"The one behind me is Tarrenno; we two are planning to visit the academy for academic purposes."
Ronald answered the Caster’s question, carefully releasing a hint of Magic Fluctuation at the same time.
Sensing Ronald’s action,
the young Caster raised his eyebrows, slightly confirming the caster identities of Ronald and Bapulor, without asking further questions, he cleared the way. NovelHub
Within the "Infinite Negative Domain."
The identity of a Caster was more useful than any other type of social status.
Also, since Barrier Mountain had completed the unification of the world’s caster powers, even the interrogation on entry had become extraordinarily simple.
Following the crowd into the passage leading to Barrier Mountain, Bapulor whispered:
"Ronald, those two false names of yours are quite nice."
"When my daughter has kids, will you help think of a name too?"
"You’re thinking quite far ahead..."
Ronald rolled his eyes.
Thinking that it was boring anyway, he started to chat with the heretical Magician.
The tunnel leading to Barrier Mountain was broadly divided into three stages; aside from the initial entrance that one uses to get in, there were also a number of small towns developed beneath the mountainside along the way to Barrier Mountain.
These variably located small settlements were scattered underground, much like an ant colony carved out by humans.
Of course, Casters wouldn’t choose to live here.
Apart from the necessary maintenance personnel and guards, these places were primarily inhabited by ordinary people without the ability to cast spells, acting as an adjunct area of Barrier Mountain.
Among the people who entered the passage with Ronald,
many had destinations not actually Barrier Mountain, but rather to do business with the ’ordinary residents’ living around these ’Mage Palaces.’ Relying on Barrier Mountain as the ’center of the world,’ the lives of these people were also quite decent.
"Brat, it was you who stole my stuff, wasn’t it?"
"It wasn’t, Wizard Sir! Please let me explain!"
As Ronald and Bapulor passed through the passage and these small towns,
suddenly, there was a commotion not far away.
The top of the underground world was fitted with magic crystals for illumination. As Casters, they simply shifted their gaze and easily saw the specific situation.
On the street of the town, a man dressed in a Mage’s robe lifted a little boy with one hand, his expression and tone both viciously yelling at the boy:
"What, do you think just because your sister got into the academy, she’s bound to come out alive and then take you and your burdensome kind to rise to heaven with her?"
With his words, the man slapped the little boy’s face several times.
Even without asking for the specifics, Ronald could guess what was happening.
"Let’s go our own way, and don’t attract trouble..."
Under normal circumstances, Ronald wouldn’t mind stepping in to help.
But their current identities did not support such actions.
He whispered to Bapulor, and the two continued to move forward, heads down, completely disregarding the idea of involving themselves in the town’s affairs.
Unfortunately, it seemed that both Ronald and Bapulor had a talent for attracting unforeseen incidents.
After walking a dozen meters,
and reaching the spot closest to the disputants,
the little boy, face swollen and lifted by his collar by the Caster, retorted fiercely:
"My... my sister is a genius..."
"She’s nothing like you, someone who was kicked out of the Academy Tower!"
"You’re courting death!"
A well-timed retort struck right at the man’s sore spot.
As someone who was banished to manage ordinary people, his future in terms of learning spells and career outlook was bleak. Taking his anger out on a young boy was his way of venting frustration.
Hearing those words now, magic light instantly flashed on his wrist.
The boy he was holding in front of him was thrown out with a clear intention of killing him.
The direction the boy flew was right towards Bapulor.
"Little guy, watch where you’re going."
"Even if you want to die, you shouldn’t harm innocent bystanders like us, should you?"
The heretic magician almost subconsciously caught the boy and casually dispelled the magic imprint on him, beginning a very characteristic verbal lesson.
And the intercepted boy looked completely bewildered.
He accepted Bapulor’s teachings woodenly, even nodding his head in a daze.
Pleased with the boy’s reaction, the heretic magician was very satisfied.
"Good, if you know what you did wrong, then..."
Suddenly, Bapulor had an epiphany.
He immediately turned to Ronald and said cautiously,
"Drake, this wasn’t me looking for trouble. He ran into me, you know."
Ronald’s face was filled with helplessness, tangled feelings in his heart.
On one hand, he was somewhat pleased to witness an innocent life being saved before his eyes, but at the same time, he felt a headache coming on because of their situation.
Now that he and Bapulor had provoked this caster...
Was that really okay?
"You... you’re going to cover for this thief?"
While Ronald was pondering a solution, the male caster on the other side could no longer hold back. Seeing the crowd around Ronald and Bapulor disperse in silence, he took a couple of steps towards them.
"The laws of Barrier Mountain are not for you lowlifes to transgress!"
As his words fell, a powerful magic fluctuation, which only top-level casters could emit, emanated from the man. A blinding beam of light burst forth from his hands, shooting straight towards Bapulor and the boy.
Under the illumination of the spell, the town’s light even brightened by a notch.
Facing this scene, Ronald sighed softly.
Then he stepped forward and stretched out his right hand in front of Bapulor.
With things having reached this point, to think of staying out of it would have been naive. Ronald wasn’t sure what Bapulor, the heretic magician, would do, so for safety, it was best if he handled the confrontation.
In the blink of an eye,
The beam cast by the Wizard hit Ronald’s outstretched palm.
Intense magic power dispersed from the point of contact, but not even the slightest impact penetrated Ronald’s hand.
The white protective film simply existed, blocking the man’s magic attack completely, without a trace of weakening. NovelHub
The spell’s glow gradually faded before everyone’s eyes.
The light provided by the spell also departed with it.
The man, who had just attacked without hesitation, now had an extremely tense expression on his face. Having seen the "Guardian Angel’s" formidable defensive power stand unshaken by the attack, he naturally couldn’t remain as before.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally spoke with a tense voice,
"Who... who are you!"