The moment Maurise's mental probe brushed against Sclep, the man spun around violently. His eyes were now filled with sheer vigilance and scrutiny.
The little trick had been discovered.
Maurise offered an awkward smile. "My apologies. I will be leaving now. Goodbye."
He was just about to make a quick exit when a deep voice echoed behind him. "Wait."
Sclep's tone had completely lost its previous calmness. Maurise paused and turned around. Sclep's face was twisted in anger as he enunciated every single word. "Who exactly are you?"
Maurise raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "Just a passing adventurer, really."
Sclep seemed to cool down slightly, though his guard remained up. "Where did you learn the ability you just used?"
Hearing this, Maurise felt a sudden wave of confusion. He had assumed the man was angry at being invaded, but now it seemed the situation was far more complicated. Regardless, there was no way he could tell the truth.
With a faint smile, he mirrored Sclep's earlier tone. "No comment."
Sclep narrowed his eyes. The man's already bloodless face grew even paler. As if sensing his shifting mood, the surrounding mist began to churn restlessly. He clearly did not possess the even temper Maurise had given him credit for.
Maurise, however, did not panic.
"Do you," Sclep began, his voice dripping with malice, "think this is a joke?"
Maurise shrugged. "No, sir. I simply do not wish to answer, exactly like you a moment ago. Fair is fair. Is there a problem?"
"Then we have nothing left to discuss," Sclep said, his tone turning freezing cold. "Anyone who possesses that ability is an enemy."
Using mental magic made one an enemy? What kind of logic was that?
Maurise could only guess that the man had formed a deep blood feud with someone else who possessed this power, or perhaps something similar had occurred. The problem was, none of that had anything to do with him.
Before he could dwell on it any further, Sclep raised his wand.
Maurise's pupils constricted. He truly hadn't expected things to escalate to this point. It was just a simple mental probe. Was it really necessary to draw wands over it? How unreasonable could one person be?
Well, since it had already come to this, a fight was inevitable. He was actually quite curious to see what kind of magic this mysterious man could wield. If it turned out to be a standard Disarming Charm, he would be thoroughly disappointed.
Just then, a memory suddenly flashed through Maurise's mind.
'You must be careful. You will engage in a battle with a formidable enemy. Stronger than any foe you could imagine. More perilous than any danger you have ever faced...'
It was the prophecy Professor Trelawney had once made for him. He didn't know why he remembered it now, but the scene was exceptionally clear in his mind. He could even recall Trelawney's exact tone.
Could it be true?
Maurise had no time to overthink it. Sclep swung his wand downward, shouting a string of harsh, guttural syllables that tore through the air. The spell was not in any language he recognized.
"Kruk... Tak... Gûl." (Bone Calling)
Maurise reacted with lightning speed. A thick, sturdy bone shield materialized instantly in front of him.
An invisible force slammed into the shield. Maurise felt as though he had been swatted by a giant's hand. He was sent flying backward, shield and all, crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away.
The bone shield was covered in a dense web of fine cracks, but it had held together. He coughed, slowly picking himself up from the dirt. His internal organs ached fiercely. This body, after all, was still made of mortal flesh and blood.
"Fascinating." He let out a low chuckle. This was probably the first time he had been genuinely injured since arriving in this world.
Fortunately, the spell the man had just used was not entirely incomprehensible. It still fell within the realm of magic. This realization actually excited him. If his opponent had used some unfathomable power outside the known magical system, he might have seriously considered turning tail and running. But since it was magic, he had a fighting chance.
Sclep stepped toward Maurise, his eyes filled with surprise. He clearly hadn't expected the boy to get back up. The two stood in a tense standoff.
"Are you truly Death?" Maurise asked. In his eyes, the man was simply an exceptionally powerful wizard.
Sclep did not waste any more breath and raised his wand once again.
Maurise immediately flourished his robes. He wasn't about to sit and wait for death. The massive forms of his bone dragon and basilisk materialized beside him, lunging straight at Sclep.
Forced to change targets, Sclep aimed his wand at the charging bone dragon and fired off two consecutive spells. The bone dragon and the basilisk were struck one after the other, their massive bodies slowly rising into the air.
A Levitation Charm!
Maurise narrowed his eyes. Although the incantation sounded different, the wand movements were unmistakable. It was a standard piece of magic, no different from what his classmates used. However, was it really fair to elevate a basic Levitation Charm to such an absurd degree? Suspending a basilisk was one thing, but the bone dragon naturally possessed the ability to fly. For it to be forcefully immobilized in midair proved that this man's magical reserves were astronomically high.
He could no longer hold back. Maurise immediately released every undead creature he had brought with him. Bone dogs, a skeletal unicorn, bone wolves, and even a Dementor poured into the battlefield. While they lacked overwhelming offensive power, their magical link provided him with a vital surge of mana.
Following this, he swept his arm in a wide arc. "Arise!"
Dozens of skeletons materialized out of thin air, dropping from above to completely surround Sclep. They wielded an assortment of bone-crafted weapons, and eerie blue flames danced wildly in their empty eye sockets.
"It is useless," Sclep said with chilling calmness. "Your end is already predetermined."
"Is that so?" Maurise retorted, entirely unphased by the trash talk.
The moment the words left his mouth, the skeletons surged forward like a tidal wave. Sclep gave his wand a sharp flick. In the very next second, a series of chain explosions ripped through the skeletal horde. The menacing undead warriors were reduced to paper toys, blasting into fragments one after another.
But Maurise's goal of harassing his opponent had been achieved.
"Kruk... Tak... Gûl." (Bone Calling)
Countless bone spikes, large and small, materialized behind him. They blanketed the sky in a dense, overwhelming formation, primed and ready to strike.
Seeing this grand display, Sclep merely batted an eyelid. He muttered an incantation, and a barrier resembling a Shield Charm expanded in front of him. The bone spikes rained down with a deafening clatter, striking the barrier only to be deflected and dissolve into motes of dissipating light. The man's Shield Charm was equally terrifying in its strength.
The relentless barrage of bone spikes lasted for nearly a minute before finally subsiding. In contrast, the glowing barrier in front of Sclep only displayed a few hairline fractures. The man himself remained planted in his original spot, not having moved a single step.
"Is that all?" Sclep asked.
Maurise was panting heavily. He offered no reply. Continuously summoning such a massive volley of bone spikes had put an immense strain on his mental and magical reserves, not to mention the physical toll of taking that earlier hit.
Yet, amidst the chaos, several tendrils of grey mist had already begun to creep silently up his opponent's body.