A tall, burly young man blocked Mira's path at the alleyway entrance.

At first, Mira didn’t realize something was wrong. It wasn’t until she started moving around and noticed the young man mirroring her movements that she sensed the shift.

The young mage quickly realized the situation was unusual.

She stopped, watching as the young man's companions emerged from the alley.

Instinctively, Mira put her hand into her pocket. The smooth, moist sensation of the magical medium crystal gave her confidence.

However, to the young man blocking her, her actions seemed to carry a different meaning.

His narrow eyes squinted as he looked at Mira, his expression turning more serious.

"You're new here?" The man blocking her spoke up.

Mira took a step back, but bumped into another tall man behind her. She had no choice but to stay still, her hand tightening around the medium crystal.

"Why should I tell you?"

The bustling noise from the nearby market reminded Mira that she had to be cautious with her magic. If someone saw her, it might attract attention from the Magic Nexus.

She reached into the other side of her pocket and pulled out her coin pouch. "This is all I have."

It was normal for thugs in an independent small town away from the big cities to rob outsiders like her.

Mira was reluctant to part with her money, but getting back to the tower safely was her top priority.

To her surprise, the leader’s gaze only passed over her coin pouch. It was full, so there was clearly a lot of money in it, but they weren’t blocking her for the money.

Mira immediately became more alert. If they weren’t interested in her money, then they were after something else, which could spell trouble.

"Are you from the capital?" one of the lackeys asked, stepping forward.

Mira shifted her gaze from the leader to the young man. She returned the coin pouch to the other pocket and subtly gripped the medium crystal.

"Just say it. What's your purpose?" she asked, clearly in a hurry.

"Of course," the leader responded. "You know about the king's agreement with the Magic Dragon, right? The princess being given to the dragon."

Mira frowned. Her current identity was the princess.

"I think the whole kingdom should know," Mira replied coldly.

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"We won’t harm you."

"Do you really think I’ll believe you in this situation?" Mira asked, surveying her surroundings. Seven or eight people had surrounded her.

"I know you’re from the tower," the leader said. "We need you to show us the way..."

There were many hidden magic circles between the tower and the town, meant to prevent adventurers from ascending the mountain.

The escorting party had been able to pass through the magical array smoothly because the Magic Dragon had left behind a piece of dragon scale as a token.

"What if I refuse?" Mira asked, still unsure of why they were making such a request. Right now, only the injured Lance was at the tower. She could never bring potential danger back to the tower.

Mira didn’t want to waste time with these idle men. If she could use magic freely, she wouldn’t care about the situation at all.

It was getting close to the time she had agreed upon with Lance. She needed to think quickly to escape.

"Stop talking nonsense!" A burly man stepped forward, and the pressure intensified. Mira quickly reacted, falling to the ground.

"I didn’t touch her!" the man said, bewildered. "She fell by herself."

The leader shot him a glare.

Although angry about the king’s repeated compromises, he wasn’t the type to vent his frustrations on a frail girl.

Saying he would teach her a lesson was just an empty threat. What he wanted was the way to ascend the mountain.

The magical arrays set by the Magic Dragon were terrifying. Unless one had a dragon scale, it was impossible for humans to ascend or descend the mountain safely.

He looked down at Mira, who was on the ground.

The fact that she could come down meant she must have a dragon scale hidden on her.

Earlier, he had noticed that the princess kept her hand hidden in her pocket, obviously protecting something important.

"Hand over the dragon scale, and we can send you to the nearest post. You should have enough money to hire a carriage back to the capital, right?" he said, slowly squatting down.

"I'm from the Adventurers' Guild. My name is Aylin. I’m a swordsman. We won’t hurt you."

"Adventurers' Guild?" Mira sized him up, her gaze landing on his chest.

He wasn’t carrying a sword, nor did he have a guild insignia.

Aylin understood what Mira was looking for. The princess knew more than he had imagined.

"Ah. My father is Fran Aylin," he added.

Mira recognized this name. He was the Dragon Slayer.

But the Dragon Slayer had already died. He had killed three great dragons in his lifetime and had eventually died in the Magic Dragon’s flames, leaving nothing behind but ashes.

"You want revenge on the Magic Dragon?" Mira understood his intent. She rubbed her ankle, as if in pain.

"It will happen one day," the leader of the group said, gritting his teeth.

"Fine," Mira replied. She took the crystal from her pocket. "I don’t want to marry a monster anyway."

"Here." She extended her hand, clenched into a fist.

Aylin reached out.

This was the chance.

Without hesitation, Mira extended her hand and took hold of the young man’s hand.

Paralysis Spell!

The young man instantly lost all ability to move. This was a spell Mira had modified, combining it with a lightning chain spell. In an instant, several of the young men collapsed, all losing their ability to move.

Mira grabbed her belongings from the ground and ran towards the deeper part of the alley without looking back, her voice echoing through the air.

"Save your energy. You’ll be roasted by the Magic Dragon and turned into kebabs."

A few minutes later, the young men who had been affected by the spell started to rise.

"She got away."

"What do we do?"

"Should we chase her?"

"What about the boss? Ask him."

The group turned around, only to find Aylin still lying on the ground, twitching slightly. As the one who had directly come into contact with the medium crystal magic, he was the worst off.

"Boss," the others gathered around him. "What happened?"

The leader exhaled, propping himself up to sit. The feeling of electricity still hadn’t fully left his body, and he shook his head as the dizziness began to subside.

The protective amulet his father had left him was heating up, absorbing some of the lightning.

This was magic.

Straightening up, he fixed his gaze on the direction Mira had gone.

She wasn’t the princess. A true princess couldn’t use magic.