The Bizarre Wizarding World

Though Colin had told her he possessed the strength of a Second Rank Wizard, why did each of the Flame Shadows he summoned radiate a presence that could match the strongest of the Roon Family, his great-grandfather Erwin?

"This really is just Second Rank?"

Hiss!

Seeing that Jennifer had stopped coughing, Colin withdrew his gaze and had a thought.

The five Flame Shadows behind him stepped forward, and at the same time, lifted their right palms, where a bluish-white bright spot suddenly emerged from the center.

Then, with a swish, five Flame Pillars, about as thick as fingers, shot toward the same spot on the barrier in front!

These Flame Pillars were bluish-white and incredibly solid; although they were not released with much noise, their power was not to be underestimated.

Five Flame Shadows attacking one point at the same time, even Colin would have to use all his tricks—Steel Temperature Resistance Field, Fighting Aura Armor, Will Armor—to barely defend against it.

For an ordinary Second Rank Wizard, if hit by this attack, there would be basically no hope of survival.

The strong red barrier was the same, which, though it now shone brightly, barely resisted against the concentrated attack of the Flame Pillars.

But as time went on, the light on its surface was rapidly diminishing, and it likely couldn't sustain for too long.

However, just at that moment, the red barrier suddenly flickered violently.

"Roar!!"

The next instant, with a thunderous boom, a blood-red monster suddenly burst out of the nearby ground and attacked Colin!

"Be careful!" Jennifer's face dramatically changed as she urgently shouted, biting her teeth and charging toward the bear-like blood-red monster.

She saw that Colin was currently controlling five Flame Shadows, overstretched and likely at his weakest moment.

She couldn't allow this monster to succeed in its attack.

But in the next moment, Jennifer's vision blurred, and with a bang, the imposing blood-red bear was sent flying like a torn sack, smashing several large trees.

"Stay aside." Colin approached Jennifer and ordered in a low voice, his expression slightly grave.

'A Second Rank Peak monster... This aura, does it seem somewhat similar to the gray-white elk from that day?'

The five Flame Pillars continued to barrage the barrier, whose light had now diminished to that of a flickering candle flame, and Colin immediately made a decision.

"Roar!" The tough-skinned blood-red bear attacked him again; Colin didn't dodge or avoid but met it head-on.

Crack crack!

About ten meters from Colin, a deep blue chill spread swiftly from the ground and momentarily froze the bear in place.

Boom!

Immediately after, Colin threw a powerful punch.

Like shattering a glass sculpture, the strong force spread from the blood-red bear's chest outward, shattering it instantly into a pile of debris.

At the same time, a nearly imperceptible strange sound suddenly came from behind.

Colin turned his head just as the red barrier finally shattered, revealing a red, slender, bamboo-like short staff emerging stealthily from the bush with white flowers, before breaking into several pieces and falling to the ground.

This was probably the treasure indicated by Anando's Dice... Colin pondered silently.

An invisible interdimensional passage quietly emerged where the red barrier had been.

Colin looked at the passage, then back at the dead bear-like monster, and felt a surge of unease.

He had been prepared to encounter danger before coming here, but now it seemed evident that someone was deliberately targeting the Roon Family.

This red bamboo used to seal the passage to a different space, and the bear monster summoned by the red bamboo... were obviously set up by someone.

The red bamboo was simply some precious witch tool; it didn't represent much.

But the blood-red bear, bearing a peculiar resemblance to the weird elk they encountered before... What kind of wizard could control such a foul monster?

And Com Adams... Images of the three Wizards from the Yista School flickered through Colin's mind.

If they had arranged all this, what was their purpose?

Was it simply to vie for control over the Roon Kingdom?

After a brief, intense fight, the Lightless Forest once again fell silent.

Jennifer carefully peeked out from the distance, and after observing for a moment and deeming it safe, she quickly walked toward Colin.

Colin was deep in thought, and by the time he realized it, Jennifer had already walked near the bush with the white flowers.

"Be careful!" His expression changed slightly as he hastily warned.

Yet, it was still a step too late. Jennifer looked up in confusion, only to vanish with a swish.

