Subconsciously, Jeanne raised her left hand, extending her right to gather magic and release a Holy Light Orb. She didn’t know why she was acting this way, yet she understood that the voice had imbued her with unprecedented courage and confidence. She was willing to trust that voice, and deeply believed in its owner, for that person was the most important and cherished individual in her entire life.
‘Brother.’
Jeanne, who had moments ago plunged into despair, now perceived a vast expanse of light piercing through the darkness. Bathed in its radiance, it was as if a world-saving messiah had descended, instantly shattering the gloomy demonic beast.
The very moment Jeanne instinctively acted, Scheffiel’s whip struck her as intended. However, the damage inflicted by that lash was not borne by Jeanne, but by the caster of the magic herself, Scheffiel.
Crack!
Scheffiel was stunned into silence. She couldn’t comprehend how her own attack had rebounded, inflicting damage upon herself instead of her target. While the injury wasn’t severe, it felt like a stinging slap across her face. But was this truly the end?
Thump!
The Holy Light Orb struck Scheffiel’s body. Though its power wasn’t immense, for an unguarded individual, such force was more than sufficient.
“Why…”
Scheffiel was utterly bewildered by the assault, clutching her face, unable to utter a single word for a long moment.
“How could a mere commoner like you possibly harm me?!”
Scheffiel’s magical energy suddenly surged out of control. Five distinct magical arrays, each a different color, materialized behind her.
Scheffiel Laust, fifteen years old, was the cherished jewel of the Laust family. She was the most gifted individual the family had ever seen, an unprecedented prodigy, naturally endowed with Fire, Wind, and Light magic, and later awakening Ice and Earth affinities. Her power level was classified as C-rank.
Within the Fasilan Kingdom, she was considered a super genius among the younger generation. If placed across the entire O Continent’s youth, she would undoubtedly rank within the top hundred.
“Ignorant commoner, allow me to show you true magic! Now, prepare to die a dozen times over!”
Scheffiel had completely lost her mind, pushing her magical output to its absolute maximum. The combined power of a C-rank mage simultaneously unleashing five elemental spells was enough to obliterate half of Sachsen City, if not more. Even the training tower, constructed from special materials, would not escape its destined destruction.
“Th-this is the power of the Laust family’s young miss?!”
“It’s terrifying! Flee, we must flee!”
“Get out of the way! Don’t block me!”
“You get out of the way!”
The training tower instantly erupted into chaos, everyone desperate to escape and avoid the impending devastation. Yet, even if they fled the tower, could they truly escape Sachsen City itself? The answer was a resounding no.
However, this grim reality only held true if no one could withstand Scheffiel’s assault. If someone could block and neutralize her power, then it would be an entirely different matter.
‘Brother!’
Jeanne turned her head, looking behind her to see a throng of people scrambling to escape the training tower. She, however, was pushed directly towards Scheffiel by the panicked crowd. In her despair, she silently chanted Yue Wu’s name in her heart, recalling his image.
“Responding to your summons, might you be my Master?”
Clad in a white robe, a magic staff in hand, and a shimmering silver ponytail swaying playfully, Yue Wu appeared before Jeanne, a mischievous grin on his face.
“Bro, Brother!”
Upon seeing Yue Wu materialize before her, Jeanne didn’t hesitate, immediately throwing herself into his embrace and bursting into tears.
“There, there, no more tears. Brother is here now.”
Yue Wu held Jeanne tightly, gently stroking her head to comfort her.
“How about I take you to eat your favorite food later?”
“Okay! I want to eat Xililu.”
“No problem. I’ll take you once Brother deals with this. Just wait patiently for me outside, alright?”
Yue Wu extended his left index finger, gently tapping Jeanne’s forehead. In an instant, Jeanne vanished into thin air before him.
“Now then, to deal with this pampered young miss.”
After a close, face-to-face confrontation with Scheffiel, Yue Wu harbored no anger. He knew her, and he knew what she would become in the future, yet one thing left him utterly perplexed.
‘How exactly did she transform into such a lady?’
Despite his familiarity with her, the current situation still required his attention. Yue Wu extended his left hand, intending to place it on Scheffiel’s shoulder, but in that precise moment, a cold flash of light shot straight for his neck.
“You’re in the way. Go stand aside.”
Without even glancing, Yue Wu released his magic staff with his right hand, extending it in a swift, casual grab. He effortlessly caught the cloaked assailant, then casually flung them to the ground before re-gripping his staff.
“Puwah!”
Azet, having been effortlessly caught and thrown by Yue Wu, landed heavily on the ground as if struck by a critical blow. He instantly coughed up blood, collapsing into an incapacitated state.
“Magic dismissed.”
Yue Wu smoothly placed his hand on Scheffiel’s shoulder, and the spell was successfully cast. Had Scheffiel not lost her reason and unleashed an unfamiliar large-scale magic, Yue Wu would likely have resorted to more forceful methods.
Yue Wu possessed hundreds, even thousands, of ways to dispel an opponent’s magic. For instance, the Chains of Heaven he had used twice before were capable of binding even gods, and these were divine artifacts strengthened and imbued with additional properties by Yue Wu himself. Dispel magic, a task so trivial, was merely child’s play for him.
