Wizard With Daily Task Panel!

In these academies, talent was highly valued. However, for students to graduate, they often had to pay a tuition fee or commit to working within the academy for a set period of time, which made sense given that so much of the knowledge they provided was expensive. Few magic stones could provide the same depth of education and resources that a prestigious academy could offer.

In contrast, the "Wizard Tower" organizations operated more like guilds, merit-based and focused on practical experience rather than theoretical study. They emphasized hands-on training, giving apprentices the opportunity to gain practical skills quickly. The focus was on "learning by doing," and after a short period of formal training, apprentices could jump right into real-world tasks. Of course, Leonard knew that these distinctions were generalized, there were always exceptions, and each wizarding force had its own nuances, with some specializing in fields such as necromancy, dark magic, or elemental studies.

But what confused Leonard was the absence of the Abyss Wizarding Academy. Was it that this region didn't fall under its jurisdiction, or were they simply unwilling to recruit apprentices here? He couldn't be sure. The wizarding world was vast, and there had to be more recruitment paths than just the one he'd experienced aboard the ship.

His thoughts were interrupted when a group of apprentices closed in on him, their eyes cold and calculating.

"Hey, kid," one of them sneered, stepping forward. "Hand over everything you got from Wizard Marlin. No one can protect you here now." The crowd parted slightly, and Leonard saw a few familiar faces among them, faces he'd encountered back on the ship.

A flicker of recognition sparked in Leonard's eyes. So, it's them, he thought, a wry smile tugging at his lips. How convenient. I was just thinking about how to track them down, and here they are, all gathered up for me.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement at how quickly things had turned in his favor. The rules aboard the ship had prevented any violent confrontations, but now that they were on land, those constraints no longer applied. It seemed these apprentices thought the same thing, which made Leonard's situation both precarious and at least for the moment, favorable.

He turned slowly, eyeing the group that had surrounded him. Among them was a blonde youth with a fair complexion and perfectly tailored clothes, standing confidently in the middle. The boy's gaze locked onto Leonard's, his smile sharp.

"No need to look around for help," the blonde said with a smirk. "Wizard Marlin left the moment he stepped off the boat. You're on your own now, kid."

Leonard narrowed his eyes. "Are you the leader of these… friends?" he asked, his tone cool as he instinctively adjusted his wizard robe around him.

The blonde boy puffed his chest out with a sense of pride. "I'm not a leader. We're all just like-minded individuals. But let me introduce myself. I'm Matt, from the Morning Glory Marquis family."

At the mention of the Morning Glory family, Leonard couldn't suppress a chuckle, though he quickly stifled it. The name seemed oddly humorous to him. He had heard of the family before, and it made sense that someone from such a prestigious house would feel the need to announce their name with such pomp.

Matt's brow furrowed at Leonard's reaction. "What's so funny?" he asked, his voice edged with annoyance. "You laughing at the Morning Glory family?"

Leonard quickly composed himself. "No, no. You misunderstood," he said, trying to suppress the smile playing at his lips. "I just... thought of something amusing."

The name Morning Glory in the Erdoru Kingdom had symbolic meanings of honor, divination, and calmness. There was nothing inherently wrong with the title, but Leonard couldn't help but find it amusing that someone from such a noble background would find himself in such a confrontation with someone like him. The contrast struck him as unexpectedly comical.

"I saw you laughing," Matt pressed, his voice now more insistent. "Are you mocking our family?"

Leonard, sensing the rising tension, flashed a wide grin. "No, really. You're just standing a bit too close to me, that's all."

Before Matt could respond, Leonard raised his hand, fingers splayed wide. A ripple of energy surged from his palm, the mental wave expanding outward in an instant. A dark, translucent wave of energy spread from the center of his palm, creating an eerie sound like a monster's roar; deep, guttural, and unnerving.

The spell, a Fear spell, bellowed out, covering a radius of thirty meters. The wizard apprentices closest to Leonard staggered back, their faces contorted in terror as the spell struck deep into their psyches.

