Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

Dargo arrived at the academy gates.

The number of guards had clearly increased, and the wizards coming and going were expressionless and serious.

He tentatively activated his detection spell to scan several passing wizards, one of whom, a middle-aged wizard, stared at him with a fierce look.

"Are you courting death? How dare you use detection-type witchcraft against the wizards of the academy."

The middle-aged wizard flicked his hand, and the wand hidden in his sleeve slid out, pointing at Dargo as he shouted loudly.

Seeing the energy particles gathering at the tip of the wand, Dago raised his hands and hurriedly said, "Sorry, it's a misunderstanding. I wasn't aware of the academy's rules."

Seeing that the middle-aged apprentice wizard made no further move, Dago slowly took out the Level 3 apprentice badge of the Wizarding Alliance from his neck.

The middle-aged apprentice wizard's expression softened considerably. He slowly dissipated the energy fluctuations from his wand and walked towards Dago.

"Kid, be careful next time. The external situation is very tense right now. Don't use combat magic on your own people recklessly," the middle-aged apprentice wizard said to Dago before hurriedly leaving.

Dago patted his chest, nodded with a sigh of relief, and watched as many people watched the spectacle...

I quickly swiped the identification device at the college gate and entered the college.

Because the Academy of Wizarding Arts is protected by runic megastructures, the mortal army headquarters of the town of Aenak moved into the academy castle to prevent hostile forces from carrying out supernatural assassinations.

On his way to the academy castle, Dago saw many wizards in a hurry. The hems of their usually elegant robes were covered in dust, their brows were furrowed, and their eyes revealed anxiety.

One after another, many wizards from the academy were assigned by the academy to protect the villages around the town or to block the enemy's advance wizard troops.

The urns containing the ashes of wizards from the academy kept being returned, and most of them were from people the wizards knew.

Dago arrived at the Academy's castle and found the temporary town guard post in Aynor, which was currently responsible for the military defense of the area surrounding Aynor.

This was a large room vacated by the academic affairs office of the college that Dago had visited before, with two guards wearing chainmail and carrying longswords standing at the door.

"I need to go in and see the officer inside; I have important intelligence to report," Dago said to one of the guards who was watching intently.

"No one is allowed in without a pass," the soldier said firmly, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Dago was now in a real bind. Where was he supposed to get this warrant? He could only stand outside the door, dumbfounded, trying to figure out a solution.

Just then, the middle-aged wizard who had met Dago once before strode towards the room, preparing to enter.

Dago quickly stopped him and said, "Hello, wizard, I am Dago Heca. I need your help with something."

The middle-aged wizard did not blame Dargo, but stopped and said, "Just call me Wizard Raymond, and tell me what you want to hear."

"I have important information to report to the officers inside."

"Alright, since you're a third-level apprentice wizard at the academy, come inside with me."

After saying that, he gestured for the two guards to make way and led Dago inside.

Inside, several men dressed in luxurious plate armor sat at a long walnut table, pointing and drawing on a huge sheepskin map.

Upon seeing the middle-aged wizard enter, the men all stood up and punched their chests with their right fists.

"Lord Raymond the Wizard!" they shouted.

It was only then that Dago realized that the middle-aged wizard held a rather high position.

Raymond sat at the head of the long table, waved his hand to signal everyone to sit down, and looked at Dago standing next to him.

"Speak, what important information is it?"

Dago took out the Darkblood Council badge that he had looted from the black-robed wizard and showed it to everyone.

Immediately, everyone's expressions changed; some were uneasy, some were calm, and some even gritted their teeth.

"Where did you get this from?" Raymond asked calmly.

"I live in the forest on the outskirts of town."

"Did they kill him or escape?"

"Kill him."

"I never imagined there was someone like you in the forest."

Raymond glanced at Dargo with admiration, then quickly went to examine the huge, pieced-together parchment map.

"Come and look at the map to see exactly where it is?" he gestured to Dago.

Dago put away his badge and walked toward the wooden shelf where the map was hanging. A group of people were watching him, and he became a little nervous.

He carefully examined the map and finally found the approximate location based on the terrain and landforms they marked.

Dago raised his hand and tapped the map, and everyone looked over, their expressions changing again.

"Too fast, they've moved in too fast," Dago heard Raymond mutter in a grim tone.

"You must expedite the recruitment of militia forces in the towns, as many as you can, and go immediately."

Raymond then loudly gave orders to the knights and officers.

They strode out of the room amidst a clanging sound of metal clashing.

Now only Dago and Raymond remained in the room, and Raymond was gesturing to his name on the map.

