Chapter 96: Night Invasion (3)

The magic teacher of the private Anatolia Academy, Sally McAdams, was by no means a warrior type.

This was mainly because she was extremely timid.

However, at the same time, she was not the type of person to neglect her duties.

She firmly believed that if you were paid, you should work for it.

And so, when she heard the explosion echoing from the third-floor teacher’s office, she didn’t just run away or retreat. Instead, she gathered her courage and came to check.

Click.

“Excuse me… Is anyone in here?”

She muttered timidly as she entered the empty teacher’s office.

It was a creepy sight.

The only light source came from the moonlight streaming through the window, casting an eerie glow over the dark space.

The heavy, stagnant air typical of a sealed-off room pressed against her skin.

The desks, once filled with papers and bustling activity before the end of the day, were now empty, adding to the chilling atmosphere.

There was an unnatural silence—no people, not even an ant in sight.

Yet, Sally could feel it. In the seemingly unchanged scene, there was a subtle, unsettling unease that was hard to put into words.

“Hmm? Something feels off…”

Sally frowned slightly.

It was certain.

She couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something felt wrong.

The distribution of the magic lingering in the office didn’t feel natural—it felt artificial.

The details, too, seemed slightly off compared to her memory…

Had something happened here?

“Well, better check just in case.”

Sally pulled a wand from her robe and cast a spell.

Her master had taught her valuable spells for moments like this.

A secret technique that only Sally and her master Mana could use: True Sight, a spell that allowed the caster to see through the true essence and form of everything in the world.

As she cast the spell, her eyes slowly turned a brilliant golden color.

The concentrated magical energy swept away the illusion that had cloaked the space, revealing the true form of the teacher’s office.

“What… what is this?!”

Sally gasped in shock at the ‘real’ teacher’s office that was now visible.

Near the back door, where attendance records and various administrative documents were kept, the area had completely been blown away by the explosion.

Broken glass shards littered the floor, and the once-brown wooden framework was charred black.

The documents that had been inside were now nothing more than ashes.

It looked as though a meteor had fallen into the room—one corner of the office was completely blackened and scorched in a circular pattern.

The explosion she had heard earlier became crystal clear to her now.

“Ugh. Who did this?! Could it be an intruder at the school?!”

Sally gritted her teeth and quickly surveyed the room.

At a glance, it seemed like no one was here. But…

No, first, I need to inform the night guard! I can think later!

She began to gather the magic needed for an Alarm spell on her wand.

Meanwhile, hidden beneath a desk far from the back door, a figure was watching her.

“How did she notice this so quickly?!”

The person, hidden behind a partition, was none other than Sion, who let out a scream of frustration.

It had been an elaborate illusion spell.

She had simply recreated the scene of the teacher’s office as she remembered it, even masking the smell of burning from the explosion.

But it seemed that the teacher, having worked here for nearly seven years, was no easy mark.

Sally had easily detected the illusion and noticed the traces of the explosion hidden behind it.

Such keen observation was to be expected from a magic teacher.

This is bad…

Sion’s mind screamed as the warning bells went off in her head.

Had she not noticed and left, it might have been fine.

But now that Sally had discovered the explosion, pretending everything was normal was no longer an option.

She would have to knock her out and tamper with her memory, or do something else.

The teacher’s office, in ruins, could be patched up with a creation spell after knocking Sally out.

Time was running out. Sally was already about to cast the Alarm spell.

Quick thinking was key in moments like this.

Sion peeked around the corner of the desk and, taking advantage of Sally’s momentary distraction, quickly began chanting her own spell.

Chaos Bolt!

Simultaneously, a black sphere appeared in the corridor behind Sally and sped toward her.

That should be enough.

She was attacking from a blind spot, so Sally wouldn’t have time to react.

Though she had increased the spell’s power a bit, she had also included a non-lethal modification to prevent any serious injuries.

Now, she just had to wait for Sally to fall and then deal with her memory—

“!?! Shield!!!”

It didn’t go as planned.

In that brief moment, Sally sensed the magical energy fluctuating behind her and turned around.

Seeing the dark bolt heading toward her, she instinctively raised her shield.

Bang!!!

The shield collided violently with the bolt, and immediately after—

“Haah… I-I’m alive… That was close…!”

‘!?!!??!’

Through the mist created by the explosion, Sally could be seen breathing a sigh of relief as she lowered her hand from her chest, her face slightly smudged with soot but otherwise unharmed.

This doesn’t make sense!!! She blocked my spell?!

Sion stared in disbelief, her lips trembling in shock.

Although it was a basic spell, she had enhanced it with full power.

Even an ogre would fall if hit directly.

And yet, this school teacher—just a teacher—had blocked the spell with a single shield, completely unscathed?

Did I… lose my touch? No, but I’ve been practicing constantly…

No matter how she looked at it, the humiliation of a mere teacher blocking her spell was unbearable.

Sion gritted her teeth, her face twisted in frustration, as she glared at Sally.

But what Sion didn’t know was that Sally McAdams was no ordinary teacher.

She was a direct disciple of Mana, the legendary sage of Anatolia, one of only three ever to hold such a title in the academy’s 500-year history.

A prodigy recognized by the world’s greatest archmage.

Had she not become a school teacher, she would have easily secured a position as a royal court mage or even the next head of the Mage Tower.

