Wizard Bloodline

"Fine, think you're tough? Just wait," the nose ring wizard spat, ultimately not daring to confront Ronan directly. Leaving in a huff, his face twisted with anger, he threw out a parting threat.

The incident left the impromptu gathering unresolved.

The wizards dispersed, though they cast strange glances at Ronan as they left.

Surprise, shock, curiosity, and a hint of fear.

No one had expected the quiet young wizard, seemingly unremarkable in the crowd, to be a fiery Level 4 apprentice.

Ronan guessed that after tonight, he'd be a hot topic in the treehouse district for days.

"Thank you, Ronan."

As the crowd thinned, only Ronan, Old Wills, and a few others remained by the fire.

Ronan shook his head in response to Old Wills' gratitude, saying nothing.

Old Wills' expression was complex, as if seeing Ronan in a new light.

Old Wills knew some of Ronan's background, and Ronan hadn't hidden much. "I've started making money by engraving runes, bought some mental-enhancing potions..."

"You don't need to explain; everyone has their secrets."

Old Wills smiled, then seriously warned Ronan, "You've made an enemy of Eugene today. He's a vindictive and petty man, likely to seek revenge..."

"If he's not afraid of dying, let him come."

Ronan sneered but then felt it inappropriate to talk this way in front of Old Wills. Changing the subject, he asked, "I heard him say something about being an alchemist?"

"Yes."

Old Wills nodded, "Eugene has studied alchemy for many years and is somewhat renowned in this area."

"An alchemist living in the treehouse district?"

Ronan was puzzled, just as Eugene had been about him.

"Probably to save costs; living in the forest makes gathering alchemical ingredients easier. And..."

Old Wills looked at Ronan with a sigh, "His talent in alchemy isn't as outstanding as yours in runes."

Ronan didn't know what to say, feeling a tug on his robe.

Looking down, he saw a cute blonde girl winking playfully at him.

It was Porter's daughter, Cheryl.

Since being taken in, she'd been living with Old Wills and...

Ronan glanced aside at the witch girl living by the tree spring, standing ghost-like in the shadows, barely noticeable.

She seemed shy, shrinking back when Ronan looked at her.

Ronan still remembered the calming spell she'd cast at Porter's funeral, nodding kindly at her.

Turning back to Old Wills, he asked, "What do you plan to do about what was discussed tonight?"

"Continue, I suppose. I'll speak to everyone individually; convincing even one more person is a gain."

Old Wills paused, then added, "I'll visit Eugene to resolve your conflict, as it started because of me."

Ronan ignored the latter half, contemplating, "Old Will, is the Black Wizard Lands invasion really that dangerous?"

"It's a war between wizards."

Old Wills' expression was complex, "It will be more brutal than you can imagine."

"Why would the Black Wizard Lands start such a conflict?"

Ronan still couldn't understand.

"Resources, ideology, heritage... or perhaps they're simply tired of peace."

Old Wills' brows furrowed with helplessness, "Any reason could spark their wars. The last invasion was supposedly just a whim of the powerful."

"Just a game?"

Ronan clenched his teeth.

He felt the same helplessness as Old Wills; his previous confidence before Eugene vanished.

He saw the harsh reality of the wizarding world again, where those at the bottom were mere pawns on a board.

As a low-level apprentice, he wasn't even a pawn.

"Can we leave Hoddam before the invasion?"

Ronan lowered his head, patting Cheryl's head. "You had a ticket to leave later this year, right? Can we still get them?"

Though Ronan didn't want to leave this land of wizardry or become a wandering wizard, he'd choose wandering over dying in war.

"All the ships are organized by the Hoddam Academy. Even my ticket for later this year was canceled."

Old Wills sighed heavily, "It's hard to leave now."

"What about leaving on foot?"

Ronan asked, unwilling to give up, but Old Wills only shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Too risky; you'd have to cross the beast forest. Even a formal wizard might not survive."

Ronan fell silent.

They remained wordless for a long time as the night deepened, and the fire dwindled to embers. Cheryl yawned sleepily, prompting Old Wills to finally speak, "You should go home. I'll organize the patrols and let you know."

Ronan nodded, turning to leave.

In the following days, Ronan threw himself into intense training.

He cut his sleep to less than two hours, dedicating nearly all his time to rigorous practice.

He visited the town again, finding the situation worse than expected.

All of Hoddam seemed gripped by a tense, anxious atmosphere.

Prices were skyrocketing—from potion ingredients and magical gear to grains and bread.

Rent was the most outrageous.

Ronan learned that the rent in the town's poorest districts had risen to nearly two low-grade magic stones per month.

Previously, it was only ten magic stone fragments.

A nearly twentyfold increase!

Forest, treehouse.

"Scrrrape, scrrrape, scrrrape—"

Ronan sat at his table, struggling to cut a charred steak with a knife.

The blade scraped against the plate, making a teeth-grating sound.

After a while, having made little progress, Ronan gave up and picked up the steak with his hands, tearing at it with his teeth.

"So this is beast meat? It does taste richer than regular game, but... it's so tough!"

After finally biting off a piece, he chewed it endlessly, unable to break it down, and swallowed it whole.

Once in his stomach, it brought a sense of fullness, soon turning into a warm stream that slowly merged into Ronan's body.

"Ah—"

Finishing the steak felt like completing a challenging project, and Ronan lay back in his chair, unwilling to move for a while.