Duke Levi appeared behind Erica, placing his hand on her shoulder, his expression cold and stern.
When Erica saw her father suddenly appear behind her, she felt a little panicked.
She thought her plan to sneak away had been discovered.
Her eyes darted around as she tried to come up with a countermeasure, but then she heard Duke Levi ask, "Explain to me, why were you able to last so long on the magic array just now?"
Hearing her father's question, Erica instantly let out a sigh of relief.
Her tense smile relaxed.
"Oh, so it's about that."
Erica slipped behind the duke and said mysteriously, "That's because I have a treasure!"
"A treasure?"
Duke Levi frowned, puzzled. 'What kind of treasure could have such an astonishing effect, making Erica's spiritual power so strong?'
Erica proudly told her father, "It's something from Professor Viktor."
"What? Viktor's?"
Hearing that name, Duke Levi froze.
Of course he knew Viktor was a genius, someone who had already become a professor at such a young age.
'Had Viktor already managed to create an item that could enhance spiritual power?'
'No, that wasn't the main point!'
'The main point was, why did Viktor's item end up in Erica's hands?'
'Viktor gave such a thing to Erica? Could it be that he was trying to win her favor?'
Duke Levi was immediately enraged, feeling a fire surge inside him.
'Damn that Viktor, he's still thinking about Erica!'
He wanted nothing more than to twist that bastard's head off right this moment.
How dare he covet his precious daughter, he'd have to learn what the price for that was.
But then Levi suddenly realized something wasn't right. Wasn't Erica supposed to dislike Viktor?
So why did she now sound so proud when she mentioned him?
The more Levi thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Could Viktor have tricked his daughter somehow?
Seeing her father's expression, Erica quickly pulled out a small blue potion from her bag.
"What's that?"
Duke Levi looked curiously at the potion in her hand.
A blue potion, it was the first time he'd ever seen one like it.
"This was bought from Professor Viktor's magic-item shop. Only a thousand Geo a bottle!"
Duke Levi, "…"
Misunderstanding cleared.
He had thought Viktor had seduced Erica while they were in the academy.
But it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Then, looking at the bottle in her hand, Duke Levi froze again.
"Wait a second!"
"Erica, how much did you say this thing cost?"
He suspected his ears weren't working right, a thousand Geo? That had to be a mistake.
Erica puffed out her chest proudly and repeated, "A thousand Geo!"
Duke Levi, "…"
When had he raised such a spendthrift daughter?
Forget it, forget it. She's his daughter, his own flesh and blood.
Taking a deep breath, he forced down his anger and squeezed out a smile that was more skin than sincerity.
"Has your father ever taught you to waste money like this?" he asked with forced calm.
Erica immediately protested, "I didn't waste money!"
"Your spiritual power isn't enough to sustain the magic array anymore, right?"
Levi nodded.
Indeed, as she said, even with countless Tier-2 mages supplying magic power, his own spiritual energy had already been mostly consumed, forcing him to step down and rest.
It was something no mage could avoid.
Even with immense magical strength, without enough mental energy, one couldn't control their power, couldn't construct arrays, engrave runes, or cast spells.
If someone could cast spells for three days and nights straight without collapsing on the ground, well, that would be beyond boasting.
Yet, despite that, Levi couldn't help recalling how Erica had continuously channeled magic into the array for five hours.
'Could it be… that it really had something to do with this potion?'
"Try this," Erica said, opening the potion and handing it to him.
Levi frowned as he looked at the small blue bottle, instinctively reluctant, it didn't look like anything good.
"This… liquid… looks like industrial wastewater dyed with coloring."
'How could this possibly taste good?'
"Hurry up and drink it!" Erica urged him anxiously.
Hearing his daughter's insistence, Duke Levi suppressed his reluctance and drank it down.
Whoosh!
A faint azure glow spread over his body.
Almost instantly, his spiritual power recovered by half, enough for him to continue casting spells again.
He could feel his mental exhaustion lifting at once.
Rubbing his forehead, he realized the fatigue had all but vanished.
As a high-level Tier-3 mage who'd been at that rank for over thirty years, he clearly understood how miraculous this effect was.
