Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"Damn it! What level of magical beast force field is this?!"

Almost simultaneously, their expressions changed drastically. A chill that seemed to originate from the depths of their souls made them instantly abandon any semblance of composure or greed.

Without hesitation, Austin immediately severed his mental connection with the magic circle, ignoring the backlash he might suffer; Balo, on the other hand, directly crushed an instant-cast shield rune.

The two didn't even have time to collect the precious materials on the ground before taking flight, transforming into two streaks of gray light as they rapidly fled into the sky.

However, compared to beings of this level, their speed was as slow as a snail.

The two had just risen into the air when they felt the light above them completely blocked out.

They looked up in horror and saw the thick clouds high above them being forcibly torn apart by some terrifying force, and large swathes of frost falling like meteorites.

Immediately following, a colossal serpentine shadow, hundreds of meters long and as wide as a city wall, appeared in their field of vision with an aura that seemed capable of crushing everything.

It was a magnificent serpent body, as if sculpted from ice crystals, with each scale as large as a shield and covered with mysterious natural runes.

A single, deep blue horn, like a giant scimitar, grows atop its head, gleaming with a chilling light that seems to freeze the very space around it.

The wind and snow swept over it, and the ancient, wild, and cold atmosphere rushed over like the tide of the Ice Age, instantly freezing every inch of space within a radius of several miles.

The aura of that ancient serpent species, the overlord of the magical beasts at the top of the food chain, weighed on my heart like a mountain.

The two first-ring wizards, who were usually high and mighty, were now stiff-faced and rigid, their magical energy completely frozen, like two flies trapped in amber, pinned in mid-air and not daring to move.

Escape? Where to escape to?

In the presence of such creatures, any action would be seen as a provocation.

When those long, narrow, scarlet snake eyes gazed at them, the two felt as if their souls were about to be frozen.

Those eyes held no human emotion, only an indifference as one would look at ants, and a hint of cruel, pure hunger.

It was hungry.

The two felt their hearts being gripped tightly by an invisible, cold hand, and their blood seemed to stop flowing. They thought death was imminent.

However, just as the giant maw was about to open, the ferocious light in the snake's eyes seemed to reluctantly recede, as if restrained by some higher will.

Their gazes followed the snake's head slightly upwards, and they noticed that behind the deep blue horn atop the terrifying serpent's head, a tall and handsome young man sat quietly cross-legged.

In the midst of the raging blizzard, the area within a three-meter radius around him remained calm.

He wore a magnificent robe woven with silver patterns, the patterns on the robe flowing as if alive, constantly absorbing and releasing the elemental energy around him.

His eyes were a deep blue, so profound they reminded one of an endlessly tranquil lake in winter, or an abyss reflecting the truth.

He didn't even glance at the two trembling first-ring wizards, and merely issued a silent mental command to the predatory desire of the giant snake beneath his feet.

"call--"

The hundred-meter-long snake let out a dissatisfied hiss, and its massive body swept quickly over the two people's heads, causing the air currents it created to blow them off balance.

Finally, the giant snake coiled up and stopped not far from where they had just been standing.

"boom!"

The earth trembled violently, and debris flew everywhere.

The surging wind and frost spread silently in all directions as the demonic serpent landed, instantly covering the rubble on the ground with a thick layer of frost.

The terrifying pressure finally subsided a little.

As if doused with a bucket of ice water, the two middle-aged wizards awoke from a dream and shivered.

They didn't even have the courage to look back, nor did they dare to use their mental power to sense the other's presence. They could only squeeze out the last bit of magic power in their bodies and hurriedly fly forward at high speed, with only one thought in their minds: escape! The faster they got away from this place, the better.

They didn't know how far they had run, until their mental energy was completely exhausted, when they finally stopped in a low-lying area and collapsed to the ground in a sorry state.

They were panting heavily, their robes soaked with sweat. They looked at each other and saw in each other's pale faces a mixture of relief at surviving a disaster and deep fear.

It took Austin a good minute to recover before he shakily pulled out a bottle of mana-restoring potion from his pocket and drank it down, barely regaining his ability to speak.

"That's... the legendary ancient ice serpent?"

"It should be...it's almost exactly the same as described in the ancient books."

Barlow's voice was still trembling, "The chill emanating from it carries a regulated quality, that oppressive feeling... It's said that this ancient snake species, if it grows normally, will at least reach the level of a three-ring magical beast upon adulthood, or even... a miracle-level beast!"

"But it was actually tamed? And became a mount/magic pet?!"

Both of them wore expressions of deep disbelief and shock that lingered on their faces.

There is an ironclad rule in the wizarding world: the more powerful a creature is, the more intelligent it is, and the more difficult it is to enslave.

To control an ancient creature of that level, one not only needs to surpass its strength, but also needs profound knowledge of soul science, bloodline science, and even contract science.

After a long pause, Barlow finally spoke, his tone filled with bitterness and awe: "It seems that he is another top-tier genius wizard nurtured by a large wizarding organization."

"The battle for the Isidore Prodigy Seat is about to begin, and such prodigies are appearing more and more frequently. The resources of the entire wizarding world are being poured into them; they possess knowledge and power that we cannot even imagine."

Austin swallowed hard, a flicker of jealousy in his eyes, but mostly a sense of helplessness: "At the Sunset Gathering last month, I saw one, so young, already a third-ring wizard, covered in magical artifacts. But he didn't seem... nearly as good as this one."

Silence spread between the two.

On this vast wizarding continent, they, as first-level formal wizards, are nothing more than ants who have just embarked on the path of truth, and may be trampled to death by passing giants at any time.

"Should we...continue?"

Austin glanced back in the direction he had come from; the allure of the mechanical heart remained, but the shadow of the ice serpent loomed even stronger.

"Come on."

Wizard Ballow shook his head and stood up decisively.

He dusted himself off. "We almost died just now, becoming food for someone else's magical pets."

In the eyes of that being, we are not even as valuable for research as that metal goat; the secrets of the mechanical heart are beyond our comprehension.

"I want to keep my life and go to the Fairy City in a few months to watch the gathering of geniuses and the battle for the Isidore seat. Even just watching from the stands and seeing how these true genius wizards fight would be more inspiring than dying here."

"That makes sense. Let's go try our luck in other areas."

After a brief discussion, the two decided that, despite their deep reluctance to part with the treasure of the Mechanical Heart, they would not choose to stay in the wasteland any longer.

Reason told them that the area was now off-limits.

The two left in a hurry, their backs looking particularly desolate.

Perhaps after they return, a new legend will emerge in the wizarding circles around them: a mysterious genius wizard who wields an ancient ice serpent and treats first-ring wizards as nothing.

The young man probably wouldn't even remember that he had startled two insignificant "flying insects" as he passed by.

"I've said it many times, since you've secretly followed me, you have to obey my orders."

Dago slowly withdrew his gaze from the direction the two passing wizards had left, calmly looking at the giant ice serpent before him, and said, "You may only eat wizards when I give your permission."

The giant ice serpent hissed arrogantly at him.

But after meeting Dago's calm, unwavering gaze, it ultimately chose to lower its proud head for the time being.