Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

She stared curiously into the crater, her tiny hands almost reaching out to touch the lava her eyes wide with innocent wonder.

Well, no one except the daughter of King Emberfall… fine, I can endure it- he steeled himself, pushing the thought aside.

Just as these thoughts crossed Eris's mind, the lava inside the crater erupted upward, directly toward the two a molten geyser roaring with deadly intent.

Without wasting a moment, as the trained Knight he was, Eris immediately grabbed Aelya while leaping backward, dodging the strike, his movements swift despite the weight of his armor.

With a piercing roar filled with mana and power, a monster emerged from the crater, its presence shaking the air like a storm unleashed.

Its eyes were fixed on Eris's, as he kept the little girl behind him. "Stay behind me!" he said with a frown as he observed the monster, his grip tightening on his sword.

Its rank was simply Silver 1, but that was not what made it special. Eris could have faced it easily with all the artifacts he had at, his disposal each one humming with latent power.

His frown came from something else a nagging sense of unease.

A Wyvern.

Its wings beat slowly as the lava on them was flung around the volcano. Its body hovered arrogantly, powerfully in the air, while its eyes glowed unnaturally, like twin furnaces burning with malice.

It was a high-level monster, its intelligence no less than that of an average human.

Its scales were a deep red, and the lava dripping from them, plunging back into the crater, made the scene even more epic, a tableau of fire and fury.

Eris gripped his sword tightly. He had several artifacts with him; he was not worried about his life. He was worried about Aelya's safety, a responsibility heavier than his armor.

"Wow, a dragon!" Aelya was strangely excited at the sight of the Wyvern, mistakenly thinking it was a dragon, her voice bubbling with awe.

"Stop, stay back, it is dangerous!" Eris could not gauge the little girl's level, but he knew he could not let her get hurt. The consequences would be catastrophic!

With this in mind, Eris rushed toward Aelya, grabbing her by the dress and pulling her back, his movements urgent yet careful.

"I told you I will handle it—"

The Wyvern had no intention of waiting for the two to finish talking, its patience as thin as a blade.

With a powerful flap of its wings, a rain of lava surged toward the duo each droplet a searing projectile.

But Eris was not unprepared. His sword, enveloped in a thin mist, sliced with precision through the lava projectiles coming at him, the blade leaving trails of faint vapor in the air.

Then, with a clean, semicircular slash in front of him, a mist began to form from nothing as both he and Aelya vanished from the monster's sight, cloaked in an ethereal shroud.

The monster's wings beat rapidly as a loud roar echoed in the area, trying to shake the thick mist that had appeared around the crater. However, the mist was only slightly disturbed before returning to its dense, impenetrable state a barrier defying the Wyvern's fury.

"Stay here and do not move, okay?" Eris had dragged Aelya behind a rock, wanting to keep the little girl safe while he faced the monster, his voice firm but laced with concern.

"Uhm…" before she could even respond, a scream of pain echoed in the area, as a rain of black blood fell all around, decorating the Knight's armor like grim war paint.

Turning sharply, Eris managed to see one of the Wyvern's wings sliced clean off as a sword floated there in the air. Not a single drop of blood stained the blade, its edge gleaming with unearthly precision.

"What the-"

Before he could even process what was happening, the flying sword suddenly lost its power and plummeted into the lava sinking with a faint hiss.

"Uhm… Daddy said the sword would protect me from any threat…" Aelya's tone was a mix of doubt and satisfaction as she watched the sword fall into the crater. It had run out of mana, apparently… her small face scrunched in thought.

Eris shook his head quickly as he tried to seize the moment to destroy the Wyvern his mind racing to capitalize on the opportunity.

The battle had just begun, yet the monster had already been crippled a fleeting advantage in a deadly dance.

This was the power humans wielded to gain even a slight edge over monsters a fragile balance of skill and artifact.

But monsters of a certain level, like the Wyvern itself, would not be defeated so simply, its resilience a testament to its ancient lineage.

Its head rose toward the sky as a scream, different from the others, sent chills down Eris's spine, a primal call that shook his resolve.

A colossal fireball meteor fell from the sky, ready to crash into the ground, destroying everything, its descent a blazing harbinger of doom.

BOOOOM—

If the monster had no vision of its enemies, it would target everything. Its eyes glowed with fury and murderous aura as it watched the meteor crash, blowing away the mist in a single gust as a deafening explosion echoed throughout the area, the ground trembling like a wounded beast.

---

Bibo had only one goal in mind—

"I must succeed in taming that guardian monster!" he exclaimed excitedly after enduring yet another beating.

After standing up from the ground, Bibo began to dust off his clothes, only to discover that he had been thrown toward the tower.

"Coincidence?" he wondered as he circled the structure his footsteps echoing faintly in the desolate air.

"They are open!" Without thinking twice, Bibo crossed the doors, heading inside the tower his heart pounding with anticipation.

"Let us hope I make it in time! That guy, whoever he is, cannot have taken all the loot. He owes me something for coming to save him-"

His excited words caught in his throat as he observed the scene inside the tower a chaotic tableau frozen in time.

"What is happening?" he murmured slowly as he looked at the absurd scene before his eyes, his breath catching in awe.

The tower's floor was fragmented. Patches of lava, mud, dust, and destroyed statues were everywhere. The half-destroyed walls told of a gruesome battle that had taken place not long ago their scars whispering of violence.

A human being, thin, too thin to even be alive, stood still, his gaunt frame barely holding together.

In front of him, the statue of a man with a mysterious smile on his face, hands behind his back, and an incredibly beautiful and detailed robe, its intricate patterns shimmering faintly.