The Grove of Embers burned.

  Levi and Qorbin blurred through the forest, twin red and grey streaks of movement as they leaped from ground to trunk to branch to ground, the wind whistling and the landscape blurring around them.

  A barrage of fireballs blasted at them from the Elder Wyvern above, traveling so fast they resembled elongated teardrops of flames, the very air distorting around from the sheer blistering heat. They exploded on impact with tremendous force, the vibrant red leaves of the surrounding trees bursting into flames as shards of wooden shrapnel were sent flying outward.

  Qorbin and Levi evaded the fireballs with ease, their feet barely touching the supporting surfaces as they moved side-by-side with astonishing agility, remaining close together even as the fireballs rained down on them.

  Earlier, Levi had told Liliya to grab Professor Merriweather’s unconscious body and escape to safety. Hopefully, she was out of the danger zone by now.

  Still, they needed to end this quickly before the entire forest turned into a wasteland.

  “Can you immobilize the Elder Wyvern for five seconds?” Levi shouted to be heard across the wind as he pushed off the ground, grabbed a branch, and propelled himself forward. The tree he’d grabbed onto exploded into flames as a fireball slammed into it just a moment later, but he was already well out of range.

  “Five seconds?” Qorbin shouted back. He craned his head to look at Levi, his body flying through the air upside down as his grey cloak rippled around him. “You’re asking for a little too much here, aren’t you? What the fuck do I look like, a druid?”

  “You’re a Mythmaker, aren’t you? I’m sure you can find a way–!” Levi’s eyes widened as he detected a sudden surge of mana swelling up in the Elder Wyvern’s throat. “Scatter!”

  A thick stream of flames burst out of the wyvern’s mouth like a laser beam, instantly disintegrating everything in its path. Trees were sliced in half, deep boiling gouges were melted into the earth, and the air suddenly became drier than an oven as all the moisture vaporized in a hundred meter radius.

  The Elder Wyvern turned its head, its devastating jet of flames carving a conflagration through the forest as it tried to hit Levi and Qorbin.

  Qorbin swore abruptly before he disappeared into the shadows. A second later, the stream of flames cut off as Qorbin drove his sword up into the underside of the wyvern’s chin, forcing its mouth shut. The wyvern let out a choking sound, smoke curling out its mouth as it tried to swat Qorbin away, but Qorbin had already vanished in another swirl of shadows.

  “Okay,” Qorbin said as he reappeared next to Levi. The two of them came to a brief stop as the Elder Wyvern screeched in fury, halting its fiery assault. “Five seconds. I can manage that. You’ll defeat it, then?”

  “I can try.”

  Qorbin nodded, not even questioning it. “Good enough. I’ll get you your opening.” Then he became a blur of speed once more, this time sprinting directly at the Elder Wyvern. “Oi!” he yelled. “Oi, you fat overgrown lizard! Over here!”

  The Elder Wyvern roared, taking apparent offense, and it charged forward with surprising speed, the ground shaking beneath its every step as it met Qorbin’s approaching form head-on.

  Levi didn’t know where Qorbin’s sudden trust in him came from, but he wasn’t complaining. He was just glad that the Grand Assassin was listening to him; it would’ve made the battle so much harder if Levi had to convince Qorbin first that he knew what he was doing.

  His magical overburn had receded during his break, but Levi didn’t have much time before it came back, especially considering the sheer amount of magic coursing through his body. Not for the first time, he cursed this body’s lack of innate physical capabilities; it required so much magical reinforcement to compensate.

  Levi leaped into action, disappearing into the blazing forest and concealing his presence as he waited for Qorbin to make his move.

  Up ahead, Qorbin was playing a dangerous game with the wyvern, dancing in and out of range as he kept the wyvern’s attention on him. It was like gravity didn’t apply to him as he kept on flickering back and forth between attacking the Elder Wyvern from high above and running circles around it on the ground. All the while he yelled out taunts at it, insulting everything from its appearance to its parentage.

  The wyvern’s eyes flitted around rapidly as it tried its best to eviscerate him.Every swipe of the wyvern’s claws sent absurdly powerful shockwaves blasting out, every stomp of its foot generated a miniature earthquake, and its jaws clamped down with enough force to shatter mithril. If Qorbin got hit even a single time, Levi didn’t want to think about what would happen.

  Fortunately, Qorbin simply did not get hit. The Elder Wyvern roared in frustration as it kept on thinking it had killed Qorbin, only to realize that it had merely struck an afterimage. Its attacks became messier, sloppier, as its anger steadily mounted.

  Finally, the Elder Wyvern overextended on a slash through the air, having put so much power behind the attack in its fury that it temporarily threw itself off-balance. It staggered slightly, and that was when Qorbin struck.

  He appeared right atop the wyvern’s head in a flicker of movement. His blade glowed with a dark light, and Qorbin thrust downward into the open wound Merriweather had inflicted earlier.

