Within the magic system of Samael, illusion magic was a relatively unusual branch.

It was neither derived from the five elemental schools created by Zeus, nor did it originate from primordial magic. Instead, it was a type of magic independently developed by a handful of geniuses or unconventional thinkers who took a different path altogether.

Very few people studied this kind of magic, mainly for two reasons.

First, the gap between its lower and upper limits was enormous.

A sorcerer who truly specialized in illusion magic could, in an instant, use a self-created illusion to control several people—or even hundreds.

But those who only learned the basics produced illusions that were easily seen through, effective only for frightening inexperienced ordinary folk.

The second reason was that illusion magic lacked direct killing power.

Even the most elite illusionists could only restrain or manipulate opponents invisibly. To actually send an enemy to their death, other methods were still required.

If that was the case, why not just clash head-on with destructive magic from the start? Why go through all the extra trouble?

As a result, illusion magic was mostly relegated to a supporting role in combat.

And since many other schools of magic could achieve similar auxiliary effects, illusion magic gradually came to seem redundant.

Over time, fewer and fewer people chose to study it.

Leon still remembered that when he had once traveled twenty years into the future through a space-time rift, the Claudia of that timeline had personally looked after Noa and the others.

She had taught Noa illusion magic to conceal the girls’ hiding place.

Even a genius like Noa could only manage such basic visual tricks, which showed just how difficult illusion magic was to master—and why it never became a mainstream discipline.

Still, given the current situation, neither Leon nor Rosvisser [N O V E L I G H T] dared to be careless.

“People who study illusion magic are rare,” Leon said, “and they’re becoming even rarer.”

He gently dragged the largest Sea Dragon guard closer, laid him flat alongside the others, and lit a campfire nearby for warmth.

“This is an expert. There’s a very high chance that this is the person who stole Mevis’s bracelet.”

Rosvisser nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with Leon’s assessment, then added:

“But I don’t think the other party is some kind of extreme, murderous lunatic.”

Leon raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

Rosvisser crouched down and used basic healing magic to examine one of the guards.

“These guards were immobilized by illusion magic. If the other party were truly ruthless, they could have taken the opportunity to kill them all.”

Leon nodded in realization and rephrased it:

“But they didn’t. They only restrained the guards.”

“I misspoke earlier,” Rosvisser said as she stood up and brushed her hands together.

“Let’s keep moving inward. We might find other clues.”

“Alright.”

The couple headed deeper, toward the slime territory.

…

…

Several hours later, Noa’s team also entered Cold Mist Forest.

They came in from another entrance and likewise discovered Sea Dragon guards trapped within illusion magic.

As a member of the Sea Dragon Clan herself, Helena couldn’t help but feel worried. She hurried forward and tried to dispel the illusion.

But after several attempts, nothing worked.

“How could this be…” Helena knelt beside one of the guards, dejected, guilt creeping into her heart.

Noa walked over, placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and comforted her.

“The other party is probably a specialist in illusion magic. We haven’t received dedicated training in this area, so failing to dispel it is normal. The important thing is that they’re not in danger, right?”

Saint Heath Academy did offer a small amount of coursework on resisting and breaking illusion magic.

But because this kind of magic was so rare, it was only briefly mentioned—even in formal classes.

For students, it was closer to optional reading than core knowledge.

Helena stood up, adjusted her emotions, and said:

“Yeah. Let’s keep moving, Noa.”

Seeing her friend’s spirits recover, Noa quietly let out a breath of relief.

She assigned two team members to stay behind and watch over the Sea Dragon guards, then led the rest deeper into the forest, toward the slime territory.

The further they went, the more obvious the traces of slime habitation became.

Yet strangely, Noa hadn’t seen a single slime the entire way.

“That’s odd…”

She stopped, scanning the surroundings cautiously.

“What’s wrong, Noa?” Helena asked.

“We’re already deep in slime territory. Normally we should’ve encountered plenty of slimes by now, but I haven’t seen even one,” Noa replied.

“Have you?”

Helena shook her head. “No.”

“Do you really need to think that hard about it?” a voice came from Tucker’s direction.

Noa looked over. “Do you have an idea?”

Tucker folded his arms and stared ahead.

“The thief probably killed all the slimes living here.”

Tucker and the others didn’t know that the stolen item was Mevis’s divine bracelet, so their focus remained on the thief rather than the object itself.

