The Dark Mage Of The Magus World-Chapter 126 - 127: The First Battle

As a full-fledged sorcerer of Moonlight Grove, Barty’s duty was to oversee operations at the Western Outpost.

But unlike Hutson and the other apprentice sorcerers, he did not have to slog through the treacherous mountains.

His job was simple—remain stationed at the outpost and intervene only if necessary.

Most of the time, it was a quiet post, without much activity.

At dawn, Hutson and Felid mounted their horses and set off on their patrol, heading toward their assigned sector in the vast Western Mountain Range.

The terrain was unforgiving.

The trails were narrow and muddy, with wild overgrowth spilling onto the paths, making travel even more difficult.

Now and then, small snakes slithered across the road, vanishing into the underbrush.

Progress was slow, the horses struggling with the rough path, but neither Hutson nor Felid was in a hurry.

There was no quota, no strict patrol schedule—as long as they returned on time, the mission would be considered complete.

Or, as Hutson put it:

"We’re just here to go through the motions."

He rode at a leisurely pace, taking in the scenery as if he were on a peaceful excursion.

But despite his relaxed posture, he remained highly alert.

AI chip’s environmental detection system was always active, monitoring everything within a 500-meter radius.

Felid glanced at Hutson, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Last time I saw you, you were just a first-tier apprentice sorcerer. Now, you’re already third-tier. With talent like that, it’s no wonder Master Larry took you in as a student."

Felid had already learned of Hutson’s connection to Larry, and Hutson had not bothered to hide it.

Having a full sorcerer as a mentor made life easier—it meant fewer unnecessary troubles in Moonlight Grove.

"Just luck," Hutson said modestly.

The two continued riding through the mountains, and for half the day, everything remained calm.

By midday, they reached a plateau near the mountaintop.

Hutson tied his horse to a tree, then sat down to eat his rations.

After a simple meal, he leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes for a quick rest.

Felid followed his lead, lying on a nearby boulder, clearly content to let Hutson call the shots.

At twenty-five years old, Felid knew his chances of advancing to a full sorcerer were slim.

Meanwhile, Hutson was only sixteen—young, talented, and under Larry’s guidance.

Felid had no problem keeping a good relationship with someone whose future was so promising.

Thirty minutes later, Hutson’s eyes snapped open.

Without hesitation, he rose to his feet.

Felid noticed the shift in Hutson’s demeanor, his relaxed expression hardening as he followed Hutson’s gaze westward.

Something was approaching.

Within moments, a small red bear cub, its fur streaked with fresh blood, stumbled toward them in a panic.

It froze upon seeing them, eyes filled with confusion and fear.

The cub kept glancing back toward the forest, then forward at the two sorcerers, clearly trapped between two dangers.

Felid’s eyes widened.

"A Mountain Firebear! A rare magical beast!"

Hutson nodded.

"A cub this young wouldn’t be wandering alone. Its mother must be nearby."

His gaze darkened as he observed the blood on the cub’s fur.

"But if this blood belongs to the mother... that means someone is hunting her."

Felid’s expression grew serious.

"Mountain Firebear pelts are incredibly valuable—they sell for hundreds of magic stones. The Western Mountains are one of the last places where they can still be found. Poachers often risk their lives to hunt them."

Part of their mission was to protect the magical resources of Moonlight Grove.

That included the Mountain Firebear population.

But this was no ordinary animal.

Even a fully grown knight would struggle against a Mountain Firebear.

And their strength and resilience far surpassed that of normal warriors.

For someone to hunt one, they had to be at least a third-tier sorcerer apprentice.

Without hesitation, Hutson and Felid followed the cub’s path, moving swiftly toward the sound of battle.

Soon, the crash of spells and the roars of a beast echoed through the trees.

Crossing over a ridgeline, they spotted the battle below—

At the foot of the mountain, three sorcerers were surrounding a massive Mountain Firebear, launching spell after spell.

The beast’s fur burned like living fire, its red hide glowing intensely.

But it was already badly wounded.

Blood flowed from deep gashes, and a massive wound across its stomach revealed torn flesh and exposed organs.

