Lance’s detection spell manifested as a fluffy ball of fur, the same color as his hair.

"Crushed to death?" Mira was slightly taken aback by the phrasing. She paused for a moment, then slowly furrowed her brows.

The only thing capable of destroying a spell was another spell. Moreover, for a mage like Lance, even the simplest detection spell would have a much greater effect than a lower-ranked mage's due to his superior control over magic.

The fact that someone could destroy his spell meant that their power must be on par with his own.

Mira didn’t know exactly what rank Lance was, but she knew he was strong.

Her gaze lingered on him for a while, and after a moment’s hesitation, she decided to ask the somewhat intrusive question.

"Lance, what rank mage are you?"

A mage's rank is a classification of their magical abilities. With the growing strength of magical nexuses, this ranking system had become the primary means of recognizing spellcasters. Typically, mages could use spells that were one rank higher than their own, though a legendary mage like Mira’s mentor, Karl, could use a spell as powerful as the ninth-ring Legendary spells. The higher-level spells, known as forbidden spells, could only be cast by a ninth-ring mage.

To distinguish these ninth-ring mages, they were often called High Tower Mages.

Lance turned his head. This ranking system was specific to humans. The dragon race didn’t classify spells according to the magical nexus. For Lance, casting spells of different ranks was simply a matter of the energy expended. At his peak, he could cast any spell below the seventh ring instantly. The dragon breath in his dragon form could rival even a ninth-ring legendary spell.

Though the lightning storm had caused old injuries to flare up, preventing him from returning to his peak condition anytime soon, his control over magic still remained. Given a little time, Lance would still be able to cast ninth-ring spells.

He paused for a moment, then answered, “Eighth ring.”

Mira’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew Lance was strong, but he was even more powerful than she had imagined.

“Then, does that mean you’ll have your own tower soon?” Mira couldn’t help but ask.

It had been a long time since humans had seen a High Tower Mage. Originally, Mira’s mentor was the one most likely to achieve this, but clearly, he had failed.

Lance looked at her. In truth, he already had his own tower.

The blue dragon turned his head. “It’s not that easy.”

His reaction was mistaken by Mira as shyness or discomfort. She leaned closer to him. “Come on, Lance, an eighth-ring mage? There might not even be five eighth-ring mages in the world!” She whispered in his ear, “Eighth-ring mages can cast legendary spells!”

Lance smiled, the corner of his lips quirking up. So that’s what excited her—his ability to cast legendary spells. In reality, he could even cast forbidden spells.

However, those spells were often dangerous and could have huge negative consequences, so the blue dragon typically didn’t use them just for fun.

Mira sometimes hated how active her imagination was.

Just as she had realized that Lance could cast powerful legendary spells, another strange thought appeared in her mind.

He must be really old.

She hadn’t asked him his age last time, and it seemed like this time would be no different.

Sigh. Mira mentally groaned. She just wanted to forget about this odd thought, so that she wouldn’t keep picturing him with white hair.

It was a strange thought.

Fortunately, there were enough other questions and mysteries around her to distract her mind.

Lance was an eighth-ring mage, and the one who crushed his fluffy ball of fur must also be an eighth-ring mage. This town had secretly hidden such a powerful spellcaster?

Mira ticked off on her fingers. There were no more than five eighth-ring mages in the world.

Was there something she had missed?

But the information she had was too little. Even the mage’s intuition couldn’t make up for this gap in knowledge.

One thing was certain: there was a spellcaster involved in all of this. Without magical intervention, the bizarre coexistence of the living and the dead in this town would be impossible.

If that was the case, the people pretending to be the king’s soldiers must have been acting on the instructions of this spellcaster, which gave them the courage to do something that could cost them their lives.

But what could a spellcaster want with young people who have the bloodline of a hero?

All of this pointed in one direction, a direction that was now urging Mira forward.

“We must go see the mines,” she turned to Lance and said.

The data clearly stated that the frequent disappearances of young, strong men in nearby towns began after the earthquake.

For a mining town like Geqiu, which relied heavily on mining for wealth, it had recovered far too quickly after the earthquake.

Mira remembered reading in the materials that the earthquake had triggered a landslide, burying a village at the foot of a mountain.

The mountain road that connected various towns was blocked by the disaster, and it took the army and residents two whole months to clear the road.

