Outside the jungle, two teachers were keeping tabs on the ongoing fight between Alex and the nobles.
Scarlett was astonished that Alex had already created another spell. That Water Spear was a spark of genius—she couldn't believe such a versatile and refined spell could come from a student with less than a year of formal training.
She couldn't help but imagine what the future of this child would look like.
The other teacher, Fabian, who taught the Magic Creation class, was equally enthralled.
"Ah! What a brilliant way to apply the nature of water's spiral to form an attack—so well thought out! Sacrificing range for control gave him precision and flexibility. What a beautiful spell!" Fabian muttered to himself like an excited scholar on the verge of discovery.
Alex's spell wasn't complex for advanced mages, but for a first-year student to craft something so efficient, even rivaling spells above his own rank, was a sight to behold.
Back in the jungle...
Alex staggered from the explosion's shockwave, his skin marked with burns and bruises.
He was lucky the nobles didn't practice their spells often. Had it been Tessa casting that fireball, he doubted he would've survived.
But what truly astonished him was Dorren.
'The bastard's using gravity spells…'
That realization tightened Alex's gut. He had no counter for gravity-type magic with his current skill set. The fight was no longer winnable.
He was already losing ground against their simple "attack and defend" tactic. Facing an unfamiliar element only sealed his decision—retreat.
Taking advantage of the smoke and dust still lingering from the fireball, Alex turned and sprinted away.
He extended his hand backward, casting another Windslicer Barrage for three full seconds, then darted through the trees in a zigzag pattern, never looking back.
"The bastard's running!" Dorren shouted.
Daron and Dorren both charged forward, but nine razor-sharp Windslicers suddenly cut through the haze, forcing them to stop and defend.
"Earth Wall!" Daron roared, summoning a wall of stone.
"Distort!" Dorren followed, warping gravity to deflect the remaining blades.
Those few seconds of hesitation were all Alex needed to disappear into the forest.
"Ahhg! Motherfucking rat!" Daron cursed, kicking the ground in frustration.
"Hmph. Don't worry, we'll find him eventually," Dorren said coolly, pulling out potions from his subspace and drinking both a mana and a healing vial.
They began recovering, while somewhere deep in the woods, Alex kept running.
He didn't know if they were still chasing him, so he didn't stop—not until his lungs burned and his legs ached.
This was the first time he'd ever run from a fight, and it stung his pride.
'There was no way for me to win,' he admitted to himself bitterly, panting hard.
His burns throbbed, but he had to keep moving. He needed to find the last few ingredients for his potions, treat his wounds, and secure shelter for the night.
As hours passed, Alex continued dodging both monsters and other students. Bit by bit, he gathered the plants he needed. By nightfall, he had all the healing ingredients and two of the three mana components.
Now, he just needed food and a place to rest.
It didn't take long before he found a boar, which he killed swiftly with a Water Spear.
Hours later, deep into the night, Alex stumbled upon a small cave draped in vines and leaves. It was the perfect shelter.
He used branches and foliage to conceal the entrance more thoroughly and started a small, improvised campfire to roast the boar meat.
After cooking as much as he could, Alex extinguished the fire, scattering the ashes and covering any trace that someone had been there.
Then, he stepped back inside, sat down, and ate quietly, his burns still hurt, but he was used to pain — the years suffering from the constant pain soul breaking at the end of his first nightmare forged him a great amount of pain tolerance, and now, even the 3rd dream chest stabbing with poison barely made him sweat.
Once he finished eating, he pulled out a torch from his bag and lit it.
Almost immediately, he realized his mistake—there was no hole for the smoke to escape. He hurriedly made an opening near the top of the entrance before returning to work.
Now came the next step—brewing potions.
Verdleaf for cuts and abrasions… Mender's Root for tissue regeneration… Heron Moss for burns and infection prevention… the ratio should be—
Alex focused deeply, his thoughts methodical and precise.
It took about forty-five minutes to distill the mixture. He carefully poured the finished potion into ten empty vials and drank the leftover liquid.
Warmth spread through his body as his wounds closed visibly. The burns faded, and the sharp ache in his muscles vanished.
He now had ten healing potions stored safely.
Extinguishing the torch, Alex sat in the darkness, quietly recovering his mana. Drowsiness started seeping into him.
When his body finally felt whole again, exhaustion hit him all at once.
"Just like old times," he murmured, eyes heavy, the memories of his first stay at the other jungle came to mind.
Today had been grueling. Even if he could endure pain, constant suffering wore at the mind—and tonight, fatigue won.
Outside the jungle, hours earlier…
Scarlett had watched the entire battle with growing tension. Alex's surprise attack at the beginning was brilliant, but such tactics only worked once—when the enemy's guard was down.
After eliminating one opponent, Alex quickly fell behind. Strategy could only carry him so far against superior numbers.
Yet every choice he made was sound—avoiding defensive spells, maintaining aggression when needed, retreating when necessary. He'd done everything right.
But even then, he lost.
For weaker mages, numerical advantage was decisive. They lacked the diverse toolkit needed to handle all combat scenarios.
Still, Scarlett exhaled in relief when she saw him escape mostly unharmed.
She couldn't imagine another commoner surviving such a situation—not even Tessa.
This was a clear demonstration of Alex's chilling intelligence.
And knowing him… she was certain there would be retribution for this ambush.
And she was right.