《The Magical Path Of The Wizard With A Biological Chip》


 Chapter 1: Leon

    It was a tall stone tower, over a hundred meters in height.


    Its foundation was made entirely of obsidian, so when the darkness of the night fell, the entire tower would radiate a cold, silent glow, making it especially attractive to malevolent spirits and ghosts.


    Perhaps due to ack of maintenance and basic care, the lower part of the tower waspletely intertwined with the ever-growing vines of a Demonic Rattan, making its surface appear full of wooden thorns that gleamed like metal. If any ordinary man got entangled in these vines, all the blood in his body would be drained.


    Eventually, his corpse would join the others in the huge pile of bones lining the tower¡¯s base.


    The sky darkened as night arrived, and a candle was lit inside the tower.


    The candlelight flickered through the narrow window on the side of the tower. Not only did the light fail to bring any warmth, but instead, it sent a tremendous chill down the spine and heart.


    Leon, who was fifteen years old, sat before a worn wooden desk. There was a thick magic book spread open in front of him, from which he was silently copying. Although he had arrived in this world two years ago, the difort in his soul still gave him frequent headaches.


    His mind was distracted, scenes of what had happened back on Earth continually shing before his eyes. In his distraction, the tip of his writing pen paused for a moment, causing arge blot of ink to form on the parchment, ruining it.


    "Damn! I failed again!"


    Leon¡¯s brows tightened. He couldn¡¯t help himself and clenched his fists. He wanted to scream in anger, but he took a deep breath and remained motionless for a while. After a long time, he finally managed to suppress the urge.


    This world was no longer the Earth he was familiar with, and the body he now inhabited was not his original body. It once belonged to an Apprentice Mage named Leon. In short, he was just a wandering soul who managed to take over this body at the moment the original Leon died.


    Retaining nothing from his original life, he had traveled from Earth, where magic did not exist, and arrived in this world of advanced magic, where demons and mindless creatures roamed freely. This world was a ce where Mages stood at the top.


    The adaptation process nearly overwhelmed Lucas Te to the point where it almost ended there, but fortunately, after merging the memory fragments left in the body, Lucas Te gained basguage skills.


    Otherwise, just the strange pronunciations and grammar in this world, along with thepletely different alphabet, which looked like swimming tadpoles, would have been enough to torture him to death.


    Even so, the headaches that frequently struck him deeply disturbed him.


    Here, he never dared to reveal his true identity. He could only use the name Leon, trying his best to fight for survival in this tall tower.


    Although he was simply an Apprentice Mage living under the Great Master Eclivel, his glorious status would attract the envy of most people living in this world. However, only those who truly lived in this tall tower would know that not only was this not an enviable position, but it could be considered a terrifying form of torture and punishment.


    The basic work of an Apprentice Mage was to work diligently and conscientiously, attending to the daily life of their Great Master, in this case, Great Master Eclivel. They were also tasked with cleaning magical experiment equipment, keeping the tower¡¯s interior clean, tending to the demonic creatures outside the tower, and¡­ bing part of Great Master Eclivel¡¯s experiments.


    Although thest task was rare, when the wagons that brought ves or prison convicts arrived several dayste, the easily frustrated Great Master Eclivel, whocked test subjects for his experiments, would order a random apprentice to be his temporaryb rat.


    It was said that Bleia, who came from Ante Province and lived next to Leon, was "fortunate" enough to be the experimental "partner" for Great Master Eclivelst month. She did not die from the magical experiment, though her body was seriously "contaminated," and she now had some horrible mutation.


    Since she came out of theb wearing a thick cloak that covered her entire body, she ended up hiding in her room and never came out again.


    Many Apprentice Mages thought that Bleia might have died in her room.


    But Leon knew the truth: Bleia was still alive.


    At night, in the unnatural stillness of that tower, he could hear the sounds of agonized groans scratching against the wall. Because of this, while everyone was sleeping, he would sneak out of his room and throw some food, which he had brought into his room, into Bleia¡¯s room through the tower¡¯s small windows.


    Moreover, Leon would asionally talk to her, calling her little princess, telling her she was beautiful, and promising that when she overcame whatever she was suffering, he would invite her to his room so they could have fun together.


    Although Leon had his own problems to deal with, he still felt fear deep inside. After all, if Bleia lost control, the first door she would break down in herplete madness would be Leon¡¯s room. That¡¯s why he invented all this, and to protect himself, he was capable of telling the sweetest lies.


    After all, even the most beastly creature would feel pain attacking someone who had a special ce in their heart, even if that heart were made of stone; there were still ways to carve Leon¡¯s name on the top of it with sweet lies.


    Today, the headache came at the wrong time. It chose to strike just when he was making a copy of the book. He was low on money, but he had wasted another piece of goatskin paper.


    Although it was just a crumpled, rough piece of goatskin paper, it was worth about two silver coins. In this world, the mostmonly used currency was the gold coin. One gold coin could be exchanged for ten silver coins, and one silver coin could be exchanged for ten copper coins. Five copper coins were what most people in this world earned in a day.


    Therefore, to most, amon piece of goatskin paper was considered a huge fortune. But in this ce, it was just trash that an Apprentice Mage could simply throw away.


    However, inside the Mage¡¯s high tower, nothing was truly free.


    Leon had to pay for a room, food, and counsel, in addition to the cost of learning through his own efforts. The only ways to earn money required going outside the high magical tower to feed those brutal and ferocious demonic creatures, tending to those horrible and strange demonic nts, or searching for and gathering the magical materials specified by the Grand Master Eclivel.


    One could also earn money by cleaning some of the dangerous areas within the tower.


    While performing these tasks, they would use a magical talisman made by the Mage himself, which would allow them safe passage through the magical formation around the tower. But in this mysterious and strange world, no mere talisman could guarantee absolute safety.


    Every two months, there was always an incident where some unfortunate people were devoured by creatures or demonic nts when tending to them. Sometimes, people were struck down by magical energy while cleaning up one of the Great Mage¡¯s experiments.


    Therefore, most of the safer tasks were taken by senior Apprentice Mages, and as a result, the weaker Apprentice Mages could only choose more dangerous tasks to earn their money and knowledge points so they could continue their magical training.


    The money was, naturally, used to buy daily necessities, while the knowledge points were used to purchase knowledge. It was a mary system created by the Mage himself. In the library within the tower, each magic book wasbeled with different knowledge point values. Books to be borrowed required knowledge points, not money.


    Apprentices had to work hard to earn knowledge points, but those points only allowed them to borrow the book for a very short period. The time was so short that it was not enough for an apprentice to master all the knowledge within the book. Therefore, most apprentices had made it a habit to copy the books themselves.


    Whenever they borrowed a magic book, the apprentice would put all their effort into copying the knowledge they needed so they could continue studying in the future. Copying books required goatskin paper and ink. Obviously, these were not free either, so Apprentice Mages needed more money.


    Of course, if an Apprentice Mage came from a wealthy family, they could spend arge amount of money in exchange for knowledge points. The exchange rate between them was one knowledge point for a hundred gold coins.


    For example, the "Glossary of Demonic Creatures," which Leon had borrowed today, cost him three knowledge points. He could only borrow it for half a day. Based on Leon¡¯s best estimate, with his copying speed, he would need to borrow it three times to make aplete copy of this book.


    That would cost him a total of nine knowledge points. Leon would have to leave the tower for two consecutive weeks to earn those nine knowledge points.


    So, he did not feel so upset about wasting a piece of goatskin paper, but he was furious for having wasted two hours of his precious time copying the book.


    Leon took a deep breath and did his best to hold back his anger, as it would help when copying his bookter. However, in the next moment, a beeping sound suddenly echoed in his brain.


    "Beep!"


    "Biological energy has reached the required amount."


    "Biological Assistance Chip, initializing..."


    Leon let out a gasp of surprise.


    "Biological Assistance Chip!"


    Some time ago, when he had just arrived in this new world, Leon indulged in fantasies where he became a powerful immortal who traveled to a new world with a divine weapon. But to his misfortune, aside from giving him frequent headaches, the chip had shown no signs of activation. Surprise, surprise... it finally decided to work today!


    After the chip finished adjusting to its new state, a graceful, emotionless female voice sounded in Leon¡¯s brain.


    "Host detected!"


    "Establishing database..."


    "please wait..."


    Eh? It can still identify its new owner? That was unexpected.


    After all, this was a world of advanced magic. The entire dimension was filled with a mystical material called Elementium. Based on the differences of these basic "elements," the Elementium was ssified into types such as Earth, Fire, Wind, Light, Darkness, etc.


    Mages would have different levels of affinity with these types of Elementium, and therefore, there were different variables among Mages. Since this system waspletely different from Earth¡¯s workings, Leon was worried about how to standardize data in this world, so having the chip here to try to quantify these things brought hope.


    ...


    1952 Words


    ...


    Hello, reader. Your presence on this journey means so much to me. If you¡¯re enjoying the story so far, I would love for you to leave a 5-star rating. It really helps with visibility and allows more readers to discover this world I¡¯m creating.


    Also, if you have power stones, I¡¯m happy to receive them! Don¡¯t hesitate toment your impressions and curiosities; I¡¯ll be d to respond!


    ...


    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


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    ...


    Gift campaign!


    - Magic Castle = 5 chapters.


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    - Gachapon = 20 chapters.

 Chapter 2: Status

    After a long wait, the Biological Assistance Chip finallypleted its first self-test.


    Soon, all of Leon¡¯s basic attributes were projected in his mind.


    "Leon"


    Race: Human


    Alignment: Lawful Neutral


    Condition: Healthy


    HP: 11/11


    Apprentice Mage [Beginner]


    Experience: 614/1000


    "Attributes"


    Strength: 4


    Agility: 4


    Constitution: 3


    Spirit: 8


    "Skills:"


    1. Copy Document


    2. Spell Reading


    "


    Personal Abilities"


    1. Burning Hand


    In this world, every normal human being was born with some basic attributes in their body. After years of research and rankings conducted by generations upon generations of Mages, they finally categorized these into four different attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Spirit. As one might guess, Mages were distinguished based on these four basic attributes.


    Strength was primarily used to quantify a person¡¯s muscture and bodily power. This attribute was very important for closebat Mages. The strength attribute affected base damage when using melee weapons and also influenced melee uracy.


    For an average man, having 3 to 4 strength was quite normal. An adult with 5 strength would be considered rather strong.


    Agility was used to quantify coordination, flexibility, reflexes, and body bnce. It was extremely vital for those warriors who wore light or medium armor, or for rogues wearing leather armor and for anyone aspiring to be a skilled archer.


    Constitution represented a person¡¯s health and resilience. Any increase in constitution would improve a person¡¯s Vitality and Concentration. Therefore, it was very important for all professions.


    Vitality, also known as the ability to withstand poison or disease.


    Concentration. This is a very important skill for sorcerers.


    The minimum constitution for any human is 1. If a human¡¯s constitution dropped below 1, they would die.


    Spirit determined a person¡¯s capacity to learn and deduce. This attribute was especially important for Mages because it decided the number of spells a Mage could cast. It also made casting spells easier and increased the power of their spells.


    Most animals had a Spirit of 1 or 2, while human-like creatures would have at least 3. If amon human wanted to be a Mage, they would need to have at least 21 Spirit.


    After analyzing the effects of these attributes for Mages, Leon decided that the most important attribute for himself was Spirit. Once his Spirit reached 21, he would soar to new heights, officially bing a Mage.


    The only way for him to increase his Spirit was through constant meditation, reading spell books and notebooks, and listening to the experiences of other veteran Mages.


    However, all of this was simply in front of him but out of his reach!


    Because, in this dark and cruel world of Mages, knowledge equaled power and was therefore difficult to find.


    Why did so many Apprentice Mages ignore the risks and remain in this ce, even knowing there was great danger waiting for them everywhere? Simply put, it was because this was the only ce where they could seek knowledge and resources for growth.


    Once they left this tall tower of magic, even if they possessed a fortune equivalent to a country¡¯s wealth, they would have no way of obtaining magical knowledge and experience. Not like here, where they could obtain it systematically.


    In this fearsome world of Mages, all extraordinary spell skills and precious magical knowledge were monopolized by the Mages. It waspletely impossible formon mortals to ess them!


    Therefore, knowledge and resources were the wings for any Mage to fly toward their dream. Only by being a Mage could one have a bright future.


    After reading the basic attributes, Leon shifted his focus to the ¡¯skills¡¯ and ¡¯personal ability¡¯ sections.


    Leon only had two skills: Copy Document and Spell Reading. These were basic skills for all Apprentice Mages.


    One allowed apprentices to copy the magical knowledge they needed to learn, and the other allowed the user to read magical books.


    If amon man touched a magical book without having the "Spell Reading" skill, their mind would be confused by the words due to the supernatural power of the letters, and they would lose control of their body for a period of time.


    Only those, like Apprentice Mages, who had undergone strict mental training could ovee this psychic effect and ess the true magical knowledge hidden within the book.


    The only skill listed under personal abilities was ¡¯Burning Hand.¡¯ This was the sole offensive magical skill Leon had learned in his 6 years as an Apprentice Mage. Burning Hand created a small ball of fire in the palm, allowing him to burn anyone who came too close.


    Unfortunately, Leon was still an Apprentice Mage. There was no way to fully master any spell. All he could do was follow the type of element that suited him best and try his utmost.


    And, of course, the element he had the greatest affinity with was fire!


    Unfortunately, this affinity was not well-regarded within the walls of this tall tower in the swamp. As everyone knew, the Grand Master Eclivel¡¯s elemental affinities were Darkness and Wind. Leon¡¯s path was notpatible with his mentor¡¯s, making it much more difficult for him to receive guidance. Thus, most of the time, he had to rely on himself and study even more.


    In fact, this issue had been troubling Leon ever since he arrived in this world, but now that the Biological Assistance Chip had reactivated, Leon firmly believed he could find a suitable magical path for himself in theing days.


    As for "Experience," after Leon read the chip¡¯s rted information, he began to gain a basic understanding of what it was. Through the process of organizing Leon¡¯s past memories and knowledge, the Biological Assistance Chip identified two necessary conditions for Leon to advance and be a Mage.


    First, without a doubt, his Spirit needed to reach the minimum level for a Mage.


    For example, Leon¡¯s Spirit Attribute was 8. This meant that he was a "wise man," much more intelligent thanmon people, but to advance and be a true Mage, he needed his Spirit Attribute to reach 21. That was a gap of 13 points. This could not be rushed. He would have to read a mountain of magical books to reach that level.


    Secondly, his own "Experience" had to reach a certain threshold as well.


    This meant that after Leon raised his Spirit Attribute to 21, he still needed to somehow elevate his Experience to the maximum level. Only then could he officially advance. He needed to aplish both to be a Mage.


    There were many methods for gaining experience points. For instance, Copying Documents, Spell Reading, spending time practicing spells, crafting magical wands, identifying magical items... In short, any umtion of knowledge involving magic would grant Leon a certain amount of Experience Points.


    All of this seemed easy, but it was actually quite difficult to umte Experience Points.


    Because only sessful experiments orplete understanding of magic could grant Experience Points. Only after Leon fully read and mastered a magical book could he understand its use. If he read a book and still could not grasp the knowledge within, how could he grow?


    It was always easier said than done. Even with the help of the Biological Assistance Chip, Leon still needed to work hard to get what he wanted.


    Just as Leon was lost in his contemtive thoughts, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway outside his room.


    "Leon, hurry up, it¡¯s our turn to do the tasks!" A rough voice called from outside his door.


    It was Nn, an Apprentice Mage who was at the same level as Leon.


    Lower-level apprentices like them had to inspect the grounds surrounding the tower every seven days to search for magical materials and harvest them properly. This was also one of the daily tasks assigned to the apprentices by the tower¡¯s master.


    Leon hurriedly tidied up his room, grabbed a ck cloak hanging on the wall, opened the door, and stepped out of the room.


    Nn had broad shoulders, a huge frame, a fierce face, and long disheveled hair. All of this made him look somewhat like a barbarian. It was said that he came from a kingdom in the Hignds of Grimm. ording to rumors, people born in thatnd possessed barbarian lineage.


    Neither of them said anything when they met outside. They simply exchanged nods, then turned and walked down the dark hallway toward a staircase.


    Although it was daytime now, they did not encounter any other apprentices along the way. There were more than fifty official apprentices living in the tower, but most of the time, these apprentices were busy practicing their own magical spells or preparing all sorts of strange magical experiments. They rarely spoke in public ces.


    This was one of the main reasons why this swamp tower always seemed so quiet.


    After walking through the long, dark hallway and descending the spiral stone staircase, they reached the main hall on the first level of the tower. Here, they finally encountered more people, as this was the space for the Approved Apprentices.


    Most of these people were actually children, between 8 and 14 years old, and there were about twenty of them.


    These young fellows came from all over, and they were all here with the dream of bing the greatest Mage. But little did they know, the path to bing a Mage was incredibly difficult and terrifying, and this path was all that awaited them in their future.


    In fact, there was a strict separation of the poption in this tower. Generally, most of these children only had about 3 to 5 Spirit Points. Therefore, they were not currently considered real Apprentice Mages and could only be addressed as Approved Apprentices.


    All Approved Apprentices had toplete their basic training innguage and writing. Additionally, they could only advance when they managed to sense their elemental affinity and gather Elementium while meditating. Only then would they have a chance to move up to the second floor and be an official Apprentice Mage.


    As for those who could never reach this basic requirement, they would be eliminated.


    Helping these young friendsplete their meditation, teaching themnguage and writing skills, and instilling in them the basic rules of the magical world... of course, it was impossible for the Grand Master Mage to carry out these low-level tasks. Thus, it became part of the daily routine for official Apprentice Mages in the tower.


    But such an easy daily task never fell into Leon¡¯s hands.


    After saying ¡¯Hi¡¯ to Ertil, who was teaching these Approved Apprentices in hisnguage ss, both men ignored the eager gazes of these young fellows and went straight to the main hall, quickly arriving at a tightly closed stone door.


    Nn ced his right palm against the stone door and spoke in a low voice, "Curium ? Ada."


    Following thepletion of the secret spell, the old-looking stone door slowly slid to both sides, revealing the dark and mysterious swamp outside the tower to the two of them.


    ...


    1834 Words

 Chapter 3: Swamp

    This was a strange and fearsome magical swamp.


    Although it was daytime, the thick clouds and mist meant that little light could pass through, making the world appear quite gloomy. The entire world seemed to have a dark, earthy yellow tone.


    After living in this environment for a long time, even a person¡¯s character would change and be more ruthless.


    Both waited until the stone door behind them waspletely closed, then Nn lifted his hood and said:


    "I¡¯m going this way."


    He didn¡¯t wait for Leon¡¯s response, simply turned and took a path that led to the left, which brought him to a narrow, winding trail paved with tiny white stones.


    Leon waited until Nn¡¯s bulky figure disappeared into the shadowy mist, then pulled up his hood, turned to the other side, and took the trail to the right.


    As he walked, he whispered, "Show me the data detected on Nn."


    In the next second, a report on the Apprentice Mage Nn, produced by the Biological Assistance Chip, was projected in his mind.


    "Nn"


    Race: Human


    Condition: ¡ª


    HP: ¡ª


    Apprentice Mage [Beginner]


    Experience: ¡ª


    "Attributes:"


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 3


    Physique: 8


    Spirit: 6


    ¡­


    Leon¡¯s mouth twitched in surprise. With that Physique, why hadn¡¯t this guy changed paths and be a Warrior? His strength and physique were double that of Leon¡¯s. This meant that if he fought Nn, it might only take a single punch to bring him down.


    But as an Apprentice Mage, Nn had 6 Spirit, 2 less than Leon. No matter how hard Nn tried, that innate advantage would be difficult to ovee.1


    Knowing this, Nn was probably nning to follow the path of a Body Refining Mage. Using specific methods to strengthen his body, then using magical spells to aid his closebat ability¡­ Perhaps that was the only path he could choose!


    Only by staying close to the target for a period could the Chip analyze and acquire such precise information. Monitoring the target¡¯s movement and behavior. Undoubtedly, this allowed Leon to take a more proactive position when working with others. It also enabled him to avoid unnecessary risks.


    And that was, without a doubt, the most important thing for Leon!


    But perhaps such a method would be useless against a real Mage, as their bodies sometimes radiated strong elemental energy. This was something Mages passively gained after their body umted a massive amount of energy. It was also how they prevented others from perceiving their strength.


    The amount of valuable information the Biological Assistance Chip could verify when the target was under the powerful interference of energy radiation was unknown. Not only that, but Leon was concerned that Mages might be able to detect his Biological Assistance Chip, so he needed to be more cautious when using it within the tower.


    The stony trail ahead remained winding as it led deeper into the foggy haze.


    Strange nts of all sizes, barely visible on either side of the path, included small, thick, cone-shaped trees, small leafy nts curling into spirals, rattan vines brushing overhead as he walked beneath them, and mystical, incredibly colorful flowers with petals asrge as big vases¡­ there was also a muddy, stinking pond¡­


    Despite all of this making it seem like this was just an ordinary swamp, Leon knew very well that he could never take even a single step off the stony trail.


    To all those animals and nts that had managed to survive in this magical swamp, they were terrifying demons that would devour any human they encountered, leaving not even bones behind.


    These short, simple-looking trees were actually quite frightening. If a person got close enough to them, their swaying branches would instantly expand, grabbing and holding the person tightly within their clutches. At that moment, the blood rattans hanging from those trees would coil around the person, piercing countless sharp thorns into their body, slowly draining the blood drop by drop.


    Once the person¡¯s blood waspletely dried up, the remaining skin, flesh, and bones would be the best fertilizer for these killer trees.


    If one could safely dig up the blood-red soil beneath these killer trees, they would surely discover a massive pile of skeletons, some human and some animal. Without doing so, there was no evidence of any prey these nts had devoured!


    There were two reasons why this tower in the swamp cultivated these demonic nts. First, it was to prevent invasion by other humans. Second, it was so they could harvest some unique magical materials from the nts.


    The root of the Killer Tree and the blood sac that grew inside the Blood-Sucking Rattans were good tonics. They were a beneficial supplement for Magescking a strong physique. On a regr basis, an apprentice Mage had to risk being attacked by these demonic nts to gather materials. Therefore, this was a dangerous task that had a very high death toll.


    It was probably because they smelled the blood and flesh on Leon¡¯s body that the dead swamp suddenly seemed toe alive. Consciously or unconsciously, all these demonic nts started twisting their bodies, branches, and roots slowly toward the stony trail.


    Leon pretended not to see the movements of these demonic nts. He was not truly worried about them at this moment.


    No matter how frenzied they were, they did not dare move onto the simple, clear stony trail beneath his feet, as if there was something on the path that they feared.


    "Consult the database, record and archive all magical nts in the surrounding area!"


    "Insufficient initial data¡­"


    "Root database is iplete and unable to match species¡­"


    "Activating elemental vision, reconstructing database¡­"


    Following a series of warning tones from the chip, the image projected onto his retina began to flicker, then stabilized as arge amount of data started cascading like a waterfall before his eyes. At the same time, every object within his view was highlighted with different colored lights.


    Elemental vision? Was this a special ability he gained after the chip merged with his current body?


    The nts were highlighted with a green light, indicating that these nt demons contained many Elementium, which, surprisingly, were often found in natural nts. Other colors such as red, yellow, blue, and purple indicated the areas where respective energies were collected.


    Additionally, the humidity, temperature, wind speed, poison particle thickness, particle distribution of elements, and cirction¡ªall the data the chip could detect¡ªwere projected into his eyes in a dynamic, colorful graph.


    Leon frowned.


    This colorful, excessive retinal projection severely affected his normal vision. This was too much information.


    "Remove unnecessary colors¡­ remove scattered highlights¡­ only disy vision within the mostmon energy bands¡­"


    After Leon issued hismands, one by one, the brilliant and colorful orb finally receded little by little, and all the items in his vision gradually returned to their normal colors.


    The thick, pale, shadowy mist now transformed into countless clumps, threads, and sheets of slow-moving elemental water particles. They were restrained by a mysterious force and couldn¡¯t disperse, forced to cover this magical swamp month after month, year after year.


    Leon stopped moving and stood still. Hidden under the shadow of his hood was a pair of bright eyes, staring at the demonic nts beside the trail without blinking. With the help of his new vision, the true nature of these nts hidden under the guise of the swamp was finally revealed.


    Beneath the wrinkled, withered bark of the tree, there was an array of ghostly faces pressed together. These were all the souls trapped by the Killer Trees. Furthermore, Leon could "see" a green energy glow in the needle-like stingers at the edges of the Killer Tree¡¯s branches. This energy indicated the presence of the paralytic poison the Killer Tree used to sedate its prey.


    As for the Blood-Sucking Rattans hanging from the Killer Tree, they looked utterly demonic, appearingpletely red under his elemental vision. Pure blood flowed beneath their twisted, crawling green skin, and right at the point where they connected with the Killer Tree, inside a hollow cavity of the tree, numerous blood sacs the size of a human fist pulsed rhythmically, resembling human hearts.


    Caw ~ caw ~


    Apanied by a few sharp caws, a group of Carrion Crows flew in and perched on a tree branch, shifting their blood-red eyes and staring at Leon.


    Honestly speaking, being stared at by such a group of menacing demons made Leon feel incredibly uneasy.


    In the face of these dangerous swamp demons, Leon didn¡¯t dare to be even slightly careless. Although Carrion Crows weren¡¯t considered strong demonic animals, their blood-red eyes possessed the ¡¯Ruin¡¯ ability, and there had been some horrific incidents where Apprentice Mages had been blinded by these crows.


    Seeing that these Carrion Crows were eager to attack, Leon raised his right arm and softly intoned a spell he had memorized.


    "Burning Hands,e forth!"


    "Burning Hands, I summon thee!"


    "Burning¡­"


    Five seconds after the spell was cast, arge, violent, twisting red magical fireball appeared in Leon¡¯s hand.


    "Buzz~~"


    Leon¡¯s entire right hand waspletely engulfed by this magical fireball, yet he remained unharmed and unburned.


    This was his Burning Hand spell!


    After spending six years in the Magic Tower, this was the only spell Leon had managed to master.


    With Leon¡¯s current ability, he could barely extend the me up to 5 paces. That was his limit. Thus, it could currently be considered a close-range spell.


    The fiercely burning magical me illuminated the surrounding mist. The powerful ripples generated by the fire element finally made these demons realize that this human in front of them was not someone they could easily capture.


    As for the demons that were slowly approaching Leon, it seemed they were struck by great terror, and all of them quickly fled from the sides of the trail in a panic. Additionally, the group of Carrion Crows let out loud caws as they flew into the sky, circling briefly in the air above before disappearing into the depths of the fog.


    Leon let out a long sigh of relief. With that, the pressure on him was eased.


    None of these demons dared to step onto the stony trail, but that did not stop them from using their own methods to try to lure or intimidate Apprentice Mages into leaving the path.


    If Leon had been frightened by the terrifying scene of being surrounded by demons and, in his panic, identally stepped off the boundaries of this stony trail¡­ even with the help of the Magic Talisman, he would likely face a terrible death.


    The soul, blood, and flesh of an Apprentice Mage. Without a doubt, they were far more delicious thanmon humans or wild beasts. Moreover, this did not vite the agreement between the demons and the Magic Tower. Therefore, every inspection journey outside the tower was aplete test of willpower. Once these demons found a weakness in the mind, the future of that person would not be promising.


    "Record everything you can about these demons!" Leon said calmly.


    "Beep¡­"


    "Recordingpleted!"


    Host, name the creatures in the order they are presented.


    Images of creatures appeared before his eyes.


    "Killer Tree¡­ Blood-Sucking Rattans¡­ Carrion Crows¡­"


    "Namingpleted!"


    "New information has been recorded in the database."


    ...


    1875 Words

 Chapter 4: Return

    Change: The Biological Assistance Chip will now be called BioChip.


    ...


    While most of the demons backed away, frightened by the magical me that had just appeared in the air, Leon jumped out of the way, dug into the ground beneath a nearby Murdering Tree, used his magical me to burn through the thick root of the tree, and finally saw the material he came to harvest.


    Among the tangled roots and pale white human bones were some small fleshy root nodes. Some were white, some were red, and there were even a few colored violet. Leon suppressed the disgust he felt and, using a small knife he carried with him, carefully harvested three of the purple nodes and ced them in his waist pocket. Then, he quickly ran back to the road.


    If this task hadn¡¯t been so important, he would never have strayed from the edge of the road! Even though he had moved with great speed, those demons that had already fled gathered again. Moreover, the Bloodsucking Rattans that hung from the Murdering Trees now upied the space he had entered while digging the roots.


    If he had been a second slower, he wouldn¡¯t have escaped without a tough fight!


    In fact, thanks to his new "elemental vision," he was able to directly find the roots of the Murdering Tree¡¯s core. If it had been before, he would have had to make repeated trips to find his harvest. The farther he went down the road, the greater the risk.


    He continued following the mysterious path for another two hundred meters, soon leaving the main group of Murdering Trees. In front of him, he saw a horrifying ghost tree, which seemed alive as it stretched over the rocky trail; the vines and branches of trees hanging from it looked alive as they swayed in the air.


    Taking the magical talisman from under his shirt, Leon whispered the secret spell that every Apprentice Mage had to master.


    "Muhantoria ? Sinra."


    Uponpleting the secret magical spell, a mysterious and invisible force erupted from the talisman, quickly covering every inch of his surroundings.


    A warning exploded in Leon¡¯s mind.


    "Abnormal force field detected!"


    The functionality of this chip is being interfered with¡­


    The voice of the chip grew weaker and weaker. It slowly faded into a soft whimper before finally fallingpletely silent.


    Leon ignored the chip and began to walk forward, holding the magical talisman above his head. With each step he took, the vines and tree branches in front of him recoiled. Eventually, they parted, allowing him to pass and continue on his way.


    Now that he was done with the Murdering Trees and the Bloodsucking Rattans, it was time for him to enter what was known as a paradise for a type of being known as Demonic Baby. Leon¡¯s heart was filled with a strong fear for this ce.


    The area right after the ghost tree was filled with demons. They called it the Garden of Whispers.


    If one looked off the path, they would see fields of flowers, but all of those fields were filled with ashes, corpses, and countless demons.


    The unique environment of the magical swamp made this ce a paradise for Demonic Babies, Banshees, and Flower Fairies, which were simply twisted creatures whose only desire was to fill their stomachs with the corpses and souls of the unprepared beings who entered this ce.


    Whenever a fool entered this ce, their fate was to copse under the endless influences and evil illusions and be fertilizer for these unique nts, which thrived on death and despair.