And yet, Geqiu had not only cleared the road in that time, but also resettled refugees and resumed mining operations?

Indeed, it was a very wealthy town. It could afford to hire a large workforce to complete these tasks. But when the mountain road was blocked and there were many casualties, even with money, it would have been impossible to hire enough labor.

“The mines are in the mountains,” Mira was very focused on this matter. After careful thought, she shared her idea with Lance.

“We need to follow the miners who head into the mountains.” Many miners were also staying at their temporary accommodations, which gave Mira plenty of opportunity.

“I’ve already used the detection spell. The situation in the mountains is complicated, and due to years of mining, there have been many changes to the terrain. After the earthquake two years ago, only those familiar with the area will be able to move around freely.” Mira said all of this in one breath, then her gaze rested on Lance, waiting for his opinion.

Her eyes were full of expectation. Lance shifted his gaze and quietly observed Mira under the light spell's glow.

Since the last time he had praised her, she had often looked at him with such expectant eyes.

This made Lance realize that Mira was someone who lacked affirmation. During her twelve years in the magical nexus, although she had studied under the best mentor, she had always been the least noticeable and the easiest to overlook.

She was eager for someone to notice her ideas and give her positive feedback.

Lance wasn’t particularly good at reading people’s hearts, but Mira’s longing was so obvious that he couldn’t ignore it or refuse it.

He reached out and ruffled Mira’s soft, long hair.

“I think what you said makes sense.” He spoke, “Let’s do it.”

The weight pressing down on her head wasn’t heavy at all, but this gesture still made Mira feel a surge of happiness from the heart.

Of course, Mira wasn’t going to let anyone notice her joy.

“I’m not a puppy. Don’t ruffle my hair like that.” Mira pretended to protest, her gaze darting around, but it was clear that her true thoughts had been exposed.

Mira needed to be recognized. Though the impact of being overlooked for twelve years couldn’t be changed overnight, Lance still believed that positive affirmation and encouragement would bring about a change in her.

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And for Lance, this was a completely new experience. Just like what he had said to Mira, magic wasn’t about rigid theoretical knowledge; it was more about reasonable extensions of natural perception.

Lance could have directly used magic to teleport both of them to the mines, but doing so would have only trained him, not Mira.

He would give Mira many opportunities to grow into a stronger mage. This was his way of thanking her for bringing so many new things into his life.

Had it not been for Mira’s involvement with the hero who used the longsword, Lance might not have realized the significance of his own collection.

Many feelings could only resonate when applied to one’s own experiences. Losing a longsword was just as cruel as losing magic for a blue dragon.

“Should we leave now?” Mira asked Lance.

Lance turned back to look at her. “What did you just say to me?”

Mira froze. Right, they needed to wait for the miners to start their work.

She pouted. It was all Lance’s fault. His earlier actions had made her forget all the ideas that had been swirling in her mind.

“Let’s rest for a bit,” Mira suggested.

Her gaze was still lingering on Lance’s legs. He still had injuries, after all.

The spell that Mira left behind sent a message at dusk. Hearing the rustling sound, Lance opened his eyes.

The night shift miners were about to depart.

He turned around and saw Mira curled up sleeping on the mat she had spread. She hadn't rested well during their journey these past couple of days, and tonight, she would likely need to stay up all night again. Mira could only seize any free moment to rest.

She was sleeping deeply.

Lance had initially planned to wake her up, but halfway through extending his hand, he withdrew it. He waited for a moment longer until he heard the people outside preparing to leave.

The blue dragon extended its hand and drew a symbol in the air. A magical, plush ball formed and burrowed into Mira’s forehead.

Not long after, she opened her eyes.

Still groggy from just waking up, Mira recalled the dream she had—a cute but suffocating one. She wondered if it was because Lance had mentioned his plush ball earlier. In her dream, there were so many fluffy little balls.

She was resting like she was now, and one ball, two balls, three balls—these fluffy little creatures seemed to come from nowhere, rubbing against her cheeks, arms, and fingers. They were soft and ticklish, as though they were trying to surround her, almost making it hard to breathe.

Cute, but suffocating.

“You woke up at the right time.” Lance didn’t mention the trick he used to wake her.

He turned his head to look at the door to the storage room. “They’re about to leave.”

