A day of Magical Training passed in a flash.
Night fell.
Weston returned home, washed away the day's exhaustion, slipped under the covers, and opened the Super Archive to help Mavis pick a suitable combat spell.
Suddenly—
Beep-beep-beep—
A shrill alarm blared.
At the same instant, a flashing red warning box popped up in the corner of the Super Archive's interface: "Intruder Detected!"
"This is… the alarm I set earlier?!"
Weston didn't dare delay; he opened the map in the corner of the interface.
The map zoomed in at once, an exact aerial view of Tenrou Island.
Having awakened the Super Archive for more than half a year, Weston had hardly spent every day copying old grimoires without learning a single useful spell.
The very first magic he'd chosen to study, however, wasn't combat magic—it was Detection Magic.
Detection Magic lacked raw battle power, yet it proved extremely practical.
Within a set range it could detect life and, through fluctuations of magic power, distinguish whether the target was a civilian, a Wizard, or a magical beast.
Weston had therefore walked every inch of Tenrou Island, using the Super Archive to craft the most complete magic power-map possible.
Combining the two and programming an "alarm protocol" produced a Tenrou Island map with both detection and warning functions.
Now, on the map's edge, over a hundred red dots appeared out of nowhere, racing straight toward the village.
Red dots signified outsiders.
If Detection Magic picked them up, they had to be Wizards.
The display meant more than a hundred foreign Wizards were on Tenrou Island and advancing on the village!
"Outsiders on the island?!"
"Could tonight be the night…?"
Weston knew that Red Lizard would be attacked and wiped out in X679 by the Magic Guild Blue Skull, and everyone on the island murdered.
And this year was X679!
The timeline matched.
Apart from a Blue Skull assault, Weston could imagine no other explanation.
"I have to warn everyone—now!"
Tenrou Island held more than a thousand residents.
Most were civilians; fewer than fifty were Wizards.
According to the original story, every one of them would be massacred tonight—except Mavis.
Weston could ignore Red Lizard's scum, but the villagers were ordinary folk who shouldn't die in a guild war.
With that, Weston jumped out of bed, dressed, and dashed out the door.
The first person he had to notify was Mavis.
Their homes weren't inside the village but on a small hill outside it—barely a minute's run apart.
Knock-knock-knock…
"Mavis! Mavis!!"
Amid the frantic knocking, a delicate little hand pushed the door open and a small head peeked out.
Mavis hadn't slept either.
She'd been too happy about learning magic to close her eyes.
"What's wrong, Weston?"
"Dozens of Wizards have broken into the island. They're probably after our resources and treasure. Come with me quick to a safe place!"
"Eh?!"
The sudden news stunned Mavis on the spot.
"No time to gape, hurry up!"
Weston grabbed her hand and sprinted outside.
After mapping the island on foot, he'd prepared several hidden Safe-Houses and restocked them regularly.
For exactly this day!
The nearest hideout was right on their hill—a hollowed-out cave with food for three people for five days.
"Stay hidden and don't come out. I'll be back."
Only after Weston shoved her inside did Mavis finally snap back to her senses.
"Wait!"
"Where are you going?"
Weston hesitated two seconds.
"Everyone else still doesn't know. I have to warn them!"
He wasn't close to those villagers.
Yet he'd foreseen this, built safe-houses; if he did nothing now, he'd hate himself forever.
"But there are so many people, how will you reach them all, and who'll believe you?"
Mavis hit the two critical questions at once.
"Getting the word out isn't the problem."
Weston smiled confidently. "I learned Telepathy. I can broadcast straight into everyone's minds and guide them to shelter."
"As for trust, no worries."
"The enemy will be here soon; they'll believe soon enough!"
Hearing that, Mavis crawled out of the cave. "Then I'm coming with you!"
What? No, it's too dangerous!"
The refusal leapt out automatically.
But Mavis's face was set in stubborn resolve.
"This is my home too; I want to help."
"Besides, I can use magic now, I'll be useful!"
"Even if you stop me, I'll follow once you leave."
Uh… "Fine, do exactly as I say!"
"Got it!"
Moments later the pair reached the village gate.
"Huff… huff…"
"I… I hope we're in time…"
Weston steadied his breathing and reopened the magic power-map to check enemy positions.
During the delay the red dots had advanced a long way inland.
At this speed the enemy would reach the village in ten minutes, scarcely any time left!
Weston channeled his magic power, compressed the marked safehouse map into a packet, raised his right hand, and touched two fingers to his forehead.
Instantly, both Super Archive and Telepathy activated—
"WARNING! WARNING!!"
"Enemies are invading Tenrou Island. They are the Magic Guild Blue Skull. Arrival in roughly ten minutes. Everyone evacuate to these locations immediately!!"
"Repeating—"
"Enemies are invading Tenrou Island…"