    Mushrooms with human faces gathered on both sides of the path. They were all holding hands and singing a cheerful melody, warmly beckoning Leon to join them. These little things looked like small mushrooms with hands and feet. They had a pattern on their caps resembling a human face.


    Although these human-faced mushrooms had small hands and cute little feet and were no more than a foot tall, when they gathered together, jumping andughing, it sent chills down Leon¡¯s spine.


    "Warning¡­"


    "Warning¡­"


    "Strange energy is affecting the host¡­"


    "Rmended that the host leave this ce immediately¡­"


    Leon quickly moved away from the dancing mushrooms. As he distanced himself from them, the chill running down his spine finally diminished.


    No matter how cute these human-faced mushrooms were, they were still true carnivorous demons, known for sparing no soul of their prey. The original form of these demons was actually a type of white mushroom that had been injected with vast and potent dark Elementium.


    Individually, they only possessed a weak illusion ability, which was definitely not enough for them to capture prey like a human, who was muchrger than they were.


    But these creatures lived in groups.


    When hundreds of human-faced mushrooms gathered, they could form arge illusory region, causing their prey to get lost without even realizing it. Thus, if someone stumbled upon and became trapped in arge group of human-faced mushrooms, their victim might still have a smile on their face, beingpletely immersed in some kind of fantasy!


    For an official Mage, these human-faced mushrooms, which only possessed basic illusion abilities, were simply good material to enhance their own magic. But for an Apprentice Mage like Leon, he would face the risk of being killed by them every time he encountered them.


    If Leon could not withstand the illusory region created by these human-faced mushrooms and veer off the path of his own ord, then these creatures could enjoy a grand feast without viting the agreement made with the tower!


    Therefore, returning to these smiling yet insidious demons, who continued to approach him, Leon smiled and quickly pulled out an egg-sized stone, throwing it directly into the center of the dancing mushrooms.


    "Zosh~~"


    In the next moment, a blue sh erupted from the stone as a faint lightning bolt struck everything nearby.


    "Buzzz~~"


    "Bang~~"


    Five human-faced mushroomsy lifeless on the ground. All the other human-faced mushrooms were frightened and fled in all directions, hiding in the nearby foliage.


    Leon walked over to the five corpses of the human-faced mushrooms, carefully picked them up, and ced them all in his waist pocket. Then he grabbed the small round stone and returned to the road.


    The small egg-shaped stone was a Thunder Stone, which he had bought from the apprentice Rick for a high price. When activated, it shook violently for a moment before releasing a small explosion of lightning that dealt 5 points of electric damage. It was the perfect weapon to deal with these human-faced mushrooms, which were quite weak.


    After all, his spell "ming Hand" was quite destructive, and thus he needed another method.


    None of these human-faced mushrooms dared to show their faces after being attacked. The countless nces and noisy whispers followed Leon, leaving his hair standing on end.


    The human-faced mushrooms were one of the materials he had to gather for his task. Therefore, once Leonpleted this part of the task, he quickly hurried down the winding path, not daring to linger in this ce any longer.


    To be honest, among all thends around the tower, this ce was known for having the highest mortality rate among Apprentices!


    Leaving the flower-filled fields where the human-faced mushrooms grew, Leon soon arrived at the region where the Demonic Babies lived.


    The Demonic Baby was a small monster with a tiny wrinkled body that resembled a human baby. They also had something like an umbilical cord trailing behind them as they moved. They crawled on the ground, but the speed at which they crawled was extremely fast.


    These Demonic Babies were not real babies, but truly horrifying monsters. They possessed an innate ability that was very simr to a "Curse." With this "Curse," their words and wills would unite to be reality. One could imagine their power as something akin to the spell "Wish."


    Unfortunately, they were all evil creatures with absolutely twisted minds, and their hearts were filled with vicious hatred. So don¡¯t expect them to grant you good wishes; you could only reap the endless and vicious abuse of the Demonic Babies¡¯ curse.


    When dozens of Demonic Babies gather and unleash their most powerful curses toward a target, even a powerful Earth Bear would be greatly weakened by the stacking of their evil intentions. After that, the Demonic Babies could easily kill their victim.


    Walking among this group of terrible monsters, one would need a heart and iron will, or else they would end up having their skin stripped and bones dismantled by the Demonic Babies, soon bing one of the many wandering souls in this Garden of Whispers.


    Leon quickened his pace as he dashed through the deste shrubs of the Garden. He didn¡¯t have the courage to stop and simply held the talisman tightly against his chest, running faster and faster as he crossed this part of the swamp.


    The moment the sharp screams of the Demonic Babies began to fill his ears, Leon was running. Though it was terrifying, he soon left the Garden of Whispers, breathing heavily as he turned onto another narrow path.


    Although he had set out to gather materials, the most important part of this routine task was to inspect the activity of the demons near the tower and check for anything out of ce, such as signs that a stranger had tried toe into this area. Every seven days, he had to take note of the activity of all the demons around the tower, properly gathering some magical materials, just as he had done.


    This was the purpose of Leon¡¯s trip.


    In fact, the region he was inspecting was truly part of the inner boundary of the magical swamp. It was very rare for a stranger to actuallye to the swamp. After all, demons created by Mages were extremely dangerous, and even using a magical talisman would not be enough to guarantee the safety of an Apprentice Mage.


    As for ordinary humans trying to sneak into this ce to steal resources from a Mage, the chances of them getting past all these monstrous demons were almost impossible.


    To be honest, mortals would probably not even get past the outer perimeter of the magical swamp.


    But, ording to Leon¡¯s knowledge, sometimes the Mage Tower would deliberately disable some of the defense mechanisms of the outer perimeter, actively luring some ordinary humans into the depths of the swamp. At that moment, the swamp would turn into a demonic carnival while everyone enjoyed the deaths of the ignorant!


    The Mage Tower was a huge ring-shaped structure, and thendscape around its base was extremelyplicated. The demons were distributed throughout the swamp in a very methodical manner. Therefore, each inspection trip would require at least two Apprentice Mages¡ªone going clockwise and the other counterclockwise. They would follow a fixed route, crossing most of the demon-infested areas.


    Starting from the front door of the tower and gathering at the back door, once theypleted this circr route, their inspection would be consideredplete.


    Each inspection task awarded them four knowledge points and some gold coins. Compared to other tasks within the tower, the reward for knowledge points was quite good. But even with such a high reward, most knowledge-hungry Apprentice Mages would still steer clear of this inspection task, avoiding it like the gue.


    The reason for this was obvious: the mortality rate for the inspection task was definitely the highest among all tasks in the tower! None of the other tasks could surpass it.


    For this inspection trip, Leon took the counterclockwise route, which required him to cross the grove of Killing Trees, the field of human-faced mushrooms, the Garden of Whispers, and a few other areas. As for the other Apprentice Mage, Nn, he took the clockwise route, but it was also not a safe path.


    After all, those Giant Alligators and the Parasite Insect Sovereigns were just as dangerous as some of the creatures on his side!


    Especially when one had to gather some Alligator eggs or insect cocoons. Doing such things required entering their nests, and that was just as dangerous as the inspection task going clockwise. Therefore, when Leon saw Nn at the back door of the tower, he felt relieved that Nn had survived as well.


    Neither of the guys spoke much after they met. They simply nodded indifferently and continued toward the tower.


    It was the Apprentice Leader, Theodore, who was waiting for them there. After sending the necessary items for the task, the two were basically free for the next six days. As for the knowledge points, Theodore registered them on his magical talisman using a secret method.


    For all the apprentices in the tower, their magical talisman was truly a symbol of their identity.


    ...


    2142 Words

 Chapter 5: Books

    After turning in his assignment and receiving the reward, Nn immediately ran back to his room, obviously intending to sleep and rest. After all, each inspection trip would push one¡¯s nerves to the limit and truly exhaust one¡¯s stamina. In contrast to Nn¡¯s actions, Leon hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked towards the library.


    It was around noon, so there weren¡¯t many apprentices inside the library.


    It was a simple stone room with dozens of yellowing wooden shelves ced against the walls. On top of these shelves were all kinds of magical and spell books made of various materials and in all shapes and sizes. The man who managed these books was a middle-aged Intermediate Mage Apprentice.


    For these Intermediate Mage Apprentices, who had only reached this level with the help of age-rted experience, the Mage Tower would never put in more effort to cultivate them. Moreover, this group of Apprentices had abandoned their ambitions. They were unwilling to undertake these excessively risky missions, yet at the same time, they refused to return to the life of ordinary humans.


    Therefore, they had be a unique group within the Mage Apprentices.


    Although a librarian received only one knowledge point every seven days, it was an easy job with no danger involved. This was also the reason why this task had been taken on by these Intermediate Mage Apprentices. For someone like Leon, who had no one to rely on and was always alone, all he could do was take on those dangerous missions.


    Leon did not rush to the shelves in the deeper area, as he usually did. Instead, he was browsing through each bookcase, asionally picking up a book and flipping through a few pages. All the books in this library were magic books.


    When they were not borrowed, only the introduction was visible to a reader, while all the other content of the book was perpetually covered by ayer of dark floating mist, ensuring that no one could read it.


    Leon never dared to underestimate this dark mist because it was personally designed by the master of this tower, the formidable Mage Eclivel. Without undergoing treatment from a special magical formation, no apprentice could read the content of the book, not even a single character.


    If someone began to think about breaking this mechanism, they would trigger a hidden magical formation, attracting the wrath and punishment of the Mage himself.


    Although the consequences could be quite terrible, Leon still wanted to test whether the BioChip could give him an advantage in this situation. After all, knowledge points were very hard to gain, and currently, Leon only had 7 points. The knowledge points alone were not enough to meet the necessary requirements for Spirit growth.


    He picked up the book "The History of the Mage" and pretended to be seriously reading the introduction. But in reality, in the back of his mind, he was silently issuingmands to the BioChip.


    "Scan this book. Try to see if you can obtain the content without triggering the magical formation!"


    Command received, processing mission... initiating deep scan...


    Leon lowered his head.


    When the BioChip was scanning things outside of his body, his eyes would take on a red hue. This required him to mask his eyes to prevent anyone from noticing something abnormal through his gaze.


    After submitting his task, Nn immediately ran back to his room, obviously intending to take a nap. After all, every inspection trip would push the nerves to their limits, and it really drained his stamina. In contrast to Nn¡¯s actions, Leon hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked toward the library.


    It was around noon, so there weren¡¯t many apprentices inside the library.


    It was a simple stone room with dozens of yellowing wooden shelves ced against the walls. On top of these shelves were all kinds of magical and spell books made of various materials and in all shapes and sizes. The man who managed these books was a middle-aged Intermediate Mage Apprentice.


    For these Intermediate Mage Apprentices, who had only reached this level with the help of age-rted experience, the Mage Tower would never put in more effort to cultivate them. Moreover, this group of Apprentices had abandoned their ambitions. They were unwilling to undertake these excessively risky missions, yet at the same time, they refused to return to the life of ordinary humans.


    Therefore, they had be a unique group within the Mage Apprentices.


    Although a librarian received only one knowledge point every seven days, it was an easy job with no danger involved. This was also the reason why this task had been taken on by these Intermediate Mage Apprentices. For someone like Leon, who had no one to rely on and was always alone, all he could do was take on those dangerous missions.


    Leon did not rush to the shelves in the deeper area, as he usually did. Instead, he was browsing through each bookcase, asionally picking up a book and flipping through a few pages. All the books in this library were magic books.


    When they were not borrowed, only the introduction was visible to a reader, while all the other content of the book was perpetually covered by ayer of dark floating mist, ensuring that no one could read it.


    Leon never dared to underestimate this dark mist because it was personally designed by the master of this tower, the formidable Mage Eclivel. Without undergoing treatment from a special magical formation, no apprentice could read the content of the book, not even a single character.


    If someone began to think about breaking this mechanism, they would trigger a hidden magical formation, attracting the wrath and punishment of the Mage himself.


    Although the consequences could be quite terrible, Leon still wanted to test whether the BioChip could give him an advantage in this situation. After all, knowledge points were very hard to gain, and currently, Leon only had 7 points. The knowledge points alone were not enough to meet the necessary requirements for Spirit growth.


    He picked up the book "The History of the Mage" and pretended to be seriously reading the introduction. But in reality, in the back of his mind, he was silently issuingmands to the BioChip.


    "Scan this book. Try to see if you can obtain the content without triggering the magical formation!"


    "Command received!"


    "Processing mission..."


    "Initiating deep scan..."


    Leon lowered his head.


    When the BioChip was scanning things outside of his body, his eyes would take on a red hue. This required him to mask his eyes to prevent anyone from noticing something abnormal through his gaze.


    Upon opening the door and entering his room, the first thing Leon did was nce at the floor beneath his feet.


    On the floor, near the door, there was a faint ripple of fire elemental energy.


    The energy came from elemental fire particles intentionally ced near the door. They had no significant function, but when someone passed through that point, the elemental energy around that person would inadvertently alter the arrangement of those fire elemental particles. With this, Leon could easily tell if someone had entered his room while he was away.


    People in thismunity of Mages rarely revealed their true faces. Those who were not proactive in their preparations and self-defense would notst long in this tower.


    Gently closing the door, Leon impatiently infused all the magical notes he had copied over the past few years. After serious calctions, Leon believed he currently possessed fiveplete magical books.


    The first book was undoubtedly the "Glossary of All Things." It was the fundamental book for all Mage Apprentices.


    Leon sat down at his wooden desk, thoroughly reading this "Glossary of All Things." Although he had memorized most of the book¡¯s content, it was inevitable that he would still forget some, especially the small details.


    At first, he did his best to recite the book as he read. He was making the BioChip copy all the content through his eyes to store, ssify, and categorize it ording to its specifications.


    As time went on, Leon stopped wasting his energy thinking or even reading. He simply became a human copying machine, his eyes continuously shimmering as they scanned over each word, magical inscription, and image¡­ all being copied at high speed.


    In less than fifteen minutes, the "Glossary of All Things" waspletely saved in the Chip¡¯s memory!


    Even Leon himself could not control his shock at such extreme speed.


    As the fundamental book for all Mage Apprentices, this "Glossary of All Things" recorded over ten thousand different races and unique creatures discovered on the Mage Continent. It also recorded mostmonly found nts, animals, minerals, special magical materials¡­ In total, this book had over thirty thousand entries.


    During the first two years, Leon spent 17 months creating copies and memorizing the entire book, but now it took less than fifteen minutes to save itpletely.


    Oveing his shock at the Chip¡¯s incredible speed, Leon closed the book and slowly began to recall the copied memory in his mind. Information about any species, fauna, or flora would appear in his mind as soon as he thought about it. The Chip would also project rted information and data in his mind. This, indeed, saved Leon a lot of time.


    Good. This was really useful! He would never have to worry about struggling to memorize that difficult-to-understand magical knowledge.


    Beingpletely taken aback with excitement, Leon did not pay attention to the growing pain in his head. He couldn¡¯t wait and quickly took out the second book, starting to duplicate it using the same method.


    "The Beginning of Spiritual Force," an orthodox book on Magic Theory. It primarily exined the raw source and application of Spirit energy used by Mages. It also contained some simple methods for exerting Spiritual Force.


    After finishing the copy of the second book, Leon gently touched his head. He felt incredibly dizzy and fatigued at the same time.


    These¡­ these were the symptoms of Spirit energy exhaustion!


    As a Mage Apprentice, he was extremely familiar with this situation. During the period when he had just learned the Burning Hand spell, since he still couldn¡¯t master the production of his magical energy, he always depleted his pitiful reserve of Spirit energy.


    In theter stages, as he became more familiar with casting Burning Hand, he finally gained a level of proficiency in using Spirit energy without being taught by anyone. When someone controls magical energy, the Spirit energy is proportional to the strength of their soul. The stronger the soul, the more Spirit energy it could utilize. Thus, that person would be able to cast more magical spells.


    Take Leon as an example! He had a Spirit of 8, and his magical energy was ten times his Spirit. In this case, 80 points. There were some Mages who liked to refer to Magical Energy as "Mage Energy."


    In any case, those 80 points of Mage Energy were all the abilities Leon had at that moment.


    ...


    1843 Words

 Chapter 6: Killer

    A simple spell like Fiery Hands would require Leon to spend approximately 20 Mage Energy points, meaning he could cast four Fiery Hands in session. But, of course, this was only in theory, as it was extremely difficult to achieve in reality.


    When a Mage had a full "Energy Reserve," their mind operated at its best. It didn¡¯t matter if they were pondering difficult questions or casting spells; they would perform best when their energy reserve was full. However, when a Mage¡¯s energy reserve dropped to ? of the maximum, their mind would be fatigued.


    The most significant symptom of this would be dizziness and swelling of certain tissues in the brain, causing the Mage to feel ill and start to vomit.


    If he attempted to cast a spell at that moment, even one that would normally take only five seconds, he might not be able to cast it in ten seconds, and there was a good chance he wouldn¡¯t be able to cast the spell at all.


    Therefore, when Mages were forced to cast spells frequently, they did their best to conserve a portion of their Spirit energy to avoid all the negative side effects of Spirit Fatigue.


    From the symptoms Leon was experiencing, it was clear that his energy reserve was at less than 5%, and thus, he was suffering from Spirit Fatigue. The only solution to this was to have a good night¡¯s sleep. After all, sleep is how the brain rejuvenates.


    The Chip was great, but it consumed arge amount of Leon¡¯s Spirit energy when it was operating. So, once he realized he was suffering from Spirit Fatigue, Leon contorted against his bed, threw himself onto it, and immediately fell asleep.


    The rest of the day passed as he slept, and the darkness of night settled over the swamp. Now, the moon rose in the dark sky, although its surface was rarely seen through the dense clouds and fog. A deep silence reigned over the tranquil Swamp Tower, as many of its inhabitants slept.


    During this time, a tall and strange dark shadow suddenly appeared beside Leon¡¯s bed, leaning over him and silently watching him.


    As a result of the nausea from his severe Spirit Fatigue, Leon did not sleep well. Even though he was asleep, his brows were tightly knit in a grimace, and his face was filled with anguish.


    The strange-looking human figure was backlit by the moonlight, so its entire body was shrouded in indescribable darkness. No one could clearly see its face, but no one could ignore the pair of blood-red eyes gleaming in that invisible face. Those eyes would make anyone who saw them tremble in fear.


    "Blood... blood... I need blood..."


    The dark shadow stretched out its two arms, as if to grasp Leon¡¯s neck, but for some unknown reason, it always withdrew, as if reluctant to do what it was trying to do.


    "No! You can¡¯t hurt him. He... He... Was the only one who didn¡¯t turn his back on me."


    Its behavior seemed to suggest that it was experiencing a fierce mental battle within itself.


    "Remember when he called me a little princess? Besides.... He... He... Dared to say that we would have fun in his room when I got better¡­"


    "Hahaha~~~"


    "For daring to say such things, he must die¡­"


    "NOOOO!!"


    "Harming him now would be worse than a knife cutting into my flesh."


    After a few minutes, it seemed to regain control of itself. It paused for a moment, then looked at Leon, who waspletely unaware of what was happening around him. Momentster, it turned and leaped through the window.


    This window opened to the outside of the tower. This meant that there was a formidable Magical Formation attached to it, which would make it impossible for any intruder to walk freely in this ce. But strangely, when this dark shadow grasped the wall of the tower outside Leon¡¯s room, it never triggered the magical formation surrounding the tower.


    If Leon had seen this, he would have realized that this being was a Mage Apprentice, as only Mage Apprentices had the Magical Talismans that allowed them to travel freely through the magical formation.


    The dark shadow was climbing up the outer wall of the Mage Tower at an extremely fast speed. Its movements were quick and agile, but it appeared effortless as the shadow flowed around the vertical wall of the tower. This was an impressively impossible feat of strength and dexterity that would have astonished anyone who witnessed it.


    Surprisingly, it seemed to intentionally move through the dark corners of windows and edges, where the moonlight could not reach. This made its movements even more impressive, but also difficult to see.


    Its movement was quick and graceful, making no noise throughout its journey. Moreover, it seemed to be searching for something specific, as it deliberately avoided the rooms that were still lit by candlelight. After searching for a while, it finally seemed to find what it was looking for.


    It hung on the side of a narrow window, tilting its head slightly to one side and listening for a moment. Only after confirming that the sound of breathinging from inside the room was steady and deep did it carefully scale the narrow window.


    For some time, nothing could be seen or heard inside the room. After a few minutes, it finally left the room, the faded smell of blood lingering around its body.


    It was obvious that the dark shadow was pleased with itself. Before sneaking away, it crouched at the narrow window and casually looked up at the sky. At that moment, the clouds had cleared enough for the moon to shine, spilling silver light from above and illuminating the face of the dark figure.


    What was revealed was the youthful face of a teenager. Her face was fair and beautiful, but if someone looked closely, they would see two sharp incisors protruding slightly from her upper lip, and if they looked even closer, they would notice blood staining those teeth.


    The beautiful young girl used her tiny tongue to gently lick both of her teeth. When she withdrew her tongue, she pursed her lips, as if savoring a fine wine. Only after sitting for a moment did she leap from the window and disappear into the dark shadows below, where the moonlight could never reach.


    ...


    The next day, Leon was awakened by a rapid knocking at his door.


    Leon shook his head, which was still a bit dazed, then got up and opened the door. To his surprise, he found three people standing outside.


    Leader Apprentice Theodore, Apprentice Brandon, and Apprentice Samuel.


    The position of Leader Apprentice was personally assigned by Grandmaster Eclivel, and Theodore was the current Leader Apprentice. Therefore, his status was supreme among all Mage Apprentices. Most of the time, he would carry out management tasks on behalf of the Grandmaster, overseeing all the Mage Apprentices within the Tower.


    Furthermore, as he possessed the strength of an intermediate Apprentice, all lesser Apprentices had to obey his orders. If anyone antagonized him, he could easily lead that person down a path to death, and they would never know how it all happened.


    As for the other two men, Brandon and Samuel, they were merely novice Apprentices like Leon, but both were good at ttery and followed Theodore day by day, licking his boots. Hence, they were considered the trusted followers of the Leader Apprentice.


    So, wherever Theodore appeared, these two sycophants would always be there. The rtionship between them was simr to the symbiotic behavior between Bloodsucking Rattans and Murderous Trees. The two sycophants needed Theodore¡¯s help. Only then would they have the privilege of choosing safer daily tasks.


    Meanwhile, Theodore needed the assistance of these two Apprentices to contain the idealists who wished for his position.


    Leon had an unsociable and entric character, so he rarely made contact with others. Therefore, the rtionship between him and this group was not good, but it wasn¡¯t bad either. This is why he felt truly surprised to find these guys standing at his door.


    Leader Apprentice Theodore was a young man in his early twenties. He had a hawk-like nose, a pair of thick eyebrows, and sharp eyes. Although his facial features did not make him look fierce, he still gave an imposing air to anyone who looked at him. The moment the wooden door opened, Theodore¡¯s intermittent gaze immediately fell on Leon¡¯s face, making Leon feel as if his skin had been burned.


    Leon felt a small shock in his heart.


    He knew this was an anomaly that only urred when the spirit energy overflowed, and it was a sign that this individual¡¯s overall power had reached a very high level.


    Among all the Apprentices in the Tower, there were indeed very strict divisions based on the power of the Apprentice.


    Those who had mastered only one or two spells and had a spirit level of 10 or less were all considered Beginner Apprentices, making up thergest number of Apprentices in this tower. As for those who had mastered three to four spells and had a spirit level of 11 to 15, they were ssified as Intermediate Apprentices, regarded as quite powerful.


    Finally, those who had mastered five or more spells and had a spirit level of over 16 points were the elite of the Tower: Advanced Mage Apprentices.


    Once the spirit points reached 20, one qualified to be a Pseudo Mage, and the Grand Master Mage would give them special treatment, preparing them for the ceremony that would transform them into official Mages.


    It should be noted that, at present, there were no real Pseudo Mages in the Swamp Tower!


    As for Theodore, although it was unknown how many magical spells he had mastered, with the aid of some unique magical items, he was sometimes able to unleash power that was no weaker than that of an Advanced Apprentice. Within the Tower, there were only three people who had reached the level of Advanced Apprentice: Deadshot, the Worm Controller, and Super Girl.


    Of course, these were not their real names, but surnames.


    Deadshot was Evan, a scary guy from the West Coast. To enhance his own power, he had actually reced one of his eyes with a hawk¡¯s eye. This granted him some strange abilities.


    The Worm Controller was ke. He was even weirder than Deadshot. He was able to create a swarm of horrific insects from his own blood and flesh. Battling him meant that a single careless mistake in the fight could end with one being devoured by thousands of insects!


    As for thest one, Super Girl had an immense thirst for violence. Armed with a huge steel sword taller than an average human, she was undefeated among all the Apprentices. She was so violent and terrible in battle that no one dared challenge her.


    The three had mastered some magical spells with tremendous power or possessed some strange and unique abilities. Regardless, they had transcended the status of ordinary Apprentices and all became candidates with the potential to break through and achieve the status of Pseudo Mage.


    Thus, faced with the zing gaze of such a powerful Mage Apprentice, Leon¡¯s spirit clearly was not enough to support him, and his mind was suppressed by the person standing before him.


    "Leon, something happened in the Towerst night! Do you know anything about it?" Leader Apprentice Theodore was still looking coldly at Leon without saying anything. It was Brandon who was speaking.


    "What? Something happened? Was someone killed in a magical experiment?" Obviously, Leon had no idea what was going on.


    "There were no issues with magical experiments. Someone was murdered inside their room!" Upon discovering that Leon¡¯s intrigued eyes and shocked expression did not seem fake, Theodore spoke slowly, but his eyes remained focused on Leon¡¯s face, certainly not missing any of his expressions.


    "Murdered?" Leon was startled; he immediately panicked and asked, "Who died?"


    Although, from time to time, Apprentices died in idents in the Swamp Tower, most deaths urred during dangerous missions or bizarre magical experiment idents. There had never been an instance of a Mage Apprentice being murdered by someone else. After all, every Apprentice was a precious asset to Grand Master Mage Eclivel, and he would never allow his Apprentices to kill each other.


    Once something like this was discovered by him, those who vited his will would definitely be severely punished.


    "Muret."


    Leon frowned.


    He knew Muret. That guy was just an ordinary Apprentice who had only mastered one magical spell¡­ that was all he knew. The only thing he could remember was that this guy had a face full of freckles and was younger than him.


    "So, why are you here¡­?"


    "We need to check your room. We are not suspecting you, but we are checking every Apprentice¡¯s room." Theodore said in a cold manner.


    "It¡¯s true, we have to check everyone¡¯s rooms. Step aside quickly, or we¡¯ll tell the Grandmaster that you are guilty of this murder¡­ Do you think you¡¯ll live long if that happens?" Undoubtedly, Samuel was the biggest annoyance here, spewing threats at Leon.


    Leon felt anger in his heart, but he gritted his teeth and slowly suppressed it.


    They were checking everyone¡¯s rooms?


    Would you have the courage to check Deadshot¡¯s room? And the Worm Controller¡¯s room? Or maybe Super Girl¡¯s room? You would turn around and walk away if Super Girl was standing in front of you!


    Although his heart was filled with anger, Leon merely frowned. He hesitated for a brief moment before finally stepping aside and allowing them to enter his room.


    ...


    2283 Words

 Chapter 7: Bleia vs Theodore

    His room was small and cramped, at most around 20 square meters. Just by standing at the door, one could see everything inside.


    There was a bed and a simple, old wooden desk. A few books were ced haphazardly, one of which was open, revealing strange and mysterious symbols on the exposed pages. An old chair was also visible. The paint on it had worn off, exposing the dark original color of the wood beneath.


    A wooden shelf was ced on one side of the room, with a row of ss jars resting on it. Inside these jars were some strange, semi-cultivated nts and the organs of bizarre demons.


    A wooden iron box was in the corner of the room. There was a trash bin next to it.


    Other than that, there was practically no other furniture in the room.


    A look of ridicule could be seen in the eyes of Brandon and Samuel.


    Although they were also Apprentices, both lived hundreds of times better than Leon. Not only did they haverge, soft, andfortable beds in their rooms, but the luxurious decorations in their rooms were simr to those of the human nobility in this world.


    Perhaps because they wanted to show their authority, both of them rushed into the room and began rummaging through his sparse belongings.


    The mattress on the wooden bed was thrown to the floor, the books on the desk were turned over haphazardly, and an ink bottle was knocked over, staining all the open books with arge amount of ink. The wooden iron box was opened, and all the clothes were dug out and thrown to the floor.


    The Apprentice Leader, Theodore, simply stood at the door and watched as his men wrecked Leon¡¯s room. He looked on impassively and did nothing to stop them.


    Leon stood next to Theodore. His fists were clenching and unclenching repeatedly in his sleeves. At the same time, his eyes were filled with cold fury.


    After destroying his room, Theodore¡¯s twockeys finally finished searching.


    Under the triumphant and curious gazes of the two men, Leon coldly closed the door.


    He rushed to the overturned wooden box. After briefly examining the pile of dirty clothes, Leon finally couldn¡¯t hold back and cursed in a low voice.


    Rattans Python, Grass Rat, ck Lotus Flower, Wild Steel Flower, Dark Moss¡­


    After risking his life and going through so many inspection trips, the magical materials he had painstakingly gathered from the Magic Swamp were gone. It was obvious that Theodore¡¯s two Apprentice Overseers had taken them while pretending to search for proof.


    Although he intended to rush out and confront them, when he thought of Theodore¡¯s insidious and dark expression, a shiver immediately ran down Leon¡¯s spine.


    Clearly, these guys were using the excuse of investigating Muret¡¯s death to loot all of the Apprentices¡¯ normal resources. And because of Theodore¡¯s status as an Apprentice Leader, no one dared to confront them to their faces.


    Of course, these three bastards wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to provoke any of the powerful individuals in this tower; they were just bold enough to pick on someone weaker, like Leon.


    "Pah~~" After they left, Leon mmed the door shut, causing a loud sound, but Leon didn¡¯t care about offending them.


    ....


    Soon, they were knocking on the wooden door next to Leon¡¯s.


    "Knock!"


    "Knock!"


    "Knock!"


    Blea¡¯s "meeting" was not a secret to these few men.


    Since she had not shown herself for a long time, they were taking this as an opportunity to check on her current state.


    Apprentice Leader Theodore also wanted to know if she was still alive or not.


    "Knock!"


    "Knock!"


    "Open the door, or we will break it down!"


    But just as Brandon grew irritated that no one was responding and was about to force it open, the door unexpectedly swung open.


    A young girl in a red cotton dress suddenly opened the door.


