Escape, Damaged Magic Root

"You bastard! Not only did you intrude on our village, you even brought assassins with you! Why can't you grow up a spine and die alone somewhere, shameless prince!", Jinmu hollered.

'Thankfully, the village leader and the others aren't here today! But still, the villagers!', Jinmu gritted his teeth. He felt like he betrayed the people who trusted him.

Lucan ignored Jinmu, briefly glancing at Uncle Mer before confronting the scarred man, "Graham Morse! So my brother is willing to go that far, huh?", slowly backing away. This person was the leader of the Sucarii, an infamous assassin group in the Morning Star Empire. And now, Lucan was their next assassination target.

Graham shrugged, "Too bad, Prince Lucan. Knowing me wouldn't change the fact that you will die today!", before knitting his eyebrows and emitting murderous intent, "Kill them!"

Five shadows darted behind Graham, sweeping towards the village guards like lightning. With one strike, one life was reaped and the next one fell without even knowing what happened.

The villagers cried out in fear, running in every direction as they made their futile escape.

Jinmu's eyes savored the sight of the people he had known over the years falling to the ground with a slit on their neck. Blood dyed the sacred ground as tears formed on his eyes, "You fucking royals, you always-!"

Someone grabbed his hand and shouted at him, "Shut up! Yelling won't persuade those people! If you want to live, run!"

"You-!", Jinmu looked at Lucan's escaping figure. It was ironic that the one who brought disaster to his home was now the first one to run away.

"Prince Lucan, go now! I will stall them!", Uncle Mer displayed his bluish-white aura.

"Oh, a master wizard? As if that can stop me!", Graham's body suddenly transformed into a large dark wolf. His howl deafened the villagers and knocked most of them out. He then charged towards Uncle Mer like a predator about to kill its prey.

"Reality Realm?!", Uncle Mer was shocked. It was the peak realm of a knight in the higher blade domain.

"Torrential Outburst!"

The earth shook as a large amount of water gushed into the air as high as 30 meters. It spanned over an area of 25 meters wide. One could feel the high pressure inside the water. Any fool that dares to pass through without protection would die as they are crushed by the raging waters.

Despite his timely protection, one assassin managed to slip out and run at Lucan who was escaping to the other end of the village. Behind him was Jinmu and the remaining village guards.

"Ah! Prince Lucan, watch out!", Uncle Mer shouted. Despite the worrying reminder, a wide grin was plastered on his face, 'Prince Lucan, I don't know what that envelope is but I'm going to let Prince Dexter have a look at it once your body lies on the ground, cold and dead.'

The assassin leaped to the houses and observed the fleeing Lucan and Jinmu in the distance.

"Young master, go ahead! We will stop that man before us!", one of the village guards shouted.

"But Dui!", Jinmu hesitated. This village was the place that adopted and made him what he was today. Abandoning them was the greatest sin he could do, but what was the point of staying on a battlefield he was useless in?

Looking at their determined eyes, Jinmu could feel their will in sacrificing their lives for him. He knew that he would never be able to repay such a huge debt for all his life. His magic root was already damaged and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Young master, we were grateful that we were able to save you that day, and we would continue to look after you even if it costs us our lives!", Dui retorted, not giving Jinmu a way to negotiate.

"Brothers, charge!", the pitiful guards rushed to their deaths. Even if they were going to die today, as long as Jinmu remained alive, it was worth all the trouble they would face.

Jinmu wanted to talk Dui out of it but Lucan grabbed his hand again and insisted, "Let's go! If you want to pay back your favor to them, use that envelope and go to the Heavenly Magic Academy!"

"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!", Jinmu was already annoyed that Lucan had the audacity to bring down the entire village with him. Now, the shameless prince was offering him a way out of the situation and abandoning his precious friends.

The two rushed to a secluded alleyway and started channeling their mana to the envelope.

"You can run, but you cannot hide!", the pursuing assassin made easy work of the village guards and rushed to where the two went earlier.

When he arrived on the spot, only a gust of wind remained.

"Where are they? Where did they go?!"

…

"Ah!"

Jinmu and Lucan fell to the ground face-first. Lucan immediately stood up and dusted his clothes. He then noticed Jinmu kneeling on all fours, hearing a faint sobbing from his direction.

He was blaming himself for what happened just now.

'It looks like Uncle Mer played against me this time. How stupid of me to not know of it earlier.'

