Chapter 0014: The Fierce Mary

After proudly announcing her return to everyone, Mary reached out her slender hand and pulled Grim in front of her.

“From today onward, he is under my command. Anyone who dares give him trouble will be my enemy!”

With that, she released Grim and swept her right hand through the air. Her razor-sharp claws left five faint lines hanging in the void, only fading away as the piercing sound of wind finally reached the ears of those present.

...Such abnormal agility, such terrifying assault power. With that speed and strength, which of the gathered apprentices could finish chanting a spell before her attack landed?

Estimating the power of Mary’s casual strike, the faces around the room grew grim.

Grim stood frozen, forcing a bitter smile, suddenly finding his “good fortune” a headache.

He had always believed in keeping a low profile, but now, without dispute, he was swept into the storm between apprentice powerhouses. Mary’s intentions were clearly good, but could mere intimidation by strength truly subdue these fearless wizard apprentices?

In this treacherous, scheming Wizard Tower, there were countless ways to kill someone without anyone noticing. The library was full of curse magic and deadly poisons; as long as someone put in the effort, it wasn’t hard for an apprentice to die mysteriously.

In this dark, frightening tower, Grim wouldn’t even let a single hair or drop of blood fall into the hands of others. With so many unpredictable and bizarre spells, any carelessness might make him someone else’s puppet.

Thus, most apprentices kept to themselves, rarely making physical contact even with “companions” in their own circle.

Sensing the veiled hostility in the gazes from all directions, Grim could only offer a silent, bitter smile.

This was a fine way to make enemies.

Previously, he’d been seen as a harmless low-level apprentice; even if there were minor grudges, no one would go out of their way to kill him. But today, without saying a word, he’d managed to offend nearly all the wizard apprentices.

It was clear that from now on, he’d be an outlier among the novice apprentices. Anyone who approached him would either be seeking information on Mary, or plotting to set a trap so he’d die without a trace.

Though Grim cursed his fate inwardly, all he could do now was put on a poker face and endure.

Having said her piece and established her dominance, Mary whisked Grim away from the dining hall at lightning speed. Moments later, the proud and icy Mary appeared before a still-shaken Amm.

“Give me the arena card!”

The reborn Mary radiated an unprecedented forcefulness and arrogance; her small hand slammed onto the table, causing everything atop it to tremble and topple. An ugly, sticky frog crawled out from the pile of books, leapt onto Amm’s shoulder, and glared furiously at Mary, the culprit, with bulging eyes.

The frog was small, but its head was unnaturally large. Its slick back was covered in bumps and swollen nodules, with green fluid visible within. Its giant mouth matched its head, and its eyes grew on two protruding fleshy stalks, giving it a decidedly eerie appearance.

Amm gently patted the frog’s strange head, turned aside, and murmured softly. The frog reluctantly opened its mouth and spat out a special card shimmering with golden light.

Mary snorted coldly, snatched the golden card, and pulled Grim away.

As they were leaving, Grim couldn’t help but cast a complicated glance at the frog.

A companion beast!

That frog must be Amm’s companion beast. Apprentices still struggling at the bottom of the tower were all striving to strengthen themselves, seeking ways to ensure their survival. Raising one’s mental power was the hardest task. Without potions to boost the mind, without advanced meditation, without a formal wizard to guide them, everything depended on oneself.

So they were willing to try anything that could help increase their strength. Companion beasts were one of the many auxiliary methods.

Also known as parasitic beasts, companion beasts were magical creatures bred and modified through wizardry. Apprentices could use a special ritual to forge a bond between their soul and a magical beast.

This had its advantages and disadvantages. The benefit was gaining access to the beast’s innate abilities, acquiring powers others could hardly imagine. The drawback was that part of the apprentice’s soul was transferred to the companion beast. If the beast was badly wounded or killed, the apprentice would suffer as well.

