Countless deadly spears of fire and ice crash against an invisible protective barrier right in front of me, and the resulting explosion forces me to take a couple of steps backwards .
Before the next wave of attacks that would surely come, I reach out both of my hands and channel my magic into the barrier, strengthening and reinforcing it so that it would survive the relentless a.s.saults from my attackers .
The protective barrier that I have erected should be able to retain its integrity and cohesion for as long as I can supply the necessary magical energy .
Unfortunately, I can already feel a sharp drop within my mana pool with each successful strike against my barrier, and I realize quickly that I would not be able to maintain this defensive position for long .
No . Not against my current opponents .
It is already hard to erect this advanced level protective barrier as a peak first circle mage, and it is an undeniable miracle that I am able to hold myself against several mages of the second circle all at once .
Granted, they are lower stage 1 of the second circle of magic, so the differences between our abilities and powers are not as severe as if they are of the middle stage or upper stage .
If they are of the middle stage or above, I would not be able to hold out for this long .
Of course, Bruce would not allow anything to happen to me . Bruce is a tamed monster that my master has gifted me when I first met him . While Bruce is only a peak level monster of the first circle of magic, it is a monster belonging to my master, so it should be able to defeat these mages with relative ease .
I am sure of it due to how easy Bruce had managed to win against me in our numerous sparring session previously . While I detest Bruce for what it had done to me and my friends when it was a wild monster, I am very thankful that master has gifted me with such a creature .
For without Bruce guarding me, I would not be able to live until now .
It has been almost a full year since I had last seen my master, and while I am trying my best to wait for his return as he had stated that he would, I am unable to advance further in my study or my magic .
This is because I need the approval of an official teacher at the academy to take advance cla.s.ses, and I have not acknowledged anyone from the academy as my teacher . In effect, I would become a student of theirs .
I cannot acknowledge another mage as my master since I already have a master, and my maser is one of the most powerful mages that I have ever heard about .
Far more powerful than any Archmage that I have met at the academy . I am certain of it .
Advertis.e.m.e.nt.i.t would be incredibly foolish of me to acknowledge another master while I am his student . His direct student, I think . I hope so .
With that alone, acknowledging another person as my master would be incredibly disrespectful to my current master, and I cannot afford to disrespect him in anyway .
I also cannot afford to disappoint him in anyway either .
This is the reason that I am trying so hard to hold myself against these unreasonable mages since being defeated by them would be a great humiliation to my master .
While I can probably defeat these guys in combat with the aid of Bruce, it is not a good option . For if I do, more would come, and then more would come after that . It will never end until I am defeated and possibly killed .
It is already difficult holding myself against lower stages second circle mages . Their seniors, middle or upper stages of the second circle of magic would be beyond my ability to defend myself against . I will have no hope of defeating .
Even if I can defeat them somehow, what about their teacher?
It is not completely unheard of for a teacher to step into the squabble between students . They usually take the side of their student in the conflict when that happen, and it is not possible for someone like me to stand up to an Archmage .
Archmage are extremely powerful, capable of killing first circle mages with just their aura alone . They do not even need to life a single finger or use a single spell . Just thinking about them makes me scared, and I truly wish that my master is here .
If he was, this would never had happened . I would never be in this kind of situation .
"How the h.e.l.l is this b.i.t.c.h stands up to our combine attacks? Is she using an artefact!?"
One of the mages call out before summoning a storm of fireb.a.l.l.s . They crash against the barrier around me, pus.h.i.+ng me back with the force of the explosion .
He immediately presses on, summoning more firestorms and sending them against my barrier just like ice-storms and wind-storms .
"Probably . There is no way a first circle mage can stand against one of us, and she is defending herself against all four of us . What the h.e.l.l? No wonder my little brother said there is something weird about her . Also, watch out, she has a tamed monster . "
"How did she get a tamed monster? She is not a Beast Tamer or a Monster Hunter . She is not even an official mage yet! There is no way she has a tamed monster in her possession . If she does, she should have summoned it already . "
"No . My junior has told me that she does indeed have one . He was beaten pretty badly by the monster, to the point that he is unable to walk for a whole week . No sure why the monster did not kill him . "
"Hahaha . Wow . I truly feel so sorry for your junior to have a senior like you, but I am really curious to what kind of monster it is . Even if it is a dragon-type, I am sure I can slay it with my magic . "
"I heard it was an Orc or Goblin . It was big and strong and really green, so it is probably an Orc . I have slain an orc before, a small one, but still, it should not be a problem to me . Besides, I also have a tamed monster of my own . My big sister gifted me for protection . "
"Oh yeah . Senior sister . I would love to have a chat with her about some spells that I have been working on lately . Is it possible to set up a meeting? I will give you this awesome point that I have brewed last night . It can boost your magical power by several folds . "
"Sure thing . I will talk to my big sister about it, but please do not try anything with her like you had to that girl a week ago . She will kill you and then she will kill me . "
"Of course not . I would not dare to do something like that against senior sister . I really want to ask her about some spells . I cannot tell you what those spells are because it is a secret . "
"New spells? Cool . Show it to me when you work out the kink . I love to learn new spells since my lazy master has not been teaching anything good lately . He has been asking for things without really giving me anything in return . It is really annoying . I really want to switch teacher, but I am his direct student, so it is hard to . "
"Hah! I told you at the start do not become his student, now you are stuck with him for life . No other teachers would take you as their student now . "
"Yeah . I know . d.a.m.n it . This really suck . Anyway, let get this over with so I can get back to figuring out ways to poison him . Oh s.h.i.+t . Do not tell anyone that, or he will kill me for trying to poison him . "
"We heard nothing, but I am sure this b.i.t.c.h did . By the way, she looks kind of cute . Can we have some with her after we payback for what she did to our juniors?"