  With the hide and flesh already sundered apart, only the magical barrier and bone underneath remained. Qorbin’s sword struck the barrier with a ringing sound, and there was a split second of resistance before the barrier shattered like glass. It appeared that one of his skills as a Grand Assassin allowed him to nullify magical defenses.

  Levi was briefly worried that the wyvern’s tough skull would stop Qorbin’s strike, but he blinked as Qorbin’s sword phased out of existence, passing through the bone like it was just air before solidly impaling the brain within.

  Then, Qorbin spoke:

  “[Blade’s Echo].”

  Half a dozen blades of mana formed around the sword and pierced downward as well, ignoring the defenses completely as it speared the brain six more times simultaneously. Each strike was identical to Qorbin’s original attack, and Levi got the gut feeling that the System had ensured they were undodgeable and unpreventable so long as the initial strike landed.

  The Elder Wyvern immediately let out a deafening roar of pain. It thrashed around wildly, sending crimson blood flying everywhere.

  However, while the attack had been debilitating, it was nowhere near lethal. An Elder Wyvern possessed exceptional resilience and vitality, and just piercing the brain wouldn’t be enough to kill it, not by a long shot.

  It was a good thing, then, that Qorbin wasn’t finished yet.

  Having somehow retained his balance atop the wyvern’s violently convulsing body, the Grand Assassin nimbly hopped down onto the wyvern’s ridged snout and came face to face with its one remaining good eye. The yellow slitted eye focused on Qorbin, and Qorbin looked back at it with unblinking eyes.

  “[Petrifying Gaze].”

  Instantly, the wyvern froze, its body going so still Levi thought his vision was playing tricks on him at first. Holy shit, a petrifying skill? Why hadn’t Qorbin used it earlier?

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  Levi answered himself a moment later. Evidently, if Qorbin had used it in the beginning, the Elder Wyvern would’ve been able to shake off the skill’s effects easily. It was likely only because its injuries had left it in a disoriented and weakened state that Qorbin was able to successfully cast the skill.

  Not for long, though. The wyvern’s muscles were already straining against an invisible force as Qorbin’s face hardened in a tight rictus of concentration. Sweat poured down his face as the Mythmaker engaged against an Elder Wyvern in a battle of wills. The skill would probably only hold for a couple seconds more at most.

  That was long enough.

  Levi had already begun moving the instant the skill took effect. He burst out from beneath the half-toppled tree where he’d been concealing himself and crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, appearing high up in the sky above the wyvern. Even up here the air was scorching hot, and Levi could see the flames spreading throughout the forest in every direction.

  He ignored that all. Instead, his vision became shades of grey as long, thick lines appeared on the Elder Wyvern’s body: one running across its left flank, one crossing from its lower back to its tail, and one descending diagonally from its head to its hip. Levi hovered in the air for a second, taking careful aim as he prepared to unleash his attack.

  The hard part about killing massive beasts like Elder Wyverns was that they typically had multiple large death lines that were very hard to cut along its whole length. Cutting across only one wouldn’t be enough; while it would damage the beast significantly, the wyvern would have enough innate vitality to stay alive. Similarly, not fully cutting across the entire line would render the entire technique ineffective.

  This was further complicated by how extraordinarily tough and thick their hides were. If Levi’s Sever and Cleave didn’t have enough power behind it, then there was a possibility the wyvern’s natural armor would simply absorb or negate his magic altogether before it could penetrate and cut into the lines fully.

  Levi didn’t know where exactly the physical surface ended and the metaphysical lines began, and Death hadn’t answered back when he’d asked. But from his experiences, the most difficult enemies to kill were always those with substantial physical defenses.

  As such, he needed to channel as much mana as possible into this attack. He might not get a second shot afterward.

  And so he did.

  Raising his right hand up high into the air, he focused the magic he had been gathering and condensing within himself for the past few minutes while Qorbin had distracted the beast. His body burned from how many times he’d layered the magic within itself, compressing it tremendously while taking care to maintain its shape.

  He drew in a deep breath. Qorbin had promised him five seconds. Three had already passed. It was time to make this count.

  Then, he brought his hand downward in a slash.

  Sever and Cleave!

  His magic blasted forth in three enormous crescent strikes, rapidly expanding outward as the air around them warped from the sheer magical density. They blurred through the air faster than the eye could perceive, and if they had any mass they would’ve undoubtedly broken the sound barrier multiple times over. Qorbin’s eyes widened as he sensed the incoming attack, but he didn't move, fully committed to maintaining the paralysis spell.

  In the instant before they struck, the Elder Wyvern’s struggling suddenly ceased, undoubtedly sensing instinctively that certain death approached.

  Then the Sever and Cleaves slammed into the wyvern with terrible catastrophic force. An overwhelming shockwave exploded outward, shattered scales sent flying everywhere as the three attacks cleaved into the Elder Wyvern’s body and cut across the lines of death perfectly.

  The Elder Wyvern didn’t even have the time to let out a dying screech before it instantly collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been severed, all the tension leaving its body.

  Qorbin let out a loud swear of shock as he leaped off the falling wyvern, landing a good distance away. He watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as the wyvern toppled to the ground with a mighty crash in front of him, sending out billowing clouds of dust.

