Chapter 55 – The Prepared Mage

“Night is like water” – this phrase describes how the darkness of night is deep and terrifying, as if it could drown a person through sheer obscurity alone. And now, within this watery darkness, Punk once again encountered enemies most adept at “swimming” through such conditions – Stalkers.

“Two Apprentice-Level? This feels all too familiar.”

Punk’s Mage Armor shimmered with faint light, carving out a small illuminated space within the oppressive night.

The Stalkers made no sound whatsoever. A qualified Stalker never needed words during combat – shadows were their best allies!

The enemies completely merged with the darkness, leaving not a single trace of their presence as if they had vanished entirely. Yet everyone knew these enemies were like relentless vipers, lurking within the night, ready to spring from any shadow to deliver the final blow to the weary Punk and the princess.

As for the remaining warrior… he was approaching Punk’s Mage Armor with an abnormal expression.

“Pathetic fool!”

Punk downed the Night Vision Potion he had brewed in one gulp. As a cool liquid flooded his eyeballs, his eyes could finally discern some blurred details of the scenery within the pitch-black night. His blue-glowing eyes sharply detected the half-buried dark purple steel needle embedded in the warrior’s neck. Apparently, the needle carried some hallucinogenic poison, and the stabbed warrior had already lost most of his consciousness.

“Did they set up some backup plan to ambush me?”

Punk secretly speculated that the reason the warrior hadn’t been cleanly killed but turned into this half-human, half-zombie state was likely because the two Stalkers wanted to plant a hidden piece on the board.

However, protected by his Mage Armor, Punk temporarily feared no assault from these two Stalkers. It seemed the enemies’ plan was probably the same as last time – to stall until Punk exhausted his mana.

Indeed, through the familiar fluctuations of shadow energy, Punk had already identified these two Stalkers. They were undoubtedly the same “sister duo” who had ambushed Kane and him last time!

But this time, Punk wouldn’t be forced to desperately flee like last time. Even though he now faced two enemies alone while dragging along an unavoidable burden.

“Quite bold, using the same tactics twice against the same enemy…” Punk narrowed his eyes slightly, the cold light in his pupils piercing through the thick night like ghostly flames.

“…After all, you’re just greenhorns who don’t yet understand what kind of power a prepared mage truly possesses.”

He knew these two wouldn’t foolishly reveal their positions by conversing with their enemy, even while holding the advantage. Punk simply stopped speaking as well, retrieving a dusty small bottle from his Mage Robe’s pocket containing powdered human skull.

The moment he realized Stalkers were pursuing him, Punk had known it was time for the spell he obtained from Mainaixi to prove its worth!The light and ethereal incantation flowed through the air like a murmuring stream. This highly unique chant sounded like many clear-voiced children singing joyfully, yet Punk never actually opened his mouth to recite it—it was entirely a “true illusion” manifested as the soul’s voice descended into reality. In his hands, fine strands of bone powder extended from the vial’s opening, transforming under the gentle undulations of the chant into a golden dust that hovered between energy and matter. A large amount of this golden dust gathered in Punk’s hands into a “sand sphere” the size of a football, with stray particles swirling around it like languid smoke. Under the pale blue glow of the Mage Armor, a soft, dense radiance slowly emanated from the “sand sphere,” outlining both Punk and the princess’s Mage Robe and armor in a golden border!

Ever since that failed night assault forced him to flee back to Konola City, Punk had resolved to acquire a means to effectively counter Stalkers at all costs. Thus, he decisively exchanged with Mainaixi for this highly niche spell. Looking back now, that decision proved wiser than ever!

The Apprentice-Level spell—”Revealing Dust”—could be considered the spell version of the “Alchemical Potion: Revealing Dust.” Unlike the alchemical variant, however, it was purely an Advent Magic. The caster descended the “wish” of “revealing” from their soul onto this powder existing between energy and matter. This utterly unreasonable “philosophical” approach defined the effect of Advent Magic. Yet while most had heard of the “Alchemical Potion: Revealing Dust,” few knew of the “Advent Magic: Revealing Dust,” precisely because it remained a relatively obscure spell!

As a niche spell, its flaws were obvious and fatal: long casting time (requiring five seconds of incantation), high learning difficulty (a common ailment of Advent Magic), and completely nonexistent offensive power (breathing frequently might enhance physique more). And so on!

But its advantages were equally striking—it completely countered all concealment methods below the Formal-Level!

Of course, this assumed one had the opportunity to cast it…

Now, however, Punk had successfully unleashed this “lackluster” spell!

The Stalkers still hidden in the shadows were stunned. Throughout Punk’s precise casting of this highly intricate Advent Magic, his Mage Armor hadn’t shown the slightest energy instability. This was no ordinary minor spell—the Stalker “sisters” would wager that across the entire Kamos Kingdom, the “geniuses” capable of maintaining Mage Armor while casting Advent Magic couldn’t exceed the fingers of one hand!

During Punk’s casting, the enemies had even sent that half-dead warrior charging in for a suicide explosion, attempting to shatter the Mage Armor amidst the chaos. But this proved futile—the massive shockwave uprooted five or six nearby saplings, yet the sturdy Mage Armor merely rippled calmly under the impact.Finally, the two Stalkers watched almost helplessly as Punk completed this spell that completely shattered the balance of victory. However, these two Stalkers didn’t choose to flee—unlike mercenaries like Punk who could come and go as they pleased with their freedom intact. If they dared to desert the battlefield, Lunka, who would be driven mad with rage, would never let them off!

Left with no other choice, the last two Stalkers gritted their teeth in near despair, timing their escape to coincide with Punk’s release of Revealing Dust as they slipped into the Shadow Plane, praying to evade certain doom.

No matter how difficult “Revealing Dust” might seem, it couldn’t change the fact that it was merely an Apprentice-Level spell. With the System’s assistance, Punk found it relatively easy to complete such an Apprentice-Level spell!

Then, Punk, who had “effortlessly” finished casting the spell, was surprised to discover that these two Stalkers had actually chosen to hide in the Shadow Plane—the most desperate and panicked method of evasion!

“Simply dreaming!”

Punk almost laughed aloud in his mind. This clearly showed how dangerous ignorance could be. The enemies opposite him probably had no understanding of what a “wish” meant in the philosophical sense. Such profound knowledge pertaining to the soul remained scarcely known even to most Legendary Experts who specialized in soul research. Although Punk’s minor application of this magic was merely the faintest glimpse of its depths, it was absolutely not something that could be evaded by the low-level, makeshift tricks of two Apprentice-Level Stalkers!

(End of Chapter)