"Who are you? I am here by the order of Master Yuzep, a peak Great Mage. He is the subordinate of the Noble Mage Kirl, the Lord of this Realm." the 'outsider' spoke about his background.

Sensing the power of Claude's magic artifact, he felt some apprehension. From its aura alone, it was a treasure that even Great Mages would seek, much less a high-cycle Senior Mage like him.

He decided to give out his background in hopes that it would make Claude afraid. After all, a Noble Mage is a true powerhouse in the universe.

It was said that all below the 4th rank are ants. A Great Mage can be defeated by numbers, but the same can hardly be said for Noble Mages.

As long as the enemies are only Great Mages, Noble Mages often can emerge unscathed even when facing thousands of peak Great Mages.

Too bad for the bandit that despite the fact that his superior's superior is a Noble Mage, it paled in comparison to Claude's Master, who was a 6th rank Sage.

"Are the heads of the medium and large-sized bandit groups here all outsiders and subordinates of the Realm's enslaver?" Claude asked, ignoring the so-called background of the bandit.

While the bandit called the Noble Mage the Lord of the Realm, Claude used the term the "Realm's enslaver" which he found more fitting.

That Noble Mage was no Lord of the Realm. He was merely an exploiter who enslaved the natives of the realm.

The words he used displeased the bandits, but wanting to de-escalate the conflict, he still provided a truthful answer.

"That is correct. We are ordered to capture slaves when needed and also ensure that no natives will grow powerful enough to give rise to a rebellion" the bandit replied.

As a powerful Noble Mage, the Mage Kirl cannot stay in the Eclipsion Realm forever. Without a 4th rank Mage, if there are enough number of Senior and Great Mages, the natives can rebel.

That was not something that the conquerors wanted to see. As such, they opted to suppress the natives and ensure that no powerful native would appear.

While the realm generally can only give rise to a Great Mage due to its level and mana concentration, that was not absolute. If a native was talented enough, they had a chance of breaching the limit of the realm with talent alone.

Of course, that was far easier said than done, but it was still possible, and it happens, albeit rarely.

"I see… the natives outside of the main cities are not really free. They are monitored and ensure that they cannot break free. How miserable" Claude muttered, understanding everything.

With his intelligence, he can guess a lot of things, causing him to feel really bad for the natives.

"I am backed by a Noble Mage. I suggest that you stop opposing us, and we can take it as if nothing happened" the bandit offered. If they can avoid clashing with Claude, it would be for the best.

After all, he sensed great danger from Claude's sword, and since he owned such a treasure, it was possible that he himself had a formidable background.

"No, I cannot do that" Claude refused while pointing his sword at the bandit. "I have two reasons to kill you"

"Oh? Two reasons? How generous of you!" The bandit said coldly, readying his own magic wand while also signaling his men.

He himself is a 7th-cycle Senior Mage, which made him a high-cycle Senior Mage. The difference between his rank and Claude's was a huge gap in power.

Despite sensing the threat from the magic artifact, even a powerful magic artifact requires a certain level of power from the user.

It is dangerous, but the bandit leader thinks he can still win using his own power and the help of several mid-cycle Senior Mages under his command.

"First reason, you are one of the people who oppressed the natives that are just trying to survive" Claude started while injecting his mana into his magic artifact.

He is just a first-cycle Senior Mage; he cannot defeat a high-cycle Senior Mage. However, he does not plan on relying on his own power to achieve that. What he relies on is his magic artifact!

"Second reason. I need to test a hypothesis" he continued, and Claude activated another spell engraved in his sword.

His sword cannot only protect him, but it can also vanquish enemies far more powerful than him. If his master, as a Sage, cannot even provide him a weapon that could kill Senior Mages effortlessly, that would be laughable.

"[Storm Purgatory!]"

As Claude raised his sword into the sky, a large magic circle suddenly formed. It was large enough to cover the entire bandit's den.

Mana surged and gathered at the magic circle. Using the free mana particles in the surroundings, a magic circle was formed.

"T-that… that's a Noblesse Artifact!" The bandit leader exclaimed in shock; a suffocating oppression bore down on him and his men.

He knew that Claude's magic artifact was powerful, but he didn't expect that it would actually be a Noblesse Artifact.

These magic artifacts are something that only Noble Mages can create. Typically, only Noble Mages can use them because of their preciousness.

However, if you are rich enough, even a Junior Mage can wield it.

There was a huge difference between a Noble Mage and the ranks below it, and it also reflected on their weapons.

A rank 3 magic artifact, wielded by Great Mages, cannot be wielded by a Junior Mage, no matter how talented they are.

It was like giving an infant a huge hammer. Even if the infant has huge potential, they cannot possibly lift a heavy hammer.

As such, rank 3 artifacts might be precious to Junior Mages, but their strength is not enough to wield them.

However, Rank 4 artifacts, the Noblesse Artifacts, are different. Even a weak apprentice can use it because of one function.

Rank 3 artifacts and below obtain power from their wielder, while rank 4 artifacts can obtain power from both the wielder and the environment!

This function made it possible for any mage below the Noble Rank to use a Noblesse Artifact. Of course, if not wielded by a Noble Mage, the artifact's power would be far weaker than it could normally release if wielded by a rank 4 mage.

Still, any power below the Noble Rank can be destroyed by such artifacts.

With the magic circle absorbing the free mana in the surrounding, it released countless bluish silver streaks of lightning that struck all the bandits, leaving not even a single survivor.

Since the lightning was created by the sword and not Claude, their color was different, but they are far deadlier than the lightning that he could currently create.

The bandits didn't even last a single breath. As soon as the lightning landed on their bodies, their lives were harvested.

Claude's gaze flickered as he felt the rise of his fortune aura.

"The outsider's death increased my fortune aura more than the deaths of all the other bandits I killed combined."

"They are all humans, but the difference was that the other bandits are natives while the leader is an outsider."

"The fortune aura… is it something I can gain when helping the realm free itself from the conquerors?"

This was Claude's hypothesis. As soon as he saw the outsider, he sensed the realm's great desire to kill the outsider.

Since the realm is being exploited by outsiders and it wanted to kill these outsiders, Claude thought that he would gain fortune aura by liberating the realm.

It seems like his hypothesis was actually true. The deaths of the natives that sided with the outsiders earned him less than what he gained from the death of a single foreigner.

"I don't know why the impossible happened, but I can sense it… If I continue to gain fortune aura, my power will be elevated."

"For the earth realm's rebirth as soon as possible. This realm shall be free of foreigners' oppression."

Claude declared, and unbeknownst to him, his Master was actually watching his actions all this time.

From the moment that Claude entered the Eclipsion Realm, his Master was hiding himself while watching his disciple.

After all, Claude was his one and only true disciple. With the Sage being near his end, he would not let any accident happen to his disciple.

He wanted Claude to gain experience, but he would not let him come to complete harm. As such, he was tailing him secretly.

Claude's rising fortune aura also did not escape his notice, and the Sage himself was stupefied.

There were never any records of a being gaining fortune aura from a realm that did not give birth to them.

As a 6th rank Mage, the Sage knew a lot about the universe and its secret yet even he was not aware that it was actually possible for a realm to provide fortune aura to an outsider.

But was it really possible or is Claude really just that special?