Fanatics of the Magic Academy

Chapter 119 The Former Induced Attack

Rose seemed to have thought of something. He activated [Perception Enhancement] and quickly found another [Spell Stabilization] in a place that Rose was very familiar with, exactly the same as the one before.

Around this [Spell Stabilization] spell, there were obvious signs of damage and burning caused by the fireball. Although a long time had passed and the marks were somewhat blurred, they were still visible.

This is where Rose and Morrison once clashed.

Rose suddenly remembered the question that had arisen in his mind when he first attended the party.

That's why, when he was fighting Morrison, Morrison, who was clearly a [Flesh Manipulation] type mage, threw a relatively weak spell called "Fireball".

Moreover, the most crucial point is that, even if one were to use fireballs, it should be like Rose's, delivering a devastating attack from a distance, rather than like Morrison's confrontation with Rose, where he slowly entered Rose's perception and then unleashed a fireball.

Furthermore, another question is how Morrison knew Rose's location.

At this point, all these questions were answered.

Because at that time, Morrison's attack was not intended to kill Rosell at all.

Rose remembered hearing Kenneth talk about the basic offensive and defensive theories of magicians before.

That is, mages' defense is not usually about foolishly standing still and putting up a defensive shield to take the hit.

Instead, their defense primarily relies on roaming and intercepting the opponent's attacks.

At that time, Morrison's attack was simply a "leading attack".

They reversed the magicians' strategy of relying on movement and interception, by taking the initiative to attack, restricting and guiding the opponent's movements, and finally leading the opponent into a trap they had already laid, killing them in one blow.

Yes, Morrison was able to run such a large gang and even get rid of the official consequences targeting magicians.

Furthermore, they were so meticulous that they distributed drugs laced with special substances a month in advance for free to avoid the aftermath of the conflict spreading too far and being discovered.

Such a person's performance in battle is simply walking up to someone's face and then throwing a fireball?

Don't you think it's sacred?

Therefore, his only strategy is to lure Rose into a pre-arranged trap through proactive and continuous attacks, taking advantage of the magician's mobility.

The final, decisive blow is both incredibly simple and incredibly cunning.

Rose felt a wave of fear wash over him; he could only feel his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Rose began to mentally replay the battle that had taken place nearly six months prior.

Based on his current location, Rose was horrified to discover that if he hadn't immediately deactivated [Materialism] the moment he realized the other party had killed the surrounding homeless people, cast three divine prayers in less than a second, and then punched the other party's "trigger escape" in the face of the fireball spell, he would have been in serious trouble.

If he hesitates for even a second and makes one more move, he will most likely fall into the trap and be killed in one hit.

By then, even if they were to abandon their materialistic beliefs, they would at best barely survive; there would be no way they could kill their opponent.

Furthermore, at that time, it would be highly likely that the fact that they were believers would be exposed, and there would be a very high probability that they would be unable to intercept Morrison's escape.

Rose might now have her head chopped off and hung somewhere in a demonstration, be burned at the stake amidst cheers, or be strapped to an operating table for brutal surgery and research.

A mere one-second error in judgment can lead to completely different, earth-shattering changes.

And this is the battle between mages.

Unlike the dazzling magical clashes between mages that Rose had imagined in her previous life, the battles between mages in this world were often like this: searching for an opportunity through maneuvering, interception, and probing, and finally delivering a fatal blow in a certain instant.

This is the theory of magician offense and defense that Kenneth had repeatedly emphasized to Rose, and only today did Rose truly understand it.

All the smugness of being the center of attention at previous parties, the sense of superiority from discovering one's own unique qualities, and the arrogance from possessing the legacy of the most advanced civilization of the past have vanished at this moment.

Rose felt her hands and feet were ice-cold, and an endless chill ran through her heart.