Colin couldn't afford to think much, hurriedly stepping into the range of the dimensional passage.

Nobody knew exactly what the situation inside the Secret Realm was; they should have reconnoitered before entering...

However, the next moment, Colin suddenly froze on the spot. Although he had reached the shrubbery, he remained where he was, unable to enter the Secret Realm.

But... the passage was clearly still there, wasn't it?

Furrowing his eyebrows, Colin concentrated and observed carefully.

Moments later, he faintly saw a layer of crimson light net encasing the dimensional space.

This shade of red was different from the red of the barrier they had encountered before—it was tinged with a bit of gold, obviously much more advanced.

'Could this be a measure laid down by Roon's ancestors?' Colin suddenly thought.

If it were an ancestral measure of the Roons, that would explain why Jennifer could enter easily, while he could not.

With this in mind, Colin felt slightly relieved.

It seemed likely that Wizard Erwin was still alive, just trapped within the Roon Secret Realm.

No wonder those who were after Erwin had simply chosen to seal him inside and leave the Bear Monster to guard, instead of killing them outright.

So they couldn't enter the Secret Realm!

Having resolved most of his confusion, Colin had roughly figured out the process of Wizard Erwin's disappearance.

But for some reason, he felt like he was missing something.

Swish!

"Lord Colin."

Just then, Wizard Erwin's figure suddenly appeared, looking at Colin with eyes filled with disbelief.

After pausing for a moment, Erwin bowed and placed his hand over his chest towards Colin.

Behind him, several Official Wizards of the Roon Family appeared. Aside from appearing somewhat exhausted spiritually, they all seemed to be in good condition and followed Erwin's lead in greeting Colin.

"Thank you for your willingness to help," said Erwin as he straightened up, before flipping his hand to retrieve a Knowledge Crystal and spoke earnestly, "This is the complete Roon Meditation Method, please accept it."

A smile appeared on Colin's face; Erwin was more straightforward than he had imagined.

"To take someone's money is to dispose of their calamity, no thanks are needed." Taking the Knowledge Crystal, Colin confirmed it was authentic, and said with a smile.

"By the way, Lord Erwin, do you know who trapped you all in the Secret Realm?"

Erwin's brow furrowed deeply as he reflected carefully and after a while, he shook his head:

"The day we successfully entered the Secret Realm, we took some items and prepared to return to Golden Barley. Suddenly, we encountered two monsters of great strength; one resembling a moose and the other a giant bear.

Caught off guard, we lost two First Rank Wizards on the spot. Unable to fight back, we had to flee back into the Secret Realm. Later, when I tried to go out to check the situation, I found the passage had been sealed by a powerful prohibition. We tried endlessly to break it, but we simply couldn't budge it... and then, you arrived to rescue us."

You never saw the person behind the scenes from start to finish?

Colin's gaze flickered, suspicion growing in his heart towards the three people from the Yista School.

Such cautious concealment of one's identity likely meant they were quite noticeable and easily recognized...

"Lord Erwin, please keep my Second Rank status confidential," Colin finally said.

"That goes without saying." Erwin didn't hesitate at all and immediately took out a piece of parchment, ready to draw up a contract.

However, just at that moment, Colin suddenly saw Erwin's expression change and, at the same time, an eerie voice emanated from behind him:

"To keep the status of a Second Rank... indeed, I had not considered that. You, Golden Feather, had already advanced to the Second Rank much earlier, and your strength is no small matter.

Fortunately, I had set an additional safeguard; otherwise, if I let you return to Golden Barley and it affected the big event in a few days, that would be unfortunate."

Com's figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the woods, scanning Erwin and the others until his sinister gaze rested on Colin, his face cold.

A heavy, damp oppression, like the stillness before a torrential downpour, quietly enveloped the woods with his approach. The occasional cries of insects and animals suddenly vanished, replaced by a sticky, peculiar rustling sound.

Colin finally realized what he had overlooked—the mastermind who had set this trap here, how could they possibly not have a warning set up for after its destruction!

Trouble... he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.