This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

At this moment, Iceberg no longer bore the savage and merciless look of his hunter alias "Iceberg", instead appearing somewhat aggrieved, even pitifully weak and helpless.

He wanted to form an alliance with Edison and the senior sister behind him, mainly to protect himself if he were to encounter that "Fairy" later on.

But now?

This wasn’t just siding with the enemy; this was practically him eagerly delivering himself to their doorstep!

What a sin!

Iceberg instinctively thought about using the blink witchcraft from his witchcraft ring to create distance between himself and Carly.

But he quickly suppressed the idea, especially since Edison had managed to locate him silently with the "Fairy", there was likely someone among them proficient in some sort of tracking witchcraft.

Moreover, his blink could only cover a distance of around ten meters, and its greater use was to surprise and close the gap for an attack in combat. It wasn’t particularly suited for long-distance escapes—a precious but limited Witch Tool.

With this in mind, Iceberg visibly relaxed, watching the slender figure approach him step by step, a bitter smile on his face. Yet, behind the bitter smile, there was also a sense of resignation and freedom that comes before death.

"So, we form an alliance, as you suggested?"

"Can you tell me your name before I die... huh?" Carly and Iceberg spoke almost simultaneously, but the latter’s words trailed off in bewilderment.

Iceberg looked at Carly somewhat blankly, even subconsciously suspecting the cunning yet powerful apprentice of concocting some scheme.

After all, in his view, Carly didn’t need any teammates or alliances. With her strength, she could easily dominate the Blood Duel Mystic Realm.

Even handling a small team of Wizard Apprentices might pose some trouble for Carly, but ultimately she should be able to deal with it.

After all, those Wizard Apprentices could only muster attacks at the level of a Formal Wizard with the Witch Tools they had, and each use was a heavy burden on them.

For Carly, so long as she was careful and tried a few times, she could eventually break them down one by one.

So, what did she need him as a teammate for?

Could it be that she wanted to groom him to become a mole for Winter Fort, to serve as a guide?

But under the watchful eyes of the Formal Wizards outside the Mystic Realm, if he dared to do so, his fate after leaving the Mystic Realm would be worse than death...

Ideas swiftly flitted across Iceberg’s mind, yet he didn’t dare to keep Carly waiting for too long. He bowed his head slightly, cautiously observing this apprentice who was a tier below him, and tentatively asked, "May I inquire... what can I do for you?"

"I want badges," Carly said after a brief silence, looking at Iceberg and revealing her intent.

"As expected..." Iceberg inwardly sighed, his smile tinged with bitterness.

Saying she wanted badges? That was practically hinting for him to guide her!

"I only want the badges," Carly seemed to understand what was going through Iceberg’s mind at that moment, and she added another sentence.

Iceberg was taken aback. He bowed his head slightly, pondering the meaning behind Carly’s words.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with incredulity as he looked at Carly.

As one of the top apprentices in Winter Fort, he naturally had heard some rumors and vaguely knew that the Blood Duel involved higher-level Wizards’ power struggles. Carly’s approach to only want badges could save some apprentices, but to a certain extent, it definitely went against the wishes of the higher-ups.

Yet, the first to benefit from Carly’s thought process was himself...

If it were him, he probably wouldn’t act like Carly, but would rather exploit the rules to hunt down apprentices from other academies since many of them possessed Witch Tools at the Formal Wizard level; snatching one or two would mean a fortune once out of the Mystic Realm.

Although Iceberg would not act like Carly, it didn’t prevent him from admiring her for having such thoughts.

So, after a brief silence, Iceberg still felt that he should warn Carly about the risks behind her plan, but because he knew that the Formal Wizards outside would be aware of the situation inside the Mystic Realm, he spoke rather cryptically.

"Do your mentors know about this...?"

Upon hearing Iceberg’s inquiry, Carly paused slightly, but did not respond to Iceberg’s words, instead, she looked towards the distance.

"The fighting is most frenzied just after entering the Mystic Realm, when a large number of weaker apprentices are ruthlessly hunted by third-level wizard apprentices or some formidable hunters. By now, I estimate that less than a third of the apprentices have survived," Carly said softly, exhaling, while her right hand tightened slightly.

"We can’t possibly protect all of the remaining apprentices. At most, we can safeguard a part of them, which won’t affect the plans of the adults," Carly spoke, not quickly, but very firmly. She raised her head slightly, her right hand clenched.

