The warriors were suspended in mid-air, their bodies twisting as they struggled against the unyielding vines. No matter how hard they fought, the vines held firm like iron shackles, keeping them securely in place.

Elsa stood alone, motionless. She was the only one not bound by this magical restraint.

Surveying her incapacitated subordinates, she exhaled slowly. She tightened her grip on the massive sword at her waist, positioning the blade before her as if facing a formidable foe.

Meanwhile, Viktor had cleverly maneuvered Aurelianne to his side.

"I can see you're itching for a fight," Viktor said coldly to the vigilant Elsa. "What's holding back that anger of yours?"

Elsa lowered her stance, her body taut like a drawn bow, reminiscent of a cheetah poised to strike.

Viktor observed her, a smirk playing on his lips. Suddenly, he let out a laugh, "Is it because of Cindy? That warrior I left in tatters?"

In an instant, Elsa's eyes widened. She launched forward like an arrow released from a bow. The air around her seemed to split, forming a sharp rift in her wake.

In the blink of an eye, Elsa became a blur. A cold glint of light traced a silver-white arc through the air, aimed directly at Viktor.

The blade vibrated in the air, its cold gleam intensifying.

Aurelianne, standing to the side, suddenly widened her eyes.

So fast!

The lightning-quick charge made it impossible for her to clearly see Elsa's form.

However...

Viktor's reaction was even swifter.

As the blur thrust towards him, Viktor simply reached out with one hand and effortlessly caught the blade.

His palm was sheathed in a layer of lava, forming an impenetrable defense.

The moment Elsa's blade was gripped, she saw the peculiar lava hand guard and her eyes widened in shock.

Viktor looked at her disdainfully: "Want to know how I thrashed that Cindy fellow?"

A sense of impending danger shot straight to the top of her head. Elsa instinctively tried to retract her sword, but Viktor's enormous fist, encased in lava, was already descending rapidly towards her head.

"Like this!"

Bang!

A heavy punch landed squarely on top of Elsa's head. The intense impact momentarily robbed her of her senses, leaving her mind blank.

The pain exploded instantly, causing her to crumple to the ground, rolling uncontrollably.

It took a long while before Elsa's senses gradually returned to her body.

But this only brought her more intense agony.

The blue light in Viktor's eyes faded slightly.

[Strength Enhancement (Large)]

"Seems your strength falls short of Cindy's."

"A speed-type warrior? Or perhaps an assassin?"

Elsa, enduring the pain, retreated to a safe distance. Her form gradually faded, seemingly blending with the surrounding environment.

This was an assassin's skill.

[Concealment]

It was hard to imagine that a woman wielding such a massive sword was actually an assassin.

Although assassins were quite effective against fragile classes like mages, however...

"You're not worthy of my full effort."

Viktor extended a hand, magic flashing at his fingertips. The concealed Elsa was instantly drawn towards him.

His muscular hand firmly gripped Elsa's neck, lifting her into the air.

Elsa struggled in Viktor's grasp, using all her strength to pry his fingers open, not even caring that her great sword had fallen to the ground.

Viktor suddenly flung her, sending her flying directly into a giant tree.

A cloud of dust rose, startling even the observing elves behind with this powerful strike.

Aurelianne stood to the side, staring blankly at Viktor.

Teacher Viktor's fighting style... how was it...

So different from other mages?

Was this the correct way for mages to fight?

She seemed to have some slight understanding, but then suddenly realized.

Now, the situation had escalated dramatically.

A real fight had broken out between Teacher Viktor and the Reiser family!

Suddenly, those warriors broke free from the vines.

Without Viktor's continued mana input, the vines had become somewhat fragile.

This allowed them to barely break free.

They fell to the ground, and before they could steady themselves, they prepared to come to Elsa's aid.

But in the next second, Viktor extended a hand, pressing down slightly.

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A gray formation rapidly constructed itself in mid-air.

[Second-tier Magic: Gravity]

Enormous magical power poured into the formation, slamming countless warriors into the ground, unable to lift even a finger.

"As spectators, you should just continue to watch from the sidelines."

"I don't have the leisure to play around with you."

As he finished speaking, a sharp whistling sound reached his ears.

At some point, Elsa had already stood up again, her great sword back in her hands, charging towards Viktor once more.

Viktor extended a finger, quickly generating a red magic array in front of him, like a giant lion holding a solid shield.

The totem merged into the center of the red array, and a barrier appeared in front of Viktor.

[Second-tier Magic: Moses' Protection]

The high-speed attacking Elsa shattered the red shield the moment she touched the barrier.

She was about to press her advantage, attacking Viktor in the instant the shield disappeared.

But Viktor, unhurried, used one finger to touch Elsa's forehead, as if gently tapping it.

Elsa froze slightly, an ominous feeling rising from the depths of her heart.

But by the time she reacted, it was already too late.