In that sense, Mana, who paid her a mere 3,000 gold a month to work as a teacher, was unwittingly exploiting her.

If I go out, it wouldn’t have been impossible to earn more than twice that salary.

However, at this point, there’s no way Sion could have figured out such intricate details.

‘Damn it, no! This isn’t the time to analyze why my opponent is strong!

What’s important is what happens next! What do I do now?!’

She once again hid behind the desk, biting her finger.

Taking Sally down itself isn’t hard. Even if she and her mana join forces, Sion is confident she can win without breaking a sweat.

But that’s only true when it’s a straightforward, unrestricted battle.

This time, however, the conditions require her to “quietly subdue without leaving a trace” and “without killing” the opponent.

What if Sion revealed her true nature and attacked Sally?

What would the most reasonable course of action for the opponent be?

The answer is simple—use an alarm spell to notify everyone of the attack and request reinforcements. Then, use acceleration magic to escape.

It’s the most logical progression.

There’s no need to fight to the death one-on-one against an opponent stronger than yourself. It makes more sense to retreat as quickly as possible.

And the biggest issue here is that using an alarm spell doesn’t require an elaborate casting.

The alarm spell is a 1st-circle spell—the most basic of the basic spells.

Someone like Sion could cast it with just a casual arrangement of her mana, without even needing to recite an incantation.

Even if Sally hadn’t reached that level, with just 1 or 2 seconds of leeway, she could cast the spell.

So, the best course of action would have been to strike quickly and defeat her before she had the chance.

But since her skill level was unexpectedly high, this plan was no longer viable.

Now, Sion had to come up with a completely different approach.

She couldn’t solve this by brute force as usual; she needed a completely different solution.

“Who’s there?! Can’t you come out faster?!”

Fortunately, Sally seemed to think someone in the hallway was attacking her, so she turned her back toward her and shouted loudly.

It was fortunate that she was a novice with little field experience.

If she were a seasoned War Mage, she would have immediately scanned the surroundings and cast detection magic after being ambushed.

But even this precious time would last only 5 to 6 seconds.

After that, Sally would surely realize she needed to alert the entire school to the emergency rather than dealing with an unidentified attacker.

Once that happens, it’s over.

If people swarm to the teacher’s office and find Sion hiding, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what would happen next.

So, she had to act before that time ran out.

If she didn’t want to fall into ruin.

-“Wh-What if we surrender… now? It’s not too late…”

-“Shut up! Stay quiet!”

Sion snapped at Exia, who had started to voice negative thoughts as usual, and then fell deep into thought.

A variety of ideas flashed rapidly through her mind.

Method 1. Overwhelm her with maximum pressure and knock her out.

No. There’s no certainty that she would fall immediately.

In the first place, pressure can only assist in combat against an opponent who has reached a certain level of skill.

A mage capable of blocking her spells would be hard to knock out instantly.

Method 2. Rush in and subdue her physically.

That’s not an option either. She was in a crouched position, and there were many obstacles between her and Sally, so she couldn’t leap to attack her immediately.

Even if she succeeded in the ambush, if she was blocked by her shield again, it would be useless.

If she made any flashy moves, it wouldn’t just be Sally who would react—other security measures would kick in too.

Using magic like before to secretly take her down was much better.

Method 3. Use a stronger spell with silent casting.

No. If she amplified the spell that much, she couldn’t guarantee Sally’s safety.

Even though she might have to sacrifice her safety to pass the test, killing the teacher to boost her own grade was crossing a line.

She couldn’t face her old comrades after doing something like that.

Sion wasn’t willing to compromise her conscience that much. Not yet.

Method 4. Teleport out to escape.

No. If she could do that, there would have been no need to infiltrate in the first place.

With the coordinates so scrambled, using teleportation would be suicidal.

By the time she reappears, her body would be shattered into pieces.

Similarly, invisibility spells were also out of the question. Sion knew the effects of the spell Sally had used.

Method 5. Follow Exia’s suggestion, surrender and beg for forgiveness.

There was no need to even consider it. Rejected.

Method 6…

Hoo.

Sion let out a quiet sigh.

In a short amount of time, she reviewed many possible options.

And most of them had little chance of success, so they weren’t worth trying.

There was only one left.

-“Itcan’t be helped. I’ll have to accept some sacrifice.”

-“What? Sacrifice?”

Exia asked, but Sion didn’t answer. Instead, she bit her lip with a very solemn expression.

If she hadn’t been making a fuss about the cockroach in the first place, she wouldn’t have found herself in this crisis.

No one else was to blame.

This situation was entirely her responsibility.

So, she would have to deal with the consequences on her own.

Even if it meant enduring pain.

Hoo, alright…!

Sion closed her eyes tightly, steeling herself.

The analysis was complete.

She had already confirmed that there was no way to break through this situation with normal methods.

So, to overcome the crisis, she had to use an “abnormal” method.

An idea that would overturn the entire premise of the situation—an idea beyond common sense.

A desperate measure, sacrificing her flesh to gain the bone…

Here we go! Shadow Spear!

As Sion cast the spell, shadows gathered in the air and reshaped into a sharp spear.

It was nearly as long as Exia’s, with a blade so sharp it could cut through steel, glowing ominously with the faint light of the moon.

And Sion thrust it directly into her abdomen.