“I should go too; Jeanne is waiting for me.”
Yue Wu carried the unconscious Scheffiel, who had collapsed due to the dispelled magic, and laid her beside the cloaked figure. After changing into casual clothes, he turned and departed.
Though Azet was temporarily incapacitated, he had clearly witnessed everything that transpired. Indeed, the moment Yue Wu appeared and teleported Jeanne away, all those attempting to flee the training tower froze, becoming as motionless as stone statues.
Furthermore, the terrifying magical aura emanating from Yue Wu—an aura Azet only perceived after being subdued—was beyond anything a human could possess. Even centuries, or millennia, ago, such a being simply wouldn’t have existed among humanity; not even gods possessed such power.
“What… what just happened? I remember just now… right! That damned commoner!”
After a considerable while, Scheffiel regained consciousness. Her mind was initially muddled, but she quickly reordered her thoughts and recalled the recent events.
“Azet?! What happened to you? Who knocked you down?”
“A terrifying existence, Young Miss. You must be wary of that person.”
Azet recounted everything he had personally witnessed to Scheffiel.
“I understand. Azet, you should return to recover from your injuries. I will summon you back once you’ve healed.”
Scheffiel fell silent after hearing his account. She found it utterly unbelievable, yet the facts were undeniable: Azet, an A-rank practitioner, had been gravely wounded and incapacitated by a mere casual flick from that individual.
‘Magic more terrifying than even a god’s?’
Alone in the empty training tower, Scheffiel sat on the ground, a hazy memory surfacing in her mind. It was of a male figure with an indistinct face, whose voice suggested he was a young man. This youth had effortlessly nullified her ultimate technique.
‘Does such a person truly exist in this world?’
Scheffiel lifted her head, now completely lost on her path forward.
****
Yue Wu led Jeanne to a small snack stall at the outermost edge of Sachsen City. There, they found Xililu, Jeanne’s favorite dessert—a treat that resembled both cake and pudding.
In Yue Wu’s real world, Xililu was an impossible food to create due to a lack of ingredients. However, it was a common delicacy within the game.
“How is it? Is it tasty?”
“Mmm, it’s delicious! So soft, just like cotton candy.”
“Good, I’m glad you like it. We’ll head home after you finish.”
“Brother.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Am I… too weak?”
“Of course not.”
“But I—!”
“But what? You’ve only just begun learning magic. Even with extraordinary talent, you can’t expect to defeat someone who has been studying it since childhood.”
“Then I want to become stronger! So…”
“Jeanne, no one becomes a master overnight. You must take your time. One day, you will become a legend across the entire O Continent.”
“But I still want to grow stronger! I don’t want to embarrass you, Brother; I want to become your pride!”
“You truly are my sister. Come on, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Home.”
“Huh? Didn’t you say yesterday that you’d teach me magic, Brother?”
“Exactly why we need to go home! I haven’t even brushed my teeth or washed my face yet.”
“Eh?!”
“Come on, kiddo, let’s go.”
Why had Yue Wu, who was supposedly sleeping at home, appeared in the training tower? The reason was simple: the necklace he had given Jeanne the previous night contained a sensory magic he had attached to it.
Several minutes later, Yue Wu returned home, completed his ablutions, and retrieved a scroll. In the blink of an eye, he and Jeanne vanished from Sachsen City, reappearing in a distant suburb.
“Jeanne, this time I’ll teach you an entirely new Holy Light Orb technique.”
Yue Wu had witnessed all of Jeanne’s practice in the training tower. He realized his oversight in her instruction, having only taught her the most basic Holy Light Orb without its advanced forms.
“New? A Holy Light Orb?”
Jeanne tilted her head, pondering if there were indeed new variations of the Holy Light Orb.
“That’s right, there are many ways to use a Holy Light Orb.”
With that, Yue Wu raised his hand, and a Holy Light Orb materialized, hovering above his palm. The next second, the orb seemed to come alive, circling and flying erratically around Yue Wu.
“Wow!”
Jeanne stared, as if a door to a new world had opened before her, utterly astonished by Yue Wu’s masterful control.
“Off you go.”
Yue Wu pointed towards a large tree not far away, and the Holy Light Orb shot straight towards it. However, just as it was about to collide with the tree, its flight path abruptly changed, circling the trunk once before returning to Yue Wu’s side to continue its erratic orbit.
“Next, I’ll teach you the Holy Sword Art. Watch closely.”
The Holy Light Orb suddenly split in two, then transformed into a pair of gleaming knight’s swords, hovering beside Yue Wu. He casually grasped one, raising the knight’s sword high above his head.
“Calibur!”
Yue Wu bellowed, bringing the knight’s sword down with tremendous force, which cleaved the air as a brilliant beam of light. Within forty meters ahead, a deep chasm was revealed to Jeanne’s astonished eyes.
“That’s amazing! Can I do that too?”
Jeanne gazed wide-eyed at the forty-meter deep chasm.