Matt, however, was not so easily affected. His necklace, a silver amulet, glowed with a soft starlight, activating a barrier that enveloped him in a shimmering grid. The fear wave hit this barrier with a force that sent visible ripples across its surface, making the air crackle with energy.

The friction between the spell's effects and the barrier caused a strange, water-like vibration, but the protection held strong. Matt gritted his teeth, his confident expression faltering for just a moment as the panic rippled through him.

Leonard felt a slight delay in his casting. This technique is slower than I expected, he thought, mentally noting the difference between speaking and casting. It wasn't a huge issue, just an inconvenience, but it had caught him off guard. Still, the spell had worked, and he could tell from the expressions of the other apprentices around him that they were momentarily shaken.

"Don't get too comfortable," Matt sneered, recovering from the shock. His eyes glinted with determination. "You'll regret this, kid."

But Leonard merely smiled, a calm, confident smile that made Matt' blood run cold. This was just the beginning.

The spell Leonard had cast reverberated with powerful mental fluctuations, the kind that could be detected by a wizard with keen senses. However, none of the apprentices surrounding him had the perceptive abilities to catch these subtle cues. They were too busy scrambling to react to the onslaught of fear that hit them like a tidal wave.

Leonard had been preparing for this moment the second he found himself surrounded. The moment he saw the group close in on him, he silently began weaving the intricate threads of the spell framework, his mind working with precise calculation. The mental fluctuations emanating from the cast spell were strong, but they went undetected by his unsuspecting adversaries.

Of the group, only Matt, the blonde noble boy, and two other apprentices carried magic accessories with protective enchantments. The accessories on the two lesser apprentices were far weaker than Matt's, and their attempts to shield them from the fear spell crumbled almost immediately. The energy from the spell ripped through the barriers, draining them until they were nothing more than empty husks of their former protective selves.

The fear spell worked with brutal efficiency. The apprentices who couldn't resist the mental barrage staggered back, their legs going weak and collapsing to the ground. Some of them fell into a deep, fearful stupor, shaking uncontrollably, their bodies trembling as if struck by a bolt of lightning. But the real effect came from those who were still standing, sweat poured from their brows, and their hearts raced with a sense of impending doom. Their minds grew confused, their breaths labored, as the spell twisted their sense of reality, making them feel as though death was looming at every corner.

The two noble apprentices, however, seemed to hold on longer. Their magical accessories protected them partially, lessening the effects of the spell. They didn't faint or collapse like the others. Instead, they staggered, their limbs trembling, but they managed to stay conscious, though clearly disoriented.

The wave of panic had left a path of destruction, but the immediate threat was far from over. Leonard's hand slid into his pocket, pulling out a small, glowing ring. It pulsed with silver light, and in an instant, two massive iron earthworms materialized in front of him, their thick, segmented bodies twisting and turning as they surged forward with lethal intent.

Behind them, David, ever loyal and silent, appeared, her eyes cold and calculating. At Leonard's silent command, the earthworms and David sprang into action, their ferocity indiscriminate. They moved with precision, slaughtering the apprentices who had lost all ability to resist. The once-threatening group of wizards was now nothing more than easy prey, their cries cut short as they were overwhelmed by the earthworms' sheer power. Without spells to defend themselves, they were as fragile as paper.

Leonard's eyes turned toward Matt, who was the only one still capable of fighting back. The noble boy had managed to hold on, though his magic accessories were temporarily drained from the earlier encounter. But his determination was unmistakable. From beneath his robes, Matt drew a silver staff, tied with a crimson ribbon, and raised it with confidence.

The air around him shimmered as Matt chanted an incantation, sweat dripping from his forehead as he completed the spell with a fierce, unwavering focus. But Leonard was already ahead of him. His lips moved in sync with the chant, and a moment before Matt could unleash his own spell, Leonard released his first strike. The air warped violently in front of his staff, and within an instant, a blazing fireball erupted, roaring towards Matt with explosive speed.