One-Eyed Monster

Wizard Reed was starting to feel a touch of anger, even though he knew he had a mission at hand and couldn’t afford to lose his temper recklessly. The return of this small squad and their antics made him feel thoroughly mocked.

He had initially been puzzled, wondering where he had been careless enough to allow so many people to disappear right under his nose. What incensed him even more was that these people had the audacity to return...

By returning, were they belittling him? Did they mean to imply that they were free to come and go as they pleased, unnoticed by him? They must find this quite exhilarating, don’t they!

Was this squad here to provoke him? Wizard Reed vaguely remembered the scene where that one-eyed fellow in their group had provocatively summoned creatures here before. These people could nullify lightning; their abilities were evidently not ordinary. The fact that they could vanish undetected right under his watch also left Wizard Reed feeling somewhat helpless.

This bunch doesn’t look serious at all, just a ragtag crew!

Wizard Reed could clearly sense the strength of this small team. Only the one in the cloak was somewhat tricky; the rest hardly posed a threat. Especially the timid young boy hiding behind others, who had absolutely no combat skills. All his weaknesses were plainly visible; he had no defensive abilities, not even the basic instinct to defend. This young boy was like a commoner who had not yet entered the circle of Adventurers with Class.

However, the dark-haired boy standing in front of this ordinary fellow was a bit inscrutable. According to Wizard Reed’s Spirit Sensing, the dark-haired boy’s strength was quite average, his Spirit Power exhibiting minimal fluctuation. Yet, the peculiar thing was that the youth’s Spirit Power kept leaping, as if pulsing, which was rather strange. Reed had never sensed anyone whose Spirit Power could leap like that…

Could this boy be a prodigy? Wizard Reed began to observe more closely. Catching the resentment of a prodigy here wouldn’t be a bad thing at all…

But after observing for a short while, Wizard Reed was disappointed. The boy showed no signs of genius; in fact, from certain perspectives, he even seemed somewhat foolish.

At this point, Wizard Reed grew even more annoyed. Had he been played by a bunch of fools?

How could he, the leader of the Black Crow, show his face after this? Though, his current face wasn’t even his own to begin with…

Darkness had long since devoured him; everything he was now belonged to the dark. Nevertheless, Wizard Reed resolved to teach these impulsive youths a lesson—the only kind of lesson he felt he could impart.

It was truly frustrating for a wizard to prepare a spell for so long, only to have no target to unleash it upon, forcing it to be suppressed.

Wizard Reed was already struggling to suppress his temper. If it weren’t for the important mission at hand, he would have settled scores with these youths long ago.

At this moment, Wizard Reed had stopped thinking. He wasn’t even considering whether the current situation was a trap someone had laid for him. Anger, resentment, and indignation gradually took over his entire being. If not for the mission restraining him, he likely would have erupted.

Generally, those who threw in their lot with the Dark Forces tended to have bad tempers. However, once they joined, they would gradually learn to temper their disposition, becoming more inscrutable. Clearly, Wizard Reed hadn’t yet achieved this peak state.

Wizard Reed stretched his hand towards the ground. A stream of the Power of Darkness spread from his palm onto the snow-covered ground. This Power of Darkness slowly began to expand, then dispersed into tiny, hand-like shapes that slithered off in all directions.

”Obey my command!” Wizard Reed recited an incantation. Clearly, this magic was remotely controlled.

Wizard Reed excelled at ranged magic. It wasn’t that his Physique Technique was lacking; it was just that at this moment, he needed to conceal his true self. His actual body had to retrieve the scroll and couldn’t be revealed lightly. While this kind of remotely controlled spell might not offer the same visceral impact as a direct Physique Technique, its effects were still quite good. Furthermore, such remote control easily instilled a sense of the unknown in the enemy. The more unknowns, the more fear it bred. And this fear was exactly what Wizard Reed wanted.

His only thought now was to make these youths experience fear through every fiber of their being—a fear originating from the darkness. Wizard Reed didn’t think it would be too difficult to accomplish this, especially since the ordinary boy in the group was the perfect candidate to spread fear. Just imagining that ordinary boy’s expression when he witnessed the scene sent a thrill of rapturous anticipation through Reed. He loved to see the faces of those gripped by fear: their helplessness, their contorted expressions, their screams—all were things he eagerly awaited.

If that youth with the pulsing Spirit Power could also offer such a terrified reaction, most of his own annoyance would vanish…

Now he was ready, all set to watch the show.

This time, he was confident. He knew this spell intimately, and he had also thoroughly sized up those four individuals. Apart from the one in the cloak who possessed some strength, the others were mere amateurs; none had even stepped through the gates of becoming Adventurers with Class.

What abilities could amateur practitioners wandering outside the door possibly possess?

It wasn’t that Wizard Reed was underestimating his enemy; this was simply the way of the world. The distinction between Adventurers with Class and Non-Adventurers was stark. An Adventurer with Class could annihilate a Non-Adventurer in an instant because Non-Adventurers were utterly insignificant. They were like ants, merely struggling to survive, always at the mercy of others.

That’s what Wizard Reed had always believed. He wasn’t aware that Non-Adventurers were not as weak as he imagined, nor had he considered the origins of the classes themselves. If not for extreme oppression, the Kayne Empire would never have emerged on this continent. The weak could one day become strong. Many things cannot be judged by a single standard; they need to be measured by time.

Wizard Reed would never understand this principle. In his eyes, only power was eternal. In his pursuit of power, he had chosen the path of darkness. This choice clearly revealed his stance: he would not sympathize with anyone.

The small, dark hands instantly began to writhe across the snow. They had received their orders; their target was clear. Some burrowed through the earth, others slunk through the shadows. Regardless, like their master, they kept their forms hidden as they slowly approached their targets.

Their targets were those youths!

Whether or not these youths detected any anomaly, the dark hands had to complete the mission their master had given them: to teach those brash youths a harsh lesson.