The black-scaled giant was none other than Edwyn. At this moment, his mana had fully recovered, and his injured arm was back to usable condition.
Rip!
With a roar, Edwyn's black-flamed greatsword tore through a puppet apprentice's mana shield. The Greedflame instantly drained the apprentice's mana dry.
These mind-controlled apprentices were already depleted. A little Greedflame was all it took to exhaust their mana reserves.
But although they were weak, there were more than a dozen of them. Seeing Edwyn slay one in a single blow, the blind apprentice immediately commanded the rest to attack all at once.
To him, these apprentices were just cannon fodder. He didn't care how many died.
As long as they bought him enough time, their soul marks would belong to him in the end.
Edwyn slashed horizontally, cutting a bloodline-enhanced gorilla-like apprentice in half. Before he could retrieve his blade, another apprentice lunged forward. Spells from the others followed immediately.
Their minds fully dominated, the apprentices attacked fearlessly, completely ignoring the risk of friendly fire.
Buzz!
Edwyn's Guardian Pendant activated.
A shimmering magic shield blocked the barrage of spells. Though some of the enemy spells had been enhanced, they were still far from breaking through Edwyn's defenses.
Edwyn took the opportunity to push forward under the hail of spells.
Sizzle...
He charged into the mob like a wolf among sheep. These low-tier, mind-controlled apprentices had no means to resist. The intense heat of the black flames instantly charred their wounds, filling the air with the stench of scorched flesh.
But just then, the blind apprentice let out a bone-chilling cackle, and a wave of sinister energy erupted from his body.
"Kekeke… It's done."
This was no power of man. Even a bloodline alchemist wouldn't dare fuse with something like this.
The aura was vile, oozing hatred for all life.
Edwyn shuddered. He recognized the change.
"You've made a pact with a Raving Horror from the Star Ocean?" he said grimly.
"Oh?"
The blind apprentice sounded surprised. His methods were so obscure, even most full-fledged wizards wouldn't recognize them.
"You've got a bit of knowledge."
The Star Ocean was home not just to planets but also to space titans, some as massive as entire stars, like godly leviathans, others nomads who lived aboard floating ships. But the most terrifying of them were the Raving Horrors, born from the corpses of dead worlds.
From the moment they emerged, Raving Horrors held boundless malice toward all living things, destroying everything in their path.
There were strong and weak among them. Wizards, always seeking more power, had discovered ways to harness their corrupted energies. For soul mages, that meant tapping into their ability to pollute mental defenses.
"Relax. My spell will be quick."
The blind apprentice grinned. A malicious soul tendril shot toward Edwyn's head.
Bang! Bang!
Inside Edwyn's consciousness, the two mind shield rings shattered instantly under the onslaught.
The blind apprentice laughed even more maniacally.
"It's over!"
"Yes," Edwyn replied coldly, "it is."
Another ring on his hand lit up.
He didn't only have two mind shield rings.
Bang!
The third mental shield snapped. Pain stabbed through Edwyn's mind, but this time, the soul tendril was too weak to shake his will.
"Three… rings…"
The blind apprentice stared at Edwyn's hand, stunned, blood dribbling from his mouth.
Edwyn calmly pulled the black sword from his chest, then smashed his skull with a punch.
"Moony, dinner time."
In this world, keeping your word mattered. He said he'd feed him to Moony, and he meant it.
…
On the other side of the forest, two evokers were locked in a heated duel.
Fighting between evocation mages was rarely subtle. It came down to two things, spell power and mana reserves.
If one side had both advantages, the outcome was certain. If they each held one, it came down to skill.
A fire raven soared toward Hodor, who casually waved his staff. An ice spike intercepted it mid-air, and his magic shield absorbed the explosion without a ripple.
In contrast, Elia looked far more disheveled. The high-level fire elemental relentlessly pushed her back. Her enchanted cloak was torn in several places. Without her deep mana reserves and heavily modified shield, she'd have been burned to ash long ago.
Hodor strolled casually across the battlefield, in no rush to finish it.
He remained wary of Susanna's infamous Cursed Flame. Better to slowly grind Elia down with the fire elemental than risk an explosive surprise.
Boom!
Elia launched another fireball, briefly forcing the elemental back. She leaned on her staff, dizzy and drained.
Casting so many spells in quick succession had worn her down. If this continued, she risked making a fatal error.
"I wonder how Edwyn's doing…" she thought, only to scoff at herself a moment later.
Focus on your own survival first.
She stood, trembling, sweat pouring down in the elemental's heat.
She knew exactly what Hodor was afraid of.
Her teacher Susanna had taught her the Cursed Flame spell long ago, but it consumed not mana, but soul energy. Every use permanently weakened her spirit.
But right now, Elia had no choice.
She took out a magic stone and began chanting an ancient incantation. When Hodor saw it, he immediately retreated.
A faint violet flame flickered at Elia's fingertip. Though small, it made the towering fire elemental tremble. No matter how Hodor commanded, it refused to advance.
It could feel death radiating from that flame.
Elia winced at the toll it took on her soul and tried to sidestep the elemental to strike at Hodor directly.
It would be a waste to use this spell on a mere summoned creature.
But just then, a figure burst from the trees and called out to her.
"Don't be hasty, Elia. We're not at that point yet."
Hodor turned to see the massive black-scaled giant emerge. Over two meters tall, thick with muscle and brimming with mana, it was clearly a bloodline alchemy apprentice.
"Another brute, huh?" Hodor sneered.
"Let him go brawl with the fire elemental, then."
The elemental charged toward Edwyn, but he showed no fear.
Instead, he untied his magical pouch.
He sent out a mental message to the elemental:
"Fire Elemental, I'd like to make you an offer. I'll pay you double the Mana Stones that apprentice is giving you, to form a contract with me."
Then, Edwyn flipped his pouch upside down, letting the Mana Stones pour out like rain.