Safiroth was covered head to toe in blood. Her clothes were already torn to shreds, exposing her injured skin.
The massive pair of black-and-white wings on her back was now reduced to a single remaining wing, hanging there alone, drooping against the ground.
Safiroth swung the long blade in her right hand, quickly turning around and slashing toward Viktor's body.
The blade gleamed with a cold light as it cut through the air, carrying sharp sword energy straight ahead.
The invisible wind blade in Viktor's hand spun endlessly. He held the blade horizontally in front of him, blocking the fierce sword wind, then flicked it upward, quickly deflecting the incoming streak of cold light.
The huge long blade in Safiroth's hand was struck by an external force and lost its balance.
Her body jolted, unable to steady itself.
She tilted backward slightly... bang!
Safiroth tried to twist her body, but her severe injuries made it impossible. Her legs went weak, and she fell flat onto the ground.
Safiroth crashed heavily into the dirt. As she looked up at the bright full moon hanging in the night sky, she heard Viktor's cold voice sound in front of her, "Continue."
Safiroth once again endured the intense pain, propped herself up, held the long blade horizontally in front of her, and launched another attack at Viktor.
To Viktor, Safiroth's straightforward assault was completely meaningless.
In the blink of an eye, he blocked that slender streak of cold light with his invisible blade.
He swung just once, and a massive wave of sword energy burst out, forcing Safiroth back completely.
She slammed heavily into a giant tree nearby.
The roots trembled, branches swayed, and Safiroth nearly collapsed limply where she stood.
"Continue."
Hearing the command, Safiroth staggered to her feet once more.
This time, flames ignited around her body.
A crimson blaze rapidly wrapped around the ground, instantly burning away the weeds beneath her feet, twisting and surging toward Viktor.
But in Viktor's eyes, this violent flame was pitifully weak, like a faint candle flame.
With a casual wave of his hand, a magic array instantly formed behind him.
An even more ferocious blaze spread out from around the array, wrapping up and devouring all the weeds.
Towering flames surged upward, scorching tongues of fire licking the dry air, bursting outward with waves of heat.
They blew Safiroth's raging flames into wild, unstable motion.
The next second, Safiroth's attacking flames were blocked by Viktor's raging wall of fire.
As if absorbed, the incoming flames wrapped around the fire wall and gradually dissipated.
With the flames no longer in the way, the air violently tore open into a massive wave, completely engulfing the already unsteady Safiroth.
"Continue."
"Continue."
"Continue."
———
Listening to Viktor's countless commands, Safiroth dragged her heavily injured body and continued fighting.
Yet the result was the same every single time.
She collapsed weakly onto the ground, her body smeared with mud and blood, no longer able to support herself.
At this moment, Vega's voice softly sounded by Viktor's ear.
"Viktor, don't play with her until she breaks."
Hearing this, the wind blade in Viktor's hand gradually dispersed along with the breeze.
In Viktor's eyes, Safiroth's life value had already dropped to the extreme.
One tiny fraction more, and she would die on the spot.
[Lv41]
Viktor glanced at Safiroth's level and said slowly, "It seems you still don't have enough strength."
In the game, Safiroth was the final boss of Chapter Three.
Viktor clearly remembered that back then, in the players' eyes, Safiroth was nothing short of an unreasonable stat monster.
Extremely deep health and mana pools, exceptionally high toughness and resistance, top-tier offense and defense, and as for speed, there was no need to even mention it.
But the current Safiroth… Was far from as powerful as she would be in the future.
Viktor gave her a flat look, his expression completely unchanged.
Still, this situation was normal enough.
After all, there were still two or three years before Safiroth's official storyline arrived.
Two or three years was more than enough time for her to become as strong as she would be in the future.
A bottle of blood-red potion suddenly fell out of thin air in front of Safiroth, rolling toward her with a gurgling sound.
"Drink it."
Safiroth could no longer see the rolling potion. She could only rely on the blurry blood-colored patches in her vision, groping along the ground.
Finally, her hand closed around a hard bottle.
Following Viktor's order, she forced herself to move, pulled out the cork, and brought the bottle to her lips.
Then she tilted her head back and swallowed the potion completely, not a single drop left.
As the bottle emptied, a green aura gradually wrapped around Safiroth's entire body.
Her injuries healed at a visible speed, and strength returned to her limbs.
Seeing this, Viktor slipped his left hand into his pocket, while the invisible wind blade reappeared in his right hand.
His coat fluttered without any wind.
"All right."
"We continue."
———
Moonlight bathed the waterfall in silver.
Safiroth let the clear, icy water wash over her pale body.
The cool water slid down her delicate skin, flowed along her graceful curves, and finally gathered at the pool below, splashing up brilliant droplets.
But now, Safiroth only had one wing left.
The spring water mixed with blood and mud continued to pour over her as she stood silently beneath the waterfall, like a mute puppet.
Viktor stood quietly in front of her, his indifferent voice slowly sounding, "If you want to live like a human, there are some things you need to understand."
With both hands casually in his pockets, his deep gaze fixed on Safiroth.
Safiroth seemed to awaken, lifting her head in a daze.
In her vivid green eyes, Viktor's reflection appeared.
Viktor's gaze was like a blade, sweeping over the shattered wing behind Safiroth.
She seemed to understand his meaning. Slowly, she reached out with her slender hand, tightly grasped the base of the wing, and yanked hard.