He was simply planning to disappear like a ghost before returning to the academy. Once he was powerful enough to exact his revenge, he would arrive in front of the face of his father and his siblings and let them experience fear.

Unfortunately, Uncle Mer foiled his plans. He noticed his unloyalty when he glanced back at Uncle Mer earlier in the Huasha Village.

After a long time of thinking, Lucan noticed that Jinmu didn't lash out at him and only cried after a while.

The red-eyed young man wiped off the tears, stood up, and plastered an indifferent expression on his face. Jinmu ignored Lucan and went to the academy far ahead.

'Everyone, I'm sorry. I am such a disgraceful person.', he sighed and continued walking.

Someone suddenly leaned over Lucan's shoulder, "Hey, what sort of drama are the two of you on?", startling Lucan.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The young man laughed at Lucan's reaction.

Half of his head was bald while his remaining braided hair was blown to the right side. His tall burly body shocked Lucan, wondering how could a brute like him was selected by the academy master.

Such a physique warranted one to be a knight, not a wizard.

"Me? Well, someone like you two, invited to the Heavenly Magic Academy."

Lucan shook his head, "Then what's that thing on your hand? I don't think mages should be holding such a heavy halberd on their way here."

The weapon was 2.5 meters long with a sharp red-colored blade on the tip. Its base was brown, inscribed on it were various figures of demon beasts.

"Hehehe, that's a secret.", the young man winked.

The door to the Heavenly Magic Academy opened.

The three went on with a not so joyous atmosphere. One was depressed and wanted to be alone, one was guilty and wanted to reconcile, while the last one was curious and wanted to know what happened between them.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Eluard was sweating profusely as he didn't expect that all three recruits would arrive at the same time. Furthermore, he had yet to finish the first book he was reading.

'Oh, gracious gods, please have mercy on this poor man.'

Amidst his worries, the three boys stepped inside. They felt the deserted and mysterious atmosphere emanating from the room.

Lucan went ahead and dropped on his knees, making the young man from before pondering as to what was he about to do.

"Academy master, I have returned and learned my mistakes. May I hope that you would grant me my request to enroll this time."

There was only honesty and humbleness in Lucan's voice. He was very nervous that Eluard would reject him. If he returned to Aludia now, he would certainly die.

Eluard let out a low hum, approving of Lucan's behavior. He turned his head to Jinmu and inspected his magic talent.

[ Name: Jinmu Lin ]

[ Age: 14 years old ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Status: Orphan ]

[ Affiliation: Huasha Village, Morning Star Empire ]

[ Magic Power: Destroyed ]

[ Magic Root: Serenity Magic Root (Legendary, Damaged) ]

[ Magic Aptitude: 9.8/10 (Apprentice Mage) ]

[ Magic Affinity: Water, Wind ]

[ Serenity Magic Root (Legendary) ]

[ Additional Effect: Serene Mind ]

[ The user is calm at all times. ]

[ Additional Effect: Water and wind magic spells have increased effectiveness by 250% ]

[ Additional Effect: Due to your calm nature, your focused mind increases your spell casting speed by 50%. ]

'A damaged magic root?'

This was a first for Eluard to see a crippled mage standing in front of him. He thought that they would be weary and easily tired all the time.

"Jinmu Lin.", Eluard's slithered eyes stared at him.

Jinmu gulped in shock. He had yet to introduce himself but the academy master already knew him.

'Maybe because he sent me the invitation that he already knows me?', he thought.

Despite the unsettled feelings he had in his heart, he managed to control his emotions and bowed to Eluard, "Yes, academy master."

"Your magic root is damaged. Are you sure you're in the right place?"

Eluard's words hit Jinmu hard. A crippled magic root with a dark future ahead of him. What could he offer to the Heavenly Magic Academy in return?

He knelt with a calm face and replied to Eluard, "Academy master, my magic root may have been destroyed and my future in wizardry had almost become an impossibility. But that does not mean that my path in magic has ended for another one exists."

Eluard raised his eyebrows, wondering what this young man was going to say.

"Wizardry doesn't only revolve around magical cultivation, but also the research of magic. Through research, we can expand our existing knowledge by formulating magical theories, testing them based on the given information, validating the results, and applying them on a practical basis."

Everyone in the room was shocked by Jinmu's answer. Even the young man was now eyeing him with great interest.

"In terms of cultivation, I do not deserve to have any place regardless of what my magic root once was for it has been crippled into nothingness. However, in magical research, I am confident that I would bring a new era of magic with this steady and intelligent mind of mine."