For a while now, Gunther had been on the search for the Dark Magus. It was all due to the reward offered by the Crimson Crane, a powerful clan of wanderers that belonged to no faction. The reward was a high-level power stone, one that Gunther hoped could push him into the middle stages. This was why he was doing everything he could to find the Dark Magus.

During his spare time, he would ask those who came and went by the academy, talk to merchants, and read the newspapers spread around the local towns. Yet, he had heard nothing about this person.

This begged the question: why was the Crimson Crane, such a well-respected Clan, looking for a person that no one knew about? It was a request seemingly out of nowhere. The person was clearly unknown but had to be special at the same time.

That's why, when he saw Raze using his strange powers and then using the strange orb as well, it came to his mind that this person fit the bill. They were special in ways that were unknown, and he was a face that no one recognized.

Which was why Gunther decided to pop the question, but what he didn't expect was a simple question to rock Raze in such a way.

The magic was surrounding Raze as he looked at Gunther. One of his weapons was still with Safa right now, and he was calculating his chances of winning a fight. With his magic, it was his trump card, especially with its unpredictability. However, he had no clue just how strong Gunther was.

'I need to calm down; starting a fight in this situation isn't good,' Raze thought, but he was also on the defensive. 'How was he able to link me to the Dark Magus, though? The only person that should know that name is Dame.

'There should be no way for someone to link it back to the student Raze Cromwell! Is he working with someone from Alterian? Does he know about magic, or maybe he's even from the Bonum society?'

Things had been strange for Raze recently, especially with the attempted assassination. He still didn't know why they were after him or who at the academy was working for them, and it possibly could have been Gunther who was close and by his side this entire time.

"Hey, what's with the reaction?" Gunther said, taking a step back. He wanted to make it clear he wasn't here to fight. After all, the person in front of him could very well be his reward. Judging by his reaction as well, he had hit the nail on the head.

Raze knew that his reaction had already given Gunther the answer he was looking for, but he needed to be prepared for a fight. It could have easily been the other way round.

"How do you know about the Dark Magus?" Raze asked, also lowering his hand. It didn't seem like there would be a fight, so this was the best for both of them.

"You mean you don't know?" Gunther replied. "There are posters up looking for you in nearly every city. The Dark Magus has got a bounty on his head."

Hearing this, it had clicked for Raze. He remembered a while ago coming across a bounty for the Dark Magus. On top of that, he had already been spreading his name in the Demonic Faction, even marking the Qi pills that he would make. He just thought that it would be longer before his name spread outside of the Demonic Faction. Or to the point someone could link the two.

"Are there any images of me, or did you figure it out based on what you had seen so far?" Raze asked, wondering if the bounty's had been updated.

"There are no images of you, honestly not even a description, which is why it was so hard to find any information. So I guess that means you are the Dark Magus, then?" Gunther asked.

Hearing this, Raze didn't give a reply. Since Gunther knew who he was, it wouldn't matter now; he just needed to make sure that no one else would link these things together. He needed a way to keep him quiet.

"I don't think I have to tell you that it's a secret," Raze said. "In order for your secrecy, I will gift you something in the future."

Eventually, Raze wanted to spread enchanted items throughout the world of Pagna one way or another, and in his mind, he was somewhat making a repeat customer list. It was somewhat like giving someone a sample so they would come back for more, and he was using this as a tool for their silence for now.

At the same time, Gunther wouldn't do anything bad to Raze because he wanted him on his good side. He now needed to get close to him, so he could hand him over to the Crimson Crane and get his reward. n-./../--))-)1--n

The magic circle was activated, and now the crystal was slowly being absorbed into Raze's magic core. He could feel the strong energy flowing through him, and it was only a matter of time now until he would become a 3-star mage.

Dame, along with the others, had entered the cave, and just like they had thought, it wasn't just a simple cave. Lighting crystals had been placed inside the walls making tunnels, and even the flooring was paved inside. It was clear that it was being used for something. As for how they had gotten inside, Dame had pulled the body of the snake out. He had grabbed its head and ripped it from the rest of its body. When they entered the cave, he then tore through its skin. The three heads were connected to one body that was blocking an even bigger opening to the cavern. It was quite the disgusting sight to see, and seeing how easily Dame had dealt with everything reminded them that he wasn't just a normal student like the rest of them.

They continued to walk down the long hallway, trying to see if they could spot something.

"So is there usually something really special in these things?" Liam asked.

"Not always," Dame replied. "Even if something is found, sometimes we just take it back with us but have no clue what it does. But it's places like this that often trigger the dimension boss.

"Like if you think about it, doesn't that three-headed snake now seem like some type of guard since it was protecting this place?" Dame asked.

The others were inclined to agree, but based on the flooring, the smell, and everything else, it seemed like the area had been empty for years. Just what type of thing was it protecting?

As they continued down the pathway, eventually, they had come across a large cavern opening. It was just large in size like a dome shape, but there was nothing inside; it was completely empty. However, in front of them, they could see that there were two pathways that led to two different ways.

"Alright, which one of you two is luckier than the other?" Dame asked.

The boys were unsure how to answer that, so they both placed their hands on Safa's shoulder, making her make the decision. Immediately, Simyon tried to knock Liam's hand off, but he lifted it up before he could touch him.

"Haha, too slow!" Liam said. "Too slow."

Seeing how the decision lay with her, she had chosen the path on the right. She knew otherwise they would just stay there

forever. It was similar to the time when one would be with their friends asking what one would like to do. Everyone would say they were up for anything and just end up going in circles with nothing getting done. Safa hated that type of stuff, so she had chosen quickly.

Since Dame wanted to protect the others, he had decided to go ahead with Safa, and everyone followed.

'A split in the path... I'm a little worried about this,' Dame thought. 'Let's stick together and not do anything stupid like splitting up. Since that Gunther guy is with Raze, they should be alright as well.'

Outside energy was swirling around Raze, and the air was getting even chillier than before. Even Gunther, who wasn't feeling the cold until this point, could feel the cold as well.

'This energy, what is this power? It feels like a type of Qi, and it looks like visual Qi, but it's clearly not. Is he absorbing all the power directly from the power stone, just like a Qi pill?' Gunther thought.

As the energy-absorbing was reaching its final stages, Raze was lifted off the ground slightly. The last bits of the power stone were gone, and Raze saw another layer added onto his core. Blasting out from around him, a pulse of mana energy expanded out. It had hit Gunther, just like a wave of Qi, but he had managed to protect himself.

For Raze, he had fallen back into the snow; the cold was affecting his body a lot less now. When he stood up, there was a glow around him.

'I did it; I'm a 3-star mage now, and I can tell the ice attribute increased by quite a bit. It was the right decision after all,' Raze thought to himself.

"Come on, let's head into that cave and see if we can find something," Raze said. He was beaming with power, and he wanted to use it almost instantly.

The two of them walked toward the cave, and as they did, they were unaware of a certain individual. In one of the towers at the very top, a man stood watching them.

'That mage was the one that defeated the Dimension Boss, and he did so only being a 2-star mage, and now he's just broken through to a 3-star. He's strong for his level; he might just be the one,' the man thought