Mira’s gaze fixed on his side profile, raising an eyebrow. She decided to forget about the strange blue balls and pretend not to know that it was Lance’s trick.

“Mm.” Mira rubbed her cheek.

“Let’s go.”

The slanted sun left only a faint afterglow in the sky. The miners were probably leaving at this time to take advantage of the little light, saving on lamp oil.

Mira and Lance followed behind them. As outsiders, they stood out too much, so Mira cast an invisibility spell.

The medium triggered a magical change, greatly extending the duration of the spell.

They followed the miners out of the town and headed toward the back mountains.

The path beneath their feet twisted and turned, with various plants growing on either side. Compared to the gray-white town, these colors were far more pleasing.

The path was worn by the miners who traveled in and out of the mountain every day. Mira squatted down and pressed her hand to the earth beneath her feet.

She wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but she could feel a vibration coming up from the ground.

There were almost no tall plants nearby. Lance noticed another detail, which was a common trait in most mining areas.

Tall trees need to have roots, but the hollow layers beneath the ground clearly couldn’t provide the conditions for that.

As they went deeper into the mountains, abandoned open-pit mines were scattered everywhere. These mines varied in size, but the one thing they all had in common was that they had all been abandoned.

The miners moved freely among the abandoned sites, and Mira and Lance stayed close behind. Larger mining areas had tunnels and shafts, but no one separated from the main group at this time.

They continued deeper, until the moon had risen halfway into the sky.

Mira estimated their distance. Climbing up the mountain was slower than walking on flat ground, but after a few hours, they had already gone deep into the mines.

Yet, they still hadn’t seen any active mining tunnels.

“This mountain is almost mined out.” Mira whispered to Lance.

Lance agreed with her. Through the Dragon’s Eye, he saw the brokenness and decay of the land. When this decay fully enveloped the mountain range, it would be nearly impossible for natural life to thrive here. When a place became barren, with not even the most tenacious rats and cockroaches trying to escape, it would turn into a land devoid of magic.

The blue dragon, guardian of magic, was reluctant to see such a result happen.

They walked for about another hour, and one by one, miners left the main group, though the vast majority continued along the winding path.

Mira cast a scouting spell to follow a few of the miners who had separated from the group, but she quickly lost control of the spell.

Mira didn’t understand why this happened.

She looked at Lance in confusion, and the young man slowly spoke. “My magic has also been swallowed by this mountain.”

His words answered Mira’s earlier doubts.

It was nearly impossible for two eighth-circle mages to gather in a mountain hollow, but if the magic was being absorbed by something else, it made more sense.

Lance wasn’t entirely sure, but it was true that magic weakened after entering the mountain.

Even invisibility, enhanced by dragon scales, didn’t last as long here as it had back in the town. Moreover, as they ventured deeper, this effect became more and more pronounced.

Mira had already had to recast several spells in a short amount of time.

A miner, who had been solving his personal issues in some low shrubs, caught up with the group. He stood at the back, whispering something to another miner.

The man’s expression changed, and a lewd grin spread across his face as he replied.

Lance furrowed his brow and glanced back at the discovery.

Using the full extent of Dragon’s Eye, he quickly noticed something unusual amid the grayness and desolation.

The Soul of the Hero.

The girl from last time?

Mira noticed Lance’s sudden change in expression and instinctively knew it had to do with the conversation between the two miners.

Mira couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Lance, being a high-circle mage, should have been able to hear them clearly. His expression confirmed Mira’s guess.

Lance crouched down and whispered to Mira, “They found a little girl. She’s the daughter of that hero.”

The daughter of the hero? Ina, Lady Ellin’s youngest daughter!

Mira immediately realized why the two miners had that expression, and she had seen something similar on the face of the yellow-toothed man earlier.

Greedy, lecherous, and ugly desire.

Mira clenched her fists.

“Where is she?” Without bothering to continue following the miners, Mira now had more important things to do.

Although she didn’t understand why the little girl was here, she knew she wasn’t capable of protecting herself yet.

Before Lance could answer, Mira had already reacted. She noticed the two lagging miners deliberately slowing their pace and then slipping into a low shrub.

Mira chanted a spell, and magic gathered at her fingertips. She pinched her earlobes, amplifying her hearing several times.

The miners’ dialect mixed with a few low, sinister laughs. The words between them were filled with nauseating, vulgar expressions.

