The Legendary Mage (Alavin) novel Chapter 24

...

Nysah and her followers had pursued him for a long and exhausting while, only to finally admit they had lost him again!

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Ogmundr swore furiously, unable to accept their failure.

"What kind of strength does Alavin possess?" The muscular man demanded of Nysah.

"He’s just a Novice Mage, but he possesses a startling brute strength, which he seems to wield to its fullest potential. His strength cannot be judged by his title alone," Nysah admitted reluctantly, forced to accept the reality that Alavin had truly surprised her that night.

"Brute strength? He's not just strong, his Sword Skill is even more refined than mine," Ogmundr reflected on the previous night's duel, which had made him feel genuinely threatened. He was beginning to doubt what had really happened during their brief clash. He vaguely remembered deflecting Alavin's blade with his Gold-Veined Bronzesword, then launching a surprise attack. By all logic, he should have been able to strike Alavin down. Yet, Alavin's blade seemed unaffected, thrusting straight at him.

The Gold-Veined Bronzesword was a treasured blade, able to easily cleave iron and stone. If it had truly met Alavin's sword, it should have cut his sword in two. Could he have remembered wrong? Did he miss Alavin's sword?

Nysah shook her head decisively. "Impossible. I know Alavin's strength well. He cannot possess Combat Magic."

"Let's not argue about this now. We need to find Alavin before he escapes again. He's been struck by my sword; his blood vessels were punctured. His injury will worsen over time; he can't have gone far."

Deep within the dense forest, Alavin sat in a concealed cave, absorbing the Restoration Aether of the ancient woods. The Restoration Aether here was much more potent than within Cobalt Strike.

After a night's rest, his wound had nearly closed. Not even a scar remained by noon, and by afternoon, he had fully recovered!

The marvel of the Restoration Mantra was just that – more effective than any elixir or wonder drug. It had saved Alavin more times than he could count over the years.

"Ogmundr! Novice Mage Stage VII!"

Alavin silently recalled the previous night's perilous battle. His current strength was far from sufficient to challenge Stage VII; he would struggle even with Stage V. Just as there was a hurdle moving from Stage III to Stage IV, so too was there one from Stage VI to Stage VII, with a qualitative leap in power after each.

With things having escalated to this point, Alavin could not back down. It was kill or be killed, no room for negotiation. While he had his reservations back in Cobalt Strike, now, in the deep forest, in a life-or-death chase, if they couldn't kill him, he would kill them.

It was a matter of who could be more ruthless!