    "So it¡¯s Apprentice Leader Theodore! I didn¡¯t have the chance to thank you for arranging myst task!" The young girl¡¯s delicate voice could easily melt anyone¡¯s heart, but it was nothingpared to the effect of her captivating beauty.


    She had slender limbs and well-defined curves, with skin as fair as wless jade. Her facial features were delicate and perfect, and her small red lips were graced with a smile. But the most striking part of her was her bright blood-red eyes. They were like two pure, crystalline rubies set in her extraordinary face, making her as enchanting as a fairy.


    Moreover, she wore a bright red dress that fully disyed her lovely figure and exposed a generous portion of her clear skin, dazzling anyone who looked at her.


    In this grim Swamp Tower, most Apprentice Mages wore ented gray Apprentice robes and ck cloaks, making dark tones the main theme of the ce. Upon meeting such a splendid and radiant young girl, these men were immediately stunned, their gazes drawn to her enchanting beauty.


    Not only that, but after witnessing the magnificent beauty of the girl before them, an inexplicable lust began to rise from the lower halves of the three men, burning fiercely and igniting their most carnal hunger.


    Theodore proved why he had been chosen specifically by the Great Magus Master himself, as his self-control was far stronger than that of the other two men. While Brandon and Samuel were overtaken by sudden lust and showed excited expressions, ready to surrender their souls to this girl, Theodore managed to break free from this "charm" instantly.


    "Who are you? Tell me your name quickly, or else¡­" Theodore¡¯s expression shifted rapidly as he stepped back two paces and ced both hands on the pockets of his waist.


    Although the Tower was a vast ce, all the Apprentices were quite familiar with each other. After all, there were only about forty to fifty people, and they had lived together for years, so it would be strange not to know each other.


    Even someone like Leon, known for being unsociable and entric, had a couple of "friends" he wouldmunicate with, not to mention Theodore, who was the Apprentice Leader and had to stay in touch with every Apprentice weekly.


    It would be modest to say that with his eyes closed, Theodore could list the basic living situation and status of every Apprentice, from level one to level three, in the Magus Tower.


    But wait¡­ she came out of Blea¡¯s room¡­


    Blea, a girl from a remote province. The most prominent impression she had left on Theodore was her exaggerated stubbornness. However, judging by her appearance, Blea, who came from a noble family, was indeed a rare beauty among all the female Apprentices.


    Too bad, she ignored her status in the tower, as she simply dismissed the numerous invitations Theodore had sent, asking her to join him in bed on lonely nights. Therefore, during an asion when Magus Eclivel urgently needed a subject for an experiment and sought out Theodore to rmend an Apprentice Mage¡­ he enthusiastically rmended Blea for the "position."


    Could it be¡­


    Thoughts shed through Theodore¡¯s mind as he quickly recalled that stubborn beauty, who was cowardly and weak in any significant situation but had rejected him countless times. Comparing that girl to the vibrant girl with an imposing manner standing before him, his jaw dropped, and he let out a shocked cry.


    "You¡­ you¡¯re Blea!"


    As if hearing the name ¡¯Blea¡¯ caused the girl in the red dress pain, her sweet and charming face suddenly twisted ferociously, making her small cherry-like mouth seem to stretch from the corners of her lips to her ears, turning it from a small mouth into a wide, ear-to-ear gaping maw.


    "Jump!"


    With a sudden motion, the girl leaped forward, swiftly biting Theodore¡¯s exposed neck.


    "Bite!"


    With a single bite, nearly half of Theodore¡¯s neck was torn away, exposing bloody flesh and a shattered trachea. His blood spurted instantly, like a fountain, soon staining the floor, the wall, and the girl¡¯s body with crimson stters.


    Theodore fell backward and mmed into the rigid, cold wall behind him.


    "Thud~~"


    He slowly slid down the wall, ending up sitting on the floor, shivering uncontrobly.


    "Sliding~~"


    Meanwhile, he pulled a magical item shaped like a scorpion from his waist pocket and activated it, releasing a ming red beam toward the girl in the red dress.


    "Buzz~~"


    The beam shot straight at her chest.


    "Bang!"


    This ming beam was a highly powerful Fire Magic, so the intense heat of the fire beam instantly burned an egg-sized hole through the girl¡¯s body. The scorching beam did not stop after passing through her body and even left a hole in the hallway wall behind her.


    After using it, Theodore tossed the magical item aside. Then, with trembling hands, he pulled a small, fist-sized bottle containing a green liquid from his waist pocket. He removed the cap and poured the liquid onto therge wound on his neck.


    Theodore had a very strong vitality, so despite suffering a mortal wound, he did not die immediately. Instead, his half-severed neck suddenly showed signs of decay, and the exposed flesh quickly dehydrated. At the same time, the blood gushing from his wound slowed and eventually came to aplete stop.


    Partially zombified body.


    After learning about organic structures, anatomy, and necromancy, a Mage Apprentice would be able to use Magic to imnt something called a "Zombie Pouch" within their body. With this, once the Apprentice suffered a serious injury, the Zombie Pouch would trigger and zombify part of their body, preventing them from dying from the wound.


    But it was only a temporary measure. Once the immediate threat of death had passed, a new danger would arise, as they would now have to find a way to rid themselves of the violent negative energy within their body.


    Yet when faced with a choice between life and death, most Apprentices would choose to save their lives at any cost. As for the dangerous negative energy, it was something they could worry aboutter.


    "Jump!"


    However, in the next second, a shadow lunged at his body.


    With one hand caressing his nearly broken neck and the other holding the small bottle above his open wound, Theodore could do nothing in response but turn his head to see what had happened. What he saw was the girl in the red dress with a huge, bloodied mouth full of sharp teeth. Her red dress was being stained purple by some liquid leaking from the hole in her chest¡­


    Purple-colored blood?!


    Was she even human?


    This was thest thought that passed through Theodore¡¯s mind.


    The girl, once again, jumped forward, cing her body on top of his and sinking her gaping mouth into his wounded neck.


    "Bite!"


    The sound of her sucking his blood was loud and clear.


    "Slurp..."


    "Slurp..."


    "Gulp~~"


    "Gulp~~"


    "Gulp~~"


    "Gulp~~"


    As the girl busied herself with her work, she ignored the other two Mage Apprentices beside her. Both men had withdrawn the crude magical items they possessed and held them at the ready in their hands, but when faced with such a bloody and horrifying scene, neither could muster the courage to activate the magical items.


    Reflecting on what had just happened, even the powerful magical item of the Apprentice Leader Theodore could not cause real damage to this monster in a red dress; perhaps the magical items in their hands would not be enough to harm her at all. And if they provoked this monster?


    Perhaps she would leap onto their bodies next, feasting on their flesh, drinking their blood, and crushing their bones between her teeth...


    By the time both men had backed against the wall, shivering uncontrobly, the girl in the red dress had stopped consuming the flesh and blood of the former Apprentice Leader. She sat on his body, her back to the two cowardly Apprentices, and took out a snow-white handkerchief and a small, round mirror. She proceeded to gently wipe her lips, a satisfied expression spreading across her face.


    Under the effect of some mysterious healing force, the bloody purple hole in her chest began to close at an incredible rate. In the blink of an eye, it reverted to the same smooth, silky skin, without even the smallest scar visible.


    What a terrifying regenerative ability! Could¡­ could it be that she was the legendary, fearsome noble of shadows ¨C a Vampire?


    Through a small crack in his door, Leon witnessed everything that had just happened. As for how his neighbor, who had been contaminated by a Magic Spell, transformed into a Vampire, he had not a single clue.


    However, when it came to the death of Apprentice Leader Theodore, he was filled with genuine joy.


    "Worm! You deserved it, I hope she tears apart your henchmen too."


    Nevertheless, the struggle hadsted for some time, and even an Apprentice had been killed. No matter how indifferent the Mage of the Tower was, he must have noticed something by now!


    ...


    2168 Words

 Chapter 8: Eclivel vs Bleia

    After licking the blood from her face, the girl in the red dress turned around, once again revealing her delicate and alluring face to the two trembling Apprentices. Samuel, unable to withstand such a powerful visual impact, fainted, his arms and legs copsing onto the floor in random directions.


    The terrifying and fierce appearance of ¡¯Bleia¡¯ waspletely hidden as she shifted to the figure of the beautiful girl with the lovely face. However, her blood-red eyes and the two small yet sharp teeth protruding from her lips hinted at the dreadful being concealed behind the enchanting beauty.


    Even though nearly half of her body was sttered with blood, she somehow managed to appear as delicate and charming as a flower. It was such an intense visual impact that even Leon, who glimpsed it through the crack in his door, couldn¡¯t control himself and felt captivated by her overwhelming beauty.


    "Bleia! I will rape her and then impregnate her, in addition I will tie her with a rope and bring her to my room, so I can rape her every night, filling the vampire womb that Mary has. Yes I will defile you so many times that my sperm will dirty the entire room."


    Soon after, he looked down and noticed that his own cock was hard as a vibrating diamond, ready to stare at Mary¡¯s vampy pussy.


    "p~~" With a strong p to his own face, Leon managed to regain control and broke free from the sexual spell.


    Leon smiled, thinking to himself, "What a terrifying monster..."


    A vampire in its early form had no fear of injury because, as long as they had blood, they could gain unlimited vitality. This was an immortal species that only existed in ancient books in this Land of Mages. When they were hunted by the Mages, their kind was nearly driven to extinction. Even if there were some survivors, they did not dare to reveal their true identity.


    That was why Leon was so shocked to see Bleia transform into a Vampire. After his initial shock over Bleia¡¯s current racial state, Leon also felt a shiver as he pondered how powerful Mages must have been to hunt these near-extinct vampires.


    What kind of magical experience had Bleia undergone? How had an ordinary human girl be this ancient, bloodthirsty species that reveled in killing? Were the strange noises he heard at night caused by Bleia¡¯s "mutation"?


    Just as the girl in the red dress, Bleia, moved menacingly toward the still-trembling Brandon, the torches on both sides of the dark corridor suddenly red to life, and a mystical figure emerged from the shadows of the wall and spoke.


    "Hold your steps, my child. Today¡¯s killing was more than enough for you toplete the final step of your evolution! From now on, you must try your best to restrain your thirst for fresh blood and sharpen your mind. Return to the path of the pursuit of knowledge!"


    The man speaking had a hunched back, and his face was full of wrinkles and loose skin. A long, flowing ck cloak covered his body, and a tall, slightly wavering pointed hat sat on his head. He held a staff made of twisted roots and gnarled branches, topped with arge green crystal. Rays of light emanated from the crystal, creatingyers of amber color in the air.


    This old man was the only Mage in this Tower, the great Mage, Eclivel.


    As for his Mage rank, with Leon¡¯s current knowledge and experience, he had no idea.


    Although he knew that today¡¯s events would alert the master of the Mage Tower, which was why Leon had deactivated his elemental sight beforehand, seeing Mage Eclivel suddenly appear in the corridor still made the powerful magical energy radiating from his body cause Leon¡¯s eyes to burn and water.


    Leon quickly but gently closed the door as quietly as possible, hiding silently in his room. He did not dare to peek at what was happening outside. If he witnessed any secret that Mage Eclivel did not want anyone to know, his pitiful life would end swiftly.


    All the true Mages Leon knew were cruel and vicious men who did not hesitate to kill and conducted all kinds of dangerous and dark magical experiments on humans and living creatures as if it were nothing. No matter how careful he was, there was no way to hide from Mage Eclivel¡¯s spiritual senses.


    However, by acting this way, he was signaling that he was not trying to spy and was uninvolved in the Mage¡¯s affairs. At the very least, if he left before anything significant happened, he would be safe.


    ....


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, a fierce confrontation was underway.


    Bleia had once again transformed into a fierce and terrifying Vampire. Her blood-red eyes gleamed like those of a wild animal, and her nails began to grow wildly, eventually turning into sharp ws with gleaming tips.


    Clearly, Vampire Bleia had a beastly nature.


    "Jump!"


    Her body was pressed against the wall. Like a lizard, she climbed the vertical surface at an incredibly fast speed.


    "Rushing footsteps~~"


    She started running toward the master of the Tower, Mage Eclivel.


    Running along the wall at high speed, as she approached the Mage, Bleia leaped from the wall with her powerful legs, catapulting her slender body toward the Mage with zing speed.


    "Buzz~~"


    While her body was in midair, Bleia stretched her ws forward, reaching out to grasp the Mage¡¯s heart.


    Faced with this aggressive Vampire in its early form, all Mage Eclivel did was smile a sinister smile. There was not the slightest sign of panic or concern on his face.


    He waved the staff in his hand, and a small tornado appeared in Bleia¡¯s path.


    "Zosh~~~"


    "Sucking~~"


    "Even if it¡¯s just a homunculus, the bloodthirsty nature has truly surpassed the host¡¯s consciousness¡­ what a pity¡­"


    Bleia¡¯s body weight was quite light after being modified, so her attacks were focused on speed and agility. Unfortunately, in the eyes of a Mage, her innate abilities, although beyond those of ordinary humans, were not enough to cause him the slightest concern. Thus, when Bleia hit the tornado, she was immediately caught firmly and couldn¡¯t break free.


    "Urrraaa~~"


    A secondter, as the suction force of the tornado grew stronger, Bleia let out a cry of shock while her body spun around, making her ridiculously dizzy.


    Under Mage Eclivel¡¯s control, the tornado twisted, and Bleia was flung from it, crashing fiercely into a nearby stone wall.


    "Bang~~"


    Even though it didn¡¯t seem like Eclivel put much effort into it, the impact was enough to take Bleia out of the fight. Leon could even hear the sound of bones breaking through the wooden door.


    "Crack~~"


    "Break~~"


    "Broken~~"


    "Crac..."


    "A newborn vampire who has lost her mind¡­ Why would I keep her? Go to hell!"


    Mage Eclivel smiled horribly, then raised his thin, bony right arm, unleashing a pale white me, filled with the aura of death, that hovered above his palm. He then turned his palm and pressed it to the forehead of the struggling, groaning girl.


    Perhaps because she felt her death approaching, this vampire, known for having extraordinary senses when it came to detecting danger, finally stopped struggling like an animal. Suddenly, Bleia let out a piercing scream, moving her body back desperately, a deep fear in her eyes as she looked at the me. Those same eyes had changed from a vivid red to a deep green.


    "Eh?" Master Eclivel stopped pressing his arm down. The deadly fireball still burned silently, but the sound of an ordinary fire couldn¡¯t be heard. The reflection of the dense, pale white me made Bleia¡¯s pale face appear even whiter, as if a thickyer of powder had been applied to her skin.


    "Oh¡­ So, the fear of death can make you regain consciousness? This is a phenomenon I have never seen before¡­ I suppose there is value in researching this." Mage Eclivel spoke to himself in a low voice. He waved his palm, extinguishing the me. After that, he snapped his fingers, creating dozens of small vortices of air around Bleia¡¯s neck, limbs, and all her joints, chaining her firmly.


    Then he turned and looked at Theodore¡¯s corpse.


    Because of Bleia¡¯s excessive bloodlust, all the blood in the body had been drained. Thus, Theodore¡¯s corpse took on a grim appearance. What had been a healthy-looking figure just minutes before now appeared shriveled and withered, making his corpse look like that of a mummy buried underground for decades.


    "The original Leader Apprentice is dead¡­ I will rece him! Make sure to properly manage all of my apprentices." With a frown on his face, Mage Eclivel simply pointed a finger at Brandon, who could barely support his weight against the stone walls, and made his request in an indifferent tone.


    After he finished speaking, the torches on the corridor walls flickered suddenly. When they returned to their original glow, the Master Mage and Bleia had disappeared from the hallway.


    After witnessing the bloody feast and escaping with his life, Brandon was unexpectedly promoted to Leader Apprentice. His body was still shaking violently, and his pants were wet, but his face was full of a mix of shock and excitement.


    Suddenly, he thought of something. With staggering steps, he leaped toward Theodore¡¯s corpse and began frantically searching through the dead man¡¯s pockets.


    Since he had be the new Leader Apprentice, the Magic Talisman representing the Leader Apprentice¡¯s status now belonged to him. He needed to find it as quickly as possible.


    Waist pocket, inner pocket, neck protector, leather boot¡­


    He conducted a thorough search through every ce that could hide things on Theodore¡¯s body. The corpse, which he previously looked at with fear and disgust, had now be his treasure chest, filling him with immense delight.


    Finally, he found the Magic Talisman on the ghastly, broken neck of the corpse. Holding it high, heughed loudly and joyfully,pletely unaware of how insane his behavior appeared to others.


    Samuel, who had fainted on the ground, moved his body, struggling for a long time to stand up.


    As he looked at Brandon, he was filled with murderous intent due to the jealousy burning inside him.


    In fact, he had woken up much earlier, but, unable to predict what might happen, he remained lying on the ground, pretending to still be unconscious.


    Who would have thought that his fear would actually make him lose the chance to be the next Leader Apprentice, a highly prestigious status for him. At that moment, he wished he could tear the flesh from Brandon¡¯s bones!


    "Why didn¡¯t that vampire kill him?" Samuel roared furiously in his mind.


    But on the surface, he masked the feeling of loss and fury that was so prevalent in his mind. As he got up from the ground, a ttering smile appeared on his face.


    "Leader Apprentice Brandon, quickly get up. The ground is dirty. Let me clean up the mess for you!"


    Samuel¡¯s interruption immediately brought Brandon back to his senses.


    Brandon stood up quickly and tidied up his appearance. As he looked at the Magic Talisman in his hands, an arrogant smile spread across his face.


    "I¡¯ll leave everything here to you! Something unfortunate happened to the previous Leader Apprentice. I need to inform everyone of this urgent news¡­ Hmm. I just remembered that it¡¯s time to feed the giant alligators outside¡­" Thest part of the sentence was said in a cruel and indifferent voice.


    "Understood! I¡¯ll clean up this mess immediately!" Samuel couldn¡¯t help but bow his head even lower.


    After savoring the first taste of his newfound power, Brandon couldn¡¯t hold back and burst into anotherugh. Then he quickly walked down the corridor and out of sight.


    He had looted everything from Theodore¡¯s body, but there might still be some good things in Theodore¡¯s room. So, after leaving the mess for Samuel, he ran impatiently toward the end of the hallway.


    It took a few minutes for the sound of his maliciousughter to fade away.


    "HahHahahaHA"


    "Hahahah"


    "Hahah"


    ...


    2024 words

 Chapter 9: Manual

    At dinner, all the Mage Apprentices learned that a new Lead Apprentice had emerged.


    Regarding this change, most of the Apprentices showed no reactions, and no one asked what had happened to Theodore.


    Leon, in contrast to his new Lead Apprentice, Brandon, who was proudly proiming his new status in the cafeteria, could barely control his anger towards the new Lead Apprentice.


    Although the former Lead Apprentice had not been very nice, at least he was quite strong, having mastered three to four magical spells. He was not as strong as Fatal Shot, the worm controller, or Super Girl, but he was much stronger than most of the elementary-level Apprentices. Why would they swallow their pride silently while being relentlessly exploited by him?


    On the other hand, everyone knew Brandon¡¯s background. He was just a rookie and had only mastered ¡¯Wind de¡¯ and ¡¯Tornado Shield.¡¯ He had spent most of thest year hiding in the Mage Tower, which had made hisbat skills very weak. If he had to fight against them, perhaps more than half of the Apprentices could defeat him in a one-on-one.


    But, looking at the four ¡¯friends¡¯ around him, it was clear that this guy had a good understanding of their weaknesses andpensated by adding a fewckeys.


    Just as Brandon was proudly giving his "inaugural speech," the wooden door of the cafeteria was brutally shaken by someone, banging furiously against the stone wall.


    After that, a young man, who had his left eye covered with an eyepatch, entered the cafeteria with a grim expression on his face.


    The inaugural speech of Lead Apprentice Brandon was abruptly interrupted. At the same time, whispers about "Fatal Shot" could be heard in every corner of the cafeteria.


    The young man with the eyepatch was one of the three strongest Mage Apprentices, Fatal Shot.


    As they were the strongest, each of them had a group of subordinates who always gathered around them. Therefore, the three had never dined in this cafeteria, as all their meals were brought directly to their quarters by their subordinates.


    This is why all the Apprentices felt surprised when Fatal Shot suddenly arrived at the cafeteria.


    Of course, Fatal Shot did note here for a meal, but to look for someone.


    Fatal Shot swept the entire cafeteria with his single eye, and each of the Apprentices lowered their heads instead of meeting his gaze. It was impossible to do anything else, as a powerful energy seemed to emanate from his eyes, suppressing anyone who dared to look him in the eye.


    Seeing Fatal Shot begin to walk toward him, Leon felt his heart stop. He lowered his head even further.


    Unfortunately for him, Fatal Shot¡¯s legs came to a stop right in front of him.


    "Are you Leon? Come with me!" Fatal Shot didn¡¯t say much, but the little he did say was impossible to ignore. After saying this, he turned around and left, not caring about the reactions of others.


    An ironic smile appeared on Leon¡¯s face. He pushed his tray of food aside, stood up, and followed behind Fatal Shot.


    Without turning his head, Leon felt the irritated gaze of the new Lead Apprentice, Brandon, burning a hole in the back of his head.


    Leon had a rough idea of why this guy came for him. Therefore, after following Fatal Shot through several long dark corridors, he arrived at a certain wooden door, quite sure about what was happening.


    This was Super Girl¡¯s room. Waiting inside were the other two strongest Apprentices: the worm controller and Super Girl.


    It was a stone room, almost as simple as Leon¡¯s room, and it was decorated to the same level as Leon¡¯s. There was a solid wooden bed, a desk, and a chair¡­ nothing more.


    Well, there was one more thing. In one corner of the room, there was a human-shaped practice target made entirely of metal. From the crisscrossed scars and marks on it, it might have been the most used piece of "furniture" in this room.


    Additionally, the iconic steel emblem of Super Girl was hanging on the wall across the room.


    Fatal Shot, the worm controller, and Super Girl did not have a harmonious rtionship most of the time, but when something rted to their personal interests happened, this small group could still work together to achieve all their goals.


    As this was Super Girl¡¯s room, it was clear she was the one in charge here.


    When Leon, feeling he was in an embarrassing situation, stopped in the middle of the room, the person who attracted most of his attention was Super Girl, who had a muscr body resembling that of a barbarian. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Super Girl did not wear a soft, long fabric robe like most apprentices but instead wore a leather jacket and simple pants.


    The leather jacket was stretched and looked like it was about to burst when her bulging muscles pushed against it. Her muscles looked like pieces of steel, making Leon feel a bit envious. To be honest, no matter how much Leon searched his memory, he swore he had never seen a woman with such a muscr body before.


    "I heard you saw what happened this afternoon? Tell me everything you know! If anything you say is of value, we will reward you handsomely!" Super Girl¡¯s voice was like her body, strong and powerful.


    As for what Super Girl said, the worm controller, whose entire body was covered with a thickyer, made a motion as if he were shaking his head, while Fatal Shot, who had brought Leon here, said nothing.


    ...


    Half an hourter, Leon returned to his own room.


    After he closed the door, he impatiently pressed his back against the cold wooden door framed with iron, saying nothing out loud but speaking in his mind.


    "Any results from your scan now? Quickly, show me all the data!"


    "Beep!"


    "Samples of living organismspleted."


    "The results are listed below¡­"


    After that, streams of information began to flow into his brain. It took a moment, but the information about the three strongest Apprentices started to take shape.


    Once the BioChip activated, itcked much in reference to information about Mages, as there were noparative data. Therefore, the organization and categorization of Mages had not progressed.


    In Leon¡¯s brain, there was an enormous amount of information about magical spells, magical items, and conceptual descriptions of each, but he simply had not had the chance to witness and observe any current magical phenomena. As a result, the chip could not gather information about the magical things in the environment based on its current memory.


    It was such an unfortunate situation.


    However, today, with a close observation of the three strongest Apprentices, Leon undoubtedly acquired a lot of precious data. This would undoubtedly be of great benefit in defining his future development path.


    Of course, if he could personally experience the abilities of an official Mage, it would result in obtaining much better data. Unfortunately, he feared that the scanning feature of his chip would be noticed if he targeted an official Mage. Therefore, Leon could only use his passive detection ability, which was the mode he had activated when Mage Anderson had suddenly appeared yesterday.


    As for today, when the three strongest Apprentices were standing in front of him, he felt it was safe to scan them, and they did not possess very strong spirit energy maniption skills, so they were leaking a lot of energy that the chip could scan and analyze. This was why Leon could useplete detection without fear and process all the leaked information.


    As a result, he progressed in calcting the source of the Magic.


    Evan [Fatal Shot]


    Race: Human [?]


    Condition: ¡ª


    HP: ¡ª


    Mage Apprentice [Advanced]


    ? Experience: ¡ª


    Attributes:


    ? Strength: 9


    ? Agility: 7


    ? Physique: 11


    ? Spirit: 18


    These were absolutely incredible numbers. If they hadn¡¯t been within Leon¡¯s expectations, he might have shouted out loud. Fatal Shot was indeed worthy of being called one of the three strongest Apprentices. With just these basic body statistics, he could easily crush Leon.


    In a confrontation against Fatal Shot, Leon was weaker in strength, slower in speed, and not as physically strong. Even if both had mastered a spell, Fatal Shot would still have thousands of methods to kill Leon. Not to mention, that guy was much more powerful when using magical spells!


    But the Spirit attribute of Fatal Shot was what surprised Leon the most. Having a Spirit of 18 meant he had incredibly strong spiritual senses. He could sense the faintest heartbeat within a range of 50 meters! With such a strong detection ability, the difficulty ofunching a stealth attack on him would be immense.


    However, the chip ced a question mark in the race field¡­ It seemed that there were inhuman elements found in the energy he radiated. Perhaps this had something to do with the imnted eye?


    ke [Worm Controller]


    Race: Human [?]


    Condition: ¡ª


    HP: ¡ª


    Mage Apprentice [Advanced]


    Experience: ¡ª


    Attributes:


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Physique: ?


    Spirit: 19


    Compared to Fatal Shot, it seemed that the Worm Controller was better at concealing his energy, as even the chip could not obtain his attributes from such a close distance. But his powerful Spirit of 19 points clearly could not be hidden; it was evident that, among the two, he was the one closest to bing an official Mage.


    However, it appeared he had modified his body to a high degree, reaching a level at which even the chip could not determine his race.


    In summary, although he probably did not have the highest physical attributes, he was still one of the three strongest, as evidenced by the terrifying spells he had mastered and the modifications he had made to his body.


    Super Girl


    Race: Human [Barbarian]


    Condition: ¡ª


    HP: ¡ª


    Mage Apprentice [Advanced]


    Experience: ¡ª


    Attributes:


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 8


    Physique: 16


    Spirit: 17


    Looking at Super Girl¡¯s attributes, a feeling of helplessness welled up from the bottom of Leon¡¯s heart. 15 in Strength, 16 in Physique¡­ Was this ¡¯woman¡¯ even human? With attributes like these, she might as well be no different from some demonic beasts of the swamp.


    Whenparing the strength of two fighters, if there was a difference of 5 points, the weaker side would be easily attacked. If the difference was 10, the weaker side would experience broken bones and crushed flesh every time they were hit. The Strength difference between Leon and Super Girl was shockingly 11 points.


    This¡­ This was ridiculous! Even if they both fought barehanded, would Leon be as fragile as ss in front of her? Not to mention that if she struck him in the face, he would probably have his skull crushed.


    Naturally, all kinds of fighting scenes shed through Leon¡¯s mind, but in each scene, he would end up severely beaten or dead.


    As for Physique, it simply ced a huge gap between them. Even if Super Girl stood there without moving and allowed Leon to attack her with Burning Hands for a few minutes, it still might not be enough to kill her.


    Through theparison of these basic data, once again Leon recognized his weakness. With just his own personal effort and under the effect of amplifying his innate attributes, the difference between him and these extraordinarily talented guys would simply continue to growrger. He did not believe there was any way he could catch up to them on his own.


    Therefore, if he truly wanted to proceed in this bizarre world, the only thing he could rely on was the BioChip within him.


    Only after reflecting on these things did Leon look at the reward he obtained from the "three strongest."


    With a flick of his hand, a thick book appeared in front of Leon.


    Thanks to his great eloquence and a clear memory of his experience from the previous day, Leon described Bleia¡¯s movements in detail. Undoubtedly, this left a better impression on the three of them. Only then did he receive this strange book of magical knowledge.


    ording to the rules of the Mage Tower, any exchange of internal knowledge was strictly prohibited. Exchanging any copied magical knowledge by Apprentices was also strictly forbidden. Anyone who vited these prohibitions would be punished by the master of the Tower. Therefore, Super Girl must have obtained this book from elsewhere; otherwise, she would not have simply given it to Leon.


    Leon held his breath in impatience and then turned to the first page of the book.


    ¡¯Golem Creation Manual¡¯!


    ...


    2097 Words

 Chapter 10: Solidifying

    Titan, a physical construct with powerful magic in its foundation. It is a magical automaton. It is made using mystical materials, such as the Magic-Repellent Steel from the Master Materialist of the Universe. Its main feature is its resistance to the elements.


    "Michel Darius"


    ...


    Golems are artificial self-moving objects created by Mages. The Titan was the most powerful of these golems. The defining characteristic of these Titans was their resistance to elemental attacks. In other words, only those golems that possessed resistance to elemental damage could be called Titans.


    Because of the great strength of Mages, resistance to elemental damage made the Titans considered very powerful.


    However, being able to resist elemental damage did not mean that the Titan was the best weapon of a Mage. This ability only allowed a Titan to be immune to spells that were directed at its body. For example, using a fireball on the ceiling above a Titan, causing it to be crushed by the weight of the ceiling, or casting an Acid Pool spell and making the Titan fall into the Acid Pool.


    Both spells were very effective against the Titans. Not to mention that all Titans had very low Spirit. They could only follow simplemands, which was their greatest weakness when facing intelligent life forms.


    Moreover, Titans were notpletely immune to elemental damage, as using a specific elemental spell would cause a specific effect for a certain type of Titan. By properly understanding their weaknesses, it was quite simple to fight against a Titan (Note: Basically, they are notpletely immune to all elements; they are immune to some and not to others).


    ...


    Thus, golems were mechanical living organisms that possessed powerful strength and were created with magic. The most significant difference between them and other golems was their strength, making them seem full of vitality. Golems receive their magical life from an elemental soul, which is usually of the Earth element.


    The process of creating a golem involved taking a soul and binding it to an artificial body. Then it wouldbine with this specially prepared receptacle and obey the will of its creator.


    ...


    Golems did not have their own minds, and they would not do other things unless their creator specifically gave them themand. They would follow simple and precisemands and could not eptplicated strategies or tactics. The creator could only manage a golem within a radius of 60 meters, and they had to be able to see or hear the golem.


