Night Hunt

It was the dead end of the night when Ervin finally returned to his apartment's living room. 

Quickly washing himself up, Ervin first focused on himself. He calmed his anticipating state to not make any silly mistake at this moment. 

The calmness settled in. Ervin then took out the Demon Orb. His entire room beautifully gleamed under its majestic crimson glow. 

Carefully and slowly, Ervin flowed his soul into the Demon Orb, creating an instant link. 

An intense jolt streaked through Ervin's entire being. His eyes widened to an absolute extreme, feeling as if his nerves were struck by lightning. 

Everything was just as Cyan described. Harvey's magical principles were clear for Ervin to study and then absorb the magical essence of his red-color core.

The difference was immense. Ervin studied a small portion of magical principles, quickly grasping the properties in several minutes. His comprehension enhanced by fusing Complete Invisibility into his magical mind and peering deeper into Harvey's condensed magical principles. 

When an understanding formed in his mind, Ervin flowed his soul energy to grasp a small stream of Harvey's Magical Essence. 

The magical essence absorbed straight into Ervin's magical veins, Magical Space, his red-color core, and brain. 

Numerous sensations of what feels very close to pure pleasure tingle Ervin all over. His mind slightly expanded, his magical veins felt sturdier, the region of his Magical Space filled with more magical essence and even his red core grew slightly larger while emitting a harsher red light. 

Ervin genuinely felt more intune with Magic. Matters about previously confusing topics cleared up for him, allowing for his comprehension to take new heights. 

When the absorption finished, the Demon Orb only emitted a faint red light. 

Ervin sensed that everything about his magical self was enhanced by 2%. Riding off this high, Ervin quickly got down to comprehending Frantic Fire Storm for the entire night. 

... 

Early morning soon hit Lightwall City before Ervin even knew it. When his eyes blinked out of his magical trance, a pleased smile curled his lips. 

His comprehension noticeable improvement actually allowed his Frantic Fire Storm Art to increase by 2%! 

The rate of improvement increased by several times already. Simply trying to gain a 2% increase would take Ervin days, possibly several weeks to actually complete. 

Ervin was happy, in fact, he was genuinely elated. The possibility he can seem to be actually endless. 

Although, it was around this time that Ervin waited for an expected phone call. After a few moments, his phone went off, showcasing the number of the general who managed him. 

Linking to the call, the general's voice had a more emotional tone to it rather than the usual strict one he commonly uses. 

He put his best efforts into sympathizing with Ervin as he said, "Ervin, you will be allowed the day off. Take the time for a mental reset. But at the same time, we do need to find a way to get you set up with a new patrol team. That is going to take some time. Until then, you will be assigned temporarily to special teams that are lacking or are in need of backup for a special mission." 

"Understood." Ervin calmly spoke. 

With one last pleasantry, the general hung up the call. 

Ervin thought about what to do for the moment. He was highly curious about using this Demon Orb and testing its limit. But doing so requires him to kill and even with Complete Invisblitly, things would be far too suspicious if on Ervin's day off, he went out to the Twilight Woods which correlates with the death of another patrol team. 

Ervin knew his next steps had to be smart or he'll end up on a road of death. Deciding to take a moment to rest and go on his new patrol team, Ervin further on his Frantic Fire Art comprehension. 

... 

The day swiftly passed. 

First thing in the morning, Ervin got assigned his new patrol team. This new team was with people who showed empathy towards his situation. 

Ervin could tell these Mage Enforcers genuinely wanted to do good and welcome him with open arms.

 Such a common thing couldn't stimulate Ervin's mind at all. He didn't even bother to remember anyone's name on the team. They all were simply people he'd be sharing missions with until there was a need for him to change. 

Ervin did his usual style of only speaking when necessary and showing great skills in battle. 

The only notable thing about the patrol was that Ervin went out bright early morning. He used the entire day to complete the patrol, coming back to the city just at the cusps of night. 

The cycle of doing early morning patrol continued for about a week. 

When a week had passed, it was seemingly another ordinary shift for Ervin.

When the late evening had come, they returned back to the city. 

Sharing parting words with his team, Ervin seemingly made his way back home. 

A few steps into his trek home, Ervin took a look around his general area. Not that many were on the surrounding streets and the ones about were too busy with their own lives. 

Ervin sneakily moved to hide himself in an alleyway when no one was looking.

A devious plan was brewing within Ervin's mind. 

Time waited for no man and Ervin did not want to miss his chance in continually using the Demon Orb. 

Thus, he decided to go on his own kind of patrol in the night. 

This patrol includes hunting out other patrol teams heavily battered, on the verge, or close to exhaustion from an intense fight. 

How can a team like this put up any substantial defense? 

In their battered state, Ervin would use that perfect moment to strike them. Then the Demon Orb would do its magic once all of them can't move their bodies anymore. 

Ervin knew every step from here on out had to be perfect. He absolutely can't be connected to these murders, or his life would suffer a fate worse than death. 

In the secluded alleyway, Ervin activated his Complete Invisibility state. Power from his Physical Arts then flooded through Ervin's body. 

A single step blasted him straight down the streets at speeds surpassing that of cars Non-Mages used. 

It only took a minute for him to reach the city exit. 

The city guards at the gates were both terrifying Mages. They surpassed even the Adept realm. Every breath they took was filled with power to take the breath away of hundreds of people, Mages or Non-Mages. 

Both of them were in the Advanced Mage Realm! 

This was the realm where one's Magical Energy permanently fuses all throughout their body, bringing about a fundamental change to a Mage. Their Magical Senses experience an evolution that allows them to detect smaller auras and more complex auras. 

But even while being powerful Advanced Mages, the city guards did not take a single look in Ervin's direction. Neither of them could detect Complete Invislbitly. 

Ervin soon left the city without anyone's knowledge. He dashed dozens of meters deep into the outer area before slowing down his speed. 

Walking at a more moderate pace, Ervin partially deactivated his Complete Invsiblitly. 

It was possible for tracker Mages to detect the magical aura left behind by a person's base state. Ervin made sure he still covered the principles of aura with Complete Invisibility even without transforming. 

A continuous drain on his Mana ate away at his reserves because of this. Nothing too considerable, but enough to make Ervin digest a Magical Vial to keep his reserve at its peak state. 

In this way, Demonic Beasts would fail to sense Ervin since they couldn't properly detect his aura. 

Ervin carefully searched the area at a methodical pace. His Magical Sense continually detected numerous groups of Mage Enforcers, but none of them was what Ervin wanted.

These groups of Mage Enforcers had too much of a vibrant life aura. Many of them had just gotten out of battle. But there was a clear sign that they killed their Demonic Beasts attacks with sufficient ease. 

Ervin was sure on killing Novice Mages in sneak attacks. But an Adept Mage would be tricky to kill even with a sneak attack if they weren't battered and drained. 

The danger senses their souls provide would have the ability to alert them at the last second. If that were to happen, Ervin wouldn't have the confidence to escape a semi-full Adept Mage. 

There's also the problem of being able to cripple Mages in quick succession before they can fight back. 

A team not too damaged would certainly be able to fight back even if Ervin successfully cripples one of their Novice Mages. His life would be ruined at the very least in that scenario.

The steps Ervin needs to take now is the most stressful moment of his life. But he never once hesitated as he went deeper into the Twilight Woods.