[Second-tier Magic: Light Explosion]

Almost instantly, a crimson explosion roared, accompanied by billowing smoke.

Elsa, hit by the extremely powerful impact, flew out of the smoke like a kite with cut strings.

As the smoke gradually cleared, Viktor stood calmly in place, not even his coat ruffled in the slightest.

Watching Viktor deal with Elsa's attacks so calmly and effortlessly, Aurelianne sensed a quality unique to Viktor.

Elegance.

She found it difficult to associate this word with the mage profession.

The more powerful the mage, the stronger the magic they used, the longer the chanting time would be, and the more thorough preparation they needed.

Those who had been her teachers before, were basically all like this.

That cumbersome image was hard to associate with elegance.

But watching Viktor's battle alone seemed to be a kind of enjoyment.

What he used were just the most basic and common spells.

Yet he could fight an assassin with ease, even completely overwhelming her.

It was as if...

He was battle-hardened.

Viktor constantly faced Elsa's attacks, countering each move, his attention fully distributed around him.

He just stood in place, yet seemed invincible.

But why did the teacher only use first and second-tier spells?

Could it be?

"Is the teacher teaching me!?"

Aurelianne was suddenly dumbfounded.

Even in this situation, was Teacher Viktor still giving her a lesson?

But Viktor's effortless response, in Elsa's eyes, seemed more like humiliation.

She became incredibly angry, the muscles on her body seeming to constantly tremble, her blood flowing at high speed.

The speed of her attacks also increased.

The cold light flashed multiple times in an instant, but Viktor, as if he had anticipated it, easily and skillfully avoided them, and repelled her with simple methods.

The great sword repeatedly scraped across the ground, carving out extremely deep furrows in the earth.

After a long while, Viktor remained unscathed.

The great sword never ceased its dance, and Elsa gradually became frenzied.

"Why! Why, why!"

She couldn't believe it. Even if Viktor had used fourth-tier magic to defeat her with full force, she could have accepted it.

But the opponent consistently used only low-tier magic to respond.

One defense, one attack.

Each counterattack was very effective.

Although the damage wasn't high, it was extremely insulting.

Elsa's rain-like dense attacks couldn't touch Viktor even once.

Her mentality gradually became irritated, and she began to doubt herself.

The attacks became faster and faster, faster and faster.

Until her body suddenly stopped in mid-air.

[First-tier Magic: Telekinesis]

"Had enough?"

Viktor extended a finger and dropped it.

With a bang, Elsa slammed heavily into the ground.

She still wanted to stand up, but Viktor raised a foot and stepped on her head.

This made it impossible for her to raise her head.

She kept struggling, trying to lift her head, but couldn't even perform this simple action.

Viktor lowered his head, looking down at Elsa from above.

"What's your relationship with Cindy?"

"Husband and wife, lovers? Or..."

"Are you just simply fond of him? Admiring his strength?"

Hearing this, Elsa's struggling movements became even more intense.

As if he had gotten the answer, the corners of Viktor's mouth slightly raised.

"I see."

"Then, compared to him, I should be much stronger, right?"

Elsa's face was buried in the soil, and she suddenly stopped struggling.

Seeing her reaction, Viktor laughed with pleasure.

As if thinking of something interesting, he spoke with a smile, his words sounding like a demon's in Elsa's ears.

"I can let that fourth-tier warrior go, and release all of you here."

"But the price is, you must follow me and become my subordinate."

"Then, you will cripple Cindy with your own hands."

Hearing these words, Elsa became extremely angry, only to hear Viktor continue:

"Otherwise, tomorrow you'll see that guy's corpse hanging at the entrance of the Reiser family."

At this, she stopped struggling.

Viktor was very satisfied.

"Choose. I believe you'll make the right choice."

Those warriors, though their bodies were embedded in the ground, still shouted with difficulty from the side:

"No! Don't agree to him!"

"Our reinforcements will arrive soon, Miss Elsa, please hold on!"

"Madam! Please 'upgrade' us!"

But Cassandra had no reaction at all, and Viktor turned his head, his gaze falling on him.

"Upgrade?"

The crow on Viktor's shoulder, its eyes flashed a golden yellow, like the morning sun, making people feel at ease.

Viktor's body was suddenly covered with a layer of holy light, a mysterious power surging in his blood.

The various attributes of his body began to soar.

Those warriors raised their heads with difficulty, but saw Viktor emitting golden light, completely dumbfounded.

"This familiar ability..."

It was clearly Madam Cassandra's power!

But why was that power bestowed upon Viktor?

Their gazes turned to Cassandra, who was kneeling on the ground, looking lost.

Madam Cassandra, have you betrayed the Reiser family?

Viktor removed his foot from the top of Elsa's head, slowly turning around,

As if carrying a divine majesty, he looked down contemptuously at those warriors embedded in the ground.

"The upgrade you mentioned."

"Is this it?"