Chapter 2092: Common Traits

This female initiate was by no means a top-tier genius.

Throughout the entire Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War, she had barely stood out. She was a senior initiate, but she seemed to have broken through only recently.

Even so, she possessed something many of the other initiates lacked... the patience to endure and the resolve to strike without hesitation when the moment came.

The harsh environment around her did not seem to affect her in the slightest.

Even though the sharp thorns of the Woodthorn Grass had already pierced her skin, she remained perfectly still, without so much as flinching.

She was clearly exceptionally skilled at concealment, and it was obvious that this ambush had been carefully planned in advance.

The pungent, acrid scent of the Woodthorn Grass masked both her natural body odor and the faint smell of blood from her wounds.

Woodthorn Grass was only a relatively low-grade magical material. However, when enough of it grew together, the resulting thicket could interfere with the detection spells commonly used by magic initiates.

That was precisely why the female initiate hiding deep within it had managed to escape the notice of an eleven-member squad passing nearby.

Among those eleven was even another senior initiate, just like her.

That initiate had probably never imagined someone would willingly hide inside a mildly poisonous thorny thicket.

What happened next unfolded almost exactly as Sein expected.

The moment the unsuspecting squad stepped into the traps she had prepared, the female initiate launched her ambush.

Her meticulous planning immediately paid off. The instant she struck, the entire squad was thrown into chaos.

The female initiate remained remarkably composed throughout the battle. Her first target was the strongest member of the group, the other senior initiate.

Several traps activated in quick succession, followed immediately by the strongest spell she knew, which she had prepared in advance specifically for this moment. Caught in the combined assault, her target was quickly forced out of the trial space.

It was only then that she turned her attention to the others. What followed was not a reckless charge, but a methodical hunt.

Sein naturally noticed many flaws in her performance during the battle. Even so, accomplishing this much single-handedly was already no small feat.

What earned a slight nod of approval from Sein was when a magical icicle conjured by one of the intermediate initiates pierced straight through her arm. Even then, the female initiate did not panic.

She barely allowed the injury to disrupt her rhythm and continued fighting at the same steady pace as before.

In the end, even with her mana nearly depleted, the senior initiate still managed to eliminate a junior initiate and kill two others using nothing but close-combat techniques.

It was an unexpectedly impressive feat.

Of the eleven members in the squad, only two managed to escape after falling into her ambush.

In truth, given the female initiate’s condition at the time, with both her mana and stamina already pushed to their limits, those two might very well have been able to turn the tables and defeat her had they chosen to stay.

But from beginning to end, she remained so calm and composed that her opponents could never tell how much strength she actually had left.

Once the battle was over, she did not get greedy either.

Her divine tower badge had already collected half the points from the initiates she had killed and eliminated.

Several decent magic items had been left behind as well, but considering her condition and the limited time she had, the female initiate did not even spare them a second glance.

She immediately withdrew from the area and disappeared.

Judging from how smoothly she followed her retreat route, it was obvious that she had rehearsed the entire sequence many times beforehand.

“Talent, temperament, luck, and wisdom... All of them are equally important. This little one reminds me a little of myself back in the day,” Sein murmured, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

His thoughts drifted back to his own days as a black magic initiate.

Had the Sein of those days been given the same task, he doubted he could have done any better than this female initiate.

Sein then took a closer look at her attire. Her camouflage was perfectly suited to the surrounding terrain and had undoubtedly contributed to her success.

Despite being an initiate from the Divine Tower of Radiant Sun in the Byrne Empire, she did not wear the lace-trimmed dresses currently fashionable throughout Magus World.

Instead, she wore a rough black-grey outfit that looked almost like a ragged sack.

She had also smeared her face with dark gray powder. It was not dirt, but a specially prepared magical substance used for concealment.

While Sein observed the female initiate, Marie, who had been quietly watching him, naturally noticed her as well.

At that moment, Marie herself was dressed in a long blue-green gown that gave her an air of dignity and elegance.

Subtle golden lace decorated the hems and finer details of the dress, showing that even Marie, now a Rank Four mage and dean of the divine tower academy, still had an appreciation for beauty.

Many fashions and customs in Magus World tended to spread from the upper ranks downward.

Even during the current academy war, most mages still wore their usual attire, often using their clothing to express their individual tastes.

After all, mages generally fought in groups and rarely expected to suddenly find themselves dragged into close-quarters combat.

Because of that, someone like this young woman, dressed entirely in practical, specialised combat gear, was actually quite unusual.

“What’s the matter? Someone catch your eye?” Marie leaned closer and whispered to Sein.

Sein drew his gaze away from the battlefield and turned toward her.

His eyes lingered for a few moments on her lacy gown and white gloves. It suddenly struck him that Marie was actually quite beautiful.

Aside from that one time they had been intimate during his travel along the South Coast as a full-fledged mage all those years ago, he had never touched her again.

Yet Marie had remained by his side all this time.

Not only had she followed him to the Divine Tower of Ashes, but she had also quietly devoted herself to managing the academy for him over the years.

Sein could not help but think back to their days in the underground city, when Marie had still been a little girl trailing behind him.

Now, that little girl had grown into a poised and graceful woman. She had even advanced to Rank Four. The thought left Sein with a faint pang of emotion.

When he continued staring at her without saying anything, a faint blush appeared on Marie’s fair cheeks.

Jessica and Leena, standing on either side of Sein, also turned their attention toward them.

“I did find someone promising, but let’s keep watching for now,” Sein replied.

Marie followed his earlier gaze toward the young woman below.

“She’s an initiate from the Divine Tower of Radiant Sun in the Byrne Empire, though. She isn’t one of ours.”

She then glanced back at Sein with a smile.

“You’re staring so intently at an initiate from another divine tower, yet you barely spare a glance for the outstanding talents from your own. Are you implying that I haven’t been doing my job properly as dean?”

“Of course not.” Sein shook his head. “That little one just reminded me of myself back in the day.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Didn’t we all go through something similar back then?”

His words made Marie and Leena pause.

They followed Sein’s gaze and observed the female initiate for a while longer. Gradually, both of them began to see it as well.

There really was something about that young woman that reminded them of who they had once been.

“Not bad at all,” Leena agreed.