The perspective shifts to Yuna, who, along with her Ranger teammate, now stood on the rooftop of a three-story building in Cloudsea City. This was the same luxurious inn where the Imperial Commander and the White-Bearded Old Mage had previously stayed.
But that wasn't the important part. Yuna hadn't reached the rooftop through conventional means. Her Ranger teammate had simply carried her up. Compared to Warriors, Rangers were far more agile and skilled at navigating complex terrain, making climbing walls and scaling buildings effortless.
As for their Warrior teammate, his heavy armor made climbing impractical, so he was stationed below as a lookout.
Yuna narrowed her eyes, gazing at the distant castle as she silently began to gather her Magic Power.
The castle was at least five or six hundred meters away. For a normal Wizard, a Fireball would never reach that far.
The standard range of a Fireball spell was only a hundred meters—a fundamental principle among Wizards. But Yuna clearly had no regard for such "common sense." As a Sorcerer who relied entirely on instinct when casting spells, if she believed she could reach that far, then she truly could.
Soon, a crimson fireball the size of a human head materialized above Yuna's palm. A flicker of excitement crossed her face as she contemplated what she was about to do. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the fireball into the air.
Many might imagine a fireball as merely a burning basketball hurled at its target, but the reality was far more devastating. As the signature spell of the Evocation School, how could it be so crude?
As the fireball soared through the air, it expanded rapidly, growing larger and larger. Patroling soldiers in the city suddenly felt an intense surge of heat overhead. Looking up, they witnessed a blazing "meteor" streak across the sky and slam precisely into the castle's main gate.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted. A ten-meter radius around the point of impact was instantly engulfed in flames, resembling a missile strike.
"What was that?!"
"Someone's attacking the castle!"
"Fire! Quick, put out the fire!"
Chaos erupted instantly. By then, Yuna had already vanished, adhering to her hit-and-run tactics. Sensing her remaining Magic Power, she estimated she could cast two more fireballs of similar magnitude.
Meanwhile, at the city gate, Aria and her companions encountered the White-Bearded Old Mage and his two students from the previous day. It was clear the trio had been trying to leave Cloudsea City early that morning but had been stopped by soldiers enforcing the lockdown.
Seeing this, Feidric paused for a moment before stepping forward. "Perhaps we can cooperate on escaping Cloudsea City."
Personally, Feidric harbored a deep resentment toward the Arcane Federation. His initial attitude toward the White-Bearded Old Mage had been decidedly frosty. Yet, despite these personal feelings, he extended the offer of collaboration, recognizing that the urgency of their mission outweighed his personal animosity.
Feidric explained the impending chaos. "When the soldiers rush off to put out the fires, we'll force our way out. You can join us. Once we're clear of the city, we'll pursue our objectives, and you can leave the Grand Duchy of Kandela altogether."
"Force our way out?" The White-Bearded Old Mage frowned slightly. After a brief silence, he suddenly asked, "Have you located the Hell Book? Is the King planning to use that Divine Artifact?"
The Old Mage was no fool. Knowing that the Imperial Commander had successfully broken through the siege, coupled with the city's sudden lockdown and Aria's group's determination to force their way out, he quickly deduced that they had likely uncovered something significant.
Feidric pursed his lips, remaining silent, a tacit admission. After a moment's contemplation, the Old Mage declared, "I agree to this collaboration. However, my involvement isn't merely about helping you escape the city. I want to join your expedition. The chances seemed slim before, but now that you know the artifact's precise location, I'm eager to witness firsthand what this so-called Divine Artifact truly is."
Feidric didn't immediately accept. He first consulted his companions. Douglas shrugged. "Having a wizard from the Arcane Federation on our side can't be a bad thing, right?"
Aria nodded in agreement. "I have no objections."
As for the Bard Dio, he seemed poised to voice his opinion, but Feidric didn't even glance at him. Instead, he turned directly to the White-Bearded Old Mage and said, "Agreed."
Dio: "..."
Time passed quickly. Soon, a thunderous roar shook the city center as a fiery explosion lit up the night sky. Even from this distance, the force of the blast was deafening, a testament to its immense power.
Unaware of the true cause, the soldiers guarding the city gate instinctively assumed the castle was under attack upon seeing the flames. They immediately dispatched a portion of their forces to reinforce the defenses. After the reinforcements departed, Feidric scanned the gate, noting that approximately twenty soldiers remained on duty.
Their plan wasn't to eliminate all the guards, but rather to rush the gate, pry it open just enough to slip through, and escape.
Aria couldn't help but voice her concern: "If we manage to break out now, what will Sister Cipher do?"
Feidric calmly replied, "Don't worry about her. Getting out of the city will be a piece of cake for her."
After all, she had casually entered and exited the heavily guarded castle as if it were her own home. This gate would pose no challenge.
After waiting a while longer to ensure the reinforcements had moved far enough away, Feidric announced, "Get ready. It's time to move!"
Of course, preparations were essential before the battle. Douglas cast Bear's Endurance on himself, a divine magic spell, while Feidric layered multiple shield spells on Douglas and Aria. The White-Bearded Old Mage and Dio, however, received no such treatment.
As Feidric prepared, the White-Bearded Old Mage considered his options. He beckoned one of his male students to ready himself, then cast a spell on him:
Sixth-Level Divination School Magic: Future Walk!
This could be considered the Divination School's signature spell, and its effects were astonishing. For the next hour, it would grant the target all the knowledge they would acquire over the following month. By expending additional Magic Power, the duration could be extended even further.
In other words, if someone would normally need a month of dedicated study to become a master locksmith, Future Walk would instantly grant them that expertise.
