Going back a few hours before the clocktower bell rang at six in the evening, the group of four mage students—Leo, Cliff, Senna, and Casey—were strolling through the commercial area on the west side of Mirare Town.

Thanks to Lynn's teaching, they now had new interests beyond just mystic spells. With these new interests, their group had been visiting weapon shops, looking at different daggers and crossbows. Yet, at every shop they visited, all of them were dumbfounded by what they found.

Lynn hadn't only taught combat skills to Casey but to all of them. Which meant Beatrix had also crafted a twin-arrow crossbow and a dagger for each of them.

As they looked at the expensive prices of the daggers and crossbows in the most decent weapon shop they found, and compared the quality of their weapons based on appearance and their limited knowledge, a sudden thought came to the four mage students.

Is Ms. Beatrix perhaps a famous crafter in the capital? they wondered, realizing how expensive and high-quality the daggers and crossbows she had crafted for them for free must actually be.

Resuming their stroll after leaving the weapon shop, they continued their conversation about their supposed bodyguards.

"Maybe I should ask Ms. Beatrix to make me a sword," Senna said, followed by a teasing remark from Casey.

"Even if you have a high-quality sword, it still won't improve your skill if you don't practice regularly, Lady Senna."

Calling Senna with an honorific wasn't part of Casey's teasing but her way of showing respect, since Senna was in fact a noble—the daughter of a Marquess. Casey, along with her twin brother Cliff, were Senna's retainers. Leo, on the other hand, was just their classmate and Cliff's best friend at the Magic Academy.

"But it will motivate me to practice if I have a high-quality sword," Senna replied, staring at Casey with a pleading look, silently asking her to help convince Beatrix.

"Then I want a weapon like Mr. Arezu's too," Cliff said. "Let's ask Ms. Beatrix together, Lady Senna."

With Cliff leaning closer to her to press his suggestion, Senna couldn't help but blush, her face turning bright red.

Understanding what her flustered reaction meant, Casey flashed a teasing smile at her lady.

"Casey!" Senna exclaimed, realizing Casey was teasing her about having feelings for Cliff.

"My, my... I didn't say anything, though," Casey said, imitating Lynn's mannerisms when teasing Arezu.

Leaving the girls to their squabble, Leo and Cliff focused on their own conversation.

"There's no way you can wield a massive weapon like a halberd-axe with your weak body, you know," Leo said. "Besides, we're mages. A dagger or a sword should be enough as a side weapon."

"It looks cool, though."

Hearing their conversation, Casey gave her opinion.

"It's not the weapon that's cool, but its wielder—Mr. Arezu himself," she said. "Both of you should aim to become like him."

"My, my... Is Mr. Arezu your type, Casey?" Senna teased, trying to get back at her. But Casey immediately countered, whispering another teasing remark that didn't fail to make Senna flustered again.

"Don't you want my brother to become as manly as Mr. Arezu, Lady Senna?"

"Stop teasing me already!"

"You better give up, Casey. I'm sure Mr. Arezu and Ms. Lynn are actually in a relationship," Leo said, interrupting Senna and Casey's secret conversation. Cliff then looked at his sister with pity.

"Morons."

—"Huh?"—

"Leo is right, though," Senna said. "I'm sure those two aren't going into the dungeon but somewhere else to be alone—"

"Watch your language, young lady! I didn't raise you to be such a naughty girl!"

"You didn't raise me at all, Casey!"

Their leisurely walk led them to their next destination—the Mage Guild, at the boundary between the commercial and residential areas. Inside, they found their fellow mage students who belonged to the Annual Caravan, along with the Magic Academy instructors supervising them.

It wasn't a coincidence that most of the mage students and instructors were currently in the Mage Guild. They had all gathered for their scheduled meeting at six in the evening for the students' evaluation.

The instructors were supposed to reserve a conference room at the Mage Guild for the meeting. However, no matter how many times they asked the receptionist at the counter—

"I'm sorry, but there's no available room for today. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town."

—that was the only response they were given.

It wasn't only the instructors who were having trouble, but the other mage students as well.

"Do you think those adventurers gave us passing marks?"

"Don't worry. He said that as long as we get our bodyguards in town today, he'll give us a good evaluation."

"But where is he?"

Hearing the conversation of their fellow mage students, Leo, Cliff, Senna, and Casey couldn't help but worry about their own evaluation. After all, Lynn had been giving them nothing but failing marks since the start of the expedition.

Putting aside their worries, they took a seat at a table in the corner of the guild hall, waiting for the meeting to begin. Just then, the loud chime of the clocktower bell echoed throughout the entire town.

The soothing chime resounded for an entire minute, giving a pleasing sound to the ears and a comforting feeling to the heart.

But the moment the sound stopped—

—"ARGH!!!"—

—the pleasing sound was replaced by a horrified scream, and the comforting feeling was replaced by fear at what everyone had witnessed.

The local mages who had been loitering around the guild hall suddenly cast mystic spells and fired magical attacks at the instructors and students.

Wind blades cut through flesh, flame arrows burned skin, stone bullets tore through bodies, and ice lances impaled them.

Though the instructors and students caught in the magical onslaught didn't die from their injuries, they were later captured by the local mages and dragged through the mirror walls, vanishing as if the mirrors had absorbed them.

Leo, Cliff, Senna, and Casey witnessed everything while remaining hidden under their table. Luckily for them, since they were sitting in the corner of the guild where there was no crowd, the local mages didn't notice them.

"What's happening? Why are they attacking us?" Leo whispered, his voice low but trembling with fear and panic.

"Cliff, protect Lady Senna no matter what."

"I can protect myself."

Ignoring Senna's refusal, Cliff followed Casey's command, leaning closer to shield Senna from any attack.

"We're gonna make a run for the door and get out of this place."

Holding their enchanted staves in their left hands and their twin-arrow crossbows in their right, they bolted toward the large open doors of the Mage Guild. But they suddenly stopped when more locals came rushing in from outside.

"We're trapped—"

—Boom!—

Leo's panicked remark was cut short by a fireball landing beside their group and exploding.

Though their robes protected them from being burned, the explosion knocked them against the wall of the guild hall. But despite the pain, the four of them managed to remain conscious.

Looking at their attacker, they were surprised to see it wasn't one of the local mages, but one of their fellow mage students—her chest deeply cut and her robe drenched in blood.

"Why is she attacking us now?" Leo said, still kneeling on the floor.

"I knew that girl always hated me," Senna muttered while Cliff helped her back to her feet.

"That doesn't matter right now," Casey said, taking a stand to face their opponent.

The student attacking them cast another Fireball mystic spell and launched it at their group.

"Waterjet"

Casey swiftly cast her own mystic spell, invoking a head-sized water sphere that shot forth a pressurized blast to counter the incoming fireball.

Although it took the entire water sphere to completely obliterate the fireball, Casey still had another weapon in hand.

'Pierce'

Casey activated her combat skill, imbuing mana into her arrow, which pierced her opponent's left leg and knocked her to the floor.

While their opponent lay down, Casey scanned their surroundings and spotted a room nearby where they could hide.

The group managed to reach it despite the magical onslaught between the local mages and the Magic Academy instructors and students.

Although they made it safely inside, they didn't immediately close the door. Instead—

"Everyone, retreat! Get inside this room!"