Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 139 Second Wife
Deep in the black maze.

The white cat carried Ritas on its back and rushed through the rugged passage.

In addition to the undead and monsters that occasionally emerged from the ground or walls, the main ones chasing them were two adventurers who were in the process of transforming into undead and were riding on bone horses.

"It's actually a free magician"

Looking at the fireballs whistling towards him from behind and flying past the white cat, Ritas turned around to look at the adventurer who appeared behind him.

After confirming with White Cat, Ritas knew that the black knight chasing him was Helian. The mage adventurer who appeared later was Einfeld.

However, judging from the fact that the Bathing Goddess had no special reaction, this Helian was still not the Helian that the Bathing Goddess knew.

"Hey~ There really is such a thing as a 'free magician'. But how did you determine that?"

On this continent, anyone who wants to become a wizard officially recognized by the magic community must go through various channels and organizations established by them, such as the Magic Academy, the Mage's House, the Tower of Mystery, and so on.

A wizard who has never trained in any organization related to academia but is still able to use magic is called a free wizard.

For various reasons, the only path for a freelance mage to succeed was self-study. However, without guidance, resources, or information, it would undoubtedly be difficult for an ordinary person to become an outstanding mage through reading a few books or records.

This also means that free mages often expend ten times the energy of regular mages, but the power and knowledge they gain are extremely limited.

"One look and you'll know."

Ritas spoke briefly without further explanation.

Besides the fact that now wasn't the time to explain, the Bathing Goddess legitimately suspected that Ritas possessed some special talent in these areas. Previously, she'd assumed all mages had the same keen eye as Ritas. It wasn't until she learned more about magic that she realized Ritas was unique even in these areas.

“She’s outstanding.”

Ritas, who had unknowingly developed the habit of examining other people's magic while serving as a class mentor, made a subconscious comment.

At this moment, behind Einfeld's head, a ring of fireballs appeared, like a clock face. Twelve fireballs bombarded the white cat in succession, and the number was rapidly replenished.

In addition to the fireballs, which were probably Einfeld's specialty, she also cast a strengthening spell on Helian. Helian, who already possessed immense strength, casually picked up rocks and pillars that she could reach as she flew, hurling them forward with immense force.

Like Helian, Einfeld was also clearly being manipulated. Casting magic accurately under such circumstances was no easy feat.

But including this, many of the qualities displayed by Einfeld are things that magic academies or the magic community will not evaluate.

Even though Einfeld would add strengthening magic to each fireball when releasing it, giving them a certain degree of tracking ability, and even casting three different spells at the same time, the quality of the magic did not decrease in the slightest.

But in the eyes of the academics, this is just the level of "being able to use three small magics at the same time without chanting", which is no big deal.

It can even be said that as long as the freshmen of Earls College learn any medium-sized magic after entering the second semester, the academy will evaluate those students as better than Einfeld.

"Meow!"

The white cat, covered by dense flying props, cried out in panic.

"Be careful!"

At the same time, the Bathing Goddess also issued a warning.

The next moment, the white cat, which had no way to escape, was hit by two fireballs.

However, the damage White Cat had anticipated didn't happen. After the two fireballs made contact with White Cat's body, they changed direction with a slightly odd sound, as if hitting something cushioned, and collided with Helian's projectiles.

"The biggest disadvantage of small magic is that it is easily countered. But..."

Ritas said this after putting a reflective shield on the white cat that was more effective than the protective barrier.

After hearing that he seemed to be immune to fireballs, the white cat twisted his body hard and dodged to the direction where the fireballs were more dense, and focused more on avoiding the attacks from Helian.

But the white cat didn't relax for long.
"Meow--!"

"But you still have to be careful. The impact of the magic and the temperature of the flames will not be bounced back."

With a low growl that clearly sounded like "Can you speak faster?", the white cat let out a cry of pain and, just like at the beginning, concentrated all its energy on dodging all the attacks.

"Although the key Black Nun has not been found yet, we have penetrated so deep into the hinterland. It seems that Einfeld is the last line of defense prepared by the Corpse Disaster for this maze."

Ritas deduced this.

The reason why Einfeld did not appear for several days when the Black Knight was chasing him and the White Cat was because of this.

On the one hand, it was probably because Einfeld's transformation had not yet reached the stage where it could be controlled. On the other hand, it was probably because it had not yet reached the center, and Einfeld, as the last line of defense, would not easily attack.

Ritas was even more puzzled as to the original purpose of the "Corpse" maze. The Black Maze's top fighters were only temporarily transformed adventurers who hadn't yet fully transformed into undead. In a sense, the Black Maze could be considered undefended.

"Although, my hope is to resolve all the issues at once. But given the current situation, we can only deal with the issues of these two people first."

The white cat was swift and agile, with great explosive power, but its endurance seemed to be very poor. Therefore, since the chase began, its speed had not only slowed down significantly, but it also showed signs of fatigue.

"There are two options. The first is for me to do something. However, since I haven't seen the mastermind yet, I want to hold back. Also, Einfeld is fine, but Helian is wearing armor that can block magic. Therefore, if I carry out the operation, it is likely to cause huge damage to them. From the perspective of subsequent treatment, if I don't incapacitate them as harmlessly as possible at this stage, they will most likely be unable to hold on. As for the second option, you have to make some sacrifices."

"Meowkaaah, meowkaaah!"

". Is it the second one? I presumptuously assumed that everything that happened after that was your own will."

As he spoke, Ritas placed his hand on the back of the white cat's neck.

As Ritas raised his clenched hands, the white cat roared in pain and a large piece of its fur was pulled out.

