Gravity Mage with Level-Up System

Prison Island

Elder Muriel looked at the imprisoned wizard before taking out her magic artifact again. She used the mirror artifact to slightly activate the Elder-level restrictions.

Boom!

A powerful magical pressure leaked from the walls.

Forbidden Wizard Erwin immediately bore the brunt of the pressure. He was already on his knees, and the overwhelming force injured him further.

Crack!

The sound of cracking knees echoed. Erwin’s face twisted in agony. This was the body of a Forbidden Wizard-extremely strong.

Yet under the coercion of the Elder-level magic restrictions, his bones were breaking.

”Argh!”

His expression was contorted. If not for the restrictions engraved upon the walls, he would have lunged at her.

Elder Muriel smiled from ear to ear. Then, she deactivated the restrictions, cutting off the leakage abruptly.

Thud!

Forbidden Wizard Erwin collapsed face-down onto the floor. Blood pooled from the wounds on his knees.

He remained conscious, but he could not speak.

Meanwhile, inside the control room of the mansion, I watched this torture with a mix of fury and helplessness, staring at the Elder-level wizard.

If I were to face her, I wouldn’t even know how I died. But I certainly had no intention of getting captured; that sadistic woman wouldn’t kill me quickly.

She was treating the prison cell as her personal laboratory.

A cold glint flashed in my eyes.

”What should I do?” I muttered.

I racked my brain for a solution. Breaking the Elder-level restrictions was out of the question-that much was obvious.

If it were possible, Lord Erwin would have broken out on his own by now. Since he remained imprisoned, the power binding him clearly surpassed his own.

Boom!

The pressure inside the cell surged once more. She had reactivated the artifact.

Watching this, I gritted my teeth in rage.

”Aaahhh!”

Erwin let out a strangled groan as agony tore through his body. I could barely stomach the sight.

Yet I had no other options at the moment.

”System, what would happen if I faced that pressure?” I inquired.

”Ding! The host would perish instantly.”

The system’s reply echoed in my head, and my expression darkened. Even the system wouldn’t be able to intervene in time.

Then I recalled Lady Charlotte’s instructions. The objective was merely to locate Forbidden Wizard Erwin.

I wasn’t obligated to risk my life trying to extract him; even Lady Charlotte had known my limits. Still, I couldn’t simply walk away.

I watched him writhe in agony on the stone floor. The madwoman kept toggling the restrictions on and off, clearly taking pleasure in breaking his spirit.

At this rate, Lord Erwin wouldn’t survive. That was when I thought of the others-why not ask for their opinion?

A group discussion might yield a viable idea. I ordered the Zero puppet to keep watch and alert me to any developments.

Leaving the control room, I entered the main hall and summoned the members. I took a brief look around before sitting down.

It didn’t take long for the others to gather. Surprisingly, Lady Caitlin was the first to arrive.

She caught my eye, offered a brief nod, and took a seat. Soon after, the rest filed in one by one.

Otto, Patrick, Hank, and old man Rock sat down on the sofa, each looking tense and grave. All eyes turned toward me.

Lady Caitlin regarded me with an inquiring look. Taking a deep breath, I began debriefing them on the situation.

As I spoke, the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy. The presence of an Elder-level wizard weighed heavily on everyone.

Beads of cold sweat formed on their brows.

Even Lady Caitlin seemed unsettled. It had been a concise report, but I made sure to clarify that I had been observing from inside the prison ward, and the Elder-level powerhouse had not detected me.

Once I concluded the briefing, I looked around the room, waiting for their thoughts.

”What do you intend to do?” Lady Caitlin asked.

Her voice was grave; she had clearly sensed that I was contemplating something reckless.

”I’m considering ways to rescue him, but I don’t have a solid plan yet,” I admitted.

”Put it out of your mind. You don’t realize how difficult it is to reach the Elder level. Very few wizards ever surpass Level 10.”

”Fewer still become Magic Lords. And of those, barely one or two stand a chance of becoming Forbidden Wizards.”

”Reaching the Elder level is practically an impossibility,” Caitlin continued.

Hearing this, the others looked even more uneasy. If an accomplished Magic Lord like her was terrified of an Elder-level entity, what hope did the rest of them have?

”To be frank, I’ve never seen an Elder-level powerhouse in person. I’ve only ever heard fragmented rumors,” Patrick admitted.

”Same here. Where I come from, even catching a glimpse of a Forbidden Wizard is rare; they represent the absolute peak. Elder-level powerhouses mostly belong in folklore and historical texts,” Otto chimed in.

Hank nodded in agreement. He, too, had only known such figures through hearsay. It was only after traveling with Master Vincent that he had begun encountering Forbidden Wizards at all.

”You hail from the Magic Tower under the Mage Union, so encountering them might seem plausible to you. To the rest of the world, they are mythical beings,” Old Rock remarked solemnly.

”System, what is their mental state?” I inquired internally.

”Ding! Host, every individual present is terrified.”

The response registered in my mind.

Lady Caitlin observed my expression carefully. She realized that he had only gathered them to seek input; otherwise, there would have been no need for a formal assembly.

She then spoke up, ”Why don’t you consult Elder Erwin directly?”

Her words caught me off guard. Why hadn’t I thought of that? She was right. Lord Erwin was a Forbidden Wizard himself; he knew the exact nature of the threat better than anyone.

Thanking Lady Caitlin for the suggestion, I dismissed the group and made my way back to the control room.

Lady Caitlin watched the retreating figure, curious about the control room. Knowing it was off-limits, she gathered her thoughts and returned to her room, just like the rest.