... Blade Magic: Invisible Slash!"
With a simple movement of her fingers, she created an invisible blade that advanced without producing any obvious signs. The slash struck the back of Tilios's knee, forcing him to kneel for a moment.
Enrico immediately took advantage of the opening.
"Triple Fire Arrow!"
Three flaming arrows were fired at the hooded man's chest, hitting him before he could fully regain his balance. At the same time, Kael created a spinning water blade and slashed his opponent's back.
Tilios let out a grunt of pain but quickly reacted.
When Lan tried to approach to contribute another attack, the hooded man grabbed him by the neck and threw him away as if he were a fly. Then, he rushed after him, determined to eliminate him before he could interfere again.
"You're the weakest one here. I'll finish you off first."
'Damn it!'
Lan barely managed to regain his balance before Tilios began attacking him. Stone fists struck his body repeatedly, preventing him from defending himself properly. Each blow forced him backward, and it soon became clear that he would not be able to escape that barrage on his own.
Enrico noticed the danger and ran to help him once again. He arrived in time to block the two stone fists that were about to hit Lan.
"He really is the weakest one here, but even this fly can cause damage when it gets irritated."
Lan felt a vein bulge on his forehead upon hearing the comment. For a moment, he seemed ready to argue, but he decided to swallow his pride and focus on the battle.
Lowering his hands to the ground, he transferred electricity to Tilios's legs. The discharge traveled through his opponent's limbs, weakening his muscles and impairing his movements.
Even if he wasn't the strongest, Lan could still contribute to their victory.
'I didn't want to admit it, but they're both right. Damn it... I hate this.'
Enrico noticed the frustration written across the boy's face and felt satisfied. That expression was familiar to him because it reminded him of the one Lan displayed in the original story when he began to realize that he needed to change.
'He's the type of character who may take a long time to accept his own weakness. But there's something about him that deserves at least a little of my respect.'
Despite his pride, Lan had not chosen to join the enemy's side simply because he considered it an easier path. Even when confronted with his limitations, he continued trying to fight.
Enrico grabbed Tilios's fist, preventing him from regaining his freedom of movement. Then, he delivered a kick to his opponent's chin, launching him into the air.
Without wasting any time, he created his fire bow and began concentrating mana to form an arrow. The flaming projectile appeared between his fingers, spinning rapidly as it accumulated energy.
'He was very, very irritating. Even so, he never joined the cult that offered him power.'
Enrico pulled back the bowstring and fired.
The fire arrow pierced Tilios's stomach, making him vomit blood while he remained in the air. Enrico had tried to hit his heart, but his opponent had managed to dodge slightly at the last moment, preventing the blow from being fatal.
'Well, it seems the final blow won't be mine. What a shame...'
With his eyes burning with fury, Tilios prepared to charge at Enrico. However, before he could reach him, an explosion of fire appeared behind his body.
A flaming serpent rushed toward him and sank its teeth into his shoulder. The flames pierced his flesh, continued forward, and exploded against a tree behind Enrico.
The boy tensed for a moment, surprised by the attack's power. When he looked at Tilios again, he realized that the hooded man's shoulder had been completely destroyed. His arm fell to the ground, separated from his body.
"That... damn..."
Tilios turned his head with difficulty and saw a trail of fire dissipating behind him.
Kaela was standing there, breathing heavily. She had used practically all her mana to execute that attack and could barely remain standing. However, the blow had hit its mark.
Tilios fell to the ground, bleeding nonstop. His body trembled, and he struggled to remain conscious as his injuries accumulated.
Enrico took a breath before stepping forward.
"It looks like it's over. Good work, everyone..."
"Over? I won't let it end like this! Even if I have to die, I won't let it end like this!"
Tilios's voice echoed through the forest. Dark energy began escaping from his body, enveloping him in an increasingly intense aura. A black arm emerged from within that energy as a terrifying amount of mana gathered around him.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted from his body, as if the energy had been released directly from his magic circle.
Everyone was forced to retreat.
Enrico gritted his teeth, feeling sweat trickle down his face. The others around him also looked desperate. They did not need an explanation to understand what had just happened.
"Damn it! This guy evolved his circle!"
Before anyone could react, Tilios charged forward. Lan was the first to be hit. The blow sent him flying, making his body pass through several trees before disappearing into the vegetation.
This time, he could not get back up, and it seemed he was out of the fight.
Tilios remained standing, breathing heavily. Even though he was gravely injured, his eyes remained fixed on the survivors, filled with hatred.
"I'm going to kill all of you."