This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

Secret Realm Forest.

A Wizard Apprentice, covered in dust under the guise of witchcraft and appearance disguise, looked inconspicuous at the moment. If it weren’t for the faint scent of blood emanating from his injured calf, he would have blended completely into the natural moss on his body.

"I’m almost there, almost there..." A glimmer of hope shone in Hunter’s eyes.

Before entering the Blood Duel Mystic Realm, he had a kind of confidence, or perhaps a survivor bias, believing that with his relatively outstanding strength among Second-level Wizard Apprentices, he might not be able to defeat the Third-level Wizard Apprentices, but by being careful within the Mystic Realm, he could still snatch a few badges to gather resources for his path as a Wizard.

But he had not expected the situation inside the Blood Duel Mystic Realm to be even more brutal than he imagined.

The preparations he made before entering the Mystic Realm seemed laughable now, in this cruel environment where even Third-level Wizard Apprentices needed to be extremely cautious and hide constantly.

If it weren’t for being lucky, he would have likely died in this brutal Secret Realm and become "nourishment" for the land.

But luck could only favor him temporarily, and facing the potential hunts, ambushes, traps, and other strategies from other Wizard Apprentices, Hunter found it somewhat difficult to move forward.

Just like last night, when he was ambushed by a squad of Wizards. Although he managed to escape with a one-time life-saving Witch Tool, his calf was left semi-disabled due to a witchcraft attack.

"The potions are almost gone..." Hunter felt a throbbing pain in his right leg and gritted his teeth as he took out the last third of a Recovery Potion from his pocket.

After gulping down the potion, the injury in his leg gradually healed, but because the amount of potion was insufficient, his leg wound did not fully recover.

Soon, however, Hunter sensed something and couldn’t even tend to his wound. Instead, he buried his head in a pile of moss and minimized his breathing, trying to blend in with the environment to the best extent, leaving only his eyes peeking through a gap, anxiously waiting for fate’s sentence.

Two figures in gray robes quickly swept past not far from him, which made Hunter breathe a sigh of relief.

But quickly, his expression froze because he sensed another person’s presence behind him, and this malicious Wizard Apprentice stepped hard behind him.

"Ugh..." Hunter’s expression twisted in agony as the Third-level Wizard Apprentice stepped right on his wounded calf.

At the same time, he realized in despair that he had probably been discovered by those three fellows much earlier, and their prior actions were merely a cruel play for amusement.

With this realization, a shade of despair grayed Hunter’s eyes.

Just then, three arrows made from vines, carrying a faint aura of wind element, shot towards them. The arrows, swift and silent due to the wind element, arrived in no time.

Thud, thud...

The two weaker Second-level Wizard Apprentices didn’t even have time to react before the arrows accurately pierced through their throats. They managed only to make a gurgling sound before slowly falling to the ground with terror in their eyes, as the spark of life rapidly faded away.

The Third-level Wizard Apprentice leader noticed the incoming arrows and summoned an ice shield to block them.

Bang—

The force of the arrow was only slightly hindered, and then it pierced through the ice shield. However, due to the Third-level Wizard Apprentice’s desperate attempt to block, the path of the arrow, which was meant for his throat, was slightly diverted, ultimately hitting his scapula and leaving a terrible through-and-through wound.

"Ah..." Fear flashed in the eyes of the Third-level Wizard Apprentice.

With just one move from the opponent, a ranged shot, he was severely injured, and had it not been for his decisive and ruthless action just then, it would have been uncertain if he could have handled the arrow.

"Escape!" Almost instinctively, he made the decision, and his whole being turned into a breeze as he sped away, with the wind-element witchcraft propelling him in the opposite direction of the incoming arrows.

But by then, the second arrow had already arrived.

As there was only this Third-level Wizard Apprentice left, now there was only one arrow flying toward him.

The arrow, vaguely entwined with thunder, wasn’t as fast as the previous wind-driven arrow, yet its power was even greater. Accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder, the arrow struck the fleeing Third-level Wizard Apprentice in the back. With a pulsing of electric current, the fallen apprentice soon emitted a faint trail of black smoke from his body.

