Before the man could finish, the ground beneath him formed a magic circle and exploded. The explosion was quite large spanning a dozen meters. Rose tried to stand up against a tree as she looked from a little far away. The one the man had caught was her clone. Rose tried to get as far as she could before activating the trap she set however since he had cut short the conversation with her clone, she had to activate it instantly. She was blown away by the impact getting injured in the process. She knew she cannot beat him but letting him have Alex wasn’t an option either so she was trying to get as far away from Alex as she could.

Back when the man had suddenly gotten up, she had messaged them both using her bracelet to return back to school and that everything was taken care of on her side.

‘I hope this is enough.’ Rose removed her teleporting crystal and activated it but it didn’t work. She tried it again and again but it didn’t work.

“Trying to run away darling? I’ve put up a device on top of the tallest tree in the forest which covers the entire forest perimeter disturbing the flow of mana making it impossible for teleportation.” The man said as he appeared in front of her.

The next moment Rose crashed through several trees breaking them. The man had kicked her in the gut as a magic circle had appeared just before it hit her. Rose was barely able to keep her eyes open now. She could feel it… several ribs were broken even after the mana armor she pulled up at the last second.

‘Is this it for me… so long… for a normal… life.’ She thought as she watched the sky losing its light. It was almost completely dark now.

The man appeared in front of her, holding his hand, ready to strike through her heart.

However, he immediately backed up as ice spikes flew towards him. He then suddenly side stepped as a blade swept through where he stood. He turned to counter attack but a black-mana wave emerging from the ground was heading towards him destroying everything. The man immediately activated a tier one spell as a magic circle appeared in front of his hands passing through them as he blocked it. Or so he thought.

The wave pushed him back until he crashed into a tree.

“Alex! She’s alive but she’s not responding. Her injuries are severe, we need to get her help!” Nina shouted as she used a very basic healing spell, she was capable of.

“Take her with you. Luxario will be coming any minute. He’ll find you guys. I’ll hold this one.” Alex said as he kept his eyes focused where the man went.

Nina didn’t want to leave but she knew that Rose won’t survive if she didn’t get help quickly.

The man walked towards Alex with a smile. “I had some information that human from earth can fight but I never expected an artifact.”

Alex, “You’re quite a chatter box. What’s your name?”

“Hmph, I guess since you are coming with me anyway, I’ll tell you. My name is Oz Gandar.”

Alex, “Shitty name for a shitty person.”

Oz, “Now, now are you angry about what I did to your friend?” Oz then burst in laughter.

“Don’t think that just by saying trashy words yo—

Oz immediately stopped in mid-sentence when he suddenly noticed something off. He didn’t know but for some reason Alex appeared very intimidating to him right at this moment. He felt like his life would be taken any minute now. Oz even took a step back looking at Alex’s cold eyes, feeling the tremendous pressure of his gaze.

‘Aura? huh… this is rather strong! How does a weakling like him possess Aura?!’ Oz internalized as he tried to control his shock. Usually, Alex would be scared of an opponent who could put Rose, whom he knew to be strong, in such a state but for some reason it was overcame with anger causing him to glare. But Alex wasn’t the reason why Oz seemed unsettled rather it was Miracle’s aura that leaked through Alex. Naturally he mistook it for the 16-year-old teen’s aura.

Oz, “I am… not afraid… of you!!” Two magic circle appeared in front of his fist before he punched the ground. The ground beneath him cracked and began breaking as it spread in all directions. The force of the impact was bringing a literal earthquake. The ground continued to become uneven as it reached where Alex stood.

‘Crap! This seems difficult!’ Alex thought to himself as he experienced the tremors.

Maintaining his balance, Alex released a raging streak. But this time the mana wave travelled underground and moved in a circle covering a 30-meter radius. The earthquake stopped within the 30-meter radius when it came in contact with the mana running wild underground. Instead, the effect rebounded and Oz himself got caught up in it. However, before falling into the ground with huge cervices he immediately escaped it by finding whatever ground he can use as stepping stone.

He was breathing heavily as he looked at Alex who was still watching him with his cold eyes. ‘This… this kid- how is he able to draw so much power?! That was a tier two attack he stopped! Even though ‘earth shatter’ isn’t the strongest in tier two’s but still…’

Suddenly Oz’s hand band similar to the one’s on Alex’s hand lit up. A man’s hologram appeared.

“Oz you need to withdraw from there immediately. The kid has someone monstrous backing him yo—

“What are you talking about, I’ll beat him half to death first!” Oz said frantically over the crystal.

Alex, “Thinking of going somewhere?” He had appeared beside Oz.

“Aah!” Oz immediately backed himself away from Alex only to have his back bump into Luxario. He quickly turned around and found him staring down at him with a smile. What’s frightening was that he wasn’t able sense neither Alex nor Luxario as they had approached him. He then started activating his teleportation crystal as he backed away from them. Alex was going to attack him when suddenly a hand appeared on his shoulder stopping him.