Alpha Instinct

Leonard had been observing George's movements, his gait, and his speech, the subtleties of his mannerisms—he had gleaned a fragment of his personality through "Temporal Cognition".

He activated his ELEV and pushed his "Temporal Cognition" to its absolute limit.

Calculations of infinite possibilities flooded his mind. He considered every conceivable action—thousands, millions, billions of potential outcomes, all processed by his ability.

He failed. There wasn't a single possibility of defeating George in his current state. Maybe it was due to a lack of information, or maybe it was due to his own insufficient power at the moment.

The fact remained: impossible.

But Leonard refused to be defeated. He needed to unleash his rage, to vent his fury, even if it was pointless. And so, he charged at George.

Like a blur of motion, Leonard shot towards George. George merely raised a small metal wand—a simple, yet effective movement. A clang followed by a powerful blast of energy erupted from the side, kicking up dust and throwing Leonard backwards through the air.

Leonard landed gracefully, performing a roll and immediately returning to a battle stance.

"A mage? No way, that's why I couldn't read him." Leonard was stunned that George possessed a magic wand. There were so many details he had overlooked to get a perfect reading.

"A physical Neumond, huh?" Leonard repeated, a touch of sarcasm in his voice, as he stood up, brushing the dust off his armor.

He tried again, focusing to the utmost, mentally running through all the possibilities, all the variables.

Then, he launched himself like a lightning bolt, a bluish blur cutting through the air, propelled by "Ghostly Steps."

He managed to reach George's back, who, this time, was forced to retreat, dodging by a hair's breadth.

Leonard read George's movement and, with a swift X-shaped slash, forced him to use a shield spell. The impact reverberated all the way to Leonard's bones—it was an anti-shock shield, designed to repel the attacker.

Unfazed, Leonard leaped in a somersault over George, executing his favorite attack, a butterfly twist. But the attack came out differently. Because of the "Battle Aura" and the centrifugal force, his blades lit up with vibrant blue electricity, and two whips of energy extended from them during the slash, hitting George's cloak, which was left scorched and torn.

"What was that?" Leonard thought, looking at his swords and then back at George. He had just discovered something new.

George, contrary to expectations of a direct attack, jumped back, moving away from Leonard, a gleam of fascination in his eyes.

"Interesting..." he murmured, more to himself than to the others. "Very interesting, indeed. You possess remarkable abilities, young Winter. For today, I've seen enough. I've been graced with the stunning beauty of the lady Paladin and witnessed the raw power of both the Rogue and... yours, young Winter."

"Why isn't that scumbag saying anything about me?" Kaleb grumbled quietly to himself.

"Of course I noticed you, mage," George replied, with a mocking smile, as if he had read Kaleb's thoughts. "Your... pungent... presence is hard to ignore."

"Oh, you worm..." Kaleb began to mutter, but Evelyn, no longer using her "Subterfuge," quickly placed her hand over his mouth, silencing him.

"I thank you all for this... illustrious gathering," George said, with an ironic smile, completely ignoring the interruption. "And, as a friendly piece of advice, I recommend you stay away from my dungeon."

With a theatrical gesture of his hand, he concentrated mana around himself, stirring up the earth around him. Soon after, he cast a spell, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace.

"What??" Leonard exclaimed. "He vanished...?" Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

"He's a Third Circle mage," Kaleb commented after a few seconds of stunned silence. "He can use movement magic. But make no mistake, he didn't teleport. He just moved... very fast through mana."

"And what is a Third Circle mage capable of?" Leonard asked, curiosity replacing his previous anger. Seeing someone simply disappear into thin air was unsettling.

Kaleb sighed, as if he were about to give a long lecture. "Look, if I managed to take down that Elite Fractus with Vulcano, a Third Circle mage, if they were of the fire element like me, could use the same ability to... well, terraform the landscape. Implode this entire dungeon, for example, without even breaking a sweat."

Leonard was flabbergasted. The idea of such vast power was both fascinating and terrifying. "And how high do the mage circles go?"

"Five," Kaleb replied, with a tone of reverence in his voice. "Although, as far as anyone knows, only Libby, the Great Primordial, has reached that level."

"Who knows, Kaleb," Leonard said, with a teasing smile, "maybe you'll reach level 5 sooner than you think. After all, we're talking about the all-powerful Kaleb, the mage who... trips over rocks."

Evelyn and Mikaela couldn't help but laugh, and even Kaleb cracked a wry smile, dissipating some of the tension that hung in the air.

"We need to get back to Armeria," Mikaela said, regaining her seriousness. "Inform the Guild House about all of this."

Leonard nodded. "Yeah. And fast."

"The dungeon passage is blocked further in," Evelyn observed thoughtfully. "It'll take the Cult of the Four Midnight Moons some time to get the Leirions out of there. We've bought ourselves some time, at least."

With a plan in mind, they mounted their horses and returned to Armeria, riding at a fast pace.

They headed straight for the city's Guild House branch, an imposing building, but one that showed recent signs of repair and reconstruction.

Mikaela, as a Holy Paladin of the Church of Light, possessed authority and credibility. It was she who took on the responsibility of reporting the events to the branch manager, a middle-aged woman with a tired but determined look.

The conversation was brief but intense. Mikaela described the horde of Death Knights, the Lich, the threat of the Cult of the Four Midnight Moons, and the urgent need for a coordinated response.

The manager, after listening intently, nodded gravely. "This is worse than we imagined," she admitted. "We'll organize a raid. We'll bring in reinforcements from other branches, and we'll enlist the help of the local Equalizers. But... that will take time. We need at least thirty days to mobilize the troops and help the city recover minimally. The damage was extensive."

Thirty days. It was precious time, but necessary.

With the promise of the raid underway, Leonard and his group prepared to leave. The destination: Skull Volcanoes.

Saito's original mission still needed to be completed. And, in the back of Leonard's mind, a new urgency was added to the previous one: the need to become stronger, faster. Not only to face an Ursulus Rex, but to protect those he loved from even greater threats, like the one they had just discovered.

As they rode away from Armeria, a dark thought crossed his mind. "If a single branch manager of the cult has so much power... how strong is the leader?"