The difference between a Mana Vortex Magus and a Mana Core Magus may be overwhelming.

A Mana Vortex Magus may be outmatched by a Mana Core Magus in terms of strength, speed, and spellcraft.

Sheer numbers and clever tricks may not be able to bridge the gap between these two arcane ranks.

A Mana Core Magus may stand at the arcane peak of Tron. They may be peerless, untouchable, and feared.

A Mana Vortex Magus may be nothing in the face of a Mana Core Magus.

But Adam wasn't just any Mana Vortex Magus…

Was he?

When Felix appeared beside him again, he had already begun plotting the coordinates for his next teleportation.

The masked man viciously thrust his hands forward as he snarled, "Because I'm the only one who can."

Once again, just as his hands were about to grasp onto the raven-haired youth, the latter disappeared once again. His teleportation was seamless and utterly beautiful.

Felix knew this because he, too, had majored in the School of Summoning.

It was true that he was shocked by Adam not having to use any magical components to teleport, but what shocked him even more was how flawless his transition to the spirit world and then back to the material world was. It was truly breathtaking to look at.

To Felix, it almost seemed like Adam was a fish, slipping effortlessly in and out of the water, vanishing and reappearing between the two worlds with fluid, unnatural grace.

He's good, the cultist couldn't help but praise inwardly.

He turned his head and looked in the direction where he was earlier standing—where Adam had initially been standing. The space rippled there ever so slightly, and the raven-haired youth appeared out of thin air.

The youth's eyes flickered with a holy, white gleam. He looked at Felix with a solemn expression and forced out a smile.

"How about we talk this through, eh? You know, like civilized men…"

Felix stood straight and gazed at him with a cold look in his eyes. "How are you able to cast teleportation spells without utilizing any magical components?"

Adam remained silent for a few moments, then said, "It's a secret."

Felix's eyes narrowed. "It's those eyes, isn't it?"

Adam's lips curled into a cold smile. "Oh? What gave it away?"

This time, it was the cultist's turn to remain silent. Several moments passed, causing Adam to become extremely tense. Finally, the cultist said:

"No wonder Master is so interested in you. It all makes sense now."

Adam's eyes narrowed.

The Master? Does he mean the Cult Leader? He's interested in me… why?

No, is he interested in my eyes? Does he know about the lotus? That is impossible!

So, then why…

The more he thought about it, the more questions arose inside his mind. The Eternal Soul Lotus was his greatest secret, and apart from Valerian, no one in this world knew about it.

Suddenly, for there to be a Mana Core Magus, arguably the strongest existence on this planet, who might be interested in his most closely guarded secret, caused him to shudder in fear.

It was a lapse of judgment, and one he couldn't afford to make while facing a Mana Core Magus.

The moment he shifted his attention away from his enemy, he was attacked. But this time, it wasn't Felix himself who attacked him—well, directly, at least.

Warning bells were blaring inside his mind. Adam's eyes widened in horror when he sensed a deadly attack headed his way from behind him. He had just enough time to position his staff between him and the incoming attack. At the same time, he jumped away from the direction of the attack, trying his best to minimize the damage to his body.

But was that enough to defend against the spell cast by a Mana Core Magus?

Dozens of ebony tentacles as thick as his waist emerged from the darkness all around him. Some of them surged forward to coil around his limbs and restrain him, but they were unable to get a hold of him. Adam was fast to dodge.

But not fast enough…

One of the tentacles whipped through the air, producing crackling sounds, before slamming into Adam's lower back. The Staff of Calamity was able to diminish some of the damage, but not all.

The raven-haired youth felt the wind knocked out of him. At the same time, he felt his ribcage crack. Without a shadow of doubt, several ribs had cracked.

The force of the tentacle was so immense, it was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. And this was after he had managed to block the attack.

Adam hurtled through the air, coughing large mouthfuls of blood. But instead of relief at having managed to block a Rank 4 Spell, a cold dread gripped his chest. His heart sank to a bottomless abyss when he sensed Felix move.

The cultist leapt off the rooftop, soaring towards Adam with relentless intent. He stretched out his hand, his palm suddenly reinforced by a thick layer of mana.

This time, he was going to pin the boy down for good.

He closed in on the youth from the front, while the swarm of ebony tentacles twisted and surged after Adam from behind. Trapped between both fronts, the raven-haired youth looked like a broken rag doll, barely clinging to consciousness, his breath shallow and strained.

Now, all Felix had to do was capture the slippery bastard before he teleported again. And even if Adam did manage to teleport, it wouldn't matter. He was wounded, weakened, and slower than before. Next time, Felix would be ready.

Beneath the mask, the cultist's lips curled into a confident smirk as he thought to himself:

Got you.

But what Adam did next… caught him completely off guard.

The raven-haired youth endured the pain in his lower back as he gritted his teeth. Thanks to the Sphere of Resonance, he had impeccable spatial awareness. He knew he was being pincered, at the moment.

Even if he teleported away from this situation, he knew Felix would get to him the moment he reappeared. He had to buy enough time. He didn't just have to think of his next move, but his next dozen moves.

A vicious light flashed in his dark eyes as he brought his hands forward and positioned the Staff of Calamity before him horizontally, ensuring that one end faced the bloody cultist and the other faced the dozens of tentacles.

And then, he coldly muttered in snaketongue:

"Expand."

Everything happened too quickly.

One moment, Adam was within his sight, and the next, the staff expanded at a ridiculous rate, its golden cap slamming into him with the weight of a mountain.

At the last possible moment, Felix threw his arms and blocked the blow. Even then, the sheer force sent him hurtling through the air, crashing into the distance. As for the ebony tentacles, they were obliterated, reduced to chunks of dark flesh as the other end of the staff tore through them like paper.

In the blink of an eye, the Staff of Calamity had extended over fifty meters in length. As it came crashing to the ground, Adam planted his feet on the surface of the shaft and vaulted backward into the air.

The twin moons, Selene and Luna, shone brilliantly in the backdrop as Adam somersaulted midair, completing a long and complex set of hand seals in a single second.

A wave of mana rippled outwards with him at the center, the force of it distorting the air around him. His lips parted, and he said in a cold, commanding voice:

"Heed my call… Serpents of War."

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