Moreover, this didn't mean the target would actually need to spend the next month learning locksmithing. They remained free to pursue any activities without affecting the spell's effectiveness.
In essence, this magic allows a person to instantly learn skills out of thin air. You could suddenly master lockpicking, a new language, or even—if the recipient is a wizard—gain temporary knowledge of new spells. Of course, this effect only lasts for an hour.
Typically, Diviners use this spell on themselves to swiftly acquire spells from other schools, preparing for unexpected situations.
In extreme cases, if someone is exceptionally talented and can master anything they learn within a month, mastering the spell Future Walk would effectively grant them knowledge of all magic.
While Future Walk is a Sixth-Level spell that consumes vast amounts of Magic Power, it remains an immensely powerful ability.
After spending half the day preparing and stacking pre-battle buffs, the group inevitably drew the attention of the soldiers guarding the entrance. One of them sternly demanded, "What are you doing here?!"
At that moment, Feidric shouted, "Attack!"
Douglas immediately charged forward, taking the lead. He seized the arm of the soldier who had questioned them, the one closest to him, and with all his might, hurled the man through the air like a shot put.
The soldier's scream echoed through the air as he flew: "Aaaaaah!!!"
The gate guards had clearly been replaced by the King's personal guard, all clad in full plate armor. Douglas's Great Axe wasn't made of fine gold, and hacking through their armor would be a tedious and futile effort. Instead, he lowered his shoulder and bulldozed straight through the ranks, bowling over the armored figures.
Since Douglas was also fully armored, the soldiers' weapons couldn't penetrate his defenses. He plowed a path through their ranks, his companions close behind. Soon, they reached the city gate.
The gate was a simple double-door structure, secured by several metal bars. To open it, they would need to remove each bar individually before the doors could be pulled apart.
Naturally, Douglas, the strongest of the group, took charge. As the soldiers closed in, the others braced themselves for battle. The Old Mage's male student struck first, unleashing a fireball amidst a blinding flash. The fireball slammed into the center of the advancing soldiers. "Fireball!" he shouted.
"Fireball! Get down!" a soldier yelled. As the most common spell on the battlefield, everyone recognized it instantly. Yet many soldiers were too close to the epicenter and couldn't escape the blast radius. They were instantly engulfed in scorching flames.
Boom!!!
The student's fireball lacked Yuna's absurd power; its explosive range and heat intensity were significantly smaller. But for these ordinary soldiers, the difference was negligible.
Aria even saw a fully armored soldier hurled backward by the blast, landing with a sickening thud. Though the explosion hadn't killed him instantly, the soldier lay screaming and writhing, desperately clawing at his scalding armor, trying to tear it off.
The scorching heat turned the metal armor into a searing furnace, as if the soldier had been thrown into a boiling pot. Each moment brought indescribable agony. These suits of armor, designed for comprehensive protection, were notoriously cumbersome to wear, often requiring several attendants to assist with the process. Attempting to remove it now was a pipe dream.
Within moments, the soldier blasted backward by the explosion grew weaker, his movements ceasing entirely. A faint aroma of cooked flesh drifted into the air.
At the heart of the battlefield, where the fireball had detonated, a large patch of ground continued to burn fiercely, separating Aria and her companions from the remaining soldiers.
"Damn it, useless fools!" A soldier hissed under his breath. He was the same one who had shouted "Fireball! Get out of the way!" earlier. Though caught in the blast radius, his exceptional reflexes and speed had allowed him to escape. Seeing the fiery barrier, he leaped across it without hesitation.
If Cipher were present, she would likely have recognized this man as strikingly similar to the tactical masters they had encountered at Viscount Braun's Mansion. Aria instinctively moved to engage him, but the Old Mage was quicker. He flicked his finger at the Silver-tier warrior and whispered, "Human Immobilization Spell!"
Second-Circle Enchantment School Magic, its effect perfectly captured by its name, was developed by a mage who completely deconstructed the humanoid body structure. Through magic, it remotely paralyzed the target's nerves and will, rendering them as immobile as if bound by chains.
The victim could attempt to break free through sheer willpower, but it was no easy feat. Moreover, on a battlefield, even a moment's distraction could be fatal. Now frozen in place, the soldier was an easy target. Aria merely needed to walk over, remove his helmet, and cleave his skull with her sword to effortlessly slay this battle-hardened warrior.
Anyone could do it—it was child's play.
Yet Aria hesitated. Staring at her motionless enemy, she paused, then glanced uncertainly at her teammates. "This... should I just go finish him off now?"
In Aria's mind, if an enemy was incapacitated, was there really any need to strike again?
"No need to rush, young lady," the White-Bearded Old Mage chuckled. In most situations, a spellcaster would struggle to maintain control for long. Even Aria's brief hesitation could have allowed the enemy to break free and retaliate.
But the White-Bearded Old Mage's power was clearly immense, and his Enchantment Magic far more potent than ordinary.
Though a Wizard of the Divination School, he wasn't limited to Divination spells alone. Having mastered Sixth-Level Magic in his primary school, learning Second-Level spells from other schools was child's play for him.
Aria blinked and turned to Feidric, puzzled. "Is this old gentleman really that strong? I thought he said he couldn't fight?"
Feidric sighed wearily. "How could a wizard from the Eight Mage Towers be weak? That old coot was just pulling your leg."
PS: Yuna's Team's mission was to steal the owlbear eggs, so they never intended to engage the creature head-on. Even if Yuna had opened with a Fireball, three blasts wouldn't have been enough to kill it. Owlbears are incredibly tough and possess high Magic Resistance; a direct confrontation would have led to their swift annihilation.
PS2: The White-Bearded Old Mage's class was Wizard - School of Divination (Level 11).