At best, mental power plummeted and the soul was injured; at worst, the soul shattered and one became an idiot.

Ordinary apprentices could only bond with one companion beast in their lifetime. But there were always exceptions. One of the three powerhouses, the Worm Fiend, had clearly chosen the companion beast path, but he had somehow breached the limit, hiding a swarm of strange insects within his body.

How he accomplished this was a mystery every apprentice on this path wanted to solve, but none dared pry into his secrets. Those who tried, it seemed, ended up dying mysteriously.

Amm, with only the strength of a mid-level apprentice, had chosen a poison dart frog as his companion beast, able to shoot venomous darts and possessing impressive regenerative abilities—likely the main reason Amm favored it.

...

When the stone chamber’s doors closed, the vast arena was left with only Mary and Grim.

This arena was much larger than the previous one, spanning two hundred square meters. It wasn’t meant for practicing magic, but was a miniature dueling ground. If apprentices had irreconcilable grudges, they often settled it here. Though there were rules forbidding fatal injuries, if an “accident” happened, there was no need to pay with one’s life—just a hefty fine.

Thus, many apprentices feared this arena, calling it the “Arena of Death.”

Mary’s delicate figure stood across from Grim, her exquisite face carrying a cold smile laced with allure and cruelty.

“I don’t want useless cowards under my command. Today, show me what you’re capable of!”

With a shout, she launched herself at Grim. Without any visible preparation, her frail body shifted side to side, leaving a trail of blurred afterimages. Her true form, hidden among them, charged at Grim from the right at incredible speed.

She attacks so abruptly? This Mary in red is truly decisive!

Mary had always been icy, but at least she’d maintained the caution and humility of an apprentice. How had a trip to Wizard Anderson made her so arrogant and domineering?

But Grim had no time for these thoughts—Mary’s attack was already upon him.

A string of urgent warnings rang in his mind, nearly causing him to lose focus.

“Warning, warning, rapid target approaching… Estimated agility >13 points. Move two steps left, dodge, counter with Burning Hands…”

The fire arrow spell still hadn’t been fully shaped, so Grim only had Burning Hands available. The attack was so swift that his eyes couldn’t even track Mary’s real form; all his hope rested on the chip’s guidance. Following instructions, he sidestepped and began quickly preparing Burning Hands.

But that was as far as he got.

His attempted dodge ended halfway, sending him stumbling aside. His shirt tore at the ribs, revealing three bloody scratches. His completed Burning Hands swept his side, hitting nothing.

Grim pressed his wound, staring in shock at Mary. She stood calmly, licking a trace of blood from her slender nails with a flexible tongue.

“Your reflexes are quick! But your physical limits are lacking. If this is your top speed, you’ll suffer greatly today!” Perhaps the sight of blood stirred something; her eyes, previously normal, now gleamed with a faint red glow, looking dangerous and uncanny. “If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to be faster…”

Mary crouched slightly, like a leopard about to pounce, her aura suddenly fierce and wild.

Damn it, at this rate, I really could die.

Watching Mary’s reddening eyes and the sharp fangs emerging past her lips, Grim’s internal alarms were blaring. He ignored his wounded side and roared loudly. Slapping his hands together, within three seconds he cast Burning Hands with both palms, conjuring vivid red flames to shield his front.

“Now that’s more like it! Grim… you’d better defend yourself!”

Mary laughed coldly, then dashed forward like lightning.

With his dynamic vision, Grim could barely track the afterimages trailing behind Mary, never her true form. To avoid another sneak attack, he shifted his stance in small steps, adjusting his posture and wildly swinging his hands, throwing scorching fireballs to block every possible attack route.

Whoosh, whoosh…

The twin flames Grim wielded swept around him, scattering burning streams across the arena. But it was like a clumsy solo dance; no matter how desperately he swung and blocked, he couldn’t touch a hair of the red shadow. Instead, pain would suddenly flare across his body, forcing him into even more frantic defense.