    If no newmand was given, the golem would generally strive to carry out thestmand given to them. Of course, they would fight if someone attacked them.


    If the creator was not near the golem, they could previously give the golem a simplemand to guide its movement, or they could make the golem follow themands of another person. However, as the creator of the golem, they could alwaysmand the golem to not listen to the other person anymore, revoking another person¡¯s control rights at any time.


    ...


    Somehow, once he started reading the book, Leon became instantly captivated by the content, hardly pulling away from it, and thus finished reading it in one sitting.


    Golems were truly remarkable!


    Setting aside the advanced steel golems, even the lowest level y golem could challenge an Advanced Apprentice Mage. In other words, only a group that had good coordination and was all at an advanced level of abat profession would have the possibility of defeating a y golem.


    As guards for Mages, Titans and other golems were much more reliable than human guards, as they were absolutely loyal. On the downside, the cost of a Titan, or any other golem, left Leon speechless.


    Take the lowest level y golem as an example: a y golem, without any additional magical equipment, weighed 600 pounds (272.15 kg), stood 8 feet (2.43 m) tall when upright, and was entirely made of soft y. This type of y golem would take no damage from sharp weapons, but some heavy weapons could inflict physical damage on them.


    The base cost for this type of y golem was 21,000 gold coins. As for the stone golem, which was one level higher than the y golem, its base cost was 55,000 gold coins. And the iron golem, which was an even higher level, was a shocking 80,000 gold coins.


    This was the base cost before considering the effects of supply and demand in the market. If it were during a time of war, these golems, which were extremely suitable for use on the battlefield, would have their prices doubled, and people would still be able to afford them.


    While a small lord could purchase three to five y golems and deploy them in his own army, he could gain a significant advantage when fighting against other neighboring lords.


    Therefore, if he could be a golem creator, money would no longer be a problem for Leon!


    Unfortunately, not only did it require a great amount of unique materials to create a golem, but it also demanded extraordinary and marvelous craftsmanship experience and the ability to create soul receptacles. If Leon¡¯s innate elemental affinity had been the Darkness element, perhaps he could extract souls from some human creatures.


    Then he could easily create soul receptacles, which could provide basic intelligence to the golem. However, his elemental affinity was the Fire element, which eliminated any possibility of creating a golem anytime soon.


    What Leon could do now was ask the Chip to temporarily store all the content of this "Golem Creation Manual," so that he could conduct more research in the future. After considering all these things, he began to explore the new functions of the Chip.


    After the slow chanting of a magical incantation, Leon, who had stretched out his right arm, suddenly ignited a bright magical me in his hand, covering his entire palm and part of his arm.


    As he watched the me calmly burning in his hand, the mechanical voice of the Chip resonated in his mind.


    "Beep!"


    "Aplete Spirit energy model has been detected."


    "Does the host wish to solidify it? Warning: solidification will reduce Spirit by 2 and Professional Experience by 50!"


    The same message had appeared once before when he was inspecting the exterior of the Tower. However, since he was in a dangerous ce at that time, Leon did not dare to test it and therefore chose to ignore it. But today, he decided to check what this Solidification was all about!


    "Confirm!"


    "Beep!"


    "Solidification task starting now¡­"


    "Expectedpletion time: 12 hours, 27 minutes, and 13 seconds¡­"


    Leon¡¯s mind trembled as the Chip began the ¡¯solidification task.¡¯ He clearly felt part of his Spirit vanish. After a self-inspection, he discovered that his Professional Experience had dropped from 614/1000 to 564/1000.


    His 614 Professional Experience was the result of thest six years of Leon¡¯s efforts, including constant meditation, countless failures while practicing spellcasting, countless hours under the dim candlelight, copying those difficult-to-understand magic books, and those dangerous yet inevitable magical experiments...


    Frankly speaking, in the past, Leon had indeed been quite useless. He had be an Apprentice Mage six years ago but had umted only half the Professional Experience needed to be an Intermediate Apprentice, and he only mastered one spell ¨C Burning Hands.


    As for the second magical spell he was currently learning ¨C Fire Arrow ¨C he had just begun gathering preliminary knowledge for it, and he was still far from sessfully casting that spell.


    After analyzing these data, he realized that among all the Apprentices of the Tower, the innate attribute of his body was considered of low grade... No wonder he hadn¡¯t be an Intermediate Apprentice in these six years.


    But that was the Leon of the past!


    Now, with the support of the Chip, he had started a new beginning and would soon be able to ovee all the difficulties before him.


    The task of solidifying the Spirit model for Burning Hands upied most of Leon¡¯s mental capacity, which made him feel mentally exhausted. In that situation, it was no longer suitable for him to continue with any magical practice or reading that consumed his Spirit. Therefore, Leon simplyy down on the bed and began to meditate.


    After starting his meditation, Leon gradually calmed down. His breathing became longer and more regr, and all his spiritual consciousness waspletely indulged in extending from his body.


    The once-silent room became emptier and quieter, as if everything around him suddenly faded away. The sensation of his body became indistinct, and he felt as if he were sinking into a gigantic piece of cotton candy. It felt as if his entire body were being pulled.


    Finally, his spiritual consciousness crossed the boundary of his body and entered a bizarre world.


    This was a world full of lights.


    Mystical particles, of various colors, danced in the air,pletely filling every inch of the space he could feel.


    Perhaps the intrusion of his spiritual consciousness alerted these light particles, which seemed to dance irregrly and unconsciously. Suddenly, this strange world shifted and became slightly different.


    Leon¡¯s spiritual consciousness began to swim aimlessly in this world full of bright light particles. Wherever he went, it seemed that each different point had its own independent consciousness, as each acted in different ways.


    Those illuminating particles that glimmered faintly in red showed an obvious weing behavior towards Leon, as if they would jump into his soul when they got close enough, giving him strands of warm sensations. On the other hand, those light particles of cooler tones, such as blue, gray, ck, and white... clearly moved away from him.


    As for the neutral colors, like purple, green, and yellow, these particles neither retreated from him nor showed any passionate behavior, but when Leon¡¯s spiritual consciousness touched them, they would still slowly merge with him. The entire process was calm and harmonious, and nothing unusual could be found.


    The bright orb representing Leon¡¯s spiritual consciousness wandered slowly in this infinite ocean of lights, passively epting the fusion of these light particles. Out of curiosity, he tried to control his orb and moved towards some white particles. Apparently, his arrival rmed the white light particles, as those that were swimming rxedly and carefree immediately fled the area.


    Finally, Leon could no longer hold back. Under a strong conscious urge, a spiritual tentacle suddenly extended from his transparent soul orb and poked through a slightlyrger white particle.


    The white particle exploded, transforming into a flow of Spirit and flowing into Leon¡¯s soul. Compared to the warm sensation he obtained from merging with the red particles, what this white particle brought to Leon was dark and silent.


    The feeling was akin to when someone woke up at midnight and suddenly drank a ss of cold water. It caused his body to shiver. Besides the sensation of shivering, Leon¡¯s spiritual consciousness felt a shock and corrosive pain. It seemed that although it brought some advantages to his Spirit, merging with the white particles also caused him harm.


    ...


    1854 Words

 Chapter 11: Arrow

    Leon suddenly shuddered, emerging from his deep meditative state.


    Leon sat up in bed, gasping for breath. He could still vividly remember what he experienced in his dream. He could even feel a bit of the burning pain he had received from the white particle.


    Was it an illusion? A dream? Perhaps it was something else?


    Leon began to feel a certain sense of bewilderment and confusion.


    He had meditated countless times before, and each time had been a vague experience. He rarely felt anything, and even then, it was only slightly spiritual. As for thest dream¡­ it was as if he was in control of himself while dreaming!


    "Chip, perform a self-scan." Leon suddenly thought of something and gave an order to the chip.


    "Beep"


    "Starting host body scan¡­"


    "Scanningplete."


    "Saving self-test report¡­"


    Following the Chip¡¯s messages, a new self-scan report projected in his mind.


    "Leon"


    Race: Human


    Alignment: Lawful Neutral


    Condition: Healthy


    HP: 11/11


    Apprentice Mage [Beginner]


    Experience: 566/1000


    "Attributes:"


    Strength: 4


    Agility: 4


    Physical: 3


    Spirit: 8.03


    "Skills:"


    1. Copy Document


    2. Reading Spell


    "Personal Skills:"


    1. Burning Hand


    As expected, some abnormal changes had urred in his body.


    Otherwise, because the Chip could perform urate detection down to the cellr level, Leon would never have known that the deep meditation had now increased his Spirit by 0.03 and his Experience by 2 (Note: For those who don¡¯t remember, he had 614 Experience, lost 50 with the solidification, and now gained 2).


    This meant that the dream state he experienced was not an illusion but had actually happened.


    So what were those colorful light particles?


    The moment the question arose in his mind, the answer came to him.


    Elementium!


    Every person who had the talent to be a Mage would have a different elemental affinity. Those colorful light particles he saw during meditation were actually pieces of Elementium flowing through the world around him. As his elemental affinity was fire, those red particles, which were drawn to him like insects to a bright light, were, in fact, Fire Elementium.


    ording to the ssifications of Elementium made by Mages, his affinity for the red Fire Elementium was the highest. After that, it was the green nt Elementium and the yellow Earth Elementium. As for the others, he had no affinity for them because they were repelled by the Elementium he was attuned to.


    As for the white point that Leon had captured during his meditation, it should be Dark Elementium. Since it did not match Leon¡¯s affinity, it would be at least ten times, or even a hundred times, more difficult for him to grasppared to the Elementium for which he had affinity.


    Furthermore, although this Dark Elementium could still slightly increase his spirit, it would also harm his body at the same time.


    In his memory, the few Apprentice Mages he knew who had Dark Elementium as their main elemental affinity did not have very healthy bodies and always seemed as if a gust of wind could knock them over. Perhaps the corrosiveness of Dark Elementium was the cause of their fragility?


    It seems that the innate elemental affinity of an Apprentice could affect the efficiency of their meditation, and this efficiency, in turn, could increase the rate of growth of the Apprentice¡¯s Spirit.


    Leon tried to remember what he experienced while meditating, and what he recalled made him frown. ording to his memory, the number of white Dark Elementium particles was clearly much greater than the number of red Fire Elementium particles. This meant that, in this environment, the meditation efficiency for Apprentices who had an affinity for Dark Elementium was much greater than his.


    How was this possible? The distribution of basic Elementium in this world shouldn¡¯t be rtively bnced?


    Could it... could it be that the Tower Mage was doing this intentionally?


    Suddenly, Leon¡¯s face turned a horrific shade of pale.


    He had just remembered that the master of the Tower, Mage Eclivel, had affinities for Dark Elementium and Wind.


    No wonder many of the other Apprentice Mages who joined the Tower at the same time as Leon mastered two or three spells and managed to rank up to Intermediate Apprentice, while he was still struggling on the path of a Beginner Apprentice. It wasn¡¯t just his own innate talent holding him back. It was that damned "harsh" environment.


    Leon thought for a second, then abandoned the idea of meditating again. For a Beginner Apprentice Mage like him, although meditation could increase his Spirit, it could not rece sleep. Therefore, to restore his Spirit quickly and efficiently, calming his mind and sleeping was the best course of action.


    Looking at his own Spirit, which had been reduced by half (Note: consumption rate, not actual reduction), Leon shook his head and smiled bitterly. Then he threw himself back onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


    ...


    The next day, Leon, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly awakened by an rm from the Chip.


    To his surprise, the spiritual model of Burning Hand had been solidified by the chip.


    Over the next few seconds, all the data rted to this spiritual model flowed into Leon¡¯s mind.


    Burning Hand was a low-grade fire spell capable of engaging enemies offensively and defensively, but it was not considered a powerful spell. However, the spiritual model showed that it was formed by many magical words; 28, in fact. Each of these 28 magical words was nearly impossible to pronounce and had its own unique independent use.


    Although it might seem that each of them was unrted, when gathered in a specific formation, they would be aplete magical model, capable of unleashing magical forces into the physical world.


    If this task were given to an ordinary man, asking him to memorize 28 independent yet closely connected magical sybles to recite without forgetting any¡­ Most mortals would not be able to achieve this, as merely saying a single magical word required great control and energy.


    When he arrived in this world, he did not believe he could do this. But in this bizarre world, where Elemental Energy was everywhere, he actually managed it with considerable ease.


    Of course, this had something to do with his 8 points of Spiritual Energy.


    In the past, reciting the Burning Hand spell, which consisted of 28 magical sybles, took Leon about 5 to 7 seconds. But now that it had been solidified, Leon no longer needed to waste time reciting the spell. All he needed to do was inject his Elemental Energy into the Burning Hand model in his mind.


    This meant it only took him 2 to 3 seconds to unleash aplete version of Burning Hand. Moreover, in the future, as he improved his mastery of fire elementals, the casting time would be even shorter.


    But that wasn¡¯t the only good news.


    Since this was a spiritual model that had been pre-solidified in his mind, it no longer required as much Spiritual Energy to construct it. The result of this was that the Burning Hand spell, which used to drain his Spirit by 2 when cast, now only drained it by 1.


    Didn¡¯t this mean that the number of times he could cast spells in the future doubled?


    This discovery brought a big smile to his face as his mind fantastically conjured many possible uses for this particr ability.


    But then the Chip resonated in his mind once more.


    "Beep!"


    "Space for improving this spell model has been discovered."


    "Please confirm if the host wishes to optimize?"


    "Attention, this optimization will cost 1 Spirit per day and 100 Experience points."


    "The estimated time for the task is 34 hours and 25 minutes."


    Let me know if you need any further assistance!


    Huh? Optimize the Burning Hand?


    It sounded like something really good. But why did it consume so much experience? If any operation rted to Spiritual models cost him so many Experience points, perhaps all the Experience points he had umted over the past six years would be exhausted in theing days.


    Leon calmed himself and took a moment to reflect on this optimization. After some time, he decided to decline.


    First, the Burning Hand was just a closedbat spell. It didn¡¯t hold much value in terms ofbat potential in Leon¡¯s mind. Sooner orter, it would be reced by other offensive or defensive long-range spells that were more valuable, making it not worth investing in at this point.


    Secondly, considering his current Spirit energy, he couldn¡¯t have more than 3 solidified models in his spiritual domain. Under this situation, where only limited slots were avable, giving the Burning Hand a slot in his spiritual domain clearly did not align with his optimized path.


    In fact, Leon himself would prefer to prioritize solidifying a long-range attack spell, and he had a specific spell in mind for that purpose.


    It was a fire spell he had studied and researched for nearly half a year¡ªFire Arrow.


    Fire Arrow, a low-grade elemental fire spell. The spell allowed him to form a magical arrow of Fire and shoot it at his target, dealing 7 points of physical damage and 18 points of fire and explosive damage.


    With Leon¡¯s gratifying 3 Physical Points and 11 Health Points, a Fire Arrow was more than enough to kill him instantly. Therefore, throughout this time, Leon had been dreaming of learning this long-range attack spell.


    But the downside was that, although Fire Arrow was a low-quality spell, it consisted of 34 magical words. This was the reason why, despite having studied tirelessly for half a year, he still hadn¡¯t mastered the method to construct its spiritual model.


    Leon had invested over 20 knowledge points and a significant amount of time to learn this spell. He even postponed his research on magical knowledge. However, he was still far from the threshold of sess and far from bing an elite among Beginner Apprentice Mages, mastering more than two spells.


    But now, with the help of the Chip, presumably this "threshold" was much closer!


    Ignoring the fact that it was time to make breakfast, Leon quickly washed his face, sat down at his writing desk, and eagerly opened his magical notebook. Everything rted to the magical model of the Fire Arrow, its magical words, the frequency of Spiritual Energy, and the material for constructing the spell; Leon copied all of it into this notebook.


    Real magic was not as simple as ordinary people thought.


    34 sybles of magic could not be recited at once as if they were written down. A spell could not be cast exactly like that. The entire process was extremelyplicated and required the perfectbination of hand, mouth, heart, and mind. It was the result of them working together.


    When reciting each syble, Leon needed to adjust his Spirit to a corresponding vibrational frequency, and both hands had to perform a specific gesture.


    Any mistake or dy in the casting process would result in¡­ a backfire of the spell.


    Although this type of casting explosion wouldn¡¯t kill an Apprentice, it would damage their Spirit and take a long time to recover. Moreover, if someone¡¯s Spirit was frequently damaged, there was a possibility they could suffer permanent reduction in their Spirit!


    ...


    1880 Words

 Chapter 12: Hologram

    Three dayster.


    ....


    With disheveled hair, a dirty face, and two red eyes, Leon let out a long sigh and closed the book that was on the table in front of him.


    A moment ago, the alert tone of the Chip, which he had waited for a long time, finally resonated in his brain.


    "Beep!"


    "Data Model of Fire Arrow sessfully constructed!"


    Finally!


    Looking back, the zing Hand was a spell that Leon hadpletely mastered. As long as he could cast it once, the Chip could visualize its model in Leon¡¯s Spiritual Dimension by urately monitoring how he controlled his Spiritual Energy and the Spiritual Frequency he used.


    It had been so simple and easy.


    But Leon had not mastered the Fire Arrow spell... he still hadn¡¯t been able to cast it even once. Thus, the Chip¡¯s ability to record, store, and mimic his spells could not be utilized.


    So Leon had to find another method, and thus he memorized all the magical theories and casting techniques rted to the Fire Arrow. Then he let the Chip proceed with arranging and sorting them, analyzing them to find the best casting technique that suited him more precisely.


    The Data Model that the Chip constructed with this method would not replicate a real Spiritual Model, which made it a unique experimental spell rather than an upgrade of an existing spell.


    Leon massaged his forehead and took a deep breath. After that, he said, "Let¡¯s start the simtion!"


    "Beep."


    With a clear alert tone, an almost perfect virtual image of Leon was projected in his mind. Following the specifications of the Data Model, he began to recite the incantation of Fire Arrow in a loud, albeit blunt, voice.


    Through his connection with the Chip, Leon¡¯s mind merged with the virtual image, following the recitation of the spell and adjusting the frequency of his Spirit to match the Data Model. At the same time, both hands of the virtual image made small gestures in the air, guiding the elemental energy attracted and shaping it into the form of an arrow.


    "Fire Arrow~~"


    "I conjure~~"


    "Fire,e burn~~"


    "Fire...."


    Unfortunately, due to hisck of familiarity with casting, when he recited the 14th magical word, his hand gesture was clearly half a second too slow. Within Leon¡¯s Spiritual World, the half-formed Fire Arrow exploded, and a furious fireball instantly engulfed the virtual image.


    "Boom!"


    If it had been in the real world, perhaps nearly half of Leon¡¯s room would have been destroyed, but in this virtual world, simted with Spirit energy, after the violent vibrations of light and shadows, the simted explosion perfectly vanished, and the entire scene was restored to its initial state.


    Although he knew beforehand that everything was just a simtion, Leon still couldn¡¯t help but break into a nonexistent cold sweat in his spiritual world.


    Witnessing a massive fireball explode before his eyes and seeing his virtual body being torn apart, even Leon, who was not weak-hearted, felt his heart stop for a second.


    To truly allow himself to experience theplete process of casting the spell, Leon put all his consciousness into the virtual image. Therefore, you could say what happened now, although not real, could be described as an unreal reality.


    Leon did not rush back to practice but closed his eyes, meticulously studying his first attempt in his mind. After confirming the reason for the mistake, he opened his eyes and began his second simted casting attempt.


    "Fire Arrow~~"


    "I conjure~~"


    "Fire,e burn~~"


    "Fire, ept mymands and take the form of an arrow...."


    Unfortunately, it was a failure again! This time, he failed tobine his Spirit frequency with the 17th syble. The semi-constructed spiritual model exploded once more. As a result, the enraged mes of the element again engulfed Leon¡¯s virtual body.


    "Boom~~"


    The digitized vibration of lights and shadows slowly disappeared.


    Soon, his Spiritual World was restored to its initial state.


    Leon let out a helpless and bitterugh, then took a moment to calm himself. Soon, the sonorous and vigorous simted voice of Leon once again resonated throughout the empty spiritual world.


    Many explosions had urred¡­


    Each time, his mistake was almost the same. Either his hand gestures couldn¡¯t keep up with the sybles of the spell, or the Spirit frequency was incorrect. To simplify, no matter which part caused the issue, there was only one result: a massive explosion.


    If this had happened in the real world, Leon¡¯s frail body would have been reduced to dust after the first explosion. But since it wasn¡¯t, he was sitting safely beside his writing desk, staring nkly into space.


    After practicing so many times, his Spirit was finally exhausted.


    Whenever his Spirit waspletely drained, he would struggle to return to his bed and would fall asleep. Once he slept and restored his Spirit, he would go to the cafeteria, order a massive meal, then return to his room and start the next round of Spell Simtion practice.


    With this incredible persistence and fortitude, finally, during a moment when everything worked perfectly, Leon sessfullypleted a simted casting of the Fire Arrow.


    When the zing elemental me formed into a magical arrow and was floating steadily between Leon¡¯s hands, he could barely hold back his tears. As he let himself get excited, a massive explosion once again engulfed his body.


    But this time, he didn¡¯t feel discouraged. Instead, he let out a loud and satisfiedugh as his Spiritual World was destroyed around him.


    ...


    Leon sat directly in front of the desk, opening his eyes for the first time in several hours. A look of joy could be seen in the corners of his eyes.


    "Chip, do you have a recording of myst simted casting attempt?"


    The video had been recorded and saved. You can y it back at any time¡­


    Leon tried his best to calm down and nodded, but the way he tightly clenched his fists revealed how excited he was.


    This new feature found in the Chip was truly a great help for him.


    Without the virtual spiritual world built by the Chip, Leon could only practice this spell in the Spell Practice Hall repeatedly. He would have to personally endure the bacsh on his Spirit and body caused by his casting failures. Each bacsh would require a recovery period before he could fully recuperate.


    Undoubtedly, this would severely dy the progress of learning any spell or advancing in his Spirit.


    This was why most Apprentices in the Tower had only mastered one or two spells.


    Of course, there was a possibility that some Apprentices were hiding what they knew, never revealing their true abilities. After all, the research and progress field of all Apprentices was secret, and attempting to learn about others¡¯ particrs was a significant taboo within the Tower.


    There probably weren¡¯t that many Apprentices who hid what they knew; with the number of unfortunate individuals who were training hard, even among Beginner Mage Apprentices, that number was indeed quite high, and therefore there was little need to hide one¡¯s abilities. In the past, Leon had been one of them.


    But with the activation of the Chip, Leon felt it was time for him to rise into the sky.


    "Chip, show the recording of the sessful casting!"


    "Beep!"


    With the appearance of data streams, a ¡¯Leon¡¯ who was focused on spell casting was projected in his mind. Leon put all his focus into this virtual image, repeatedly observing the entire spell casting process. He watched every detail, not missing the slightest change in his Spiritual energy.


    Although it was just a spiritual simtion, Leon¡¯s mind followed the normal casting process andpleted it. Therefore, excluding theck of real elemental energy, nothing was differentpared to casting the spell in the real world.


    It went without saying that this recording of a sessful spell casting would greatly contribute to helping Leon master the magical spell. At the very least, it helped Leon save at least half a year of restless efforts and avoided the painful cycle of getting hurt, resting and healing, and getting hurt again.


    Since he had a single sess out of a hundred attempts, this meant that Leon¡¯s knowledge and skill were sufficient to meet the minimum requirement for casting the Fire Arrow spell. Thus, the only obstacle preventing him from mastering the Fire Arrow was his familiarity with casting the spell.


    And that was the power of the Chip!


    After repeatedly reviewing the sessful simted casting and ensuring he had mastered all the key elements of the spell, Leon left his room and headed straight to the Magical Spell Practice Room.


    This was also one of the inconveniences that an Apprentice Mage had to face.


    His mastery of magical spells was very low, which made practicing an unfamiliar magical spell in his own room very harsh. Thus, the only option for them was to rent the Magical Spell Practice Room in the Tower, allowing them to experiment with a new spell.


    That¡¯s why there was a saying: the mastery of a new magical spell has always been supported by an enormous amount of knowledge¡­ and an incredible amount of money.


    ...


    The Magical Spell Practice Room was located on the third floor of the Tower and was set up to handle all the mishaps that a spell bacsh could cause.


    Although it was part of the Tower, Apprentice Mages could only step on the first to third floors. The first floor was mainly for New Apprentices who had recently joined the Tower. The second floor was the residential space and recreational areas for Official Apprentice Mages. The third floor was a public area where they could experiment with magical spells and practice.


    The areas where official apprentices were allowed to go included: the Library, the Potion Manufacturing Room, the Summoning Room, the Alchemy Laboratory, the Magical Spell Practice Room, the Sealing Room, the Curse Altar, the Magical nt Cultivation Room¡­ But, as the solitary wolf he was, the only ces Leon usually visited were the Library and the Magical Spell Practice Room.


    As for all the other ces, he didn¡¯t have deep pockets to waste money visiting them.


    It was dinner time when he arrived, so there weren¡¯t many apprentices in this ce.


    After Leon impatiently paid 10 gold coins to Pedro, who was the administrator of the Magical Spell Practice Room, he received a special card. With this card, he had one hour to practice in a room.


    For an Apprentice Mage, one hour of practice was considered very long. With their pitiful amount of Spiritual Energy, they could notst more than half an hour of continuous casting. If Leon didn¡¯t manage his spiritual energy production, he could exhaust it all within fifteen minutes.


    Leon walked to a stone door that had a number above it matching the number on his card. He raised the card and waved it gently in the air. The heavy stone door immediately opened without making a sound as it did.


    The so-called "Magical Spell Practice Room" was, in fact, a simple stone room that had about 40 square meters of space, but there was a gigantic human target made of stone ced at the other end of the room. The dark and gloomy material showed that it was made from dark augite stone, which was capable of repelling magic.


    With the ability of an Apprentice Mage, the low-quality magical spells they managed to experiment with were definitely not enough to destroy such a robust and strong stone target. Therefore, it was the most suitable target for magical practice.


    Of course, for those apprentices who needed to practice their Curses or some other unique types of magic, they had no choice but to spend money to buy some suitable demons as their practice target, or else they would have to sneak out of the Tower, where they could practice those bizarre spells in secret.


    ...


    1996 Words

 Chapter 13: Bleias Return

    After the stone door closed, the practice room became soundproof, and Leon wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anyone spying on what he was doing outside.


    Leon took two steps forward, positioning himself in the center of a strange spell formation that was about 2 meters in diameter. He couldn¡¯t recognize any of the spells drawn on it. Clearly, they were well beyond the knowledge of any Beginner Apprentice Mage.


    But today he didn¡¯t have the time or energy to bother with all those minor details. He turned around and stood up straight, silently recalling the entire process of casting the Fire Arrow spell. Once he was sure of the casting process, he began to speak in a solemn voice: "Chip. Pay close attention to the entire process. Correct me immediately if you think I made the slightest mistake!"


    "Beep!"


    New task set, initiating real-time monitoring¡­


    As a blue light began to flicker in Leon¡¯s eyes, a digitized scene was projected onto his retinas.


    The digitized practice room looked exactly like the physical one, but countless small blue node points appeared in Leon¡¯s retinas, dividing the entire room into numerous small regions. Moreover, the body movements Leon needed to execute were broken down into countless virtual images, each arranged to indicate an order he should follow.


    This was exactly what he needed to do: follow the movements of these virtual images.


    Finally, Leon, who was standing still and staring nkly into space, began to practice.


    He started reciting the magic words while simultaneously making drawing movements in front of his chest at an incredibly fast speed. These movements felt strange to him, but at the same time, they possessed a certain fluid grace.


    "Fire Arrow~~"


    "I conjure~~"


    "Fire,e burn~~"


    "Fire, ept mymands and take the form of an arrow...."


    As Leon progressed through the spell, his body began to flicker in red as arge amount of Fire Elementium was summoned by his spell, slowlypressing and forming the shape of an arrow between his moving hands.


    "Buzz~~"


    Perhaps the process was too smooth, but just as he recited the 32nd magical syble, Leon¡¯s heart surged with excitement, causing one of the nodes in the spiritual model to copse, and the rest of the spiritual model immediately followed suit.


    The furious Fire Elementium, which had been summoned and repeatedlypressed, became misaligned, and an explosion of Fire Elementium, trembling on the ground, began to erupt in front of Leon.


    "Zoshhhh~~"


    But at the moment everything started to go awry, Leon, who was prepared for the unexpected, mmed the card ced in front of his chest. The card vibrated, and a Magic Barrier arose from the formation beneath his feet, enveloping his body and the explosion of the Fire Arrow.


    Strangely, once the furious fire was covered by the magic barrier, its power was reduced by half. Thus, a potentially vtile explosion of Elementium was suppressed and transformed into a small fireworks disy.


    After an annoyed noise that sounded like fireworks, Leon was enveloped in thick, dark smoke, and a small me could briefly be seen through the smoke.


    A momentter, Leon emerged from the smoke while coughing continuously.


    "Damn¡­ I thought I was going to seed¡­"


    His face was smeared with thick smoke, and his clothes were filled with burn marks, making him look like a homeless man who had been dragged through a fire.


    Although he had been caught in the center of the explosion, the power of the furious Fire Elementium was suppressed by the Magic Formation. Therefore, only his hands and forehead were licked by the mes. He truly suffered no injuries, except for minor burns.


    His first attempt at real selection had failed!


    And the cause of this was Leon¡¯s weak control over his own emotions. As he felt he was going to seed, he allowed his excitement to dominate him, and this emotional outburst disturbed the spell-casting process.


    After letting the dark smoke clear from the room, he tidied himself up and applied a medicinal paste to his wounds. Only then did he step back into the spell formation.


    Grinding his teeth tightly, Leon began his second attempt at conjuration.


    Perhaps he was being rewarded for all his perseverance over the past few weeks, or maybe fate had decided it was time for him to master the spell, but the second casting of the spell was smooth and swift. After what felt like an endless 13 seconds, Leon finallypleted a sessful casting of the Fire Arrow spell.


    When the furious Fire Elementium concentrated and transformed into aplete Fire Arrow in the palm of his hand, the sweet mechanical voice of the Chip resonated in his brain once again.


    "Beep!"


    "Aplete spiritual model has been detected. Please confirm if the host wishes to solidify it?"


    "The solidification process will consume 3 Spirit points and 50 Experience points!"


    "Solidify!" Leon couldn¡¯t hold back and shouted loudly.


    Please name this spiritual model.


    "Fire Arrow!"


    "Model sessfully named!"


