After talking with Hector, Amanda, and Maya, Leon used Clairvoyance to see their camp's situation. Unfortunately, the camp was semi-destroyed. Fortunately, Leon found a staircase that would lead to an underground shelter, and there he found the civilians. They didn't suffer any casualties, thanks to another magic barrier. Half of the population was made of civilians, but the other half had lost twenty percent of their forces.. so the next battle would be much more difficult.

"Maybe I should develop some spell to protect the soldiers directly.." Leon rubbed his chin. "Although I can cover their bodies by summoning Mana Armor. That would decrease how much mana I would be able to use in a fight. Besides, protecting them from every single damage might make them get too lax."

Leon couldn't let that even to his friends. They were diligent, but every human would get reckless once they recognized that their lives weren't in danger. Still, Leon was aware that in the next battles, many more people would die..

Protecting his friends was a must, not for the sake of the human race, but for Leon's mental health. Still, given that he couldn't go too far or everyone would also feel suspicious about it, Leon decided to ask Ilyana for a spell that could protect his friends from the death but not from ordinary wounds.

".. I know the spell you are looking for, but it is not that practical to use," Ilyana said. "In order to make full use of your mana pool, it isn't the perfect thing.. and it also dangers your life."

"How much?" Leon asked.

"I didn't have to fight against Netro, and thanks to that, my identity remained hidden," Ilyana said, and then she pointed her index finger toward Leon. "You can consider this a reward for your hard work. I can think of several other spells that might help you, but you won't accept more than this one considering your usual behavior.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Protector's Realm.

Cost: 10000 mana per second

You obtained 01 status points.

It was kind of obvious at this point in time that Ilyana would have Skill Bestowal.. Regardless, Leon obtained the full knowledge and effects of the skill in a single instant. It was exactly the thing he needed. All the magic or physical damage that might kill his friends would be directly sent to him. However, his own defenses would be able to nullify the damage. So, Leon would be able to protect himself using Mana Armor or even Reflect Armor. Still, the cost of mana would be even more absurd than just summoning those defensive spells on his friends. The only real good thing about that spell was the mana consumed to keep the spell active. The cost wouldn't increase or decrease even if Leon decides to protect one or ten thousand humans. However, the limit of humans he could protect was determined by the skill level, and it would only be limitless once it reaches the max level.

"Well, considering how much mana I will have to spend protect myself and my friends from deathly attacks, I guess my best option is to make my replica master Temporal Variation," Leon concluded.

..

Congratulations! The skill Temporal Variation has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Temporal Variation has reached the max level.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Ice Needle has reached the max level.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Magma Wall has reached the max level.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Thunder Wall Lv Max has reached the max level.

You obtained 01 status points.

In the end, Leon had to slow down the analysis of Netro's memories, but at least now he could use the effects of recovery every six seconds.. at the cost of his lifespan.

"I still can't believe you really intend to use that spell, and I actually taught you that.." Sekundez said and then sighed, and that was a first.

"Well, it is not a bad deal, right?" Leon forced a smile. "I will sacrifice my lifespan, but that will grant me enough mana to make my friends live for much longer. This time, I won't fail in protecting those I care about."

Thanks to the effects of recovery and Temporal Variation, Leon would be able to recover a little more than twenty-two thousand mana points per second. The number of things he could do would increase a lot, and he wouldn't have to kill his spirit by using Mana Magnetism slowly.. he would only use that during battles when he doesn't have any other choice.

"Leon's life is like the most powerful and shining candle I have ever seen.." Efreet said in a calm tone, which was also a first. "A candle that shines brighter than any sun, but it doesn't last that long."

"How poetic.. Well, I can't deny that" Leon shrugged.

Leon only lived half of the time his friends lived, but socially speaking, he didn't experience not even ten percent of the things they did. Most of the time, he fought alone, after all. Most of the time, he could only rely on himself.. Although he took a lot of pride in surviving everything he survived so far, he couldn't help but wonder if things could have been a little better if he could have relied on someone.

Regardless, Leon had to level up the Protector's Realm as fast as he can. So, he visited his friends while using Invisibility and then activated the spell on them one after the other. Thanks to the stupid cost of the skill, it was leveling up like crazy. So, in the blink of an eye, all his friends were now under his protection.

Congratulations! The skill Protector's Realm has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Protector's Realm has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Protector's Realm has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

..