Those four guys are starting to look at me strangely, and from their conversation, I am a bit more than terrified . I have heard horror stories about them doing heinous things in town against normal people, including other mages .
But since they are sons of powerful and prestige n.o.ble houses, no one can actually do anything against them without retribution .
As a matter of fact, those that raised complaints previously have stopped mentioning it all together as if someone has gotten to them and silenced them . This is how it is in the capital, where the strong and wealthy prey on the people .
My mother and father have warned me about this repeatedly, but to be able to witness it all for myself is really an eye opener . Truly, if it wasn't for learning magic and becoming a mage, just so I could bring some status to my parents, I would have never thought about coming to the capital .
And I should have not retaliated against those guys, but they have insulted my master . While I do not really care about whatever insults and remarks they had thrown my way, they must not dishonor my master .
I must act to defend him and his honor, not because I am his direct student, but it is also a right thing to do . My master has saved me and my village, so even if he did not accept me as his student, I would have defended him to the best of my ability .
The five mages continue to a.s.sault my protective barrier with even more aggressiveness, draining my mana pool rapidly . It would not be long before I run out of mana, and without any mana potion left, I cannot restore my mana .
Mana potion is not cheap, so I only have a few of them on me to begin with . I try not to use them, but it cannot be helped, not when I have to fight against 5 mages of higher circle than me .
I could consume manastone to restore my magical energy, but those are very precious, especially they are a gift from my master . I cannot be wasteful with it . I have not used or sold any of them, opting to keep them for emergency .
Luckily, I have been able to find work at the capital or I would have no ways of paying for foods, clothes and shelters let alone books and materials for my study .
My parents also send me some money by ways of Lavender and Eric . They visit me whenever there is a quest that takes them to the capital . It is nice to see them once in a while, and without meeting my master, I would have joined them on their quest regularly .
However, my master desires for me to concentrate on my study and become a powerful mage . I should not waste his hopes in me by doing things that do not contribute to my growth .
"Bruce . "
I eventually have no choice but to resort to using Bruce . I try not to use him too often as he sometimes goes too far, almost killing the other mages .
Killing any mages has dire consequences, especially when the mages is from a notable house . Not only I will be prosecuted, my parents and my village as well .
"Wow . You are right . She does have a tamed monster, but it is not an orc . That is a goblin . Just a really big one . Really one ugly b.a.s.t.a.r.d . I heard that wherever there is a nest of them, countless of girls from nearby villages disappear . Probably for breeding . "
"Dude . That is like common to all low-level monsters, but there is no time to talk about this . I can feel magic coming from the d.a.m.n thing . It must be at least a first circle mage . As powerful as her too! Hey, did you not say you have slayed an orc before? Well, Goblin is like weaker than Orc, so get to it . "
"f.u.c.k you guys! It was a baby . There is no way that I can fight against something like this and win!"
"The use your tamed . Did you not say that you have one!?"
"Oh yeah . Totally forgot about that . Come out Black Wyvern and kill this d.a.m.n thing!"
The moment the guy calls out, a spatial rift begins to form, and an enormous amount of magical energy could be felt . This monster is of the second-circle . Not just any second circle, but peak second-circle .
I could not help but tremble at the power that radiate from the dragon-like beast as it exits the spatial rift and looks down upon Bruce . Even the other guys also tremble, including the summoner .
The creature roars before powerful winds blast forth, slicing through everything within its wake . Bruce manages to block the attack, but at a terrible cost . Countless gashes and slashes all over its incredible ma.s.sive body .
"Bruce…"
I utter and watch the wounds heal . Bruce can heal from any wounds, but even so, it cannot do anything against an aerial target . More wind blades slash through Bruce and slam against my barrier, breaking through with ease and sending me flying backwards .
Sharp pain runs through my body as I realize that I have been bisected . The attack is so powerful that it can cut through Bruce, my barrier and me without even slowing down .
"Holy s.h.i.+t man! Why did you not summon it in the first place? Would have gotten this over so quickly, but you just cut up the girl . Now, how the h.e.l.l are we going to have fun with her?"
One of the guys speaks up, pursing his lips .
"That is because I cannot control it . It will not listen to me, at least not yet . My big sister said that I will be able to control it if I reach middle stage or so . It is a real pain of unsummoning it . "
The guy responses while looking up at the huge flying monster, looking somewhat distressed . He then reaches out both of his hands, trying to recall the beast, but it is refusing his command, at least a first .
Within in a short moment, the creature reduced into ash, making him blink repeatedly .
"That wasn't that hard . "
One of the guys comments after seeing the giant dragon-like creature reduces to drifting dust, quickly being scattered to the wind .
"No . That wasn't me . I did not unsummon it . It… was killed!?"
The guy utters in dread as a shadow looms over my bleeding form .
My breath is short and ragged as I am losing a lot of blood . Even so, I can make out who it is, and with the recognition, I cannot help but become tearful .
"Master… I have failed you . "