  Levi appeared next to him a moment later. The two of them stared straight ahead with slight trepidation, only relaxing fully when the dust cleared to reveal the Elder Wyvern completely dead.

  A stillness descended over them for several seconds, the only sound coming from the crackling flames around them.

  Then Qorbin reacted.

  “Holy SHIT!” he exclaimed. He threw his head back and laughed in a mixture of shock, relief, and undiluted exhilaration. Levi was very familiar with that laugh – he often found himself doing the same whenever an absurdly dangerous, nigh-suicidal plan somehow succeeded. “That actually worked!”

  Levi laughed as well, feeling adrenaline and exhilaration rush through his body. “We did it,” he said. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Please, I should be the one saying that to you,” Qorbin chuckled, his laughter dying down. He turned to Levi. “That was one helluva attack.” He stared at Levi with undisguised curiosity, his eyes suddenly sharpening slightly. “Who are you, really?”

  Levi shrugged. “I’m Levi.”

  Qorbin scoffed. “Sure you are. And I’m the Goddess herself.”

  “Praise be,” Levi bowed his head. “Thank you for your divine protection.”

  Qorbin snorted. “No, seriously though.” He examined Levi with a piercing gaze. “The amount of power I just witnessed, not to mention the sheer overwhelming lethality of it…” He shook his head. “That final attack you unleashed had my instincts crying out louder than that one time I nearly made out with a cactus.”

  Levi blinked. “Wait, what?”

  “Hypnosis skill gone wrong, don’t ask. Point is, there aren’t that many in Luminarche who are capable of such a thing,” Qorbin said. “Even less when it comes to people who I don’t already know. And trust me, I know a lot of people. So come on, spill. Who are you? I promise I won’t tell.”

  Levi sighed. “I know you may not believe me, but for all intents and purposes, I really am Levi Ironwood.”

  “Hmm. Possession?”

  Levi made sure not to outwardly react. “Do I seem possessed to you?”

  “Heh,” Qorbin smiled. “That’s true, I see none of the signs on you. Then what is it? Time travel? Reincarnation? Some sort of divine providence?”

  Levi didn’t respond, though the mention of reincarnation did make him perk up. He assumed it wasn’t the same as his own case, which had technically been dimensional transmigration, but still. For a second, he thought about telling Qorbin, but he decided against it. He didn’t know or trust the guy well enough yet.

  So he just remained silent.

  Qorbin studied him for a long time. Then, he shrugged. “Eh, fair enough. I know better than to pry – and I owe you one, anyhow.” He grinned. “You can keep your secrets. Goddess knows I have plenty of my own.”

  “Thank you,” Levi said. Then he hesitated as he looked at the burning Grove of Embers around them. “Should we…”

  “Nah,” Qorbin said. “No point at this rate. Don’t worry, I know a couple of high-tier druids. They should be able to heal this forest.”

  Levi nodded. “We should find Liliya, then. I’d sent her to pick up Merriweather earlier and get to safety.”

  “Yeah, I saw. Good call on that, by the way, would’ve been a little awkward if Merriweather had gotten trampled during our fight…”

  Levi and Qorbin turned and began walking back to Farband, neither of them somehow affected by the incredibly hot flames around them.

  Then Qorbin paused mid-step. A glint entered his eyes. “Say, if you do insist you’re Levi Ironwood… That means you’re going to graduate from the Institute and become an adventurer after this, right?”

  “I hope so,” Levi said, suddenly looking a little worried. “Though we did activate the emergency beacon, which might disqualify us from the Ascension Trials…”

  “Nah, to hell with that,” Qorbin said, waving a hand dismissively. “No way they flunk you because of that. And if they do, let me know. I’ll make some noise, piss off some bureaucrats until they change their minds.”

  Levi chuckled. “I appreciate that. In which case, yes I’ll be graduating.”

  “Excellent,” Qorbin said, clapping his hands together. “In which case… I’m sure you’re aware already, but you’re blacklisted. Got a burn notice on you and everything. No Institute-based guild or party will take you. You might be able to join some third-rate groups from non-Institute backgrounds, but…” He shrugged. “I doubt you’ll get many good or exciting missions if you do.”

  “Ah,” Levi said, frowning. He hadn’t been aware that was how mission assignments worked. “Is that so?”

  Qorbin nodded. “No offense, kid, but your future as an adventurer is basically toast. The only missions you’re gonna get are remote village protection duties and maybe some slime exterminations.”

  Hmm. That might be a bit of a problem, actually. Levi wanted to go on an adventure, after all, and he didn’t think he’d get much of one if he was limited by what missions he was assigned.

  Then again, it wasn’t the biggest deal. Levi could always just go off and do things on his own. That would probably be for the best–

  “So with that in mind…” Qorbin grinned. “Wanna be my apprentice? I’ll even take on the girl as well, if you two wanted to stick together. Has the added bonus of pissing off Montague, too.”

  Levi’s thoughts abruptly came to a halt.

  What?