Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

Dago no longer cared how much damage the Flame Core Air Bomb could do to Flax.

This time, before his mental energy could fully recover, he forcibly released it, and the even more intense throbbing pain caused Dago's face to contort in an instant.

The veins on his forehead bulged one after another, densely packed like tiny earthworms crawling on his face.

He turned around and yelled at Ed, who was holding Herid, "Run! Run out of Third Street, out of the eastern part of the city!"

After saying that, Dago descended from a height of half a meter, staggered upon hitting the ground, and then ran without looking back.

The moment the fiery core crashed into this ocean of blood leeches, the billowing steam instantly transformed into a crimson mist.

Suddenly, a blazing white rift was torn open from the dark red tidal wave of blood leeches, and the fiery core, carrying a heat wave strong enough to melt rocks, fell out of the rift.

Its tail flame trailed a bright orange-red streak tens of meters long, like a giant missile hurled by ancient divine power. The air around it expanded violently, emitting a muffled, thunderous roar.

The scorching core carved a boiling trench in the Third Street, and the blood leeches were burned into golden sparks by the high temperature, leaving countless fleeting lines of fire as they moved at high speed.

A hundred meters ahead, the formal wizard Flax, dressed in a blood-red robe, saw the Flame Core approaching with a devastating aura. He couldn't help but recall the giant fireball that bombarded him by the airship that night, and a look of panic flashed across his face.

He hurriedly raised the Spine Wand in his hand, and the Blood Leech Shadow above his head burst forth with a large amount of crimson light, condensing into a semi-transparent protective barrier in front of him.

The fist-sized flame core suddenly swelled several times in size the instant it broke through the blood wave. Spiderweb-like fiery cracks appeared on its surface, and thousands of streams of fire, like magma serpents breaking free from their restraints, exploded with a deafening roar.

The ring-shaped shockwave from the explosion first bent Flax's protective barrier, while the thousands of blood leech shadows above his head replenished his crimson energy as if it were free.

But what followed was the intense heat rays and heat waves from the Fiery Core. Flax hurriedly took to the air to avoid it, not daring to take it head-on, and let the houses behind him be swallowed up by the white light and instantly burned to ashes.

As he flew through the air, the defensive runes on his blood-red robes flashed and hummed the instant they came into contact with the white light.

Flax remained suspended high in the sky, the slightly burning edges of his robe billowing in the air currents, the phantom above his head having vanished.

He stared intently in the direction Dago had fled, but all he saw was the billowing smoke and large plumes of blood mist following the explosion of the fiery core.

The entire eastern area of ​​the city, including streets two, three, and four, was destroyed by the shockwave from the explosion of the flaming core, with street three being completely reduced to scorched earth.

In the distance, the dean's airship was speeding towards him from the direction of the academy, rapidly closing the distance.

Flax's face flashed with intense resentment as he flew toward the forest on the outskirts of town to search for his companions.

..........

"Huff~ Huff~"

Dago was bent over, breathing heavily, his robes filthy.

During the first wave of the Flame Core's impact, he was knocked to the ground and then continued running, without even having the mental energy to activate the cleansing runes on his robes.

Thanks to the resonance technique's amplification effect on his body, he was able to run far on two legs.

He was enveloped by an unprecedented sense of weakness, a weakness that did not come from his body, but from his spirit.

The "soul" that stored spiritual power in the brain was "dried up" and even showed signs of "cracks" after being brutally extracted twice by the extreme techniques.

He glanced back and saw thick smoke rising in the distance, along with a gradually spreading crimson mist.

There are also black dots flying towards us from even further away.

Dago grinned silently; he knew he was going to survive.

He knew without looking in a mirror that he must look terrible and pathetic.

But he couldn't help being happy.

Turning around, Ed was flying with Herid a few dozen meters in front of him. Dago curled his lip. This mission had been a disaster for the academy; he had become a mine-clearing device.

Unfortunately, they happened to be in the location where the official wizard Flax was recuperating.

"Strength, in the end, is still strength. If you are not strong enough, you are just a pawn that anyone can arrange and use. Only when you are strong enough can you control your own destiny and become a player."