    "The solidification task is starting¡­"


    "The expectedpletion time is 14 hours, 37 minutes, and 21 seconds¡­"


    After settling everything with the chip, Leon still needed to deal with the "hot potato" in his hands.


    For many explosive spells, maniption was only safe within 2-3 seconds after casting the spell. If that time was exceeded, or the conjurer moved their body, the cast spell would begin to copse.


    If he cast a spell and let it explode within his palm, he could hardly imagine what would happen to his body.


    "Fire Arrow~~"


    "I conjure~~"


    "Fire,e burn~~"


    "Fire, ept mymands....


    Therefore, once Leon finished speaking with the Chip, he immediately pushed both hands forward, urging the Fire Arrow to fly ahead and hit directly into the stone target located across the room.


    "Buzz~~"


    The Fire Arrow erupted upon hitting the chest of the stone target. This time, without the suppression field of the Magic Formation under his feet, the furious Fire Elementium could finally reveal its brutal and violent nature.


    "BOOOMM~~"


    A loud explosion noise was heard.


    A fireball the size of a melon suddenly appeared, quickly spreading into a violent shockwave. The furious explosion instantly heated everything within a 5-meter radius of the stone target to quite intense temperatures.


    After the smoke dissipated, Leon could see that the chest of the stone target had been charred, and there was even a hole the size of a fingernail where the center of the explosion had urred.


    Unexpectedly, a wall on one side of the room began to tremble like a water surface as small ripples passed through it. After a moment, some words began to appear.


    "Spell Evaluation."


    "Damage Caused."


    Physical Damage: 5 points


    Fire Damage: 16 points


    "Characteristic."


    Attack Radius: 150 meters


    Area of Effect: 5 meters


    Obviously, this specially designed Magical Spell Practice Room was very effective in its work. Although, with the help of the Chip, Leon didn¡¯t need the limited data detected by the Magical Formation, all the other Apprentice Mages couldn¡¯t live without it.


    Only through the evaluation and calction of the Magical Formation could they have a more direct sense of control when dealing with the spells they were learning. Otherwise, they would have to experience it directly on a battlefield, where they had to put their lives at stake.


    In just 15 minutes, Leon achieved his goal for this trip. He happily turned and opened the door to the spell practice room. When the stone door opened, a beautiful figure was waiting outside.


    Slender limbs; perfect curves; smooth, silky skin; a delicate face¡­ But what excited Leon the most was the fiery chiffon red dress and her equally red, luscious lips.


    The only difference from thest time he saw her was that her ruby-red eyes had disappeared, reced by a pair of turquoise-blue eyes, making Leon feel as if he were looking into a shimmering blue ocean.


    It was Bleia, wearing her vibrant red dress!


    "Ah, so it seems you really are here!" Her subtly red lips moved gently, delivering words in a voice that made Leon¡¯s heart race. "All right, since I¡¯ve found you, you are no longer useful to me."


    The second sentence, spoken in a tone that seemed much colder than the first, was not directed at Leon.


    Only now did Leon realize that this "neighbor" of his, who was neither tall nor short, was dragging an adult man with her right hand. It was Pedro, the administrator of the Magical Spell Practice Room.


    Bleia, dressed in red, waved her small hand, and Pedro was easily thrown over ten meters away.


    "Whoosh~~"


    "BANG~~"


    He collided with the ground, groaning and unable to get up.


    Leon felt his expression change.


    Although Pedro was not considered a robust man, his weight was at least equal to that of an average adult man. However, Bleia had just thrown him a considerable distance with just her bare hand, and she had done it effortlessly. Deducing from what he saw before him, Leon guessed she had at least 10 in strength.


    Judging by the speed of her movements, her agility was also not low. Along with the terrifying regenerative ability of a Vampire, perhaps even the three strongest Apprentice Mages couldn¡¯t gain an advantage over her in a fight.


    Hadn¡¯t she been taken by the tower master? How was she here, safe and sound? She¡­


    "Follow me!"


    While Leon was still pondering all of this in his mind, Bleia stretched out her delicate, silky right hand and grabbed his cor. Then she turned and walked away, pulling him along by the neck. Leon did his best to try to avoid her hand, but he couldn¡¯t.


    Although he was only 15 years old, he was indeed a bit taller than Bleia. To avoid being dragged along the ground, he was forced to stumble after her, having no idea what was happening.


    However, as he was pulled by Bleia, he looked at the sexy and hot body of the vampire in front of him and thought. "If my sentimental maniption worked over the months he was going through his metamorphosis, and I was the only one she talked to, certainly within a few months, my dick will be embraced by Bleia¡¯s vampire pussy."


    ...


    In the public cafeteria.


    It was dinnertime, so most of the Apprentice Mages were gathered in the cafeteria, sitting in small groups, enjoying their meals and chatting with one another.


    From the ces they sat and the way they spoke, it was possible to determine the strength of these small groups and each Apprentice Mage¡¯s position within them.


    After all, those who were lone wolves, like Leon, were truly few in number. Most Apprentice Mages preferred to group together and form small teams, allowing them to work coboratively and fend off those with bad intentions.


    However, just as the atmosphere in the ce was warming up, a sudden loud noise was heard as the recently repaired wooden door was smashed open by someone.


    All the Apprentice Mages stared in disbelief at the two people who entered one after the other, their eyes wide open.


    Bleia?!


    Although most people here had not seen how Bleia had dealt with her "mutation" by her own means, everyone knew what had happened that day. Thus, in their minds, even if Bleia had not been sliced open by the Master Mage during his research, she would have been locked away on one of the upper floors of this Tower, forced to live as a captive forever.


    In contrast to everyone¡¯s expectations, she had actually shown up in this ce, with great audacity!


    Brandon, who was seated in the center of the cafeteria, immediately felt his expression turn serious as his eyes filled with fear.


    He had personally witnessed how brutal and terrifying Bleia was. Even if she had returned to her seemingly harmless demeanor, the horrific memory left in his mind could never be erased.


    Bleia stormed in like a whirlwind, quickly making her way to the center of the cafeteria with her arms crossed. She suddenly looked around the room, surveying slowly, before her gaze finally settled on Brandon, the newly appointed Leader Apprentice.


    "I, Bleia, am back!"


    ...


    2036 Words

 Chapter 14: Digital arena

    After proudly announcing her return from the middle of the cafeteria, Bleia moved her hand forward, pulling Leon along and positioning him in front of her.


    "From today on, know that he is my subordinate. Anyone who causes trouble for him will have me as their enemy!"


    Once she finished speaking, she released Leon and swiped her right hand through the air. Her ws moved so quickly that they seemed to leave afterimages in the air. As the faint trails of light disappeared, five sharp sounds could be heard by the crowd.


    "What?!"


    "What insane agility, and what terrifically formidable strength."


    "With that kind of speed and attacking power, who would have time to recite a spell if they were attacked by her?"


    After estimating the attack power of Bleia¡¯s casual strike, everyone who witnessed this scene was filled with fear, covering their faces.


    Leon couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly at the current situation. For the first time in his life, he felt a headache caused by "good luck."


    As much as he could, he was a man striving to live a low-profile life, but in the end, he was helplessly dragged into what could only result in a fight among the strongest Apprentice Mages. Although Bleia did this with good intentions, could a simple threat of violence really deter Apprentice Mages who feared nothing?


    In this Tower of Mages, where men¡¯s hearts were iprehensible and everyone was scheming against one another, there were almost infinite methods to kill someone without being noticed.


    In the library, a wide variety of knowledge about evil spells and poisonous potions was avable. As long as someone was willing to put in the effort, it wasn¡¯t exactly difficult to make an Apprentice Mage meet an "unfortunate death" without anyone knowing.


    Within this mysterious and terrifying Tower of Mages, Leon would never dare let the slightest drop of blood or even the tiniest hair fall into another person¡¯s hands. After all, there were countless bizarre spells that could be used against a person. The slightest mistake could end with him bing a puppet controlled by someone else.


    This was also why most Apprentice Mages lived in seclusion in their own rooms, rarely having intimate physical contact with anyone else.


    Feeling the hostile res shooting at him from all directions, Leon felt mute once again, and a bitter smile spread across his face.


    It seemed he had found a great way to make many enemies at once.


    In the past, he was merely a harmless low-level apprentice in the minds of others. Even if he had some minor arguments, no one would try to find a way to kill him. But today, he had nearly offended all the Apprentice Mages in the tower without saying a single word.


    Without needing to think twice, he knew that from today onward, he had be a different kind of bird among all the Beginner Apprentice Mages. If anyone attempted to reach out to him, they were either investigating Bleia¡¯s information or nning his death.


    Although Leon was grumbling in his mind, at that moment, he had no choice but to put on an impassive face and face these new difficulties.


    After saying what she intended, Bleia, who had established her authority, grabbed Leon and hurried out of the cafeteria. A momentter, the proud and elegant Bleia reappeared in front of Pedro, who was still reeling from the shock of being thrown into a room.


    "Give me the Arena card!"


    Bleia revealed herself to be surprisingly domineering and tyrannical. When she mmed her small palm on the table, everything around her was knocked over. "Pow~~" A slimy, ugly toad squeezed out from the pile of books while continuously grumbling, quickly hopping onto Pedro¡¯s shoulder and ring angrily at Bleia, the one responsible for its difort.


    It was a small frog, but it had an enormous head, which was quite strange. It was slimy and covered in bumps and bubbles, all filled with green sludge. It had a huge mouth, and its eyes were situated on two prominent tentacles, giving it a truly bizarre appearance.


    Afraid, Pedro gently patted the strange head of the frog, tilting his head and speaking softly. Reluctantly, the frog opened its mouth and spat out a special card that shone with a golden sheen.


    Bleia coldly huffed, snatched the golden card from the table, turned around, and dragged Leon away.


    Before leaving, Leon couldn¡¯t help but examine the strange frog.


    An associated beast!


    Perhaps this frog was Pedro¡¯s associated beast?


    Apprentice Mages like them, who were still struggling on the lower floors of the Tower, were always trying to strengthen themselves. Without a doubt, increasing Spirit was the most difficult path. Without a Magical Medicine to boost Spirit, a first-level meditation method, and without a formal Mage to answer all their questions, they could only rely on themselves to progress.


    Therefore, any method that could possibly help a person improve their own power was worth pursuing, and Associated Beasts were undeniably a good supplementary method for increasing strength.


    Associated Beasts were also known as Parasite Beasts. They were a unique type of demon whose race had been altered by magic. Through a special magical ceremony, an Apprentice Mage could establish a bond between their soul and one of these beasts.


    Of course, a method like this came with its own pros and cons. On the positive side, an Apprentice Mage could borrow the innate abilities of the demon, granting them some special skills that others did not possess. On the downside, during the bonding process, the Apprentice had to cut off part of their soul and transfer it to the Associated Beast.


    Consequently, if the Associated Beast were seriously injured or died, the Apprentice would suffer the same fate.


    If the Beast were gravely wounded, it could lead to a permanent depletion of Spirit for the Apprentice, as their soul would be harmed; there were known cases where the Mage¡¯s soul had shattered, causing them to be aplete fool.


    It was a general rule that an ordinary Apprentice Mage could only establish a bond with one Beast. But, as with anything, there were always exceptions. The worm controller, one of the three strongest Apprentices, took the path of bonding with an Associated Beast. However, he truly broke the supposed limit, and somehow, he had many strange insects within his body.


    As for how he did this, no one knew. Any Apprentice Mage who was taking the path of bonding with an Associated Beast would kill for that knowledge, but none of them had the courage to spy on his secret. Because, in the end, anyone who attempted to spy on him would end up dead in an "ident."


    Pedro, who only had the ability of an Intermediate Apprentice, chose a Poison Dart Frog, which could, unsurprisingly, shoot poisonous darts, as his Associated Beast. Besides firing poison, it also had a good regeneration ability. Perhaps this was the main reason why Pedro chose it.


    ...


    When the main door of the stone room closed, Bleia and Leon were left alone in arge room.


    This Arena was muchrger than the stone room that Leon had previously rented, upying a total of 200 square meters. Thus, this was not a ce for Apprentice Mages to practice their magical spells, but a miniature fighting arena.


    If Apprentice Mages needed to settle disputes, they would usually use this Arena as ast resort. Although this ce came with a rule prohibiting them from killing each other, if an "ident" were to actually ur, the killer would not have to pay with their own life. All they would have to do was pay arge fee aspensation.


    Because of this, many Apprentice Mages had a great fear of this Arena, and it earned the nickname ¡¯Death Arena¡¯!


    Bleia¡¯s slender figure stood in front of Leon. She wore a strange smile on her delicate face, which Leon thought was both seductive and cruel.


    "I don¡¯t need a useless subordinate. Show me what you¡¯re capable of!"


    After announcing this, and without giving him time to prepare, her delicate-looking body swayed, leaving behind a trail of afterimages. Her real body was mixed in with those afterimages, rushing toward Leon at an incredible speed.


    Did she really mean that? This Bleia was truly a girl of action!


    Although Bleia had been a rather frosty beauty in the past, she had still maintained the careful and low-profile character of a standard Apprentice Mage. How had she be so arrogant and aggressive after being dethroned by the Eclivel Mage?


    Unfortunately, Leon didn¡¯t have time to ponder this any further because Bleia¡¯s attack was quickly closing in.


    "Alert!"


    "Initiatingbat mode!"


    "The digital Arena has been activated!"


    A series of rapid warning tones resonated in his brain, almost causing him to lose focus.


    When expanded in all directions, the range of the bioChip grew like a vast digital domain.


    ¡¯Digital Arena? What?¡¯ Leon thought to himself, but with no time to reflect, he was flooded by notifications.


    "Attention!"


    "Attention!"


    "Target approaching at high speed¡­"


    "Initial assessment shows that the target has agility greater than 13."


    "Host, move two steps to the left."


    "After dodging, counterattack with the Burning Hands spell¡­"


    Since the solidification of the Fire Arrow was still in progress, Leon could only use one spell, Burning Hands.


    The speed of the attack was extremely fast, and Leon couldn¡¯t even see where the real Bleia was. What he could do was put all his hope in the guidance given by the Chip, move his feet, and sidestep, quickly preparing a Burning Hands spell.


    However, as they say, no n survives contact with the enemy.


    Leon awkwardly fell to the ground while only halfway through dodging. His shirt waspletely torn at the chest, revealing three cuts. He cast Burning Hands, but his attack hit nothing.


    Leon pressed his hand against his wounds, disturbed by what had just happened. He lifted his head and shot Bleia an irritated look. Meanwhile, Bleia stood off to the side, flicking her long, flexible tongue and licking the blood from her ws.


    "So it seems you have worthy reflexes¡­ But your body is too weak. If this speed is all you¡¯ve got, you might just suffer today!" Perhaps it was because she had tasted blood, but herpletely blue eyes began to take on a shade of red, making her appear much more dangerous. "If you don¡¯t want to die, you better move faster¡­"


    Bleia quickly crouched down after finishing her words, making her look like a leopard preparing to pounce. The next second, she was shooting in his direction.


    Damn, if that hit him, he would really die.


    As her eyes began to turn red and her fangs started to show on her lips, the warning tones vanished like crazy in his brain. Unable to tend to the wounds on his chest, Leon let out a roar.


    He struck both palms together with force, opened his mouth, and began to chant.


    "Burning Hands,e forth!"


    "Burning Hands, I summon thee!"


    "Burning¡­"


    Three secondster, tworge fireballs erupted in both of his hands, causing Bleia to retreat.


    "This is what I¡¯m talking about! Hehe¡­ you¡¯d better watch out!~"


    Bleia¡¯s voice was filled with excitement. She even let out a littleugh. The next second, she leaped forward, transforming into a blue streak.


    Even within the confines of the digital arena, Leon was only able to see Bleia¡¯s afterimages. He couldn¡¯t find her actual position. Therefore, to prevent her from getting too close, Leon kept moving his body and adjusting his stance to keep most of her afterimages in front of him. Meanwhile, he was frantically waving his hands, trying to use the burning mes to block all possible attack routes.


    "Zoshhh~~"


    "Zoshhh~~"


    "Buzz~~"


    Both fireballs made noises as Leon waved them around, sending sparks flying around his body. Unfortunately, it seemed that his defense attempt was futile. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn¡¯t figure out where she was. Instead, he would asionally feel a sudden, sharp pain emanating from a new spot on his body, and all of this only fueled his growing anger.


    ....


    2041 Words

 Chapter 15: Promises of revenge

    As the fight progressed, Leon increasingly realized what his weaknesses were.


    His below-average physique was one of his greatest weaknesses. Even with the help of the Chip, he discovered that he wasn¡¯t as strong as he had initially thought.


    His Agility of 4 defined the speed of his reflexes, movement, and flexibility of his body. Although the dynamic vision provided by the Chip allowed him to roughly guess where Bleia was moving, his excessively "clumsy" and "slow" body was struggling to keep up with the Chip¡¯s guidance.


    Therefore, most of the time, even knowing beforehand where the attack wasing from, Leon couldn¡¯t defend himself quickly enough. Often, when the sharp ws passed by his body, his mes were mere inches away, yet he still couldn¡¯t touch the tips of Bleia¡¯s dress.


    Thus, inside the massive Arena, Leon was tirelessly conjuring two enormous fireballs and doing everything he could tond the slightest blow on his enemy. However, it seemed he was incapable of doing anything except receiving wounds and groaning as the pain from all his injuries mounted.


    As for Bleia, she was like a red ghost flitting from one ce to another, appearing to blink in and out of reality as she dashed around Leon. Often, the terrible mes almost brushed against her body but were unable to cause any damage, as she moved with great speed and agility.


    Fortunately, Bleia was merely yfully assessing Leon¡¯s fighting skill, so all her attacks were causing only minor injuries to his flesh. If she had been serious, Leon would have been cut to pieces long ago. But even so, having his body scratched by Bleia¡¯s sharp ws left Leon with numerous scratch marks and blood all over.


    Although the wounds on his body wouldn¡¯t kill him, they brought Leon much anger and humiliation.


    A month ago, this Bleia was just a novice Apprentice and wasn¡¯t stronger than he was. Because of this damned mutation caused by magical contamination, she was now able to twist Leon around her little finger as if he were nothing.


    This explosive anger was continuously suppressed by Leon, as he knew he was incapable of defeating Bleia, but he was still doing everything he could to pursue her red shadow with his furious mes.


    Internally, Leon¡¯s mind was still calm as a cier, and he wasmunicating with the Chip without showing any external signs. Since he couldn¡¯t catch Bleia with his dynamic vision, he needed to find an alternative solution.


    Leon¡¯s spirit was rapidly exhausting as he tirelessly waved both hands in the air. The terrible fireballs in his hands were growingrger and more violent. Under his eyes, a strange blue dot flickered faintly, marking an interception point that the Chip had vaguely calcted.


    When Leon sensed that Bleia was attacking head-on, he slightly separated his hands, blocking potential attacks from the left and right, leaving a weak point of half a meter in front of his body.


    Seeing this, Bleia, who had nned to attack from the left, simply let out a cold huff, stopped, and stood still, gently swaying to the side to avoid the zing red fireball. Not only that, but she actually fell forward and attacked the small opening in front of Leon¡¯s chest.


    "Hmph! What a careless boy, should I leave a mark on your face or your chest?~"


    Bleia, who still had plenty of time whilezily fighting with Leon, pondered why her instincts hesitated at that exact moment.


    Suddenly, her expression changed drastically, and she immediately retreated with a speed even greater than her attack. Even so, her retreating body still couldn¡¯tpletely escape the two fireballs that suddenly altered their courses.


    "Buzz~~"


    Two terrifying fireballs came from the left and right, colliding with each other and exploding, sending sparks of fire in all directions and creating a sea of mes in front of Leon¡¯s body.


    "Boom~~"


    What happened made Bleia scream in shock.


    "Shit!!"


    In the time it took to blink, she had moved 10 meters away from Leon but still felt some pain from that attack. She lowered her head and took a look at herself. To her surprise, she discovered that her red chiffon dress was actually full of burn marks, as those random flying sparks had fallen on her and made holes in her dress, revealing what was hidden beneath.


    "You bastard¡­ How dare you damage my dress¡­"


    Bleia¡¯s cold and beautiful face turned angry. With a cruel look, she stared directly at Leon, who was jumping for joy.


    At that exact moment, Leon was struck by an indescribable excitement, as he had finally managed to force Bleia to retreat. "Bleia, my love, I have to confess my true feelings to you, I love you... Do you remember the times I said you were my little princess and that when I was better I would invite you to my room? So how about tonight? We can y in various ways."


    Finally, he had discovered a weakness in this girl¡¯s fighting style. When facing a high-speed enemy who fought like an assassin, a weaker spell that covered a wide area was effective in limiting where they could move, while powerful and concentrated spells were unable to touch them¡­


    As he basked in the joy of his small sess, Leon suddenly felt a sinister killing intent. Shocked, he raised his head and saw a girl with a fierce look on her face.


    "I¡­"


    Knowing that something bad was about to happen, Leon quickly tried to exin his actions, but before he could say anything, a red shadow shed in front of his eyes, grabbed him, and mmed his head against a nearby stone wall. The brutal and violent force of Bleia¡¯s hand pierced through Leon¡¯s entire body, but before he could feel the pain, his eyes went ck, and he lost consciousness.


    And thest thought that crossed his mind was: "What a quick deposit of sperm! It won¡¯t stay like this, I swear I will take revenge... Bleia, I swear I will rape you in such a way that you get pregnant, my revenge It will be so severe that I will tie you up for a few months and rape you every night, and I will only stop when you are pregnant."


    When Leon finally regained consciousness, he felt a throbbing pain all over his body, but he also felt a new pain. It seemed like he was being dragged by someone.


    A small, cold hand was gripping his ankle, pulling him across the floor on his stomach, which was how he was being brought back to his room. When he finally arrived in his room, his bare face waspletely covered in blood, the result of having scraped his face against the rough ground.


    Leon didn¡¯t dare to fight back, as it seemed hisst attack had angered the foul-tempered Bleia. So, all he could do was close his eyes and do his best to endure the pain he felt throughout his body.


    Fortunately, he could still feel pain¡­ It was better than falling into a vegetative state!


    Leon made the Chip perform a self-test, and a huge and terrifying red warning signal appeared at the top of the report.


    HP: 03/11


    Ugh. He only had a total of 11 Health Points and had lost 8 of them. This literally put him on the brink of death. If he lost any more, he would be in serious trouble.


    Even though that damned Bleia hadn¡¯t hurt any of his vital points and had only left some scratch marks on his body yfully, it was more than enough to reduce his Health Points to such a pathetic state. This really showed how great the difference between them was.


    A momentter, Bleia opened the wooden door to Leon¡¯s room and threw him inside. After that, her beautiful voice said something very cruel: "Rest tonight; we¡¯ll continue our training in 17 hours."


    Then it seemed that Bleia had noticed that Leon was awake.


    Leon raised his head, shocked that she had figured it out. What he saw was the wooden door slightly ajar and the silhouette of a slender and curvaceous young woman illuminated by the candles in the hallway.


    17 hours? Did she expect him to recover in 17 hours?


    Leon opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the wooden door was closed, leaving him in the dark gloom of his room.


    ...


    Half an hourter, with sheer willpower, Leon finally got up from the floor and lit a few candles to take a look at himself.


    He took off his short, worn Apprentice robe and discovered that his skinny body was covered in scratch marks and crisscrossed wounds. Although they weren¡¯t deep, they were unexpectedly dense.


    Under the dim candlelight, he began to carefully tend to his injured body.


    He had some basic healing ointments in his room. After all, to survive in the Tower, healing pastes and poison antidotes were mandatory items.


    Enduring the pain, Leon applied the healing ointment to his wounds while grimacing. Immediately, a ticklish sensation that drove him crazy came from the wounds, but soon after, it was reced by a cold feeling that calmed his mind, followed by the pleasant sensation of his flesh regenerating. From there, Leon began the slow healing process.


    After finishing applying the healing ointment, Leon decided to examine the other parts of his self-test report.


    Attributes: Strength 4.01 | Agility 4.04 | Physique 3.02 | Spirit: 8.07


    Experience: 528/1000


    Personal Skills: Burning Hand (Solidified) | Fire Arrow (Solidification in Progress)


    Surprisingly, the torture he had just endured had increased all his attributes, and it had even boosted his Experience by 12. Leon couldn¡¯t help but let out a long sigh. Did this mean that his path to bing strong would be filled with misery and pain?


    After agonizing in misery and having slightly suicidal thoughts, Leon took a deep breath,y down on his bed, and began his daily meditation.


    Once again, he had arrived in the Spiritual Dimension, which was filled with countless glowing points of light. This time, the orb of light representing Leon¡¯s consciousness transformed into a fierce monster that had hundreds of tentacles extending from its body.


    Under Leon¡¯s control, these spiritual tentacles continued to poke and swim around, reaching out and grabbing all the Fire Elementium swimming nearby.


    In the past, Leon had only passively absorbed the Fire Elementium that came close enough to him. How could that bepared to his current efficiency, as he was actively absorbing them? With his current speed, one round of meditation would yield ten times more than the previous meditation.


    It had been a long day for him. So many things had happened, and he had been too busy to address all of them. This was the first time he had managed to catch his breath all day, and he found himself exhausted. Therefore, before he could check the results of his meditation, he fell asleep.


    ...


    At dawn the next day, Leon woke up to the sound of heavy knocks on his door.


    "Who is it?"


    "It¡¯s me, Nn. It¡¯s time..."


    Leon¡¯s lips tightened. He realized that six days had passed since hisst inspection trip, and it was time to do it again!


    As he got up, he quickly nced at the results of the previous night¡¯s meditation. He was filled with joy upon seeing that his Spirit had increased from 8.07 to 8.15.


    A single night of meditation had raised his Spirit by 0.08¡­ Didn¡¯t this mean that even if he didn¡¯t spend any time studying Magic books and only did basic meditation, his Spirit would reach the level of an Advanced Apprentice Mage in three months?


    That wasn¡¯t the only good news.


    His Fire Arrow spell would solidify in 1 hour. In 1 hour, he would be a Beginner Apprentice who had mastered more than one Magic Spell. He would no longer be a rookie who could be intimidated by anyone.


    ...


    2008 Words

 Chapter 16: Garden

    Following the same route as the previous week, Leon set out on his inspection journey.


    Leon quickly realized that things were quite different today.


    As soon as he set foot on the stone-paved path, Leon immediately sensed that something was amiss. Today, the demons were unusually excited and behaving in strange ways.


    The first stop on his inspection was the Ghost Tree Grove.


    Even before reaching the grove, Leon was horrified by what he saw in front of him.


    Hundreds of Carrion Crows were perched on those skinny, gnarled Ghost Trees, and each one of them had their round, red eyes fixed on Leon. Strangely, none of them made a sound, which waspletely different from their usual behavior.


    Honestly, being stared at by a few hundred Carrion Crows at once would send chills down the spine of even the bravest Apprentice Mage. But what puzzled Leon even more was how quiet they were. If they were behaving normally, the loud cawing of the Carrion Crows could be heard a mile away.


    But today¡­


    Judging by their silence, it seemed as if they were all waiting for a grand feast.


    Based on the knowledge Leon had in mind, these Carrion Crows would only be so quiet and patient when they were waiting for their meal. It was said that these birds could follow a dying traveler for days without sleeping or resting, just waiting for the moment the traveler finally fell.


    Under the ¡¯Wee Parade¡¯ of a few hundred Carrion Crows, Leon slowly started walking along the stone path. As he proceeded, he knew he waspletely surrounded by creatures with ill intentions.


    "Chip, perform a scan of the surrounding area. I need to know what¡¯s going on here!" Leon couldn¡¯t bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer and whispered amand.


    "Beep."


    "Initiating real-time scan task¡­


    "Establishing dynamic monitoring for the surrounding area¡­"


    "Beep!"


    "Beep¡­"


    "Beep¡­"


    "Source of disturbance is an unknown scent!"


    "Direction: Southeast¡­ Distance: 500 meters¡­"


    Unknown scent?


    After noting the Chip¡¯s report, Leon took a deep breath and tried to catch a whiff of this ¡¯unknown scent.¡¯ After a moment, he was able to pick up a faint smell of blood mixed with the rotten stench of the mist. No wonder all these demons seemed so excited today!


    If he could smell the blood, then of course these creatures, whose senses were dozens or even hundreds of times more sensitive, could smell it too!


    However, today was not the monthly ¡¯Quiet Day¡¯ when the tower would deliberately lower the swamp defenses to lure outsiders to ¡¯feed¡¯ the ¡¯wildlife¡¯! Could someone have actually snuck into this ce?


    With questions filling his mind, Leon poured an entire bottle of potion into his mouth, pulled up his hood, and began sprinting southeast.


    An n Grass Potion was a special magical concoction prepared from n Grass. It was capable of sealing all the pores of the human body, suppressing the drinker¡¯s body odors. But it onlysted for 30 minutes.


    ...


    In the Whispering Garden.


    The garden, which was usually deathly silent andpletely devoid of life, had turned into a terrifying battlefield.


    As he approached the site, he could hear the horrific cries of the Demon Babies and the screams of the wandering souls. He also heard loud human voices, shouting in anger and fear. Apparently, this was the source of the pungent smell of blood that had caught his attention.


    Using the trees and grass as cover, Leon slowly approached the battlefield. Soon, he found a spot with a good vantage point, allowing him to observe what was happening.


    There were two groups fighting in the area.


    The attackers were, of course, the hideous Demon Babies and the other wandering souls that resided there. Then, there were 17 mercenaries battling to fend off the horrific creatures in front of them.


    They appeared to be a skilled and experienced group of mercenaries. They looked strong and vigorous,cking neither physical strength nor bravery. Moreover, their equipment was excellent. They hadrge, thick shields made of solid wood, arm and shoulder guards, and each of them carried a bow. This made them capable of hunting manymon demons in this swamp.


    But unfortunately for them, the demons surrounding them were some of the most fearsome creatures in the swamp: Demon Babies.


    Demon Babies had no legs and crawled on the ground using a pair of sharp ws, dragging a long organ, which resembled an umbilical cord, behind them. They were hideous, with twisted bodies, but they looked remarkably simr to human babies.


    However, their faces were not made of smooth, young flesh, but rather wrinkled dead skin, and their facial features were pinched, giving them extremely grotesque faces.


    Amid the knee-high bushes, these little demons were crawling back and forth, uttering curses and cries that echoed throughout the area. Whenever a baby¡¯s wail was heard, it immediately caused the human mercenaries to scream in fear.


    Although these Demon Babies had small bodies, each one possessed strength of at least 5, equivalent to that of an average adult human. Not only that, but they also had a pair of deadly ws. Whenever they lunged forward and struck therge wooden shields, they left deep scratch marks behind.