“Are you sure?”

“My nose can smell the gas from the mine. Can’t I smell a woman’s scent?”

“Bullshit. The mine reeks of sweat.”

“It’s definitely a woman. That fragrance, faint but discernible, I could smell it from far away.”

“Didn’t you see her?”

“I saw a little leg, wearing a skirt. I can already imagine that pale skin below the tights, the delicate feel of her hands…”

“I haven’t seen a woman in over two years. Damn it, all the women in the town are dead. Not only dead, but turned into corpses. Who would have thought that out here, in the middle of nowhere, we’d run into such a good thing.”

“Damn, what luck.”

“Just thinking about it makes me hard. Hurry up and go, before she runs away.”

Mira clenched her fists, but she also picked up some useful information from their lewd remarks.

Two years—around the same time as the earthquake.

Perhaps no one survived in the small town at the foot of this mountain during that earthquake!

But this bold thought was overshadowed by the situation at hand.

Mira sprinted through the low shrubs, quickly leaving Lance, who had difficulty moving, behind.

She saw her—the little girl.

Ina.

She was holding a sword and struggling through the bushes.

At twelve years old, the girl was still quite small, and the uneven bushes reached as high as her chest or as low as her calves.

Even though it was difficult to move forward, Ina didn’t consider using her father’s sword to clear a path.

She had taken a different route up the mountain. Originally, Ina had planned to follow the two mages leaving the town to head toward the foothills.

But not long after leaving the town, she lost sight of them.

Mira and Lance had used teleportation to return to the tower, and since the girl couldn’t find them, she kept going in the direction indicated on the map, arriving here half a day earlier than them.

She saw a bustling little town at the foot of the mountain and, fearing that she might lose her father’s sword, Ina chose to bypass the town and ascend the mountain from the other side.

During the day, she could use the sun to navigate, but when night fell, Ina quickly became lost in the eerie bushes.

She had inherited half of her father’s hero soul.

Heroes, occasionally reckless, often boastful, gaining experience through courage and learning to be sensitive and vigilant through their scars.

Like the stereotype about mages being weak, there was also the stereotype about heroes being not too bright.

Clever children would recognize danger and avoid it, but heroes didn’t know how to evade risk. They kept throwing themselves into danger, honing their skills, and gaining the courage to face it.

And perhaps Ina was facing her first real challenge as a hero.

When she saw the two ill-intentioned men ahead, her first instinct was to open the wooden case containing her mother’s sword.

But she was still too young. Often playing with sticks chasing after her brother and his friends, Ina didn’t realize that the sword she held was a real one—a heavy dragon-slaying blade. And her opponents were not just boys like her brother, but two strong men who worked in the mines.

The sword clattered to the ground with a mournful sound. Ina’s face showed surprise—she was clearly good with swords.

Her brothers had...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the pain from the sword falling. As rough hands grabbed her stockings, Ina instinctively tried to kick and crawl toward her sword.

The scales almost sank into her palms.

A long, cryptic incantation appeared in Mira’s mind, but she had no time to recall the name of the spell. The deep and hoarse chanting surged beyond reason.

Magic flowed into the scales, and it sounded like thunder.

The next moment, lightning followed Mira’s will, ruthlessly piercing the fragile human bodies.

Mira pulled Ina up from the ground, her eyes scanning the brave girl.

She blinked, and when she saw Mira, her panic disappeared, and a smile appeared on her face.

Lightning flashed, and the magic continued. The screams were drowned out by the noise, and Mira returned the sword that had fallen to the ground to Ina.

She turned to look at the aftermath of the magic.

Two blackened corpses lay on the ground, emitting the smell of charred meat.

She instinctively covered Ina’s curious eyes but forgot to close her own.

This was Mira’s first time using magic to kill. And she killed two people at once.

She opened her mouth and slowly looked at the approaching Lance.

She did want to kill them, but she never imagined she would actually do it.

Lance met her gaze. Finally catching up to Mira, despite his injured legs, he saw two charred corpses, struck by lightning magic.

The blue dragon’s gaze moved between Mira and the bodies, without hesitation. He raised his hand, and magic surged from his palm, swirling into rolling clouds.

The next moment, torrential rain began to pour.

It was as if the earlier lightning storm was just the prelude to the downpour.