"Powerful... too powerful..." Hunter stared blankly at the several Wizard Apprentices who were now tragically dead, his eyes still somewhat vacant, as the turnaround of events had been too swift.

A moment ago, they had been high and mighty, enjoying the fear of the facing imminent death of the Third-level Wizard Apprentice, but now they lay on the ground, life uncertain, like dead dogs.

And his two peers, whose strengths were comparable to his, were now beyond death. It was likely they didn’t even know who had killed them before they died...

At this moment, Hunter stood somewhat dazedly still, not daring to move for fear that the archer might notice him due to his movement and casually shoot an arrow his way.

Under Hunter’s apprehensive gaze, a few Wizard Apprentices, led by one who appeared slightly petite, approached him.

Two of the apprentices even sprinted past Hunter, skillfully scavenging the bodies on the ground.

One of the apprentices, who looked rather friendly, even gave Hunter a somewhat kind smile as he passed.

"This seems to be a Wizard Apprentice from our Forest School..." Hunter reflected upon seeing the apprentice, and his heart began to beat uncontrollably.

"Excuse me... are you..." Hunter began to ask if they were members of that temporary organization formed by the strong apprentice with legends and mysteries surrounding him, but he struggled with recalling the specific name of the organization. He stuttered a bit, unsure how to describe it.

"Are you referring to... the Mutual Aid Society?" The Wizard Apprentice from the Forest School paused slightly, then looked at Carly, who gave a gentle nod, before extending a hand to Hunter with a smile.

"If you’re willing to hand over your emblem, you can join us and receive protection until the end of the Blood Duel Mystic Realm. Of course, if you wish to continue fighting other Wizard Apprentices to exchange emblems for resources, we respect your choice, but your fate after that won’t concern us..."

"I’m joining!" A glimmer of joy for life flashed in Hunter’s eyes.

He quickly took off the emblem representing his status and handed it to the Wizard Apprentice from the Forest School as if he were relieved to rid himself of a hot potato, exhaling deeply. As he raised his head to look at the sunlight above the Secret Realm, he felt his whole being brightened.

"The 29th..." Carly watched Hunter, whose face was now brimming with a pure smile, and silently counted a number in her mind.

...

Outside the Secret Realm, many Formal Wizards had noticed the somewhat out-of-place "safe zone" within the realm, but most maintained their silence.

They had discovered that providing shelter not only gave hope to the weaker Wizard Apprentices but seemed to allow for quicker and more effective collection of emblems than current hunting tactics.

After all, hunting other Wizard Apprentices required painstaking searches, while their established sanctuary attracted more and more weaker Wizard Apprentices to join voluntarily over time...

Given this reasoning, the strong Wizard Apprentices who managed the shelter were likely to collect emblems at an increasingly rapid pace...

Pondering this, many Formal Wizards glanced at the emblem exchange list set up by the Level 3 Wizard Delatore, then looked at Lucien with eyes filled with envy.

After all, they now knew Carly was Lucien’s student, so the emblems she collected in the Secret Realm would most likely end up as Lucien’s spoils.

This was a significant fortune!

Many Formal Wizards now regretted not investing in Carly earlier. Although the bulk would certainly go to Lucien, they could still benefit from trailing behind Lucien. And seeing the efficiency with which Carly and her team collected emblems, they might even enjoy substantial benefits.

Feeling the envy or complexity in the gazes of the other Formal Wizards, Lucien couldn’t help sitting up straighter, raising his head with a slight smile on his face.

It was like a parent at a school meeting being especially praised for their child; the sense of pride and accomplishment made Lucien’s mood exceptionally pleasant.

And seeing Carly’s transition from being shy and silent to a leader with charisma and an elder sister-like demeanor in the process of establishing the "Mutual Aid Society," this experience in the Blood Duel Mystic Realm might also become a priceless mental wealth for Carly.