    However, their most lethal weapon was their Curse.


    When Leon arrived, these Demon Babies were trying to break through the defensive shields with their bodies.


    One after another, the Demon Babies darted through the bushes,unching themselves into the air and attempting tond behind the mercenaries¡¯ defensive shields, but each time, the prepared mercenaries knocked them down with their arm guards. There was even a Demon Baby that failed to escape in time and found itself pinned to the ground with an arrow.


    Though pinned to the ground, the Demon Baby was still ferocious, wildly wing at the earth. It then lifted its body and let out an irritating baby wail toward the nearest human mercenary.


    "Sniff~~"


    "Waaaaaa~~"


    The cry was sharp and deafening, but while it was merely an unpleasant noise to others, when the scream reached the mercenary closest to it, he was instantly struck by the terrifying ¡¯Curse.¡¯


    The muscr mercenary suddenly dropped his shield and pressed both hands tightly against his ears, screaming: "Help me!¡­ I can¡¯t see anything!¡­"


    Moments after he shouted, tears of blood poured from his tightly shut eyes, terrifying the other mercenaries.


    Before anyone could react, two more Demon Babies emerged from the bushes, vicious grins on their hideous faces. They opened their mouths and shrieked at the mercenary who had already been afflicted with ¡¯Blindness.¡¯


    Blindness + Madness + Confusion!


    Even an official Apprentice Mage would struggle to defend against a Demon Baby¡¯s curse, let alone these mercenaries, who were merely ordinary humans. Before his fellow mercenaries could knock him out, the afflicted mercenary frantically pushed everything around him and dashed out of the defensive formation.


    "No!¡­ Bazar,e back!¡­"


    A middle-aged man, who appeared to be the leader of the group, immediately shouted from within the formation. But it was toote.


    If someone had looked down from above, they would have seen movement within the bushes surrounding this team of mercenaries, with numerous fast-moving lines of grass racing toward the confused, fleeing mercenary.


    "Bazar!" A bold-looking man threw away his own shield, grabbed an axe, and started running to rescue his friend. However, he was forcefully pulled back by his leader.


    "Don¡¯t go, Tark! It¡¯s toote now¡­" The leader gripped the bold man¡¯s arm as he looked helplessly at the departing man.


    As if to prove his words, Bazar, who had gone mad, was overwhelmed by a swarm of Demon Babies.


    "Arrrrgg~~"


    "Help!"


    "Stop, please..."


    "No! Stop eating my intestines..."


    His pain-filled and piercing screamssted only a few more seconds before falling silent. Then, all that could be heard was the sound of those Demon Babies tearing at his flesh and gnawing on his bones.


    Even though it was half-concealed by the knee-high bushes, no mercenary could witness the scene of those Demon Babies feasting on their friend. Just looking at the constantly shifting dry grass and hearing the terrifying, chilling sounds was enough for them to imagine the extremely horrific scene that must be happening within those bushes.


    Consequently, their long-held determination and morale began to falter.


    "Whoosh~~"


    Suddenly, a fireball the size of a human head shot out from the center of the mercenaries, leaving a long trail of dark smoke. Itnded squarely in the center of the area where the Demon Babies were joyfully feasting.


    "BOOM!"


    The next second, with a deafening explosion, the terrifying fire Elementium expanded and turned everything within a ten-meter radius into a raging sea of mes.


    With just a single strike, over twenty Demon Babies were killed. Fourteen of them, caught in the center of the explosion, were turned to ash in an instant. Those at the edges of the explosion were all injured by the furious mes. For a moment, the shrill cries of the Demon Babies reverberated across the skies!


    A Fire Spell?!


    Leon, watching from the shadows, was startled for a moment. He quickly looked around, soon spotting three suspicious figures at the center of the mercenaries. They were all dressed rtively simrly to him.


    Their ck cloaks and hoodspletely covered their bodies, leaving not an inch of skin exposed, but judging by their body sizes, Leon guessed they were two men and a girl.


    Three Apprentice Mages who had left their homes to gain experience?


    Since he couldn¡¯t see them directly, there was no way for Leon to discern the specific attributes of these individuals. Therefore, he didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly. He quietly took out his Magic Talisman and reported the events happening here to the Mage Tower.


    During this time, the Demon Babies, who had suffered heavy losses, summoned all the wandering souls to aid them.


    Since these wandering souls could live among other demons, they clearly weren¡¯t low-tier creatures like zombies or skeletons, but rather conscious bodies formed by strong resentment and malevolent intentions.


    Although they had human shapes, theycked physical bodies, and their innate ability to freely shift between the ethereal and physical allowed them to bypass most physical attacks and defenses.


    Their forms looked like blurred shadows. Comparatively, their heads were much clearer and had facial features simr to those of humans. They had a pair of arms with sharp ws, but where their legs should have been was just a vague shadow. From a distance, it looked as though their legs had merged into the air.


    When this group of wandering souls emerged from the forest, the entire area was immediately filled with eerie ghostly wails, capable of making one¡¯s soul shudder.


    "Come with me!"


    "Surrender your soul to me!"


    "The shadows do not forget..."


    "Darkness is eternal..."


    "I shall return for you..."


    "Feel the chill of eternity..."


    "Your time is near..."


    The temperature also dropped significantly.


    Attacked by this seemingly endless wave of terrifying wandering souls, the mercenaries¡¯ defensive formation copsed instantly.


    The wandering souls, which had shifted into their ethereal forms, fearlessly jumped into the group of men,pletely ignoring the mercenaries¡¯ weapons and shields. With their icy ghostly ws, these souls were busy leaving deadly scratch marks on their targets¡¯ bodies. Some even squeezed into the mercenaries¡¯ bodies, taking control andunching attacks on the other mercenaries.


    "Zap!"


    "Pow~~"


    "Strike!"


    Now that a breach had been created by the wandering souls, the wicked Demon Babies once again joined the battle, using their horrible curses to break the will of the mercenaries. After that, they dragged the cursed bodies into the bushes and began feasting on them.


    The scene grew even more chaotic and bloodier.


    ....


    1954 Words

 Chapter 17: Other Mages

    When they looked outside and saw the enormous crowd of demons and wandering souls overwhelming the mercenaries around them, the three Apprentice Mages were finally forced to remove their cloaks and join the battle, revealing their faces to the world.


    The leader of the three was a muscr young man. He had a head of messy blond hair that fell to his shoulders. Just beneath his hair, a mysterious tiara was wrapped around his head, clearly not an ordinary item. He was wearing a well-crafted leather jacket and carried a sword on his back. Judging by the size of the sword, it would be too heavy for an ordinary man to even wield.


    The other man was dressed like a noble. The delicate and luxurious clothes on his body were quite impressive, but even more striking was his head. He had dark green skin, a long, narrow mouth, and a thin tongue that kept flicking in and out... He, unexpectedly, had the head of a snake.


    Meanwhile, a little girl stood between these two men. She had an angelic face and was wearing a long, light yellow dress. She was of average height and was holding a golden cage in her hands. Curiously, not only did she show no sign of fear towards the bloody scene in front of her, but she was actually looking around with a cute smile on her face, making her simply seem like a curious young girl.


    Leon¡¯s eyes suddenly widened.


    Through his Elementium Vision, he saw extremely bright Elementium and spiritual ripples that resembled tidal waves emanating from all three Apprentice Mages.


    ording to the Chip¡¯s assessment, these three were Pseudo-Mages or elites among Advanced Apprentice Mages. No matter who they were, they were not something Leon, a Beginner Apprentice Mage, could think of handling.


    Why had such powerful peoplee here like this? This ce was private property of Master Eclivel and a resource site of the Sarubo Family. Except for the annual shipment of resources, this ce was not open to outsiders.


    All of this made Leon really curious about the motives of these outsider Apprentice Mages.


    But after witnessing their immense skills, Leon¡¯s curiosity instantly died, leaving him fully alert and a bit fearful.


    The human mercenaries were able to handle demonic beasts, but when faced with Demon Babies, Wandering Souls, and other simr demons, they were like sheep being led to the ughter. When the simple defensive shield was broken, the swarm of demons began to massacre the mercenaries.


    Demon Babies were running and jumping all over the ce, shouting terrifying curses to weaken their prey¡¯s fighting abilities. Using the bushes as cover, these monstersunched surprise attacks and brought the mercenaries down. Thus, it was a scene filled with mercenaries on the brink of death.


    Additionally, those dreadful Wandering Souls circled in the air, seeking chances to snatch a mercenary into the skies. When this happened, the other demons swarmed in and tore the defenseless prey apart.


    In the midst of this chaotic scene, a Wandering Soul, with an ugly and twisted face, dove from the air, targeting those three strange and casually dressed Apprentice Mages.


    Before the young man and the little girl could do anything, the snake head struck.


    With great force, a pale green venom in the form of an arrow pierced the body of the Wandering Soul instantly, exploding on impact. The intense corrosive poison melted the ¡¯Resentment Core¡¯ hidden within its body, turning it into a pile of ashes with a horrible, painful scream.


    Leon noticed that the venomous ¡¯arrow¡¯ was not created using normal spells but wasunched from that Apprentice¡¯s mouth.


    "Buzz~~"


    And that attack was just the beginning.


    "Whoosh~~"


    "Whizz~~"


    The Apprentice did not stop what he had started and opened his mouth wide, continuously spitting venomous ¡¯arrows.¡¯ With each strike, he precisely eliminated one of the horrifying Wandering Souls, ssified as possessing the power of an Intermediate Apprentice.


    A Lineage Mage!


    He was definitely one of those Lineage Mages mentioned in the basic book about Mages!


    Within the vast andplex hierarchy of development in the Mage World, four branches stood out: Lineage Mages, Body Refinement Mages, Principle Mages, and Deep Mages. It could be said that most other branches of Mages derived from these four main branches.


    Lineage Mages were a group of lunatics who desired to possess the purest lineages. They used the power of these lineages to enhance their own strength. Usually, they would choose some incredibly powerful creatures from another world as the source of their lineage, then improve the purity of their own blood, often through a method traceable back to some ancestor.


    After doing all this, they gained incredible abilities that aligned with those of ancient powerful creatures. Generally, their ultimate goal was to revive the glorious life of these ancient beings.


    As for Body Refinement Mages, they were another group of fanatics who strove to strengthen their own bodies. To them, all resources were just a means, a consumable supply that could be used to enhance their muscles. To stimte their muscles, they might immerse themselves in a vat full of poisonous chemicals or imnt a deadly, highly radioactive meteorite into their bodies.


    They could venture out and endure the most extreme and lethal environments¡­ And they would do all of this to strengthen their bodies so that nothing could harm them.


    Honestly, Principle Mages were the mostmon type of Mage in the Mage World.


    Whether it was the Elementium Mage, who pursued the ultimate powers of their Elements, the Curse Mage, who used strange abilities to kill people in hidden ways, or even the Dark Mage, who enjoyed using violent, murderous skills, often leveraging the power of souls and emotions ¡ª they all belonged to the branch of Principle Mages.


    Although there seemed to be a tremendous difference in what they did, when they reached an advanced stage, they did their best to master specific Principles or Rules of the Universe.


    They were the ones who grew by mastering the Principles of Elemental Laws.


    As for Deep Mages, they were the purest type of Mages. They were unwilling to ¡¯contaminate¡¯ their lineage just to gain a powerful ability and refused to join the Principles of the nes and be ¡¯ves to the Principles.¡¯ They gathered knowledge, delved into the world of knowledge, and used the knowledge they learned as a weapon.


    Thus, they became a strange group among the Mages, concerned only with gathering and expanding their knowledge whilepletely ignoring their own development.


    With these four main branches as the backbone, an endless variety of strange Mages were born in this world. They conquered different worlds, plundered resources and knowledge, and enved thousands of nes. They were the dominant force in the entire Mage World when fighting or conquering other realms.


    This was the information about the Mage Hierarchy that Leon had obtained after the Chip spent some time gathering and organizing the mass of raw data that had been input. Since he knew only a handful of people, the gathered data was iplete and likely had significant discrepancies.


    Although he had only this small amount of simple information, it painted the outline of the enormous and fierce Mage World he was now part of.


    If he hadn¡¯t known about these branches, he would not have been able to correctly guess the details of that Lineage Apprentice a second ago.


    But just as Leon was specting which species of snake the Apprentice had inherited his lineage from, something even more surprising happened.


    The beautiful little girl joined the fight!


    A Demon Baby, moving rapidly across the ground, set its sights on these three people, marking them as targets and charging at them. At the same time, it kept letting out irritating shrieks from its twisted mouth full of sharp, yellowed teeth, casting its Curse attacks on the three.


    "Heheheh, let me devour you, sweet Loli!"


    Undoubtedly, its behavior provoked the little girl.


    However, not only did her immature face show no sign of anger, but it also blossomed with a sweet smile. She raised the cage in her hands, which looked like a toy, pointed it at the Demon Baby, and shook it a few times. Although no sound was heard, lights and shadows flickered, and the Demon Baby that had just been charging at them disappeared from where it was.


    At the same time, Leon, who had sharp eyesight, noticed that a miniature Demon Baby had appeared inside the cage the little girl was holding. It was only the size of a human hand, and it looked exactly like the Demon Baby that had just disappeared.


    Obviously, the Demon Baby had no idea what had caused its sudden transformation. After being stunned for a second, it became extremely ferocious and let out a shrill scream towards the little girl outside the cage, repeatedly banging its body against the bars.


    "ARRRR!"


    "Let me go!"


    "Get me out!"


    But no matter how hard it tried, there was no way to escape that birdcage.


    Spatial Magic?!


    Leon pressed his hand firmly over his mouth to avoid screaming loudly.


    Of the many Magical Principles, although each Principle would bring forth astonishing power at the supreme level, if one truly wanted to define their ssification, the Principles of Time and Space Magic were among the highest. However, ording to Leon¡¯s knowledge, these two high-level magical branches were among the weakest of all branches in the Mage World.


    This was simply because these two magical branches could only rely on each individual¡¯s innate talent.


    Even the most powerful Mage, who could destroy a world with a wave of their hand, could never make time stop for a second. Yet, some people are born with that ability, and even if they might not learn any rted knowledge about Magic, they can still achieve something that even the best Mages cannot.


    And yet, just because these magics were so bizarre and unpredictable, and could only be used by someone with talent, those Mages whocked such talent, no matter how brilliant they were, would find it impossible to produce great results through experimentation.


    Therefore, without a huge and solid foundation, it was very difficult for those who focused on the Magical Branches of Time and Space to produce top-tier Mages.


    Leon was struggling to decide whether this was the little girl¡¯s innate ability or some bizarre magical item that allowed her to capture any enemy, regardless of distance.


    Although Leon thought he had a deep understanding of this bizarre world of advanced magic, at this very moment, he had to admit one thing: the real world of Mages was much crazier and stranger than his wildest dreams and nightmares. These three outsiders were Pseudo-Mages or elites among the Advanced Apprentices.


    If Leon were forced to fight against them while only having ess to his two low-level spells, he would likely die.


    For this reason, he did not dare to continue watching. He turned around, followed the path, and silently returned to the Mage Tower.


    When he reached the main door of the Tower, the newly appointed Apprentice Leader, Brandon, was there along with the three strongest: Headshot, Worm Controller, and Super Girl.


    Leon cast a puzzled nce at Brandon but soon realized why they were there.


    The warning he sent through the magical talisman could only be received by a special magical item, which was currently in Brandon¡¯s hands. When Brandon learned that there were three powerful Apprentice Mages in the Magical Swamp, he knew that, with his abilities, there was no way to pursue or capture these outsiders. Therefore, before Leon returned, Brandon sought help from the three strongest.


    Obviously, it had cost him something to obtain help from the three strongest¡­ But only he knew what that cost was.


    Recalling what he had just witnessed, Leon did not have much confidence in the ¡¯Three Strongest.¡¯ No matter how hepared them, those three outsiders were stronger than them. Perhaps Brandon was hoping that they would be enough to capture all of them?


    ....


    2018 Words

 Chapter 18: Lucy vs Worm Controller

    In less than ten minutes, the mercenary group, which had been hired by the three Apprentice Mages, was almost entirely exterminated.


    Thest four were covered in blood from head to toe. They stood back to back, barely managing to defend themselves against the attacks from the demons surrounding them.


    On the other side, their employers, the three Apprentice Mages, stood casually by, watching the mercenaries being killed with cold indifference. Unless they were attacked by the demons, they did not interfere in the battle between the demons and the mercenaries. It was as if the deaths of these mercenaries meant nothing to them.


    While thest four mercenaries fought for their lives, the three Apprentice Mages chatted slowly among themselves.


    "The Elementium aura we sense now must have belonged to one of the local Apprentices. Why didn¡¯t you let me capture them?" The cute, chubby girlined to her big, muscrpanion.


    "What¡¯s the point of capturing them?" The man shook his head and continued, "Clearly this ce has a well-built Magical Formation. We¡¯ve been wandering around here for three days and still haven¡¯t found the way in. Without one of them leading us there, I fear we wouldn¡¯t be able to find that Tower of Mages even if we spent another three days searching."


    "That¡¯s exactly why we should have captured them!" The little girl eximed angrily. Perhaps because her opinion had not been epted, she began to unleash her frustration on the creature she had captured in the cage.


    As she murmured something softly, the space inside the cage began to shrink,pressing.


    Thepression of the space soon reached the body of the Demon Baby, and some cracking noises started emanating from its body.


    "No..."


    "Please..."


    Hearing the high-pitched, painful screams from the Demon Baby, the smile on the girl¡¯s face turned to pure joy.


    "SMASSHHH~~~"


    When the poor Demon Baby finally imploded and copsed into a pile of meat paste, the girl immediately waved her arms in the air and stomped her feet in joy, a look of extreme excitement lighting up her little face.


    Seeing that the girl had relieved her anger with her ¡¯toy¡¯, the other two Apprentice Mages let out sighs of relief.


    The Snake-Headed Apprentice shook his head and approached the muscr leader, asking, "Are you sure it¡¯s okay to let that bastard escape? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll bring more mages here!"


    "Mages?" The muscr leaderughed darkly. "This swamp is just an ordinary resource spot. Do you really think the Sarubo Family would waste an official Mage to guard it? In my opinion, aside from Mage Eclivel, all that¡¯s left here are Apprentice Mages. Do you really think we should be afraid of the Apprentice Mages we might encounter here?"


    The Snake-Headed Apprenticeughed horrifically, his forked tongue flicking in and out of his lips, creating a chilling sound.


    "This ce has a bunch of rare materials I need. Anyway, it will take a while for those guards to get here. I think I¡¯ll take a look while I wait."


    After saying this, the Snake-Headed Apprentice simply walked toward another distant marshy area.


    Something really strange was happening. Although the rocky trail wasn¡¯t far from him, he didn¡¯t notice it and passed right by. This was, after all, one of the many defensive mechanisms of the Tower of Mages.


    Only those inner Apprentice Mages who used a Magical Talisman could see the rocky path, while to the eyes of any outsider, the path was just another part of the swamp, nothing out of the ordinary.


    Watching one of his partners disappear into the mist, the muscr leader hesitated for a moment, then just turned around and went in another direction. It was a rare opportunity to be in a private resource location of a Mage family. If he didn¡¯t manage to get something good before finishing his official business here, it would be a huge waste.


    As for that bizarre little girl, whether intentionally or not, they left her in the midst of those violent, bloody demons. Would she get hurt? That question never crossed the minds of those two Apprentices. Honestly, perhaps the biggest and most brutal demon in this swampynd was the little girl.


    Therefore, when Leon brought Brandon and the ¡¯Three Strongest¡¯ here, what they saw in front of them was a cute little girl with a golden cage, standing right in the middle of a crowd of blood-covered demons.


    At that moment, there was not a single member of the entire mercenarypany who had not been torn to shreds and scattered all over the ce. While their broken corpses were being devoured by an army of Demon Babies, the girl was right in the center of those demons. Strangely, no demon dared toe within ten steps of the little girl.


    Not only that, but when the little girl ran and jumped from ce to ce, those Demon Babies, who were busy eating, roared at her in anger, then moved aside and made way for her, not daring to actually get in her path.


    A mercenary, who had bloodied legs and a single broken arm, was being gnawed at by dozens of Demon Babies. Almost lifeless, he raised his bloodied and broken arm, waving to the little girl who was approaching him, and said, "Save me... Save... Me..."


    With a sweet smile on her face, the little girl crouched in front of him and asked in a gentle voice, "I can save your soul from these demons. Are you willing to let me save your soul?"


    The dying mercenary was surprised to hear this and immediately nodded his head. However, he didn¡¯t realize that the girl had said the word ¡¯save¡¯ in a vague and strange tone.


    If he had known the othernguages the girl knew, he would have discovered that when those strange tones came together, she actually said a word meaning ¡¯Consume¡¯, which came from thenguage of the Ancient Andes on the Mage Continent.


    After receiving the mercenary¡¯s approval, the girl¡¯s smile grew even sweeter. She quickly took a milky-white crystal ball from her pocket and ced it against the mercenary¡¯s forehead. With a short and simple spell, the mercenary¡¯s body trembled, and then the small me of hope that had just appeared in his eyes went out.


    A white shadow emerged from his forehead and disappeared into the crystal ball.


    The mercenary¡¯s life force evaporated, and his bloodied arm fell to the ground, never to rise again.


    The Apprentices of the Tower watched all this unfold, standing there horrified by what they had just seen.


    Their arrival caught the little girl¡¯s attention. She walked straight over to Leon¡¯s group, lifted her head, and gently asked, "Hi! I¡¯m the lovely Lucy! Are you from around here?"


    Leon and the others looked at this little Lolita, who seemed to be trying to get familiar with them, and they were not fooled by her disguise. Among the poption of Apprentice Mages, friendship, love, and humanity were just pretty words that had long been thrown away. All that remained within them was the desire for knowledge, resources, and power.


    Those Apprentices who were na?ve would die before even reaching the level of an intermediate Apprentice. The idea of such a person reaching the level of an Advanced Apprentice was simply too impossible to conceive.


    Noticing that they were looking at her crystal ball and cage, Lucy quickly hid both behind her, twisting her lips and saying, "All these things belong to Lucy. You¡¯re not thinking about taking them away from me, are you?"


    Brandon looked around and then whispered harshly to Leon, "I thought you said there were three Apprentice Mages? Where are the other two?"


    "Kerry went that way... He¡¯s a big guy and good at fighting... If he runs into that big sister, I¡¯m sure something exciting will happen..." the little girl pointed east and spoke innocently. Clearly, she was referring to the Super girl, who also carried a huge sword on her back. "Jeffrey went that way... I think he said he wanted to look for some materials..."


    What she said shocked the five of them, and their eyes went wide.


    No matter how many demons were killed, none of them would feel the slightest pity for that, but if those secret herb ntations and gardens were discovered by these outsiders, perhaps all the Apprentices of the Tower would be punished by Mage Eclivel.


    The loud, hoarse voice of the Super girl exploded instantly.


    "I¡¯m going that way to stop that guy!"


    After saying this, the Super girl¡¯s bulky body began to run toward the east. As she ran, she crushed the few Demon Babies that got in her way under her feet, making the others scream in anger, though none dared to approach her.


    "I¡¯m going this way!" Deadshot said coldly, tipping his hat and running west.


    For some unknown reason, the cawing of the Carrion Crows was heard from the sky, though they were hidden by the thick mist. The noise followed immediately behind Deadshot. The Leader Apprentice Brandon rolled his eyes and murmured, "I¡¯ll help him!" After saying this, he simply followed behind Deadshot and left.


    In the end, only the Worm Controller, Leon, and the strange and unpredictable little girl remained at the scene.


    "Are you going to fight me?" The little girl tilted her head and looked at the two remaining men. "Before we fight, don¡¯t you want to know where we came from?"


    "There¡¯s no reason to ask you anything. You¡¯ve caused chaos here, and you will be punished for it. If I capture you, you¡¯ll have to tell me everything. If I can¡¯t defeat you, I will bear all the consequences here. Now, show me what you can do!"


    It was quite rare to hear the Worm Controller talk so much.


    But as soon as he finished speaking, the ck earth beneath the little girl¡¯s feet exploded, and a huge number of ck scorpions burst out of the ground.


    "Bang~~"


    Each of these scorpions was the size of a human palm, had a ck body and a pair of ws, and on its back was a tail with a poisoned stinger. The foul smell of poison filled the air around these scorpions.


    Although there was a distance of twenty meters between them, it was impossible to tell when the Worm Controller had sent these scorpions, sneaking underground to hide near the little girl.


    This little girl shouldn¡¯t have a strong physique. Therefore, as long as she was poisoned, she would quickly lose the ability to cast any of her bizarre spells.


    Beforeing here, Leon had emphasized the strange abilities of this little girl, so the Worm Controller had no ns to test them. He just wanted to knock her out as quickly as possible.


    But what happened next likely made Worm Controller¡¯s mouth twitch.


    An invisible barrier was created between the girl¡¯s feet and those scorpions. No matter how much they hit it or jabbed it with their tails, there was no way for them to get through. Slowly, as more and more scorpions gathered, a wall of insects was built against the invisible barrier.


    "Boom!"


    "Thud!"


    "ng!"


    One after another, the scorpions stacked on top of each other attacked the invisible barrier in front of them frantically, but no matter how hard they tried, they simply could not break through.


    ...


    1908 Words

 Chapter 19: Explosion

    "Protection Barrier!"


    ...


    The worm controller kept repeating this phrase in a hoarse voice, stunned into silence by what he saw before his eyes.


    The protection barrier was a spell that could divide space and was considered one of the most resilient shields in the world. Even an official Mage would have difficulty breaking through this thin paper barrier.


    "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" The worm controller lost control and let out a scream: "Your barrier must be fake! Otherwise, it would mean you are as strong as a Mage! March, my children! Use your numbers and overwhelm our enemy¡¯s defenses!"


    Under the control of the worm controller, thousands of scorpions immediately crawled out from under his cloak, forming armies of scorpions that marched toward the little girl standing in front of them. At the same time, the worm controller opened his mouth, spewing countless flies that swarmed like dark clouds, quickly darkening the sky and the ground as they flew toward the little girl.


    No beginner apprentice could interfere in a battle between two advanced apprentices. Thus, since the battle began, Leon had been slowly backing away, doing his best to stay out of the way so he wouldn¡¯t be hit by a stray spell.


    Judging by the current situation, the worm controller had established a dominant position, as the little girl was trapped under a mound of his scorpions. As soon as he could find a way to get past the protection barrier, this battle would end.


    Unfortunately for the worm controller, the situation was reversed in the next moment by an apparently unintentional counterattack from the little girl.


    The little girl, who seemed to be trapped by countless scorpions, still wore the same sweet smile on her face, as if she had nothing to fear from the crawling scorpions around her. Looking at the worm controller through the growing wall of scorpions, she raised the cage in her hand and shook it toward him.


    In that moment, the worm controller felt his heart freeze.


    Leon had told him how bizarre this little girl was, so the worm controller was paying extra attention to any movement she made. When he saw her shake the cage, although he didn¡¯t perceive any attacking at him, the worm controller still dodged to the side as quickly as he could.


    "Urrrgg~~"


    A scream of pain came from the worm controller¡¯s mouth.


    His body indeed moved away from where he had been standing, but for some reason, he nearly fell after dodging the movement. Then he noticed that his right leg had mysteriously disappeared. In the next second, his missing leg appeared in the cage, looking extremely small.


    The little girl looked at him in astonishment. She never expected her enemy to be able to dodge so quickly.


    Before the enemy could do anything about his leg, the worm controller let out an angry scream, causing the small leg trapped in the cage to explode into countless scorpions. The scorpions turned into a thread of dark smoke and vanished. At the same time, his ck cloak began to ripple and flow. This was caused by the movement of the scorpions, which started to cling to each other to form a new leg.


    "Biological modification?" For the first time, the little girl¡¯s smile vanished. Her small face wore a dark expression that did not match her appearance. "What a surprise, so you gave up your human body and modified yourself to be entirely made of insects. Hmph! Don¡¯t assume you can be immortal like that. I, Lucy, will make you feel true terror today!"


    After that, the little girl stretched out her cute little hands and made a grabbing gesture toward the worm controller. In the next second, the worm controller let out a roar, pressed his hand against his chest, and staggered back, nearly falling to the ground. At the same time, out of nowhere, a pulsating heart appeared in the little girl¡¯s hand.


    If it had been anyone else, that might have killed them. But, obviously, the worm controller had undergoneplete bodily modifications and rid himself of several organs that were vital for normal humans. When he saw that his heart had been stolen by the little girl, he simply let out a shrill scream.


    Following this scream, just like his right leg, the heart in the little girl¡¯s hand exploded into countless scorpions, rapidly turning to ash.


    "It seems you were quite meticulous with your modifications!" the little girl said savagely. In a squeaky and rough voice, she continued, "I can¡¯t believe you reced all your organs. I will definitely find the core that keeps your body infested with insects!"


    Finished speaking, the little girl began to recklessly attack with both hands, continuously grabbing at the body of the worm controller. Although some of her attacks were dodged, under her continuous assault, she still managed to strike her target sessfully every few attacks. And whenever she did, some strange object appeared in her palms.


    Covered in blood, disgusting and sticky, no one would be able to identify where these organs came from in her body.


    But no matter what kind of organs appeared in the little girl¡¯s hand, in the end, they always exploded into scorpions and then turned to ash.


    While she was happily pulling her organs out, the worm controller was filled with uncontroble rage.


    As he moved at high speed and continuously dodged the bizarre, mysterious, and long-range attacks from the enemy, the worm controller kept attacking the little girl with his scorpions. However, no matter how carefully he tried, he still could notpletely avoid the strange spell attacks, which gave no warning and created no ripples of Elementium.


    At the same time, when faced with the indestructible protection barrier, he truly felt a sense of helplessness, as he could not find the opportunity to attack the little girl. If this continued, even though he had high confidence in his modified insect body, he might have to admit defeat to this little girl.


    Just when the thought of retreating was growing in the mind of the worm controller, Leon suddenly shouted at him.


    "Mr. Worm Controller, attack the back of her head¡­"


    Huh? Attack the back of her head?


    The worm controller groaned in his mind. He had already tried the back of her head. In fact, he had tried attacking from every possible angle and position, even from underground. But no matter what he did, the paper protection barrier had dissolved all his attacks. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not find any weak point in her protection barrier.


    But something surprised him, for when Leon¡¯s shout reached Lucy, she unconsciously stiffened for a second. At the same time, herrge purple eyes looked at Leon, who was hiding in the distance, and she began to grit her teeth silently in anger. Although no emotion could be seen on Lucy¡¯s stiff face, the worm controller still noticed a hint of panic in her eyes.