It wouldn’t last much longer.

Hutson’s gaze swept over the attackers.

Two were third-tier apprentice sorcerers.

One was second-tier.

"They’re strong enough to be a problem," Felid muttered grimly.

Hutson didn’t hesitate.

He activated his strongest defenses and empowered his body with enhancement spells:

"Absolute Defense."

"Bloodrage of the Crimson Bull."

"Unyielding Will."

"Blessing of the Mountain Spirits."

"Dark Energy Surge."

Felid only saw Hutson smear blood across his palm, followed by a sudden pulse of magic, but he couldn’t tell what spells were being cast.

Then—

"Shadow Veil."

Hutson vanished, his body melting into the shadows, moving silently and unseen toward the three poachers.

As he closed in, he cast his next spell—

"Dark Shackles."

The three poachers froze mid-movement, their bodies momentarily locked in place.

All three realized they had been hit by a binding spell.

But they couldn’t see the attacker.

The two third-tier sorcerers immediately began trying to break free, their focus shifting away from the wounded Firebear.

And then—

A shadow rose from the ground.

From the earth, a figure cloaked in an iridescent shield emerged, his presence radiating silent menace.

The first sorcerer barely had time to react before Hutson’s fist struck.

The air cracked with the force of his punch, a sonic boom ringing through the clearing.

The apprentice’s magic shield shattered instantly—as fragile as glass against steel.

And the real fight had just begun.

Hutson’s fist tore through the sorcerer’s mana shield like paper, slamming directly into his chest with bone-crushing force.

A sickening crack echoed through the mountains.

The sorcerer’s ribcage collapsed inward, his entire torso caving from the impact.

For an instant, his body arched backward unnaturally, his limbs jerking in shock.

Then—he was launched through the air, his body colliding against a distant rock wall with a thunderous impact.

He slumped to the ground, motionless.

Dead in an instant.

The remaining two sorcerers stood frozen, their eyes wide with horror.

What they had just witnessed defied everything they knew—

Raw speed. Unstoppable power. A death too swift to react to.

Their confidence shattered, fear consumed them whole.

The second third-tier sorcerer apprentice was the first to recover.

With a shaking breath, he made a desperate choice.

With a sharp snap, he broke his own left pinky finger.

Pain shot through his hand as he muttered a rapid incantation, his voice urgent and frantic.

A second later—

The binding spell on his body dissolved.

He didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t think.

He ran.

Without even looking back, he turned and sprinted for his life, his hands instantly conjuring a mana shield around himself.

He had no intention of fighting Hutson.

Only fools stayed to fight monsters.

WHOOOSH!

A sudden gust of wind roared past his ears.

His stomach dropped.

Before he could even blink—

Hutson was already behind him.

"Impossible—"

His thoughts barely formed before—

CRACK!

A single punch.

The mana shield shattered instantly, fragments of magical energy dissipating like fragile glass.

Before he could recover, Hutson’s iron grip closed around his wrist.

The fleeing sorcerer felt a terrifying force clamp down on him, and in the next instant—

He was yanked backward.

Not just stopped. Torn from the air and thrown like a ragdoll.

Then—

BOOM!

Hutson’s fist crashed into his throat, driving him headfirst into the ground with devastating force.

The earth split open from the impact, a small crater forming beneath the force of the strike.

His body twitched once—then went still.

His head rolled away, coming to a stop a few meters from his twitching corpse, disappearing into the tall grass.

The only remaining sorcerer, a second-tier apprentice, watched in absolute horror.

His mind shut down, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Then he felt it.

A slow, warm sensation running down his legs.

His pants grew damp, a dark stain spreading down his thighs.

He had seen death before.

He had seen fights, battles, and corpses.

But he had never—never—witnessed someone like Hutson.

A man who killed not with strategy, nor magic, but with sheer, unstoppable power.

A man who reduced sorcerers to lifeless husks with nothing but his fists.

A man who—in mere seconds—had wiped out two third-tier sorcerers like they were nothing.

His lips quivered, his body frozen in place.

Because he knew—

If Hutson turned his gaze toward him,

He was next.