Dago had never longed to become stronger as he did at this moment.

The spiritual energy fluctuations, as intense as the blazing sun, the spells that could easily kill a half-step formal wizard, and the sea of ​​blood leeches that blotted out the sky—all of these would become the driving force for Dago's progress and growth.

Ed, who was ahead, stopped when he heard the sound of the airship coming from afar. He put down the dazed Herid and flew towards Dago.

Through his blurred vision, he saw Ed's figure growing larger and larger, and heard the distinctive sound of the airship getting closer and closer. Dago finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.

I don't know how much time passed...

A dull pain shot through his forehead, like being repeatedly struck by a blunt instrument. Dago struggled to open his eyes in the chaotic darkness.

His eyelashes still bore traces of undried medicine, and everything in his vision was shrouded in a shimmering white mist. The softness of the down comforter suddenly felt like a heavy constraint, and every breath he took was accompanied by a sharp pain in his head.

The moonstone lamp by the bedside still gleamed with a hazy silver light, and the translucent crystals embedded in the brass lamp holder were slowly dimming their brilliance as the morning light gradually brightened.

As Dago struggled to sit up in bed, he took out a brass pocket watch from his storage ring and realized it was already eight o'clock in the morning.

He slept soundly for more than a dozen hours. When he walked to the carved window through the morning mist and looked out, he saw that he was now in the dormitory area, which was set in the open space on the west side of the academy.

Lead-gray clouds hung low over the mountain peaks, and fine snowflakes leaked down from the clouds, landing on the stone corridors of the dormitory area, only to turn into transparent water vapor the moment they touched the brick and stone surfaces.

The glowing runes carved on the walls were emitting a faint warmth, like an invisible blanket covering the entire building.

A thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the silvery-blue magic liquid in the bronze fountain, and the parchment notice board beneath the ice was still slowly turning, but the writing had frozen into a white color with ice shards.

The wings of the silver-feathered messenger birds were covered with snow, and when they took flight, they shook off a shower of tiny ice crystals. They no longer perched by the fountain, but instead huddled around the fireplace at the corner of the corridor.

The obsidian furnace spewed forth orange-red flames, within which swirling runes transformed the approaching snowflakes into dancing golden dust.

The stone shaman statue in the central courtyard was covered with fluffy snow on its shoulders, and the icicles on its beard reflected colorful spots of light under the occasional sunlight that pierced through the clouds. The glimmer in the statue's eyes was brighter than usual.

Dago saw a group of academy wizards hurrying out of the dormitory area, stepping through the snow, to get to the academy castle for class.

"Awake?" Ed's voice came from outside the door.

Dargo turned around and saw Ed, full of energy, smiling at him. He nodded in response.

"Herid has been picked up by his mother, and before he left, he asked me to thank you."

"You saved three members of our mission team. We can only apologize for the deaths of Wilton and Leijon."

The headmaster of the Aynak Wizarding Academy praised you highly after hearing about your performance in this mission and wanted to take you on as a formal disciple. In addition, you will also receive an extra Spirit Potion.

Dago was a little dazed, not expecting that the academy would actually reward him for being the first and second in mission contribution.

It seems that Ed exaggerated his abilities, and the academy is trying to recruit him.

"You can now officially stay in the accommodation area."

Dargo was surprised and asked, "Is it free?"

"Of course," Ed nodded, then gently patted Ronan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Thank you so much for this mission; you saved my life."

He then took out a bottle of luminous potion that looked like mercury from the storage bag at his waist and handed it to Dago.

The latter, of course, was put into his storage ring without any hesitation; this was a reward that Dago had earned with his life.

"Don't worry, you're very safe at the academy. You can rest and recover properly in the coming days."

Dargo nodded in agreement. Ed ended his brief conversation with Dargo and encouraged him, saying, "You're young, and you have a great chance of becoming a full-fledged wizard. But remember, take less of those drugs; their effects will diminish over time."

After saying that, Ed turned and left the room, while Dargo quietly enjoyed the peaceful and leisurely time.