The Misty Forest

As time passed, Maiko, the man in the black robe, felt an increasing sense of fear, cold sweat trickling down his back. He began to regret why he had chased into the Misty Forest alone, worrying whether he had angered this "Holy Magus" and contemplating how to escape.

An eerie silence lasted for several seconds before Karian cleared his throat, attempting to explain that he was merely a passerby. However, before he could speak, Maiko was startled by the sound of the cough, his heart racing. Without a word, he turned and fled.

Maiko activated his wind magic and took to the air, flying away at top speed, terrified that lingering even a moment longer would result in being erased by the "Holy Magus"!

Karian watched as the man in the black robe disappeared in the blink of an eye, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief.

Wait, why did he run away? I hadn’t even said anything yet...

At that moment, the frail young man behind him, propping himself against the tree, managed to stand and pressed his hand to his chest, bowing to Karian.

"Thank you, sir, for shielding me from the 'Elemental Explosion' spell. I owe you my life; Horus is deeply grateful!"

'Elemental Explosion'?

Karian's heart sank as he realized that the white light that had struck him earlier was indeed the "Elemental Explosion" spell unleashed by the man in the black robe.

With his extensive knowledge of magical theory, Karian understood the nature of this forbidden spell and recognized that he had been unharmed because he lacked any magical elements within him.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Still, he felt a chill at the thought that if the black-robed man had used any other attack spell instead of "Elemental Explosion," he might not be standing there at all.

What a relief…

Furthermore, Karian began to grasp why the man in the gray robe was so afraid of him. After all, no one would expect an ordinary person to appear out of nowhere, so it was reasonable that he had been mistaken for someone powerful.

Suppressing the impulse to scratch his head, Karian turned slightly to face the frail young man, pondering, 'This guy seems to think I showed up to save him… But now that I think about it, I did kind of scare off that black-robed magician. My sudden appearance might have frightened him enough to abandon his pursuit of this young man. In a sense, I really did save him…'

After contemplating for a few seconds, Karian unexpectedly blurted out, “You’ve intruded on my territory.”

Horus’s heart skipped a beat at this statement, and his reverence for the “Holy Magus” grew even stronger.

After all, they were deep in the Misty Forest, a place rife with danger. If it weren’t for his dire circumstances, Horus would never have fled into such a perilous area. The fact that someone had established territory here was a testament to the power of the Holy Magus.

Like Maiko, Horus mistakenly believed that Karian was a legendary Holy Magus. He had witnessed the man appear out of thin air, and the surrounding space had distorted—clearly an indication of spatial magic. Furthermore, this “Holy Magus” had directly withstood the "Elemental Explosion" spell.

Bowing even lower, half-respectfully and half-fearfully, Horus said, “I’m truly sorry; I didn’t realize this was your territory. I was being pursued and had no choice but to enter the Misty Forest, inadvertently ending up here. If I’ve offended you, I will leave immediately!”

With that, the wounded Horus attempted to walk away, struggling to support his battered body.

Karian remained rooted to the spot, watching Horus retreat, silently urging, 'Hurry up! Hurry up! I can’t keep this up much longer; if I talk any more, I’ll be exposed. Damn it, how did I get caught up in this? How do I use this gem to teleport back?'

But just as Horus had walked a few steps, he suddenly paused, a thought crossing his mind.

Karian, having just relaxed, stiffened once more in alarm.