Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!-Chapter 608 - 164-A Battle Without Resolution

"Metal element bloodline, huh?"

The elderly mage lady turned toward Fort with mild curiosity, clearly intrigued by Francis's earlier remark. Her wise eyes scanned Fort up and down for a few moments before she gave a definitive nod.

"Indeed," she confirmed. "Not only is it a genuine metal element bloodline, but the resonance is exceptionally high. Your fusion with the element is seamless… hmm."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully before continuing, "With that level of affinity, it's no wonder weapons don't suit you. Honestly, with your current physique alone, you're already as powerful as most enchanted gear."

She paused and then smiled gently.

"Well, since I didn't prepare a weapon for you, how about this instead?" She reached into her robes once more and produced a shimmering vial filled with swirling golden liquid.

"This is a mana amplification elixir," she explained. "With this, your mana growth rate will increase several times over. It'll accelerate your cultivation far faster than your peers." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Fort's eyes widened, and his initial grumbling vanished. He bowed respectfully and accepted the gift with gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Senior. I'll put it to good use."

He was tactful enough not to push for more. After all, he understood that gifts of this level were already beyond generous.

With all the treasures distributed and tempers cooled, the elderly mage let out a long sigh.

"Well then… with all the misunderstandings cleared up, I suppose it's time for us to take our leave."

She glanced skyward, then added with a faint trace of irony, "After all, the old geezers from the Plantagenet Kingdom are always watching me like hawks. They're terrified I'll stir up some kind of political disaster. Even lingering here another minute could cause trouble for them."

Alan narrowed his eyes at this statement.

"Wait… does that mean… Senior, you're not actually a citizen of Plantagenet? I thought you were our kingdom's last Legendary mage."

The woman blinked, then burst into laughter, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh, heavens no! What nonsense."

"Ares, Snow, and I—we're all from the Southern Territories."

"Southern Territories…?"

Alan frowned thoughtfully. A few seconds later, a light flickered in his eyes.

"Don't tell me—you're from the Owl Duchy? That secretive place?"

The woman chuckled and shrugged, clearly avoiding a direct answer.

"Hmm… more or less."

And with that, she sidestepped the question and signaled for her disciples to follow. The three quickly vanished, their figures slipping beyond the capital's boundaries like shadows on the wind.

Once they were far outside the imperial city and no longer within the surveillance range of the kingdom's mages, Ares glanced sideways at his teacher with a puzzled expression.

"Teacher, I know you didn't want to make enemies of them, but wasn't that a bit excessive?"

He gestured toward the path they'd just left.

"All those artifacts, elixirs… sure, they might not mean much to you, but on the open market? They'd fetch a fortune."

"Why go that far?"

"Shhh." The old woman silenced him with a raised finger.

She paused and scanned their surroundings, sensing for residual mana trails. After a long moment, she relaxed and exhaled deeply.

"I didn't want to give them anything either," she admitted. "But… not giving wasn't an option."

She folded her arms and spoke slowly.

"On the surface, what happened looked like a skirmish between young bounty hunters. But if either of you had seriously injured any one of those students—especially those two who were frozen—do you think that old drunkard would've let me off the hook?"

Ares's face turned grim.

"I… hadn't thought that far."

"Of course you didn't," she snapped. "And if he had come knocking, those little trinkets we gave out just now wouldn't even begin to settle the debt."

"I call it—cutting losses early."

Snow, who had been quietly following all this time, finally spoke up.

"But honestly, Teacher… they were so dense," she grumbled. "Couldn't they tell you were just being polite? You weren't really going to give them anything to start with…"

The woman sighed, shaking her head.

"What's done is done. Gifts given cannot be taken back."

Then she fixed her gaze on the two of them, voice suddenly turning sharp.

"And you two, listen well. No more getting involved in these messy jobs."

"I know the bounty from that mysterious organization was tempting—but we're bounty hunters, not attack dogs for some faceless faction. We don't grovel for power. Is that clear?"

"…Yes, Teacher," they both murmured, though their voices lacked conviction.

With that, the trio faded into the wilderness beyond the capital—nothing more than silhouettes on the horizon.

Back in the capital, Alan and his companions had returned to Sirius Academy with elixirs, weapons, and a few lucky bruises.

The mood was lighthearted. Everyone, especially Francis, was visibly ecstatic. He carried his gravitational apple like a sacred artifact, holding it close to his chest, occasionally muttering to himself with admiration.

It wasn't just sentimentality.

In their current situation, even the mana potions alone were a treasure. Their academy—undermanned and underfunded—rarely had access to such resources.

To get all of this for free, with no cost? That was a miracle.

Even Blanche, who was typically cool-headed, had a faint smile as she sheathed the Chimeric Twin Blades into her new belt.

Everyone was in good spirits.

Except Alan.

He was quiet on the way back, his brow furrowed as his eyes occasionally drifted to the direction Ares and the others had left.

Blanche noticed first. With concern, she approached him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You've got a powerful staff now—shouldn't you be celebrating?"

Alan didn't answer directly.

Instead, he turned the question back on her.

"Blanche, did you or Francis sense any residual mana from that white-haired mage?"

Blanche blinked, then shook her head.

"No. I double-checked," she assured him. "That Legendary Senior didn't just thaw us out—she severed the mana link from Snow completely. There's no lingering spellwork or trap."

Alan nodded slowly. "That's good."

But he didn't smile.

Instead, he called the others into a huddle.

"I want you all to seriously think about something," he said grimly. "Ask yourselves this—did we really win today's battle against Ares and that white-haired mage?"

Francis blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course we won. We're still standing, aren't we?"

"No…" Blanche replied softly, shaking her head. She understood Alan's point.

"We survived—but only because that Legendary mage intervened."

"We only defeated the tier-gold bounty hunters. Against Ares and Snow… we were completely outmatched."

Alan nodded.

"And don't forget—Lioncrest Academy's bounty on us is public now. Today it brought Ares, with a bounty of 30 million."

"Tomorrow? Someone even stronger might come."

The others fell silent.

He was right. If not for sheer luck, they might all be dead.

Ares had gone easy on them. Snow had held back.

The next attacker might not.

Alan clenched his fists.

"This isn't just some rivalry anymore," he said. "Lioncrest Academy has made it clear—they want us erased. We're not just targets. We're enemies."

"This war won't end with apologies or treaties."

"There's no middle ground here. Either they die—or we do."

The mood turned heavy.

Francis tried to lighten it with a joke. "Well, hey—no pressure. We've got each other, right? And when the chips are down, we've still got the old drunk—he'll save us."

Alan shot him a sharp glare.

"Gayle can't split himself like Ares," he snapped. "You think he can show up every time we're in trouble?"

Francis blinked. "Wait, what?"

Before he could say more, Blanche walked over and gave him a sharp thump on the head.

"Idiot. Alan's saying our headmaster can't always be there to save us."

"This time, we got lucky. Next time… maybe not."