The snow-white and soft fur fluttered in the air like snowflakes, and then was burned to ashes by the fireball that was chasing it.

Perhaps because it was in so much pain, the white cat, which was too tired to scream, suddenly seemed to have a last breath and kept cursing with a "meow meow" sound for a long time.

"Bath Goddess, let me confirm once more. Nina's star mark emblem appears on the back of her neck, correct?"

“That’s right.” But why ask this question now?

At this time, the Bathing Goddess's brain was not completely unable to understand, but there were some things she didn't really want to connect together.

"So."

Ritas took out a piece of parchment with a magic circle drawn on it and pressed it against the white cat's bald neck.

For a long while, there was no change.

Seeing this, Ritas frowned slightly and took out two more things from his waist bag.

One was a delicate ink bottle filled with translucent liquid, and the other was a slender quill pen, the length of both the pen holder and the feather being at least twice as long as an ordinary quill pen.

The weird quill is actually Ritas's second wand, named "Apprentice".

There is no rule that a wizard can only wield one wand, but wizards don't do this because the advantages are few and the disadvantages are many.

However, the characteristic of Ritas's famous magic, "Random Magic", is that he can control magic particles at will, and also control things like wands at will. Therefore, Ritas can hold and use multiple types of wands without any burden.

Through a layer of magic circle, Ritas used the magic wand "Apprentice" dipped in translucent ink to outline a magic circle with intricate patterns as if copying.

As the parchment with the magic circle drawn on it was gradually penetrated by Ritas's wand, translucent ink began to be "engraved" directly on the back of the white cat's neck.

In an instant, the white cat began to roar.

Sometimes it felt pain, sometimes it felt itchy, but soon it could no longer bear it. Not only did its movements to avoid attacks from behind begin to become deformed, but its body was also frequently hit by fireballs and flying stones.

Not only that, it swung its body violently, trying to throw off Ritas, who was causing it so much pain.

However, no matter how Ritas was thrown around, he still maintained his body as still as a mountain, and his right hand holding the magic wand drew the magic circle without any ripples.

After a very short time for Ritas, but an extremely long time for White Cat, the magic circle was basically formed.

As the faint fluorescent light, indicating the magic circle was taking effect, appeared, Ritas's frown relaxed slightly. The white cat, which had been struggling desperately just a moment ago, also began to stabilize.

"From now on, it's up to you. If you want to protect your companions, use the power that is emerging within you. If the Bathing Goddess has any advice, now is the time."

"Ah? Guidance? Oh, oh, oh. It's like this. First you need to calm down, then close your eyes and feel it—"

Without asking any more questions, the Bathing Goddess began to give instructions. Obviously, although her brain was a little short-circuited, she also realized what was happening.

The Bathing Goddess, who had gained some confidence from the experience of guiding Tabatha, chattered incessantly about how to use the power of the star pattern.

but.
The white cat didn't listen. It hadn't been listening at all since it closed its eyes.

It could feel that without the previous pain, the back of its neck was gathering surging power from within its body.

Without any guidance from anyone, the white cat seemed to know what to do next.

The white cat suddenly stopped and turned to face Helian and Einfeld who were chasing him.

But Ritas did not hang on the white cat anymore. He broke away from the cat by inertia and did not do any recovery action immediately. After rolling on the ground for a few times, he skillfully used magic to quickly knead two lumps of clay and stuffed them firmly into his ears.

At the same time, the white cat took a deep breath and, following its instinct, roared with all its might.

"Roar--"

When the white cat's roar sounded, even though Ritas had taken multiple layers of protection, he couldn't help but stagger.

He regained his consciousness in time and quickly moved away from the white cat.

It was not until he left the range where the white cat's power was effective that Ritas saw that in contrast to the white cat's loud roar, the gray-white mist quietly and silently covered a considerable area.

On the back of the white cat's neck, the magic circle carved by Ritas emitted a dazzling light.

When they heard the roar of the white cat, Helian and Einfeld, who were already out of control, rushed headfirst into the gray-white fog.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The third second after entering the gray-white mist, the two men, their bodies unable to stop tilting, fell from the skeletal horse. The skeletal horse was not much better off. After just one more step, its front and hind legs tangled together, and it fell to its knees and lay flat on the ground.

Looking closely, Helian and Einfeld, who had always had painful and ferocious expressions on their faces since they appeared, had peacefully closed their eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.

"It really works on the undead as well."

After a while, as the magic circle on the back of the white cat's neck dimmed again and the gray mist dissipated, Ritas looked at the undead lying on the ground and spoke softly to himself.

If Helian and Einfeld were hypnotized because their transformation into undead souls hadn't yet completed, then there was no reason for the white bones that had rushed into the fog and nearly covered the ground.

Ritas was confused about this.

Lower-level undead actually have needs and stages like "falling asleep"?

"Of course. My second wife's 'Star Pattern Release' can control everything except a few special bosses. No, no, no, ah, right, right, right, ah, no, ah, right."

"What do you want to say?"

"White Cat! Is the White Cat really Nina?!"

The Bathing Goddess, who had been confused for a while, said in a shrill voice with full of disbelief.

"If there isn't another girl in the world with the same star pattern, the same active area and time period, and the same abilities and manifestations, then she must be Nina. Or rather, since the Bathing Goddess knows Nina so well, knows about the existence of orcs, and even saw Xia Lu's transformation in the slice, you should have thought of it long ago."

Ritas said, sighing.

Not that he meant to blame the Bathing Goddess.

It was the information about the Bathing Goddess, and this time, it lived up to everyone's expectations, missing a crucial part.
(End of this chapter)