The moment the griffin saw Sean charging toward it, the creature immediately opened its mouth wide.
Magma-like flames and poisonous mist rapidly condensed between its jaws.
Sean's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Crucio!"
The curse struck directly.
"HRAAAAGHH!!"
The griffin shrieked violently in pain.
The half-formed flames in its mouth instantly collapsed and scattered.
Sean immediately seized the opening.
His speed exploded forward.
He stepped onto the griffin's front leg—
then sprinted directly up the creature's massive body toward its head.
"HAH!"
Sean roared while raising the Arthurian sword overhead.
Then he slashed downward viciously.
PSSSHHH—
A horrifying tearing sound echoed out.
A sword wound several metres long instantly split across the griffin's face.
One enormous eye exploded apart completely.
The griffin instantly went berserk.
Its struggling intensified wildly.
Sean nearly lost balance from the violent shaking.
Without hesitation, he cast again:
"Crucio!"
The griffin's body froze once more under unbearable agony.
Sean immediately raised the Arthurian sword again and stabbed directly toward the creature's eye socket.
CRACK.
Suddenly—
a sound that made Sean's scalp explode with terror echoed behind him.
WHOOSH—
The griffin's massive tail whipped across the air instantly.
Before Sean could react—
BOOM!
He was smashed backward over thirty feet.
"Cough…!"
Sean crashed hard into a giant tree before vomiting blood violently.
Then Sean slowly closed his eyes.
"It's over…"
He quietly waited for death.
But instead—
the system suddenly spoke.
[Congratulations to the host for clearing the second stage.]
[Completion rate: 60%]
[Submit results?]
Sean opened his eyes immediately.
In the distance—
the heavily injured griffin was fleeing.
"…Running away counts as clearing it?"
Sean stared at the glowing confirmation screen silently.
Then hesitation appeared in his eyes.
Immediately, two tiny imaginary Seans began fighting inside his head.
One shouted:
"Click submit!"
"You already cleared it!"
"Why suffer more horrible deaths?"
"That pain is unbearable!"
The second immediately roared back:
"No!"
"If completion isn't 100%, that means the system still believes your strength is insufficient!"
"If you stop now, what happens during the third stage?!"
Sean's expression twisted painfully.
Finally—
he clenched his teeth violently.
"…Don't submit."
The next second—
Sean returned directly to the training room.
He sat silently on the floor while staring at the blood covering the Arthurian sword.
"…I'm supposedly a wizard."
"And now I'm charging around slashing things with a sword."
After several seconds, Sean sighed helplessly.
"Forget it."
"I'll just become a battle mage."
Then he immediately spoke again.
"System."
"Open the second stage."
The battle restarted instantly.
This time, Sean repeated the same opening perfectly.
Control spells.
Restraints.
Close-range assault.
Everything flowed smoothly.
Then—
just as Sean prepared to slash with his second attack—
that terrifying sound came again from behind him.
CRACK—
WHOOSH—
The griffin's tail lashed forward instantly.
This time, however—
Sean reacted.
CLANG!!
He blocked the tail strike directly using the Arthurian sword in reverse grip.
The impact numbed both his arms instantly.
But Sean grinned savagely instead.
Without hesitation, he reversed the sword and stabbed directly into the griffin's eye socket.
Then—
everything went black.
When Sean regained awareness again, he found himself back on the training room floor.
Pain still lingered throughout his body.
But the smug grin on his face hadn't fully disappeared yet.
"What the hell killed me this time?!"
"I didn't even see it!"
The moment Sean complained—
a virtual replay screen appeared before him.
The recording replayed the entire scene.
Sean blocked the griffin's tail strike perfectly.
Then stabbed directly into its eye.
But at that exact instant—
every gap between the griffin's scales suddenly erupted with fire.
Sean himself was instantly reduced to ashes.
"…What kind of nonsense is that?"
Sean stared blankly at the replay.
Then suddenly—
"Boss?"
Malfoy's voice echoed nearby.
Sean
.....
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