A Dark Mage

Their sudden halt presented me with a fleeting opportunity to strike. Without hesitation, I hurled two "Thunder Spears" made out of condensed lightning at the horde.

The deadly projectiles pierced through the bodies of the two Hoppers in the front, followed by the ones after, bringing down a total of seven beasts.

From there, I unleashed a barrage of spells, with "Thunder Spear" and "Zephyr Blade" being my weapons of choice. The Hoppers, in turn, continued to unleash their dark ability upon me, but I was quick to repel them with my "Restoration Light" spell.

As the fight dragged on, my opponents dwindled in number, with my spells finding their marks with unerring precision.

However, I made sure to leave a few Hoppers alive, as I needed to know how they were able to evolve so quickly and acquire a dark ability.

The sudden evolution of Beasts could cause tremendous disruption in both Edren and Empire.

Before departing, I made sure to drop one or two of the Hoppers near the fortress so that the army could be made aware of the threat that lay ahead.

As I was making my way out of the forest, my thoughts were still occupied with the peculiar Hoppers that I had encountered.

Despite my efforts to analyse the captured creatures, I found no answers. I refrained from seeking Galadriel's counsel cause she already said she is low on Divine Authority or something.

Just as I was ready to leave the forest, a strange presence caught my attention from behind a nearby tree. "Is it a beast?" I muttered to myself, warily approaching the tree.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blade sliced through the air, aimed directly at me. Instinctively, I cancelled the attack with my Zephyr Blade.

"Show yourself!" I demanded, preparing to cast another spell. As I waited for a response, a figure clads in a pristine white robe leaped down from the nearby tree, revealing himself to be the same mage I had met earlier that day before sparring with Cassius.

"Young master Ryan, what are you doing here?" he asked, clearly surprised by my presence in the forest.

I quickly fabricated an excuse, "They didn't provide me with compensation, so I came to this place to collect herbs for my breakthrough and ended up losing my way. It took me some time to locate my path again."

I inquired, "What are you doing here?"

He responded with a sharp glare, emanating a hint of killing intent, "I came to obtain some intelligence regarding unusual occurrences in this forest. Young master, have you stumbled upon anything unusual?"

While there was no harm in revealing the details to him, his killing intent led me to believe that he would attack me after confirming my answer.

Moreover, he had witnessed my original power earlier, making it perilous if he left the forest with this knowledge.

Whether he attacked me or not, he would not be permitted to depart from this forest alive.

"Yes, I noticed some abnormal behaviour from the Hoppers. They were quite aggressive," I informed him, all the while noticing that he lacked the talisman inscribed with runes that allows one to see in the darkness near his eyes.

Normally, without light or dark affinity, one could not see in the darkness. That means______

"Nether Bolt", the man shouted.

As tens of dark arrows composed of dark mana surged towards me, I inwardly cursed at the difficulty of evading it.

With a disapproving click of my tongue, I prepared to deflect the attack. The mage's crazed laughter filled the air as he hurled the deadly spell my way, hoping to take my life in one fell swoop.

Drawing upon my magical abilities, I summoned forth a quartet of Thunder Spear spells that interlocked with the oncoming Nether Bolt. While my own spells were successful in neutralizing the majority of the incoming attack, a few of the bolts managed to evade my defences, leaving painful scratches upon my cheeks and hands as I frantically dodged and weaved.