Still, Tucker’s conclusion was far too arbitrary.

“But that person didn’t kill the Sea Dragon guards outside, did they?” Noa said calmly.

“If I came here to steal something and was prepared to kill, there’d be no reason to leave guards with combat ability alive—only to specifically slaughter harmless slimes.”

“Oh, our team leader has a point,” one team member chimed in.

“The guards are clearly more troublesome than slimes. Since the thief didn’t kill them and only restrained them with illusion magic, there’s no reason they’d massacre the weaker slimes.”

The term “team leader” carried a hint of teasing.

But unlike Tucker’s mocking tone, this was clearly friendly banter.

Seeing other members side with Noa, Tucker snorted.

“How did you get as soft-hearted as a woman? Thinking so kindly of our enemy isn’t a good thing.”

The team member shrugged.

“What does this have to do with gender? Is it more ‘manly’ to assume the enemy’s a murderer and start blasting magic the moment you meet them?”

“Otherwise what? Sneaking around, hesitant at every step—that’s not how dragons operate. I’m just saying...”

“Enough,” Noa cut in.

Tucker’s tactic of slapping labels on people and then forcing them into opposing camps was obvious.

If she didn’t stop this now, who knew what outrageous nonsense would come next.

“We don’t know what kind of person the other party is,” Noa said evenly.

“But judging from their actions, they don’t appear to be a bloodthirsty killer. So I suggest we clarify the situation first before deciding on a response.”

Tucker curled his lip and waved a hand dismissively.

“Hmph. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Your ‘hesitation’ could very well cost all of us our lives. Let’s see how you take responsibility then.”

“If, in your mind, the lives of everyone here only exist to prove that I’m unfit to lead,” Noa replied coldly, “then let me make this very clear...”

She stepped in front of Tucker, looked up at him, and locked her ice-blue dragon eyes onto his arrogant smile, speaking slowly and distinctly.

“I will protect everyone. Even people who jump to conclusions, disregard life, and act recklessly—I will still protect them.”

Tucker opened his mouth to retort, but the instant he met Noa’s gaze, an overwhelming pressure swept over him.

She was clearly younger than him, yet the dragon’s might radiating from her was unmistakable.

Tucker shut his mouth, took two steps back, and turned his head aside.

“Say whatever you want. You’re the team leader anyway.”

Noa ignored him, turned around, and led the team onward.

As several members passed Tucker, they couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Wow, even this kid’s got a bigger outlook than you. Maybe stop calling yourself a veteran.”

“Jumping to conclusions, disregarding life, acting recklessly—who could that be about? So hard to guess~”

“Funny. She could’ve punched you into silence, but she still bothered to reason with you.”

Of course, not everyone sided with Noa.

Some stood firmly with Tucker.

As a specially recruited member, Tucker had joined the Adult Dragon Division early and gathered a circle of like-minded followers.

“Relax, Tucker. That girl’s way too confident—she’s bound to mess up.”

“Exactly. When she loses control of the situation, you step in and save the day. Everyone will listen to you then.”

Surrounded by his supporters, Tucker stared at Noa’s group walking ahead and muttered darkly:

“Don’t think being the leader means everyone will follow you. We’ll see, Noa.”

The team continued forward.

About thirty minutes later, they finally found their first slime.

“Over here!” Helena shouted.

Noa immediately led the others over.

What they found was a slime lying unconscious.

More precisely—it was also knocked out by illusion magic.

“There are more up ahead!” another member called.

They hurried forward.

Sure enough, the clearing ahead was filled with slimes, all unconscious.

“Check their condition,” Noa ordered.

“Yes.”

The team spread out.

After checking, they confirmed that none of the slimes were dead—every single one had simply fallen unconscious under illusion magic.

This further confirmed Noa’s initial judgment.

The other party was not a vicious killer.

But...

“Isn’t there even one slime that’s awake…?”

Slimes were low-threat creatures—harmless and not particularly intelligent—but they still possessed basic awareness.

In other words, they could distinguish friend from foe through behavior and even manage simple communication.

If even one slime had escaped the illusion, it might be able to provide clues about the divine relic.

That would be far better than searching blindly.

Just as Noa was thinking this through, Helena’s voice rang out again from nearby.

“Here! There’s one slime that’s still conscious!”