Glancing around to make sure no one else was nearby, he quickly pocketed the now-empty bottle, bent down beside Erica, and whispered, "Don't tell anyone about this, at least, not yet!"
"Tell me, how many bottles do you still have left?"
Erica raised her hand and started counting on her fingers.
She'd bought ten bottles in total. One she used at home to test its effects, four were consumed during the magic array, and one her father had just drunk to recover his energy. So that meant…
"Four bottles left."
Duke Levi gripped her shoulders and spoke solemnly.
"Until we return to the capital, you must keep this secret."
"If this leaks out now, greedy people will surely covet it."
"You can't handle something this valuable, give it to me, your father can."
Erica pouted and shook her head. "No way! I spent a lot of my allowance on those."
"I'll double your allowance when we get back."
"Deal."
Erica thought to herself, 'It's fine anyway, Professor Viktor made them. When I see him at the academy, I'll just ask him to make some more.'
'He'll probably agree… right?'
Feeling that she'd made quite a profit off her father, Erica handed over three bottles happily.
If he hadn't insisted she keep one "just in case," she would've given him all of them.
Duke Levi carefully carried the potions away, walking off cautiously.
Seeing her father's slightly ridiculous manner, Erica couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Duke Levi soon returned halfway up the mountain, once again stepping onto the array to continue channeling his magic.
A few Tier-3 mages who were still resting saw the duke back on the mountain and couldn't help but ask, "Your Grace, don't you need to rest?"
Levi turned and smiled kindly. "Hmm, my mental strength is still sufficient. You all rest, I can maintain the array myself."
"???"
The few exhausted mages were left dumbfounded.
First it was his daughter standing there unmoving for five hours, and now it was him, back on the array like nothing happened?
'What's with the du Croy family, are they all monsters?!'
Meanwhile, Erica was overjoyed.
If not for wanting to get her father out of the way, she wouldn't have given up the potions even if her allowance was multiplied by ten.
She wanted to reach the summit, and at this point, her only choice was to go through Gwen.
So Erica went to Gwen again, acting all shy and awkward. "Big sister, I can't hold it anymore!"
"We're both girls, you must understand me, right?"
Tears welled in Erica's eyes as she pleaded.
Gwen thought for a moment, and then her face flushed slightly.
She seemed to understand what Erica meant.
'Could it be… that time of the month?'
Since it was a matter concerning a girl's dignity, Gwen hesitated, then nodded. She couldn't really refuse such a reason.
At first, Erica was thrilled, she almost jumped with joy, but then she remembered to keep up her act of pain and discomfort.
Then Gwen added, "For your safety, I'll go with you."
Erica instantly deflated.
With such a strong knight commander following her, the chances of sneaking away were practically zero.
But she didn't give up, as long as she could find an opportunity, she'd still escape.
Soon, the two reached an empty area.
The volcano's surface was flat and open, with hardly any cover.
They finally found a rock that could barely serve as a screen.
Erica's eyes darted around; blushing, she asked Gwen to move back a bit, she was shy.
Gwen looked puzzled but said, "We're both girls, what's there to be shy about?"
Still, she stepped back a few paces.
Erica crouched behind the rock, starting to make a motion as if to take off her pants, then lifted her head, only to meet Gwen's eyes.
Blushing furiously, she shouted from afar, "Turn around and don't look at me, okay!?"
Gwen, "…"
She stayed silent, stepped back a few more steps, and turned away.
'Fine, fine, not looking makes no difference anyway.'
But in the brief moment Gwen's back was turned, a blue light suddenly flared from the volcano.
Catching the faint edge of the glow, Gwen instantly spun around.
A teleportation circle had formed.
Erica's body was already stepping into it, she smiled brightly and waved at Gwen.
"Tell my father I'll come back safely."
Gwen lunged forward, reaching out to stop her, but she was too far away.
Whoosh!
Erica's figure vanished in an instant.
Gwen grabbed at empty air, lowered her head, and muttered, "Teleportation… magic?"
Where could she have gone?
She suddenly remembered Erica's earlier question, ("That mage, who is he?")
'Viktor Clavenna.'
That name flashed through her mind, and Gwen's gaze shot toward the mountaintop.
A moment later, wind surged around her feet as she shot upward at incredible speed, rushing straight for the summit.
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