"Mist Barrier…" Ryoma stood at the village entrance, looking at the eerie mist.
This mist was not just obscuring vision, it was a magic similar in effect to his Kaleidoscope, capable of distorting space, disrupting one's sense of direction, and also suppressing sound and magic perception.
Rushing in blindly would only lead to being completely lost.
"Interesting." Ryoma extended his right hand, and a wisp of cold air gathered at his fingertips.
However, for him, this was not a problem.
He took a step forward, and his body was instantly swallowed by the thick fog.
Buzz!
The surrounding scenery instantly became blurry, and visibility plummeted to less than half a meter.
North, south, east, west—completely indistinguishable.
Ryoma's expression remained unchanged as he steadily released his magic.
Refractive Prism.
Crack! Crack!
Without warning, dozens of ice crystal prisms quietly formed around his body.
The chaotic light passed through these layers of prisms, was repeatedly refracted and corrected, and finally perfectly bypassed Ryoma's body, making his figure completely disappear into the mist.
Immediately after, a thin layer of frost spread out from under Ryoma's feet. A biting chill diffused outwards, slowing the movement of the mist around him.
A relatively clear area, with a radius of about three meters, was temporarily opened up.
After doing all this, Ryoma walked towards the central square of the village. His footsteps were light, making almost no sound.
Under the dual effect of the Refractive Prism and the low-temperature aura, he was like a ghost walking through the mist.
Not far ahead, a sound came from behind a house.
Ryoma paused, his figure merging with the shadow of the house.
Then, he saw a man in a robe roughly kicking open doors, checking for any stragglers.
Ryoma's gaze turned cold, he had not intended to cause trouble. This guy, however, was blocking his way.
Just as that member turned around, his gaze about to sweep over Ryoma's hiding place, Ryoma moved.
Ice Bind!
Whoosh!
An icy chain shot up from the ground, precisely wrapping around that member's legs.
"What?!" That member was startled, looking down to see his feet firmly frozen to the ground, unable to move.
He was about to open his mouth to raise an alarm.
Ice Water Illusion: Kaleidoscope!
But just then, countless tiny ice crystals appeared out of thin air, completely isolating and absorbing all the sound he was about to make.
Then Ryoma slowly stepped out of the shadows and approached that member.
"Don't waste your energy."
He looked at the other party struggling desperately, his tone calm. "Now, I ask, you answer."
That member stared intently at Ryoma, not saying a word.
"What are you doing here? Who is your leader? What is the situation in the village now?" Ryoma asked all his questions in one breath.
However, that member only showed a strange smile. Then his body suddenly began to become somewhat unreal.
Ryoma's eyes narrowed, sensing that something was wrong.
This is… water magic?
The next second, that member's entire body, along with his clothes, dissolved with a splash into a puddle of water, merging into the ground and disappearing without a trace. Only the broken ice chains remained where they were.
"…"
Ryoma let out a soft puff of white air.
He looked down at the rapidly drying water stain on the ground and couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He had been careless. He had actually forgotten to take his grimoire first.
He hadn't expected even a regular member to possess such a substitute escape magic.
This was troublesome now.
He had originally planned to quietly sneak into the church in the center of the village and get the magic stone first.
Now that one had escaped, the other side would surely heighten their vigilance, or even… massacre the village ahead of time.
He couldn't wait any longer.
Ryoma's eyes sharpened, his previous composure gone.
The frost beneath his feet intensified sharply, and he swiftly sped towards the central square of the village.
—
When Ryoma arrived at the square, the sight before him instantly ignited a murderous intent in his heart.
In the center of the square, all the villagers were herded together, huddled in terror.
And in front of them, the village chief, Seihi, leaned on a long sword made of bronze magic, gasping for breath as he confronted a tall figure.
Standing opposite him was a tall, thin man with cold eyes, Heath.
He casually waved his hand.
Clang!
A huge ice wall rose from the ground, easily sending Seihi flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Village Chief!" The villagers let out a desperate cry.
Just then, a stream of water gathered beside Heath, transforming into the appearance of the member who had previously escaped from Ryoma's grasp.
He quickly whispered a few words into Heath's ear.
Heath's expression instantly became even colder and more impatient.
"Have rats infiltrated?"
He scanned the thick mist around him, then his gaze fell on the group of villagers who were now completely defenseless.
"Since that's the case, there's no need to waste time. Let's clean up this trash first."
Heath picked up his grimoire, and a vast amount of mana surged skyward, resonating with the mist enveloping the entire village.
Ice Mist Compound Magic: Cage of Infinite Hail!
In an instant, the grayish-white mist violently churned, and countless sharp ice cones solidified out of thin air within the mist.
Thousands upon thousands, densely packed.
A sense of despair, turning into tangible cold, gripped everyone's throats.
The villagers couldn't even scream, only boundless fear remained in their pupils.
Seihi, lying on the ground, showed deep powerlessness and indignation in his eyes.
He no longer even had the strength to stand up.
Heath coldly waved his hand down.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Tens of thousands of ice cones, like a torrential downpour, shot towards the villagers in the square.
Just at this critical moment—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Countless rays of light refracted and flickered without warning in the air in front of the villagers, forming an illusionary area.
Most of the ice cones inexplicably changed direction in mid-air, colliding with each other, or shooting towards the empty ground.
"What?" Heath's pupils contracted.
But that wasn't all.
The moment the remaining small portion of ice cones was about to fall into the crowd.
"Ice Crystal Nest." A steady and powerful voice echoed through the square.
Boom!
A massive and thick dome of ice instantly enveloped all the villagers completely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The remaining ice cones struck the Ice Crystal Nest, but couldn't even leave a white mark before shattering and disintegrating.
The villagers inside the Ice Crystal Nest were unharmed. They stared blankly at this miraculous sanctuary above their heads, forgetting their fear for a moment.
A corner of the mist covering the square dispersed.
A slender figure, at some unknown point, was already standing in front of the Ice Crystal Nest.
The Black Bulls cloak fluttered slightly in the cold air.
It was Ryoma!
Heath's gaze was locked firmly on Ryoma.
"Who are you?" He asked coldly.
His plan had been completely disrupted.
Ryoma did not answer, he simply looked at Heath quietly.
Heath looked at the Magic Knight Squad cloak on Ryoma, and a trace of extreme disdain flashed across his face.
"Black Bulls?"
"This world, from the very beginning, was divided into several regions." He spoke to himself, his voice filled with a superior sense of arrogance.
"One is the Noble Realm where the king and nobles reside."
"One is the Commoner Realm where commoners reside."
"And another, like this village, is the Forsaken Realm, composed of a bunch of useless lowlifes."
Heath pointed at the villagers in the Ice Crystal Nest, his tone full of disgust.
"They can basically only use some trash magic that offers slight help in life, and their mana is pitifully weak."
"Look at them, what's the difference between them and a bunch of useless beasts?"
"I just wanted to get rid of those incompetent beasts who only waste my time."
Heath shifted his gaze back to Ryoma, attempting to find agreement.
"You joined the Magic Knight Squad, so you must possess a considerable amount of mana, right?"
"Don't you think they are just a bunch of insignificant beasts?"