Rip!
The tearing sound echoed through the air. Safiroth struggled to endure the intense pain as blood poured down like a waterfall.
She gasped for breath, her eyes bloodshot. Her entire body trembled under the cold water, as if she might collapse at any moment.
The red color was quickly diluted by the flowing water, gradually staining the surface at her feet.
Viktor walked slowly up to her, seemingly admiring her fragile body bathed in moonlight.
The features on her gaunt face were well-defined. Her long silver hair reflected the bright moonlight with a silvery sheen, and after being washed by the water, it looked pitifully beautiful.
Without her wings, she was like an injured young girl, incomparably weak.
"Not bad."
"Now, you're qualified to follow me."
Enduring the pain, Safiroth lifted her head.
Those luminous green serpent pupils reflected Viktor's figure.
Then, she slowly lowered her body.
[Recording target information: Viktor Clavenna]
[Added to whitelist]
———
The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon, and the Royal Magic Academy was already bustling with activity.
News of the academy dungeon had been fermenting since yesterday, and by now it had sparked heated discussion throughout society.
Countless curious gazes were focused on this live combat assessment, and the plaza outside was already packed with people.
Although everyone waited eagerly, a magic barrier separated them from the academy, making it impossible to break through.
Because there were simply too many people, the academy issued an order.
Only students and the parents of participating freshmen were allowed to enter the academy.
At this moment, under countless gazes, an exquisite carriage slowly arrived at the academy gates.
Seeing this carriage, the crowd instinctively moved aside, clearing a path.
The carriage door slowly opened, and Erica leaned out.
She was wearing the Royal Magic Academy uniform. Her long golden hair lifted in the air, looking noble and elegant, like a perfect goddess stepping out beneath the morning sun.
Countless eyes were drawn to Erica's appearance.
The most talented young girl in the royal capital, last year's top freshman of the Royal Magic Academy.
And with her status as a duke's daughter, almost no one in the royal capital didn't know her.
But because this year's freshman assessment had been extended, there were still a few days before the academy officially opened.
Why did she have time to come today?
Yet while others were puzzled, Erica did not enter the academy.
She stood beside the carriage, quietly waiting for a moment.
After a while, Duke Levi slowly stepped down from the carriage.
When the crowd saw Duke Levi clearly, their eyes widened in shock.
"Th-that's Duke Levi!"
"What!? The duke is back in the royal capital?"
"The duke has returned!"
Duke Levi, who had been away from the royal capital for two months, had returned at this exact moment.
And it just happened to coincide with the opening of the dungeon-based freshman assessment.
'Could it be that he had also come to observe Viktor's dungeon?'
As the crowd pondered, Duke Levi wore a gentle smile.
Sensing the surrounding gazes, he nodded politely to the people on both sides.
Then, a short while later, another horse came trotting leisurely from behind the carriage.
On its back sat a white-haired, sturdy old man. Even through his short sleeves and shorts, one could see the knotted muscles in his calves and arms.
He rode skillfully, then leapt boldly down from the horse.
When Erica saw the burly old man, she bowed respectfully.
"Uncle."
Seeing Erica treat him with such respect, the crowd couldn't help but grow curious about the old man's identity.
'Who is this person?'
Vladimir smiled and nodded at Erica, then turned to look at the massive magic academy.
He looked it up and down before turning to Levi and saying, "This place is that academy?"
"I heard Viktor works here?"
Levi simply smiled and said, "Why don't you go in and take a look?"
Vladimir leaned back slightly, staring at the academy gates ahead.
"Hah, then I'll go in and have a good look."
He took long strides and walked straight toward the academy gates.
The people on both sides were just about to remind Vladimir, that the academy was surrounded by a magic barrier.
Outsiders couldn't get in at all.
But before they could finish speaking, Vladimir suddenly frowned.
As if sensing something, he reached out and pressed one hand directly against the barrier.
A layer of frost crystals formed on his palm. Then his arm shook, and freezing cold rapidly spread across the entire barrier.
Under the extreme cold, it suddenly shattered, exploding into fragments that filled the sky.
When the entire magic barrier cracked apart, everyone stared in shock, frozen in place.
'Holy shit!'
But the old man seemed to think he'd done nothing more than a trivial thing. He shook his hand, laughed heartily, and strode straight into the academy.
Levi and Erica, unsurprised, followed behind Vladimir and entered as well.
The crowd was completely dumbfounded.
They couldn't even begin to process the violent scene from earlier.
'Someone actually shattered the academy's magic barrier with brute force!?'
'Damn, what kind of expert is this!?'
But someone suddenly reacted.
'The barrier is broken?'
'Isn't this a perfect opportunity?'
That meant they could enter the academy too.
Thinking this, they had just taken a step forward when they saw Duke Levi, who had already entered the academy, turn around and smile faintly at them.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot something."
He gently tapped the shattered barrier with his finger, and streams of water instantly shot out from his fingertips.
Carrying the scattered fragments in the air, they rebuilt a complete flowing water barrier, completely covering the academy once again.
The water barrier surged endlessly. Before everyone's eyes, the magic academy was wrapped in flowing water, to the point where it couldn't even be seen clearly.
Looking at the restored barrier, someone curiously poked it, only to feel even more despair.
This newly repaired barrier was much thicker than before.