"I don’t want to shelter everyone, but I want to give those weaker wizard apprentices, those first-level and second-level wizard apprentices who were forced to donate to enter, a chance," Carly’s right hand slowly unclenched, as if she were explaining her thoughts to Iceberg, but also as if convincing herself.

"As for those third-level wizard apprentices, if they feel like taking a chance, I won’t stop them, nor will I interfere..."

Carly slowly raised her head, her mind flickering back to the apprehension and nervousness she had felt when she naively knocked on Mentor Lucien’s laboratory door.

Perhaps her decision might seem laborious and unrewarding in the eyes of other formal wizards, but she believed this was the first step in fulfilling the original concept she and Mentor Lucien had, as well as the first attempt.

"If it really doesn’t work out, then we’ll just protect the wizard apprentices from Winter Fort and Greybone Academy, and stand by until the Mystic Realm Blood Duel is over," Carly said as she looked at Iceberg and extended her right hand. "So, after knowing my plan, shall we collaborate?"

Iceberg was briefly silent, then quickly extended his own right hand and gripped Carly’s firmly.

"You are the most unique wizard apprentice I’ve ever met and, right now, the one I admire the most," Iceberg said, looking at Carly, his words filled with sincerity.

"I’m just doing what I should," Carly said softly, then withdrew her right hand and looked at Iceberg, "Pleasure collaborating with you."

Outside the Mystic Realm, quite a few formal wizards were slightly moved as they watched the scene through the observation mirror, and many high-ranking formal wizards could not help but turn their attention to Delatore, the Level 3 Wizard presiding over the Blood Duel Mystic Realm.

However, at this moment, Delatore had made no move, seemingly adopting a tacit approval of Carly and the others’ "grand scheme."

Lucien also carefully observed Delatore’s expression, feeling slightly relieved.

"Still too reckless..." Lucien mused as he watched Carly in the observation mirror, who was currently discussing the subsequent plan with Iceberg and Edison, and he shook his head slightly, also resolute in giving Carly a good talking-to once they left the Mystic Realm.

...

Carly, of course, was unaware of the thoughts of the formal wizards outside. At this moment, she was also steadily implementing her plan.

However, in this process, combat and bloodshed were inevitably par for the course.

On the fifth day of the Mystic Realm Blood Duel, Carly, transformed into a winged dragon by the side of a dry riverbed within the realm, powerfully struck down the hunter ranked eighth, "Cog," a wizard apprentice from the Tower.

On the ninth day of the Mystic Realm Blood Duel, with the close-range containment of Iceberg and Edison, Carly gravely wounded the hunter ranked seventeenth "Witch Wraith," a wizard apprentice from the Forest School, with her bow and arrow. Later that afternoon, she forcefully eliminated the hunter ranked eleventh "Gale," a wizard apprentice from the hunter faction.

...

The continuous killings and protection also resulted in Carly gathering quite a few weaker wizard apprentices from Greybone Academy and Winter Fort. A small number of weaker wizard apprentices from the Tower and the Forest School also tentatively joined this makeshift group formed by Carly and her associates.

"My lord..."

"Fairy lord..."

As Carly walked within this makeshift defensive camp, the many wizard apprentices she passed respectfully saluted her. It was not only the wizard apprentices from Greybone Academy who did so, but also those from Winter Fort, and even those from the Tower and the Forest School followed suit.

Their current respectful salutes towards Carly were not out of regulation or immense pressure from strength, rather, it stemmed from genuine respect in their hearts.

After all, many of the apprentices who had come to this makeshift camp established by Carly had already experienced or witnessed other bloody rites in the depths of the Mystic Realm.

For most of the weaker wizard apprentices here, they simply lacked the strength to resist and it was unlikely that any formal wizard would invest their witch tools or other helpful items in a weak second-level wizard apprentice.

So, when they encountered the pursuit of third-level wizard apprentices, they would be in desperate straits, with only escape on their minds. Inside the Mystic Realm, these weaker wizard apprentices were like a herd of lambs waiting to be hunted.

They might have grand ambitions, unknown talents, special encounters, or even a heart belonging to the mighty...

However, before absolute power, they were powerless to resist and, if nothing unexpected happened, under the successive hunts by the hunters and groups of third-level wizard apprentices, it was estimated that not even one in a hundred could live to leave the Mystic Realm.

But now, because of Carly’s protection, they had lost their badges, however, their other gains, including their most precious lives, had been preserved.