Eventually, time pa.s.sed until there were only two weeks left before the entrance test.

Noah swiftly exited the hostel and went for the path that led to Ebonrest city.

Toottac town was still crowded but the atmosphere was tense and many groups of armored people stared warily at their surroundings.

'So many.'

Noah had never exited the hostel in this period and could not help but be surprised at the number of people inside the market area.

Echo continuously sent sound waves giving him a clearer picture of his surroundings and he always chose to cross the less crowded streets to reach the forest.

His exit from the city was uneventful and the scenery of the forest illuminated by the daylight showed itself to Noah.

He had decided to move during the morning as there were fewer chances to meet the bandits or more of spotting them and escape.

He was wearing his usual black clothes and a hood covered his face.

On his back, a big hump was present: Echo's head had come out of his body to be more precise in its inspection of the environment.

Noah entered the forest and ran at full speed in the direction of the city.

He used the branches of the trees as footholds like he was used to when he had to move stealthily.

Ebonrest city was at three days of travel.

That meant that if he traveled without sleeping, he would reach his destination in one day and a half!

That was precisely what he planned to do, the more he stayed in the forest the more problems might arise.

It was only half a day later that a scream entered his ears.

Noah didn't stop but he could sense that a battle was occurring in an area a few hundred meters in front of him.

A faint sense of danger was radiated from that place.

Noah's eyes became resolute as he hastened his pace.

When he neared the battleground, a violent scene unfolded in front of his eyes.

A caravan composed of four carriages was being sieged by more than thirty hooded men dressed in long black outfits.

The guards of the caravan were strenuously resisting the a.s.sault but to no avail as the bandits were more numerous and were gaining ground.

Noah sensed that their level was way above his own and chose to take advantage of the situation to pa.s.s through them.

A known danger is less scary than an unknown one.

Noah could have avoided the place but that would have meant facing the unknown.

What if there were more bandit gangs?

What if that new gang wasn't busy dealing with another enemy?

'My best bet is to pa.s.s right through them!'

He rushed across the trees running right above the battlefield.

Some of the bandits noticed his presence and decided to go after him since the outcome of the combat on the caravan seemed set.

Noah didn't look back but Echo was constantly sending images of his pursuers.

'Three of them and they are all faster than me. f.u.c.k! Demonic form!'

Smoke enveloped his legs and his speed rose drastically surprising the hooded men behind him.

However, that only made them more resolved on catching him.

After all, they were only pretending to be bandits, their real purpose was to reduce the compet.i.tion in the incoming test and his increase of pace made him a dangerous contender.

Noah ran releasing more smoke on the path he was crossing.

Every branch he pa.s.sed would break after being corroded by his spell and some lingering smoke remained in their spots.

The men were surprised by the deadliness of the spell and were slowed to counter its effects.

Noah seemed to finally gain some ground when one of the three nodded to the other two and made and hand gesture.

Wind began to blow which carried at high speed the man in Noah's direction.

'Wind mage!'

Noah saw through Echo that the bandit was flying in the air and that he would reach his position in a few minutes.

His flight didn't seem that stable though which made Noah think of a plan.

Echo senses expanded and Noah's liquid "Breath" depleted rapidly as a large area around him was pictured in his mind.

The area had a diameter of four hundred meters and was the limit of Echo's scanning ability.

However, that was enough for Noah!

He abruptly cut diagonally and moved toward a certain region in the forest.

The mage changed his direction too even if with a bit of difficulty, losing some ground.

His speed though was still higher than Noah and resumed his process of shortening the distance with him.

When he was at less than fifty meters from him, he heard a sharp sound that slightly disrupted his balance, slowing him again.

He resumed his chase immediately but more and more sound attacks came in his direction.

There was no surprise effect those times and, even if he had to defend from Echo's screeches, he still had a faster pace than Noah.

'Almost there!'

After less than one hundred meters, the trees became scarcer and a big empty area unfolded in front of them.

There were more than one hundred meters from the last tree to the next one and Noah forcefully jumped once he reached that point.

The mage smirked internally thinking that Noah had lost his mind trying to perform a leap of that length and changed his direction toward the ground, ready to intercept him while he was falling.

Noah was mid-air with his senses focused on his pursuer.

'Not yet!'

Only when the mage was about to touch the ground did Noah act.

Two pairs of black wings pierced the clothes on his back an began to flap with great might.

Smoke was released from the wings that, paired with his fuming legs and his black outfit, gave Noah the appearance of a wicked magical beast rather than a human.

The mage had no time to be surprised as tens of fuming wind slashes crashed in his position.

BOOOM!

Noah didn't even look at the results of his attack and stored his just wielded sabers back in the s.p.a.ce-ring.

He continued to fly toward the distant tree until he landed on one of its branches and resumed his march toward Ebonrest city.

No one was after him from that moment onward.