    Could this really be her weak point?


    Although he was still skeptical about what Leon had said, the worm controller¡¯s heart was filled with rage, as he had most of his internal organs ripped out by this little girl. So, without thinking twice, heunched a long-range attack.


    Without making a sound, the worm controller copsed. His ck cloak fell to the ground after losing support, revealing nothing but emptiness beneath it.


    At the same time, a dark figure suddenly appeared behind Lucy.


    It was a shadowy figurepletely formed by countless scorpions, an insect body that had been assembled in human shape. A face could barely be seen on the head of this figure.


    Shortly after it stood up, the humanoid figure immediately leaped forward, pressing its body against the invisible barrier that it was struggling to break through. In the next instant, the scorpions around them transformed into a ck wave, crashing wildly against the nape of Lucy¡¯s neck.


    Somehow, a fist-sized ripple finally appeared in the protection barrier, right at the spot where all those scorpions were colliding.


    In fact, that region was not a Protection Barrier, but a Mini Aerial Barrier, which articted perfectly with the Protection Barrier.


    The worm controller instantly widened his eyes, and his heart was filled with indescribably wild joy. Indeed, there was a w in the enemy¡¯s defense, and the w was this Aerial Barrier.


    Although both were Barriers, there was a significant difference between their magical characteristics!


    The Protection Barrier was a Space-Type Spell, the main Principle among all the Principles of Mages. It was also referred to as the strongest defense within the ns. On the other hand, the Aerial Barrier was formed from a variant of the Elementium of Wind.


    If no one noticed this weakness, it might be extremely difficult for someone to discover this small ¡¯backdoor¡¯ hidden in the Protection Barrier. But when the worm controller used all his effort and hit that particr point, the only unstable part of the protection barrier exploded instantly.


    "Pow~~"


    After a heart-wrenching roar, the army of scorpions shattered the ¡¯Barrier¡¯ and surged into the protection barrier like a dark tsunami. In an instant, Lucy¡¯s small and cute body was covered by the rolling and crawling wave of scorpions.


    "I swear I will tear you apart!" Unexpectedly, a shrill scream resonated throughout the scene, and an earth-shaking explosion suddenly rippled from within the army of scorpions, which had piled up like a small ck hill.


    Broken pieces of ck scorpions flew in all directions, while terrifying-looking cracks spread out in a spiderweb pattern.


    "Crack~~"


    Whenever a scorpion was touched by these spatial cracks, its body would immediately disintegrate without making any sound. No matter how thick its shell was, no one could escape the devastating attack. This perfectly showcased the iparable power of spatial spells.


    A furious shockwave repelled all the scorpions that had umted on her body. Then the ¡¯spatial cracks¡¯ swept through the area, violently crushing and disintegrating any scorpion that crossed their path, revealing the small form of Lucy within the mound of insects.


    Right in the center of the suddenly web of spatial cracks, Lucy was floating in the air, her long wavy hair flowing from her head. She let out a terrifying and extremely furious roar to the sky.


    Using space as her weapon, she disintegrated all the scorpions around her. Once this little girl, who possessed a great innate talent for space, became enraged, she was capable ofunching such terrifying and deadly attacks. This made Leon, who was hiding hundreds of meters away, feel his heart tremble with fear.


    Was the difference between a Beginner Apprentice and an Advanced Apprentice really that vast? Although he kept reminding himself that this Lucy belonged to the higher level of Advanced Apprentices, he couldn¡¯t contain the growing fear and shock in his heart. This group of people was simply too powerful!


    Even if they were not yet official Mages, or even Pseudo-Mages, they possessed terrifying abilities that were unbelievable!


    ...


    1845 Words

 Chapter 20: Escape

    With a single terrifying attack, Lucy covered a massive area of 50 meters with a destructive 360¡ã spell from which no one could escape. Within this area, space shattered as deadly spatial cracks swept across nearly every inch of the region.


    When confronted with the devastating spatial cracks that could cut through anything, Elementium was simply a joke. No Apprentice-level Personal Protection spell would provide any defense against the destruction caused by the spatial cracks. Without any unique life-saving abilities, even if ten Pseudo-Mages attempted to resist Lucy¡¯s attack together, they would all likely perish.


    At this moment, Leon felt a bit of pity for the Worm Controller, as he was right in the center of that area and was probably killed. Moreover, Leon would have to run immediately to save his own life if the Worm Controller was dead.


    Just as Leon was about to give up on the Worm Controller, his eyes suddenly spotted something near the battlefield.


    The dirt was being pushed up in that spot, revealing arge hole underneath. A swarm of ck scorpions burst forth, quickly forming into the Worm Controller.


    Fortunately, the Worm Controller was still alive!


    But just as wild joy began to rise in Leon¡¯s mind, he was forced to discard it.


    Something was not right. It seemed the Worm Controller had truly suffered from that destructive spatial spell.


    At this moment, the Worm Controller had lost all the arrogance and high spirits he had shown at the beginning of the fight. The army of thousands of horrific scorpions had shrunk to a mere hundred, which was barely enough to form his body.


    The newly formed body was smaller than before, and his Evil Aura of Elementium could be felt, clearly showing that he had lost a great deal in thatst confrontation.


    On the other side, Lucy, who had just unleashed that deadly attack, had also lost her calm and indifferent demeanor. Although those scorpions had only been able to attack her body for a few seconds, during that brief period, she waspletely covered by over a thousand scorpions, crawling and biting every inch of her skin. This... simply made her seethe with extreme anger.


    When her body, floating in the air, returned to the ground, Leon finally saw how miserable her appearance had be.


    The cute Lolita had vanished. The right side of Lucy¡¯s eye had turned into a huge bloody hole, with blood dripping down her silky, smooth skin. The terrible scorpion venom had left countless ck and purple splotches all over her body. All of this,bined with her almost insane and mysterious smile... made her look on the verge of madness.


    "Fuck! I have to run!"


    Leon wasn¡¯t an idiot. When he saw Lucy looking directly at him with her lingering malevolent gaze, he didn¡¯t think twice before turning and fleeing.


    With his abilities, there was no way he could fight against this Lucy. Moreover, the Worm Controller was half-disabled and couldn¡¯t stop this Lolita who was about to attack. So, without saying anything, Leon fled the scene.


    Initially, ke was waiting, hoping the scorpion venom would be able to kill this formidable Lolita. But when he saw the enemy slowly turn her remaining eye towards him, he immediately dispersed his scorpion body, transforming back into a swarm of scorpions and burrowing underground, disappearing without a trace.


    Soon, a furious little girl was the only one left at the scene.


    Themotion began.


    She floated in the air and started to fly like a bird, heading in the direction Leon had run, quickly vanishing into the thick fog.


    When everything fell silent for a moment, the dirt beneath a thin Assassin Tree was pushed up, revealing the Worm Controller, who had been hiding while waiting for the girl to leave.


    He looked at the direction where Lucy had disappeared and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he just couldn¡¯t muster the courage to pursue the terrifying girl. Although that little Lolita was also gravely injured, she still seemed to have plenty of energy left. He simply didn¡¯t have the confidence to face such a scary enemy again.


    After a long moment, he gritted his teeth, turned, and ran in the direction Hawkeye had gone. As for Lucy... it would be better to let someone else deal with her.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Leon was going through a tough time, but the digital arena was activated, and that helped him a lot. Previously, he discovered that this digital arena is one of several functions, like elemental vision, that the chip provides.


    Unexpectedly, that enraged Lolita wasn¡¯t chasing the Worm Controller but was keeping an eye on him, who had only said a few words in the previous battle.


    He covered his head and ran away from her like a rat to its hole. Behind him, the small Lolita was floating thirty meters in the air, holding the bizarre cage and continuously waving in Leon¡¯s direction.


    However, something was truly intriguing Lucy. It seemed this rascal had a pair of eyes in the back of his head. Whenever her spatial attacks got close to him, he would speed up and turn in another direction, causing her attempts to target him to go to waste.


    If it had only happened once or twice, perhaps he was just having a lot of luck today. But with her failing continuously, Lucy was certain this Beginner Apprentice could sense the existence of her spatial energy, making her want to kill him even more.


    It appeared that his finding the weakness of her protective barrier wasn¡¯t a strange ident, but he could actually see the entire structure of her barrier by looking through her spatial energy.


    In fact, this was a weakness of Lucy¡¯s innate spatial abilities.


    Although her protective barrier was nearly invulnerable, it had a significant drawback. Once she used spatial energy to warp the fabric of space around her into a barrier, she became trapped in a rtively small space. While this spared her from taking any damage from an enemy, she couldn¡¯tunch any attacks while the barrier remained intact.


    Thus, to allow her to attack, she had to leave a ¡¯hole¡¯ in her protective barrier so she could manipte her spiritual energy to strike an enemy. To prevent that hole from being noticed, she deliberately used Wind Elementium, which is invisible to the naked eye, and created a weaker barrier at that location.


    The Air Barrier was fully covered and invisible, about the size of a fist, and while an enemy was unaware of it, no one would ever think there was actually a hole in this Protective Barrier.


    Nomon enemy could defend against Lucy¡¯s bizarre and terrifying long-range attacks while searching for weaknesses in the protective barrier inch by inch. That¡¯s why she was able to keep this great secret and gained the confidence of being nearly invincible.


    But today, unfortunately, she encountered two special Apprentice Mages at the same time.


    One of them was an Advanced Apprentice who hadpletely modified his body and could transform into numerous scorpions. He also possessed an unpleasant and strange method of attack. In the end, he was simply a cockroach that was nearly impossible to kill. The other was just a stranger.


    Although he was merely a Beginner Apprentice, he was still able to expose her greatest secret¡­ Moreover, it seemed he could truly see her spatial energy.


    To capture this oddity, Lucy used the strongest energy she could muster and, in the shortest time possible, set an invisible Spatial Trap in his path. But, mere seconds before this rascal fell into her invisible trap, he suddenly changed direction and evaded it.


    Now, Lucy had no doubts about his ability.


    Thus, her desire to catch him grew even stronger!


    ...


    After running for so long, Leon was extremely tired.


    Due to hisck of training and cultivation, his Agility and Physique were very low. If he hadn¡¯t covered his body with Wind Elementium to boost his speed, he might have been caught long ago by that terrifying Lolita. He had a feeling that if he were truly captured by her, something extremely horrible would happen to him.


    So even though he was panting, he gritted his teeth and continued running for his life.


    The graceful Wind Elementium lifted his body, reducing his weight by half and allowing him to move through the muddy swamp at a rtively high speed. Feeling his physique tiring rapidly, Leon¡¯s face continued to contort as he began to panic. In his panic, he came up with a dangerous n. Resolving himself, he turned right and ran deeper into the swamp.


    He would never be able to escape by running, so Leon decided to lure Lucy into the Ghost Nanny¡¯s habitat.


    This area of the swamp was a bit different from the others.


    The rotten, foul-smelling sludge and the slowly moving muddy water mixed together, with pieces of grass growing haphazardly and other dirty debris floating all around. The water in this murky, filthyke wasn¡¯tpletely still, but flowed at an extremely slow pace. From time to time, bubbles and half-rotten tree branches appeared on the surface.


    Indistinct wailing, reminiscent of the moans of the damned, echoed above this foggyke, recalling the cries of the condemned and sending a cold sweat down the spine of anyone who heard that sacred music.


    There was a trail through this swampy area, but the dark path blended with the murky water, making it very difficult for outsiders to find the ruined trail amid the filthy swamp.


    Within this swampy area, covering nearly thirty square miles, lived many different groups of Ghost Nannies. The smaller groups consisted of only seven to eight members and normally resided in the more remote regions of this area. Meanwhile,rger groups could have up to a hundred members and upied thergest region right in the center of this part of the swamp.


    Like demons, Ghost Nannies only possessed basic intelligence. They were usually transformed from those humans who identally drowned in the swamp. Although they had once been human, their minds were filled with intense hatred and resentment toward all of humanity.


    For months, or even years, they remained trapped on the swamp¡¯s edges. Once a living human approached, they would leap, biting into the flesh of their target and dragging them down to the swamp¡¯s depths to drown them. Through this method, they ensured that their poption continued to grow.


    Their appearance closely resembled that of a slender human woman. However, most of their muscles were missing, and their skin had turned pale due to constant immersion in muddy water. Adding to this were their old, moldy bones, giving them the appearance of a living corpse.


    While most were naked, those who had lived a better life as humans might be wearing a tattered dress, although it was always so faded that it was impossible to tell what the dress originally looked like, or even what color it was.


    ....


    1840 Words

 Chapter 21: Sinbad

    Disheveled and dirty hair; twisted, pitch-ck ws; extremely sharp fangs. All of these were typical characteristics of a Phantom Nanny.


    Onnd, theirbat abilities were weaker than those of the Ghouls, but when they were in the murky waters of the swamp, theirbat strength doubled, allowing them to fight on equal footing with giant alligators. Furthermore, within certainrger poptions of Phantom Nannies that had survived for a long time, there might even be a leader who mastered certain Elementium abilities.


    These unique Phantom Nannies possessed advanced intelligenceparable to that of Apprentice Mages.


    Put it this way: if human Mages were willing to grant freedom to these Phantom Nanny Leaders, it would be possible for them to give birth to a pair of Mage Phantom Nannies.


    Too bad for them, this was a world of Mages where human Mages had taken the dominant position. Thus, the evolution and development of all other species were reduced to nothing.


    So, no matter how intelligent or wise a Phantom Nanny Leader became, when faced with a Mage who held the superior position, they were merely a valuable experimental target or a source of materials to be recklessly ughtered.


    Today, the peace of this Phantom Nanny¡¯s habitat was broken by two outsiders.


    A young man and a girl intruded upon the swampy area, one after the other.


    The young man who came first was obviously an Apprentice Mage from the Tower of Mages. Aside from his impressive Apprentice cloak, he also carried the distinct magical aura of a talisman that only Apprentices from the Tower could possess. However, this Mage underling was really an unlucky fellow, for he was being chased by someone today.


    With his weight reduced by Wind Elementium, he stumbled into the murky water, shouting something recklessly as he ran for his life.


    "Sinbad!... You miserable creature that can only hide in the mud like a rat¡­ Get over here quickly¡­ Sinbad¡­ You pathetic slug¡­ Soft monster¡­"


    Thus, the entire Swamp area became chaotic due to this frantic young man being hunted by someone.


    Themon phantom nannies weren¡¯t intelligent enough to understand what was happening. When they sensed the aura of a human approaching, they quickly struggled to rise from the mud, trying to catch Leon, who slid across their territory, and drag him into the muck.


    So, behind Leon, numerous arms burst from the surface of the water, waving wildly. One after another, Phantom Nannies were being drawn from the bottom of theke, staggering and then rushing after him.


    But Leon¡¯s target wasn¡¯t them. No matter how many stupid, low-ranked Phantom Nannies he attracted, there was no way they could pose any threat to the terrifying Lolita pursuing him. Throughout the entire Swamp area, perhaps the only existence that could pose a threat to Lucy was¡­ Sinbad!


    With the help of her innate ability, Lucy was floating in the air twenty meters above the ground. Looking at the murky mud and the stinking water spreading all around, the rage on her face was building more and more.


    "Hey you! Guy! Listen¡­ Stop running¡­ As long as you take me to the Tower, I promise I won¡¯t hurt you!"


    With a loud voice, Leon replied without turning around.


    "Right! You definitely won¡¯t hurt me¡­ Don¡¯t use that pretend talk on me¡­ You just want to chop me into pieces of meat¡­ Catch me if you can!"


    After that, he continued forward, shouting ¡¯Sinbad¡¯ repeatedly as he did so.


    "You¡¯re courting death¡­ Kid, don¡¯t you dare let me catch you¡­ If I catch you¡­"


    "What are you going to do? Will you kidnap me to taste my cock with your sweet, tight loli pussy? If that is the case, I can even think about your case because I am a man of culture. I would really be happy to fill your womb with my dirty sperm. "


    Hearing the filthy words Leon uttered, Lucy¡¯s forehead began to throb, and a blood vein at the top corner threatened to burst from the horrendous hatred surging in her chest, like poison coursing through her veins.


    But before she could do anything, Leon felt something grab his feet tightly as a vine suddenly emerged from theke and wrapped around both his legs. With that, he lost the support of Wind Elementium and fell into the foul-smelling swamp water.


    While Leon struggled desperately, an enormous Phantom Nanny slowly rose from the center of theke, mounted on an evenrger creature that looked like an alligator.


    Disheveled, dirty hair; ws with pitch-ck, sharp nails; a tattered, torn dress; pale but tough skin; a thin, withered body¡­ This suddenly appeared Phantom Nanny Leader held a simple whip made of vines in her hand and was mounted on a fierce-looking demon. All of this gave her a somewhat valiant appearance.


    "Sinbad! Oh Sinbad¡­ You¡¯re finally here¡­ hurry and take me away! From now on, I belong to you!" When Leon, barely floating in the foul water, saw this fierce-looking Phantom Nanny Leader, he immediately jumped toward her, excited, as if he had just seen his best friend.


    Apparently, this young human, who always came to kidnap members of her own kind, had gone insane. Muttering angrily, Sinbad surfaced to drive away this Apprentice Mage but ended up startled by his actions. Perhaps thosemon phantom nannies had no idea who this Apprentice Mage was, but as a leader, Sinbad knew everything.


    After the Tower was built in the middle of this Swamp, the natives here lost control over their territories, and the ce became one of the resource sites for human Mages. Under the rule of the master of this swampy area, the natives here became the human Mages¡¯ watchdogs, working for them to drive off any intruders who dared to visit this ce.


    Despite feeling insulted by their new status, they knew very well how terrifying those human Mages were. Therefore, they were forced to severely endure the fact that their territory was frequently visited by human Apprentice Mages. That wasn¡¯t all. asionally, Apprentice Mages kidnapped some Phantom Nannies for their experiments, and Sinbad was forced to turn a blind eye to it.


    But today, this Apprentice Mage in front of him had gone too far, as he had actuallye straight into the heart of the swampy area where most of the Phantom Nannies lived. This filled Sinbad with a whirlwind of rage.


    Looking at this young, delicate human who hade to her, Sinbad could no longer contain her hatred for living beings and her craving for fresh flesh. Stretching her pitch-ck ws, she reached for his heart, intending to take a bite.


    Just as her fingers began to extend, Sinbad suddenly felt a strong and deadly killing intent. She raised her filthy head and looked straight at Lucy with her slightly glowing red eyes.


    For some unknown reasons, when Sinbad saw this little girl, she couldn¡¯t help but drool. A powerful desire made her want to embrace the girl tightly, and then use her sharp fangs to gently prick the girl¡¯s fair, delicate skin, letting that warm, fragrant, sweet blood flow into her cold body.


    Especially when she sensed the sweet aura of the soul hidden within the small body. It brought her an indescribable ecstasy.


    She did not have the courage to challenge a human Mage, but when an Apprentice Mage, who had such a strong soul aura, was right in front of her, it filled her with desire.


    A little Apprentice Mage¡­ If she secretly devoured one, presumably that human Mage in the tower wouldn¡¯t be hostile to her? But if he did get angry because of it, Sinbad could still use those useless idiots on the outer perimeter as an excuse. As long as she could savor a delicious Apprentice Mage, five¡­ No, ten¡­ No, twenty.


    Sinbad was willing to sacrifice many of her subordinates for this sulent Apprentice before her.


    Compared to the floating Lucy, Leon was like old, hard cheese next to a tter full of the richest, freshest foods and was no longer of interest to Sinbad.


    Sinbad raised her right hand and pped the back of the giant lizard beneath her.


    "ROARRRRRR~~"


    This tame demon opened its mouth and let out a loud roar, shooting a grayish ray from its yellow eyes at Leon¡¯s body.


    "petrifying..."


    This was the innate ability of the Giant Lizard. Being hit at such a close range could turn a mortal into a pathetic stone figure forever. As an Apprentice Mage, Leon had some resistance to magical attacks, but when faced with the mount of the Phantom Nanny Leader, he inevitably turned to stone.


    Feeling the gradual numbness and stiffness of his body, Leon quickly grabbed a small potion bottle and tossed it into his mouth, gathering what remained of his energy and waving at Lucy, who hovered just above him. After that, his entire body turned a grayish color, bing hard as stone as he sank to the bottom of the muddy swamp.


    Four Phantom Nannies turned and dove into the murky water, dragging this war trophy toward their nest, located at the bottom of theke.


    Floating in the air, Lucy¡¯s beautiful, well-made dress fluttered. She could do nothing as she watched that detestable scoundrel wave at her and disappear into the muddy waters. Indeed, her spatial ability was extremely powerful, but it could only show its strength after she aimed at a specific space with her Spirit.


    Since the scoundrel had disappeared into the murky water, there was no way she could target him anymore.


    When she realized that to catch that scoundrel she would have to dirty her dress with the filthy water below her, another surge of fury exploded in Lucy¡¯s mind.


    That scoundrel would rather let those demons capture him than surrender to Lucy¡­ He must have some way of escaping the demons. There was no way she would let him go so easily¡­ She had to catch him and question him about his ability to see her spatial energy!


    Full of seething rage, Lucy stretched her right arm forward and grasped the air, aiming at the chest of that powerful Phantom Nanny Leader. Under the disbelieving eyes of her target, a smelly, shriveled, lifeless heart suddenly appeared in Lucy¡¯s palm.


    Her beautiful, delicate palm gently squeezed, crushing the lifeless, rotten heart. As the old, ck blood dripped from her hand, she looked at the Leader with indifferent and cruel eyes, then spoke softly with a threatening tone.


    "Give me that Apprentice Mage, or else..." Lucy paused, then continued, saying, "Next time, it will be your brain that gets crushed!"


    ....


    1781 Words

 Chapter 22: Potion

    Since they were immortal demons, the hearts, throats, chests, and stomachs of the Phantom Nannies no longer had vital points. However, their brains still contained their shattered souls. If the brain of a Phantom Nanny were destroyed by an enemy, they would face the risk of having their soul disintegrated.


    Thus, feeling the emptiness and weakness spreading from her chest, a venomous expression of hatred shed across Sinbad¡¯s grotesque face, and her fierce features became even more twisted and brutal.


    With her tough, taut skin, sharp poisonous ws, and her army of subordinates, Sinbad could fight on equal footing with a giant crocodile. Her deadly teeth and ws could easily tear through half-inch-thick armor, and merely touching an enemy¡¯s flesh, the poison hidden in her ck nails could instantly paralyze most living beings.


    But, like most other demons living in this swamp, shecked any good long-range attacks. The Weakening Ray and Sleep Spell were very short-range attacks and could hardly prate basic defensive spells.


    Therefore, when she faced Lucy, who could fly and attack from a distance, although Sinbad¡¯s overall attributes suppressed those of the little girl, herck of a long-range offensive ability made her incapable of striking back.


    Afraid of the enemy¡¯s trackless magic spell, Sinbad stomped on the beast beneath her, and the Giant Lizard immediately dove back into the muddy water, leaving only Sinbad¡¯s head above the surface. She red fiercely at Lucy but showed no signs of retreating.


    Lucy furiously unleashed all her attacks, but Sinbad, who had hidden most of her body underwater, managed to dodge them all. After all, Lucy¡¯s body movements were very obvious. As long as someone paid attention and moved out of the targeted area in time, it was quite easy to avoid her spatial attack.


    Even after attacking the Phantom Nanny leader many times, Lucy¡¯s hands still came up with only muddy water, which only made her angrier. In her fury, she ripped out eight decayed, harmful brains from some of the weaker Phantom Nannies who were merely standing by, causing the rest to panic and immediately dive to the bottom of the muddy water.


    Soon, only Lucy and Sinbad were left in thatrge swampy area.


    After venting her fury, Lucy took a moment to reflect on her weakness.


    Indeed, her spatial spells were mysterious and powerful, but they were all single-target offensive abilities. Except for her final spatial rift ability, she had norge-area effect spells to speak of. While she was nearly invincible in one-on-one battles against Apprentice Mages of a simr level, when faced with her current situation, her abilities fell short of her desires.


    If she had mastered a simple spell like Magma Fireball, she could have turned that stinking puddle into a huge pot of boiling water in seconds, cooking all the filthy demons hidden within. But because of her passion and confidence in her Spatial Spells, she refused to study or research any of these ¡¯simple¡¯ Elementium spells.


    As a result, there was nothing she could do in her current situation. She truly felt powerless about how to deal with that wicked Phantom Nanny Leader, who refused to get out of her way.


    If her muscr partner were here, perhaps with the advantage of hisrge and strong body, he could have forcefully invaded that Phantom Nanny Leader¡¯s nest. But Lucy was a long-range Apprentice Mage with a weak physique. Once trapped in a fierce fight with a crowd of Phantom Nannies, she was not confident she could escape this ce in one piece.


    However, she decided she would capture or kill the strange rookie apprentice who could see through her spells today. After a brief moment of hesitation, she released her spatial protection barrier.


    Then, like a shooting star, she simply hurled herself into the muddy water.


    "Zosh~~"


    "POW~~"


    Apparently, Sinbad never expected that this small human Lolita who had lost one of her eyes would be so bold. She quickly controlled the Giant Lizard and dove deeper into the water, emitting a strange, high-frequency sound from her mouth and calling all her subordinates to help.


    "Buzz~~"


    The muddy water started to churn as the foul-smelling water began to flow violently. The calm swamp pond immediately started bubbling like hot water.


    Numerous moving objects could be seen swimming frantically toward Lucy. These objects were actually giant lizards kept by the Phantom Nannies. They were over 5 meters long and covered in ayer of hard scales. Besides their sharp ws, they could fire a Petrification Ray at a target within 5 to 10 meters.


    Additionally, one after another, Phantom Nannies could be seen swimming in the foul water, relentlessly attacking this brave intruder who dared to strike their home.


    Beneath the surface of that stinkingke, where human sight was reduced to nothing, Lucy was fully encased in an indestructible protection barrier. Her remaining eye glowed with hatred as she used her unique spell to kill every approaching enemy she could sense.


    There were many spells that would allow her to regenerate her eye that the scorpions had ripped out, but she simply couldn¡¯t swallow her anger at receiving such an injury in the first ce. Although it was that hateful insect that did this to her, the real culprit was this strange apprentice who had led her to this ursed stinkingke.


    Whether it was some innate ability of his or some sort of magical spell that allowed him to sense spatial energy, there was no way Lucy would let this leak to the public. If her enemies found out, the reputation Lucy had built for herself would be at risk.


    After the eruption of a chaotic and bloody war under the muddyke, the entire swampy area turned into a fierce battlefield. However, the one responsible for all of this, the rookie apprentice Leon, was having his petrified body dragged into the Phantom Nannies¡¯ nest.


    Once the fight began, four Phantom Nannies dragged the fully petrified Leon to the bottom of theke. They dug a hole in the filthy, stinking mud, revealing an underwater tunnel. With Leon being pulled behind them, they squeezed into the hole. The tunnel was filled with sticky, pungent mud, but this did not slow them down.


    They swam in a straight line for several meters and then upward. Soon, they broke through the water¡¯s surface, emerging in a damp tunnel beneath the swamp. Just as these demons started crawling forward, dragging Leon through the dark and wet tunnel, they heard Sinbad¡¯s deep, hoarse roar from the swamp above them.


    The intense battle had caused Sinbad to start roaring furiously, summoning all the Phantom Nannies in the area to aid her. Her voice was so loud that it even made the tunnel walls vibrate violently.


    Due to their hot temper and low intelligence, the two Phantom Nannies following behind Leon became restless, letting out a few short screeches before quickly turning around and diving back into the mud. Clearly, both were responding to their leader¡¯s call and heading out to fight the enemy.


    As for the other two Phantom Nannies, they also let out cries of anger but managed to resist the urge to fight and continued their task of dragging Leon through the tunnel.


    This muddy swampke was home to the Phantom Nannies. They could dive into the filthy mud and water year after year, waiting for their prey toe. But undeniably, they also needed a ce to store what they considered treasures: rotten, stinking dried meat, worn-out leather armor, poorly maintained weapons full of rust, and the foul roots of nts they had harvested...


    If these items were left in the fetid water of the swamp where they lived, they would quickly rot to nothing. Thus, Sinbad dug a horizontal tunnel beneath the bottom of her swamp, boring into a ce away from the damp swamp and making a drier cave to store things.


    And now, the petrified Leon was being escorted to this cave.


    Even though his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were covered in sticky mud, and his body was as hard as a stone statue, Leon¡¯s mind was functioning as usual. He was still able to sense everything happening around him.


    It seemed like those two monsters had finally begun fighting!


    Through the faint vibrations and roars from above, Leon could imagine how intense and bloody the battle was. Although the army led by Sinbad far outnumbered her enemy and they were fighting in their own territory, Leon still did not think they could defeat that small and terrifying Lolita.


    Having not mastered any Elementium spells and relying only on their tough bodies, when faced with Lucy¡¯s nearly invincible protective barrier, their fighting ability was a joke. As long as they could not find the hidden ¡¯Back Door¡¯ to the Protection Barrier, even if they kept attacking until their hearts and lungs gave out, they would never break through that barrier.


    Unless they could force Lucy to exhaust all her Spirit Points, they would certainly lose the battle. Therefore, while they were busy fighting each other, Leon had to do everything possible to escape.


    Although Leon¡¯s body was petrified and he could not move at all, he was still able to manipte his Spiritual Energy. Reaching out with his spiritual energy, he opened the stopper of the small bottle hidden in his mouth, releasing a pungent, strong potion that quickly went down his throat and into his stomach.


    After many years of inspection trips around the perimeter of the Tower, Leon knew the ins and outs of the swamp demons¡¯ abilities. Would he really go on inspection trips unprepared for the possibility of being inflicted with a strange status effect? This ¡¯Freedom of Movement¡¯ potion was an item he had paid a high price for, purchased from another Apprentice Mage of the Tower.


    It was effective in removing Petrification and Paralysis of any kind.


    Once the potion began to take effect, a tingling sensation gradually spread throughout Leon¡¯s rigid body, and his body slowly came back under his control.


    After being dragged for nearly a hundred meters, they finally reached a somewhat dry cave with a decent patch of t ground. A musty smell filled the narrow cave and nearly made Leon choke.


    After tossing Leon onto a pile of jumbled objects, the two Phantom Nannies began screeching and growling at each other. It seemed they were debating whether to go help in the battle or stay here to guard their ¡¯food.¡¯ But, just as the two were busy arguing, two crackling sounds red up behind them. It was the sound of two fist-sized Elementium fireballs springing to life.


    The two Phantom Nannies were startled for a moment. Then they noticed that the petrified human had stood up, with two small fireballs dancing in his palms.