"Lord Raymond, now that you know this information, may I request that you send wizards to guard the forest?" Dargo said softly to Raymond.

"That's not realistic, Dago. The forest is too big. We don't have enough manpower or time," Raymond said, his attention still focused on the map.

"Can the academy accept people who live in the forest?"

"Dago, you have done something worthwhile. Based on the Darkblood Council member you killed, you can become my adjutant and move into the academy. As for the others, I'm sorry."

Raymond then looked at Dago and said to him in a recruitment tone.

"My friends are in the forest, and I can't abandon them," Dago said after a moment of silence.

"How about this," Raymond suggested with a smile, "I have a suggestion. The academy could assign a wizard to form a forest patrol team with the wizards living in the forest. What do you think?"

"Can."

"Okay, wait here for a moment, I'll use the communication crystal to call him over."

Raymond pulled out a white crystal engraved with runes, its center featuring a perfect large triangle...

The triangle has two symmetrical heptagonal facets on its sides, which have extremely high purity and transparency.

"Viser, come to the town guard post," Raymond said into the communication crystal.

About ten minutes later, a young wizard with short, platinum-blonde hair that flew wildly, the ends of which were tinged with a few eerie purple streaks, walked in...

He performed a disciple's salute to Raymond.

He nods slightly, while his right hand lightly touches his left chest. This gesture symbolizes "bearing the witness of a wizard's heart, and being completely honest with each other."

He didn't look at Dago, but turned directly to Raymond and asked, "Professor Raymond, is there something you need from me?"

"Viser, you should go out and train. There's a good opportunity for you to go with another talented young man to form a patrol team in the forest on the outskirts of town."

Raymond's gaze was calm as he spoke slowly.

"As you command, mentor," Viser then glanced sideways at Dago.

"Dago, this is Viser. He is only seventeen years old, but he is already the youngest Level 3 Apprentice Wizard in the history of the academy. I hope you two get along well."

Raymond said something to Dago, indicating that they could leave, and then looked at the parchment map.

Dago and Viser left the room together, and Dago glanced at Viser as he opened the door for him.

While Dago was sizing up Viser, the other man was also sizing him up, but only glanced at him casually before looking away.

Dargo sensed that this guy seemed to look down on him, which was understandable given that he was, after all, a genius wizard apprentice from the academy.

"Your name is Dago, right? Go and get in touch with the mice living in the forest and form a group. Come back to me tomorrow. I hope you won't hold me back."

Viser's voice was cold, with an unyielding and forceful quality.

"Fine, Viser is a Celestial Dragon." Dago naturally didn't give him a friendly look either.

Viser ignored him and simply turned and left.

Dago quickly returned to the forest to tell old Marico the good news: the academy's willingness to help meant they had another chance to survive.

........

The midday sun was torn into fragments by the tree canopy, sporadically scattering across the open space around the treehouse.

The iron forks resting on the campfire sizzled and dripped oil, while monster meat mixed with venison rolled in the flames...

The fragrance filled the air, but it couldn't dispel the gloom between the brows of the wizards sitting around.

This gathering was initiated by old Maricco, and all the attendees were wizards who stayed in the forest.

When old Marico saw Dago arrive, he immediately invited him to sit down next to him and took out a parchment map.

"Old Marico, everyone's here. If you have something to say, say it. Don't delay everyone's business," a sharp voice rang out.

Looking up, I saw that the speaker was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, thin and with an impatient expression on his face.

Old Marico ignored him and unfolded the parchment map in his hand. Ten pairs of eyes, illuminated by the firelight, focused on the red mark on the parchment map.

"The vanguard of the Darkblood Council has arrived at the edge of the forest," Old Maric said, his long, slender fingers slamming into the map.

"Then leave them all in the forest." Before the words were even finished, a young wizard threw the gnawed bones into the fire, sparks flying onto the spell tattoo on his arm, giving off red glows.

"Fools!" one of the middle-aged wizards suddenly spoke, tapping his finger lightly, and flames suddenly shot up three zhang high in the fire, startling everyone into taking a half step back.

"The Darkblood Council dared to send out their entire force, so they must be confident of defeating the Academy. If you still want to keep them in the forest, you're just sending them as sacrifices."

He sliced ​​off a piece of the crispy roasted meat and chewed it slowly.

The young wizard, embarrassed, loudly retorted to the middle-aged wizard and began arguing with him.

Amid the clamor of the argument, Dago, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his white hand. A cold wind suddenly arose, and the crowd quieted down for a moment, calming people down considerably.

"Instead of arguing, let's solve the problem." Dago pointed to the academy badge on his robe. "I've already spoken with the people at the academy, and they're willing to help."