Previously, Rose had avoided the systematic extermination by the Magic Federation due to his own characteristics, and he even felt pity and a subtle sense of superiority towards the mages in the slums. But now, Rose realized that these people were often exiled to the slums not because of their own actions, but because of the systematic extermination by the entire Magic Federation. It wasn't because of their own stupidity or lack of ability. In fact, even after being expelled from the Magic Federation, they still pursued excellence and seized every possible opportunity to climb the ranks. Their level of danger was even greater than that of the average elite in the magic society.

What slaughtered them was a system so sophisticated it was almost despair-inducing, honed over 3000 years by the Magic Federation. Are you a system too?

"call."

Luo Sai let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

His mindset has completely changed. It's as if he's returned to the mindset he had when he first came to the slums six months ago, with caution, thoughtfulness, and observation returning to his heart.

At that time, he had to be cautious, constantly think and observe because he lacked the focus to maintain a materialistic state 24 hours a day, barely managing to survive in the slums.

Now, he has come to realize the fact that he has never truly "observed" anything.

He is merely existing.

Living next to trash cans, living under bridges, living in tents, living next to other people's corpses.

He thought he was very cautious, very smart, and very calculating.

Actually, he hadn't calculated anything.

Morrison had set a trap at his feet, but he didn't notice.

It's even possible that Morrison foresaw the potential conflict with other mages long ago and preemptively deployed countless [Spell Persistence] spells throughout the Southern District to prepare for future conflicts.

His thoughts were so meticulous that it was outrageous.

When Keaton invited him to the party, he didn't think about why someone he had just met would be so enthusiastic towards him.

Even today, until he stands before that tile engraved with runes, until he pieces together those scattered pieces of information—

Only then did he truly begin to understand.

To understand what kind of beings the magicians who understand this world truly are.

It wasn't the kind of character he'd read about in novels in his past life—standing atop a tower in a long robe, holding a staff, chanting incomprehensible incantations, and then a beam of light descending from the sky.

No.

They are hunters.

From the very first day they enter the magic academy, they learn one thing—how to find their place in complex social relationships, how to calculate their value in a sophisticated lending model, and how to survive in an environment surrounded by competitors.

Each of them had gone through a selection process he could hardly imagine.

He took on 40 years of student loans, participated in human experiments, sold his blood, stayed up all night studying obscure and difficult technical terms, and worked like a dog in his supervisor's project team.

He persevered and became someone like Kenneth.

Those who couldn't make it through were cut down halfway through.

People like Kenneth will grow old and be killed.

A third-circle mage stood at the very top of Lovilia, and finally died in a tent in the slums, with only a pendant containing a picture of his wife by his side.

This isn't just bad luck.

This is the result of the precise operation of the entire system.

Those who survived in this system, even those who were slaughtered and sent to the slums—were all formidable.

They are hunters.

Even when they are old, even when their rationality has declined, even when their hands are so shaky they can't hold a test tube properly, they are still hunters.

Compared to these people, his shallow experience of over 20 years in his previous life seemed as trivial as that of a child.

Rose fell silent. After figuring everything out, Rose let out a long sigh and prepared to leave.

At that moment, someone appeared in his perception. Rose immediately activated [Perception Enhancement] to observe and found that the other person's physical qualities and muscle density were very abnormal.

However, as a believer, he realized that this physical condition was strange and seemed to have some fundamental difference from his superior physical condition.

The person was dressed very neatly, even exuding an undeniable air of nobility, but Rose could detect a hint of dishevelment within that nobility.

He smiled politely at Rossai and said, "Hello, I suppose you must be Mr. Rossai. I'm a new magician, you can call me Silas. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Rose suddenly remembered the last gathering, which was two months ago. Finn had told Rose that a once-important figure had come to the southern part of the slums. Although he had now fallen into the slums and his cultivation level was only around the second ring, he was most likely a third-ring mage in the past. And a third-ring mage would undergo a sublimation of his life level.

Rose observed the other person's unusual physical attributes and guessed that the person in front of him was most likely the important figure Finn had mentioned.