    Possessing only basic intelligence, these Phantom Nannies had no idea what was happening, but when they caught the fresh scent of flesh and blood, they immediately let out aggressive roars and leaped toward Leon.


    The next instant, the two small fireballs exploded into zing mes, burning everything in the direction of the two Phantom Nannies.


    "Burning~~"


    Both sides collided, with Leon soon copsing to the ground, gasping for breath.


    His shirt was torn, and four terrifyingly deep wounds could be found on his chest.


    On the other side, the two Phantom Nannies continued their momentum and mmed into the dirt wall behind Leon. Gently controlled by Leon, the two mes traveled through their massive mouths, incinerating everything within their heads. As a result, both Phantom Nannies died in the ze.


    The air was thin in the cave and became even more depleted after being burned by the recent fire. Leon gasped for breath for a while.


    Stars danced before Leon¡¯s eyes, and he felt very unwell. He did not feel any pain from the wounds inflicted by the Phantom Nannies, but he felt a strange tingling sensation. This made Leon¡¯s heart sink. Damn, he had been poisoned by the Phantom Nannies¡¯ attack!


    He searched around himself, found a bottle of antidote, and poured it into his mouth. Only then did Leon rx.


    He held his breath in deep concentration and listened to the violent vibrationsing from the tunnel. This was a sign that the battle was not over, and he still had a chance to escape, so Leon decided to rest and gathered his courage. Then he began to examine the Phantom Nannies¡¯ nest.


    ...


    2085 Words

 Chapter 23: Bleia Again

    There was a saying: no thief leaves empty-handed!


    He had only reached this ce after risking his life. If he simply turned and left, wouldn¡¯t that be a waste of Sinbad¡¯s ¡¯Wonderful Hospitality¡¯?


    Leon activated his Elementium Vision and began to scan the cave.


    Among the odds and ends piled up like a mountain, Leon found only a few items he considered useful. For these Ghost Nannies trapped in the swamp, opportunities to find good loot were rare, so although it seemed like there was a lot of ¡¯treasure¡¯ gathered here, only a handful was truly valuable.


    Seven to eight high-quality blood sacs, which looked like red spheres; a broken piece of magical equipment, so degraded that no one could tell what it originally was; a fist-sized metallic ore glowing a strange blue; a peculiar white stone the size of an egg¡­ Without a second thought, he grabbed everything and stuffed it into his waist pocket.


    All of these items were precisely picked by Leon, as he could sense the faint Elementium ripples they emanated. As for the other dirty and messy items, he simply ignored them. After all, he was in the middle of a life-or-death run. Carrying too much would greatly reduce his chances of escape.


    As the hidden nest of the Ghost Nannies, there was more than one tunnel leading to this cave. Clearly, their leader, Sinbad, knew the saying, "A cunning rabbit has three burrows." However, this clever arrangement worked to Leon¡¯s advantage, as a part-time thief. He took a brief moment to get his bearings, then squeezed into a damp tunnel leading away from the muddyke.


    Some timeter, a strangely human-like head emerged from a small muddy pond in the swamp. As the viscous mud slid slowly off, Leon exposed only the upper part of his head, silently observing the distant movement.


    There should have originally been a few Ghost Nannies living in this muddy pond, but obviously, they had been drawn by the massive battle happening in the distance, responding to Sinbad¡¯s furious calls and joining the fight. This allowed Leon to move freely, with no one around to oppose him. He took a deep breath and began to climb out of the pond.


    While the battle raged in the distance under the thick, sticky mud, the only signs were the roars and cries of the Ghost Nannies and the asional bursting bubbles on the surface. Leon never wanted to see that terrifying little Lolita again. He moved away from the fight and swam toward the banks of the muddy pond.


    He bet that the Ghost Nannies were struggling under the strange, unpredictable spatial attacks of Lucy!


    "Advance~~"


    But just as he was nearing the edge of the pond and preparing to climb out, an explosion urred in the muddy water behind him, revealing a Giant Crocodile with its mouth wide open, lunging at Leon.


    "BITE!"


    Everything happened so suddenly, and the hostile environment provided perfect cover for the Giant Crocodile, so until the moment it attacked, the only warning Leon received was a sudden beep from the Chip.


    After a series of rolls and twists, Leon barely avoided the deadly bite by mere millimeters. The massive mouth, full of sharp teeth, snapped shut next to his waist, creating a small breeze carrying a putrid stench that made Leon¡¯s hair stand on end.


    Had he not been alerted by the Chip, just one bite from this ferocious Giant Crocodile would have easily snapped his body in half. If that had happened, all his great ambitions would have been in vain.


    Seizing the opportunity when his enemy missed its attack, Leon scrambled on his hands and knees and rushed to the edge of the pond. He turned and quickly summoned a Fire Arrow, aiming at the giant mouth that was opening for a second strike.


    "Zosh~~"


    The ¡¯Fire Arrow¡¯ spell, which had been in the process of solidification, was finally ready, allowing him toplete his attack smoothly.


    "Bang~~"


    The Fire Element spell exploded, engulfing the entire head of the Giant Crocodile.


    The fiery st was followed by a rain of shattered teeth and chunks of flesh around the pond¡¯s edge. Writhing in intense pain, the Giant Crocodile¡¯s body thrashed wildly, creating a mud wave several meters high and turning the surrounding area into an even messier mire.


    The main reason Leon chose Fire Arrow instead of Fireball as his first long-range offensive spell was because it also dealt physical damage upon impact. This trait was especially significant when dealing with wild creatures that had high resistance to Elementium-based attacks.


    Of course, Leon would never admit it, but the real reason he gave up on learning the Fireball spell was the extremely difficult 54 Magical Sybles he would have to memorize and correctly chant to cast the spell.


    Returning to his current situation, Leon¡¯s attack had obviously exposed his position.


    "Oh. So you were hiding there! Don¡¯t even think about escaping from me again¡­"


    A shrill female voice suddenly came from afar. Within her protective barrier, the fearsome Lucy struggled to rise out of the muddyke, letting out a furious roar in Leon¡¯s direction.


    Unfortunately for her, the next moment a long whip made of some native vine shot out from the water, wrapping tightly around Lucy¡¯s invisible barrier. Thus, the little Lolita could only show half of her body, getting stuck in the pond, unable to break free from the water¡¯s surface.


    Countless Ghost Nannies kept battering the protective barrier like wild beasts. However, their sharp ws and aggressive attacks were futile against the Barrier, so more and more Ghost Nannies threw themselves at it, trying to use theirbined body weight to drag that filthy human, who had killed so many of their sisters, back into the muddyke.


    Like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, one after another, the Ghost Nannies kept swimming around the invisible barrier, stepping over the bodies of their allies and leaping out of the water, recklessly striking at Lucy as she struggled to free herself. The horde¡¯s relentless actions only made Lucy even angrier.


    No longer holding back, countless visible spatial cracks appeared, slicing through everything that approached the barrier. Whenever a Ghost Nanny came into contact with these spatial cracks, whether it was an arm or its strong, resilient body, whatever touched the cracks was cut in half, sending sticky ck blood sttering everywhere.


    Even so, the Ghost Nannies continued to rush in, wave after wave, never showing any sign of stopping.


    Not only that, but even Sinbad¡¯s Giant Lizard charged at Lucy. Using its tail, it mmed against the indestructible barrier, forcing most of its body to sink back into the muddy water again. The massive impact transferred to Lucy, causing blood to spurt from her nose and mouth.


    Thus, a fierce battle once again erupted between Lucy and the Ghost Nannies, who swarmed like a horde of wasps. Meanwhile, Leon was trapped in a perilous fight with a Giant Crocodile.


    Although his Fire Arrow had severely injured the Giant Crocodile¡¯s mouth and created a bloody mess inside, it was still a ferocious demon with immense vitality. This type of damage was far from fatal. As a result, the furious Giant Crocodile channeled all its pain into rage, directing it at Leon as it pulled its massive, scale-covered body from the mud andunched continuous attacks at him.


    Fearing the Giant Crocodile¡¯s ¡¯Slowing Ray,¡¯ Leon ran tirelessly to save his life. Most of these swamp demons had Earth Elementium abilities, and with their thick hides, powerful bodies, sharp ws, and pointed teeth, fighting them in this muddy swamp was asking for death.


    Meanwhile, thanks to a warning from the Chip, Leon discovered that there were some underwater creatures sneaking toward him.


    Damn it. Why did he decide toe to a nest of these damned demons?


    Muttering and cursing under his breath, Leon followed the Chip¡¯s instructions, narrowly avoiding the relentless attacks of the horrifying Giant Crocodile behind him.


    Rather than calling his current location theke¡¯s edge, it was more like a narrow, poorly made strip ofnd between two muddykes. The ground was soft, and every step was a struggle, as his feet kept sinking into the mud. Thus, escaping these giant crocodiles in such an environment was extremely difficult. Too bad he couldn¡¯t fly like Lucy.


    At this very moment, it was toote to regret never trying to learn the Wind Element Levitation Spell. Leon pushed forward, doing his best to stumble his way to safety. Watching the swift approach of the sneaky aquatic beasts, his heart was now full of misery. He had activated the Magic Talisman in his hand several times, but it just didn¡¯t seem to have any effect.


    Under more normal circumstances, a Mage¡¯s deterrent effect was enormous against these swamp demons. But the aggression of these demons had been heightened by the scent of blood, making it very difficult to fend them off.


    A foul wind brushed against his face.


    "Boom~~"


    The water¡¯s surface erupted as two Giant Crocodiles leaped simultaneously, their enormous jaws wide open, each capable of swallowing Leon whole in a single bite.


    "BITE!"


    Staring at the massive jaws that were now within reach, seeing the gleaming, jagged teeth and the throats leading to a digestive purgatory¡­ there was no way he could save himself from this dire situation.


    Just as Leon closed his eyes, bracing for death, something suddenly mmed into him, and he was lifted into the air.


    The heart-stopping sound of the Giant Crocodiles¡¯ massive jaws snapping shut followed, but Leon once again narrowly escaped their bloody maws. He opened his eyes when he heard their furious roarsing from far behind. He was flying just an inch above the water¡¯s surface at an incredible speed.


    "What was happening?"


    His heart was pounding, full of fear and uncertainty about his current situation. Leon could clearly see something reflected on the murky water¡¯s surface beneath him, and he heard the sound of wings pping above him.


    He craned his neck, struggling to see what was above him. To his surprise, an enormous humanoid bat was carrying him while flying strenuously.


    Yes, it was struggling to fly!


    This humanoid bat had a pair of massive fire-red leather wings, each about 4 to 5 meters long, but a rather slim and small body. Of course, its wings could carry it perfectly well if it were flying alone. But flying along with Leon clearly exceeded its strength.


    A new type of swamp demon? Of course not. Leon could sense a faint magical aura and a familiar scent emanating from its body. With the help of the Chip, and by seeing its strange but familiar face, a certain girl came to Leon¡¯s mind.


    "Bleia?! The Vampire Pussy?"


    ....


    1806 Words

 Chapter 24: Answers

    "Bleia? Is that you, Bleia!" Leon shouted in shock.


    The enormous humanoid bat smiled like a human, then descended and threw Leon to the ground. After rolling a few times, Leon finally stopped, then stood up, a pained expression on his face. Meanwhile, after circling in the air onest time, the enormous bat descended andnded beside Leon.


    Miraculously, as the humanoid bat approached the ground, its form began to twist and change in a bizarre manner. The reddish fur on its body gradually disappeared, transforming into a smooth, shiny red dress. The thick, protruding cheeks tightened inward, revealing a beautiful and charming face.


    Once the transformation wasplete, she gracefully turned and walked towards Leon. Bleia was back to normal.


    Bat transformation!


    This... seems to be a unique vampire ability.


    The innate abilities of a newborn vampire were gaining strength through blood consumption and regeneration. Because of these two factors, they were already an extremely frightening species. However, if a newborn vampire could take one step further, they would gain the ability to transform into a bat.


    Whether transforming into a single massive bat and flying through the sky, or splitting into thousands of small bats as a means of escape, this ability performed admirably in saving one¡¯s life.


    And, if a vampire reached a mature stage, they would be able to begin mass-producing Blood ves.


    So, to fight a mature vampire, one would first need to face a massive army of Blood ves.


    As his mind went through all the knowledge it held rted to vampires, Leon couldn¡¯t help but feel respect, and even a bit of admiration, for Bleia¡¯s rapid progress. Only a few days had passed since she became a Vampire, and she had already awakened her second innate ability.


    "Who is that little girl? Why is she hunting you?" Bleia wasn¡¯t looking at Leon but at the chaotic battlefield in the distance.


    Their current location was about five or six miles from the heart of the Ghost Nannies¡¯ Lake, so the thick swamp mist was blocking their vision. However, it wouldn¡¯t matter if they were sixteen miles away, as massive waves of Elementium were being released from where Lucy and Sinbad were.


    The battle was getting intense!


    "They¡¯re intruders! Three Advanced Apprentice Mages attacked. That little girl, Lucy, mainly uses the Space Principle, which she is highly suited for. She¡¯s terrifyingly strong¡­"


    As Leon was exining this in a soft voice, a shockwave of Elementium erupted from the direction where the battle was urring, followed by the shrill howls of the Ghost Nannies.


    "Oh no, let¡¯s run!" Leon¡¯s face changed dramatically. "That terrifying little girl has escaped Sinbad!"


    He had felt this frightening shockwave before and knew that Lucy was using her powerful spatial attack that could cause mass destruction with space rifts. It¡¯s worth noting that using this ability came at a high price, but when Lucy used it, Leon was certain that Sinbad could never stop her from fleeing.


    "If we work together, do you think we have any chance of killing her?" Bleia suddenly turned, her green eyes flickering red as she looked directly at Leon.


    "This... Well... If we work together then... Maybe... Maybe..." Leon was surprised by Bleia¡¯s unexpected question. When faced with this powerful Advanced Apprentice, all that mattered was running for his life.


    The idea of turning back and attacking the enemy was simply absurd.


    After all, with his current abilities, even if Lucy were severely injured and dying, she could still crush him easily.


    If he could keep a 50-meter distance from Lucy, Leon was 80% confident he could avoid her spatial attacks with the Chip¡¯s help. If the distance were reduced to 30 meters, his confidence would drop to 40%, and if he were 20 meters from Lucy, he knew he would be killed instantly.


    He needed time to respond to the Chip¡¯s warnings. Without the Chip, Leon was nothing more than a small, fragile ss figurine in front of Lucy.


    He didn¡¯t have the strange insect body of a Worm Controller, which could still remain alive even if its heart was ripped out. Thus, once Lucy captured him with her spiritual energy, he would be dead! Therefore, Leon instinctively wanted to say no to Bleia¡¯s question.


    But, when confronted with the unstoppable Bleia, it seemed he had no voice in the matter.


    His body began to twist bizarrely again as Bleia transformed into a small bat, just the size of a human fist. She flew towards Leon¡¯s chest and squeezed into his shirt. She looked at him and spoke threateningly, "You¡¯d better not reveal that I¡¯m here! I¡¯m determined to get the blood of that fool!"


    Faced with Bleia¡¯s tiny furry face adorned with a ¡¯threatening¡¯ expression, all Leon could do was nod expressionlessly.


    "Don¡¯t worry, if she really tries to kill you, I¡¯ll find a way to protect you!" Although Bleia said this, Leon¡¯s mind barely calmed. He began to ponder how he would approach Lucy without alerting her.


    However, when he turned around, his pupils contracted, and he was terrified by what he saw before him.


    A dark figure was slowly condensing in the mist about ten meters away from him. Judging by the silhouette, it was that small, terrifying Lolita, Lucy.


    "Lucy!" At that moment, Leon felt his mouth go dry and his breath shorten.


    This Lucy was like a vengeful ghost. No matter where he ran, she kept finding him. After being forced by the Ghost Nannies to unleash a second spell of Space Rifts, which covered a vast area, not only did she have no time to find a ce to recover, but she came right after him. Did she not know that resting was a necessary part of life?


    Recovering from his shock, Leon realized he should be running now.


    But, before he could lift his feet, a trembling, childish voice resonated in the air.


    "If you dare to take a step, I promise I¡¯ll teleport your heart into your stomach¡­ I dare you to force me¡­"


    Leon raised his head and watched as the dark figure gradually became visible. In the end, he didn¡¯t have the courage to take that step.


    Damn, she was too close!


    After thinking that, he was stunned by Lucy¡¯s face.


    In her previous battle with the Worm Controller, Lucy had lost one of her eyes and suffered many cuts and bruises, but this time, the little Lolita was in an absolutely terrible state.


    The hollow socket where her right eye used to be was still empty, but now there were three gruesome scars stretching from the bottom of the right eye to the left corner of her lips. The skin around these scars was turning ck, and the exposed flesh showed obvious signs of decay. Whenever Lucy spoke or did anything that moved her face, ck blood oozed from those ugly wounds.


    Moreover, the number of injuries on her body had multiplied, and there were many bite marks on her exposed skin. The small, cute Lolita had been reced by a distorted, voodoo doll-like creature.


    An indistinct vibration of spatial energy filled the area. After struggling for a moment, Lucy managed to finish her spatial energy construction, teleporting from one area to another. Normally, she could easilyplete this simple spatial jump, but now she had to push everyst drop of her strength just to manage it.


    Shortly after she exited the spell matrix, Lucy¡¯s remaining eye was filled with a zing me of rage, ring fiercely at Leon, who wore an empty expression. Although she barely reached Leon¡¯s chest, her brutal and dominating presence was crushing him.


    Leon¡¯s heart began to race even faster when he saw arge head hanging from Lucy¡¯s waist.


    Judging by the cruel and ugly face, it had to be Sinbad¡¯s head. It seemed that even the leader of the Ghost Nannies hadn¡¯t escaped from the brutal Lucy.


    "You¡¯re good... You¡¯re really good..." Lucy murmured. Grinding her teeth, she looked at Leon. It was easy to see that she was unable to express all the anger and frustration she felt towards Leon right now.


    When she first stepped into this Magical Swamp, she was in a good mood and filled with pride. In her mind, apart from those exalted and venerable Mages, everyone else was just a monotonous variety of trash, not even worthy of carrying her shoes. Relying on her indestructible protective barrier and her mysterious spatial cutting, she felt qualified to face a pseudo-Mage.


    But who would have thought that, within this seemingly insignificant Magical Swamp, which was just amon resource location for a Third Grade Mage family, she would actually suffer such a heavy loss? At that moment, no one could understand how depressed and angry she was! She was like an ancient brutal beast devouring all the men before her.


    All she wanted to do was peel the skin off that slippery rat and tear every tendon from his muscles, crushing all his bones one by one and smashing his flesh into a pile of meat paste.


    Perhaps, by doing all this, she could alleviate the anger in her heart.


    "Boy, tell me honestly, how did you find the gap in my protective barrier?" Lucy¡¯s fierce face smiled as both her hands began to grasp the air in front of her. A spatial rift, constantly elongating, appeared between her hands like a tamed snake. "As long as you tell me the truth, I promise, I won¡¯t do anything to you today. I, Lucy, always honor my words!"


    ¡¯Only a dead man would trust you! Even if you don¡¯t attack me personally, you could just throw me into a swarm of demons, and that would kill me. Hmm, it¡¯s clear that I know more about dirty tricks and sinister plots than you¡­¡¯


    Leon began toin in his mind, then he realized he was staring at a spatial rift behaving like a tamed snake in Lucy¡¯s small hands. He wasn¡¯t brave enough to say a single word in the face of such a disy of power. Although he appeared calm on the outside, inside his mind was overheating.


    ¡¯Damn, she really is a genius, she¡¯s ying with a spatial rift with her own hands! This is a spatial rift! A FUCKING SPATIAL RIFT! Even the sharpest weapons in the world can¡¯tpare to this! No matter if it¡¯s in front of a shield made of pure steel, or iron that has gone through thousands of temperings, as long as there is no magical protection, it will be cut like a sheet of paper!¡¯


    Despite being an extremely dangerous spatial spell, this little Lolita held it in her hands as if it were a cute puppy. This was proof of how crucial innate skills were for an Apprentice Mage.


    "I can¡¯t see the Spatial Energy around you!" Leon hesitated for a brief moment, then decided to tell the truth.


    "Nonsense!" Lucy shouted angrily, saying, "If you can¡¯t see them, then how did you find the exact location of my Wind Barrier?"


    "You must know that Spatial Energy has no specific Elementium characteristics. It is part of a Principle. Those who do not have an innate talent for a principle can never see it with the naked eye. But don¡¯t forget this, there is a huge repulsive force between the opposite Elementium, and the Spatial Energy you¡¯re using is incredibly harsh and lonely¡­ So¡­"


    "So you determined the shape and position of my protective barrier by detecting the area where there is no Elementium and, as a result, you were able to see that they were repelled by the spatial energy? Then¡­" Lucy concluded from what Leon said and soon found the source of the gap, saying, "Damn, I shouldn¡¯t have used a Wind Elementium spell to cover that hole.


    Next time, I¡¯ll use a Force Field spell that doesn¡¯t contain Elementium."


    ...


    1991 Words

 Chapter 25: Final explosion

    Lucy deserved her status as an Advanced Apprentice Mage. Although Leon had only said a few words, she was able to immediately discern what his weakness was.


    Her innate spatial talent was still worthy of being called ¡¯invincible.¡¯


    At least, she was invincible when facing enemies of the same level.


    As long as someone was unable to break through her paper-thin protective barrier, her body waspletely safe. No matter what was thrown at her, there was no way to prate that invisible shield and harm her. At the same time, she could always casually torment her enemy with her Spatial Cut and Telekinesis.


    But no matter how resilient a shield was, there would always be a weak point, and Lucy¡¯s Protection Barrier was no exception.


    To avoid beingpletely isted from the world while the protection barrier was active, she had to leave a hole that allowed her to municate¡¯ with the outside world. This hole was how she was able tounch attacks at her enemy while her Barrier was active.


    So, to cover this ¡¯gap,¡¯ she purposefully studied Wind Elementium spells. After that, using invisible wind Elementium, she patched the hole. The invisible protection barrier was mixed with the invisible barrier of Wind Elementium, creating abination that had previously deceived all her enemies, giving them the impression that her protection barrier was perfect and wless, with no weak points.


    But she would never have thought that today, at the end of the world, she would encounter a group of such strange beings that challenged her invincible status. One was a disgusting man who had modified his body and transformed into a bug-man, while the other was a novice apprentice who could actually see Elementium in the world around him with the naked eye.


    Encountering these two strange men brought her to the unluckiest day of her life.


    If that bug had stung any other Advanced Apprentice, perhaps the enemy would have been killed by his unpredictable Telekinesis ability. How could she have known she would find someone with such a strange body modification, which gave them time to discover the gap in her defense?


    Furthermore, without this Beginner Apprentice who was able to see Elementium with the naked eye, how could her Protection Barrier have been broken, forcing her to feel the pain of a thousand scorpion stings?


    The more she thought about it, the more irritated Lucy became. She wished she could immediately rip off his skin and crush his bones, but without the information she was even more concerned about, she could only contain her rage and continue, "Is it a magical eye or some kind of special magical spell?"


    "It¡¯s a spell!"


    "Give it to me, and I will spare your life today!"


    "Can I trust your words?"


    "Hmph! It seems to me that you have no choice! Don¡¯t force me to rip out your soul. If that happens, I will tortuously dig through your entire brain!"


    Although Lucy¡¯s personal image had beenpletely corroded by the day¡¯s events, her pride was still present, and the threatening and domineering tone of her words told Leon that she was not epting a no as an answer.


    Leon quickly examined Lucy¡¯s current state.


    Either because she had suffered so much damage, or because her Protection Barrier was on standby, the Protection Barrier was nowhere around Lucy.


    Was she not afraid of a sneak attack?


    I will do it!


    Being cautious and indecisive in front of this extremely strong Advanced Apprentice was simply asking for death.


    A momentter, Leon shook his sleeve, throwing a small dark green bottle towards Lucy¡¯s face. Not needing to activate any spell, once the bottle hit the ground, the green substance released from the bottle, and a strange smoke exploded from the point of impact.


    "Ssh~~"


    A secondter, an ugly, slime-covered man, about a meter tall, slowly rose from the ground.


    This low-grade humanoid puppet was only a temporary product, as it couldst a maximum of seven minutes, and its only method of attack was to surround the enemy, causing them to suffocate within its slimy body. Of course, using a temporary ve to attack an Advanced Apprentice was a joke, but it could keep even a powerful enemy upied for a second.


    Meanwhile, Leon quickly took a few steps back, both hands moving rapidly through the air as he recited magical spells aloud.


    "Fire Arrow~~"


    "I conjure~~"


    "Fire,e burn~~"


    "Fire, ept mymands and take the form of an arrow...."


    A Fire Arrow began to form in front of him. Once the solidification of the Fire Arrow spell wasplete,pared to the previous casting time of over 10 seconds, Leon could now cast it in 5 seconds. It was obvious that this was a significant advancement in hisbat power.


    But, what a pity, what he did made no difference in front of that terrifying little girl. An invisible protection barrier instantly appeared between the puppet and Leon, severing the spiritual connection between them. In the next second, the slime creature fell to the ground and simply disappeared.


    This was the greatest weakness of Summoning Spells.


    Once the spiritual connection between the summoner and the summoning was lost, under the effect of the Principles of this world, no matter how strong the summoning was, it was forced to return to where it came from. Therefore, before that cheap doll could do anything, it transformed into a puddle of acidic liquid.


    As for the Fire Arrow that Leon hadunched with great effort, Lucy simply responded with a look of disdain; she didn¡¯t even try to stop him from casting.


    "Buzz~~"


    Soon after the Fire Arrow left Leon¡¯s hand, it instantly struck a small ¡¯Mirror Space¡¯ hanging in the air in front of him.


    Blocked by this small protective barrier that reflected energy, the Fire Arrow simply exploded.


    "BOOM~~"


    Clearly, this explosion was happening very close to Leon. In the next instant, the raging mes were reflected by the ¡¯Mirror Space¡¯ and sent back toward Leon, engulfing the body of the young Apprentice.


    Although Leon could sense any change in the area with his Elementium Sight, he was unable to react to this type of sudden change in the space around him. He could cast a familiar magical spell in 3 to 5 seconds, but Lucy could unleash her innate spatial magic in less than a second.


    The enormous gap between them allowed Lucy to sit back and watch as Leonpleted his spell-casting process. She had plenty of time to decide whether to block him orunch a counterattack. Not only that, if she wanted, Leon would never be able to finish casting any spell that took more than 3 seconds.


    As she watched the mes engulf the Beginner Apprentice in front of her, a look of disdain appeared in Lucy¡¯s one remaining eye.


    How dare a Beginner Apprentice take the initiative to attack an Advanced Apprentice? This guy was simply asking for death!


    Suddenly, she felt something was wrong.


    A pebble the size of an egg suddenly shot out from the rolling mes, racing toward Lucy. At the same time, Leon also emerged from the mes, both hands covering his head.


    The raging fire obviously didn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe, and thus Leon suffered great pain forcing his way out of hell. His body was severely burned by the mes, and both exposed arms were covered in burn marks and blisters.


    With a cruel and hideous smile on her face, Lucy gently waved her fingers, sending some barely visible streaks flickering through the air. The flying stone was cut into four pieces upon contact with the streaks.


    "Lightning Strikes~~"


    Violent blue lightning spread through the air for a second and then disappeared.


    Her attempt to use the Lightning Stone to attack was aplete failure.


    Without hesitation, Leon pulled out another ckened object and threw it toward Lucy. After that, he simply turned and ran, as if trying to escape another explosion.


    "Didn¡¯t you hear what I said before? You¡¯re forcing me to cut off your legs! Well, if that¡¯s what you really want¡­" Lucy spoke mockingly, but before she could finish, her expression suddenly changed, and she immediately turned to face the approaching object, as it had just dodged one of her casually cast Spatial Cuts.


    A small bat made a quick loop in the air and avoided the Spatial Cut aimed at it, pping its wing at an incredible speed. It quickly reached above Lucy¡¯s head.


    A summoning? Was it a contracted creature or some kind of demon?


    Lucy couldn¡¯t immediately identify the origin of this strange bat that hade to her. Shrugging, she waved her hands, unleashing a pair of spatial cuts andpletely sealing off any path that the palm-sized bat could take. After doing this, she felt at ease, thinking the bat would be no more trouble.


    But in the next second, something happened that made her scream in surprise.


    "Holy shit!!"


    Quickly transforming, the tiny palm-sized bat inted like a balloon, turning into a tall, slender human girl wearing an impressive red dress. Not only that, but she didn¡¯t make any evasive moves and simply fell directly toward the spatial cuts, aggressively leaping over Lucy¡¯s body.


    Enjoying Lucy¡¯s terrified expression, ws appeared on the fingers of the girl in red, bing extremely sharp and pointed, gleaming indistinctly like molten metal. Furthermore, as she fell, the look of this young woman changed dramatically, her green eyes turning blood red, as if blood were going to drip from them.


    When the red-eyed girl was caught by the spatial cuts, the sound of flesh being torn by the spatial attack echoed through the air.


    "Ripping~~"


    A huge amount of blood sprayed from the back of the girl in red, and several cross-shaped holes could be seen in her body. The series of cuts transformed her beautiful milf body into that of a masochist.


    But the girl in red didn¡¯t stop or retreat when her bright red lips were opening wider, revealing two terrifying fangs. When she finally reached Lucy, she simply bit into her exposed neck.


    Damn, she was a vampire!


    Like everyone else, she had heard of these damned beasts before, but as an Advanced Apprentice Mage, Lucy immediately realized what she was facing.


    "Bite~~"


    Like a mosquito biting her neck, a tingling sensation was felt, which quickly transformed into a pleasurable feeling that made her feel as if she were walking on clouds.


    Following the drawing of her blood, she clearly sensed her life force rapidly fading away.


    "Drinking~~"


    "Sucking~~"


    Her body felt drowsy and was sofortable that she just wished she could let everything go and fall into a deep sleep.


    "Glub~~"


    "Glub~~"


    "Glub~~"


    But no matter what, Lucy was an Advanced Apprentice with a strong will, and she had high resistance to the paralytic poison being injected into her body through the vampire¡¯s fangs. After being dazed for only a brief moment, she managed to regain control of her will.


    For the first time in her life, Lucy felt as if death were knocking on her front door.


    In her two previous battles, although he had managed to harm her, the worm controller was no match for her. As for Sinbad, if they hadn¡¯t fought in her swamp, the leader of the Ghost Nannies would have been killed instantly.


    But at this moment, Lucy truly felt the threat of death.


    If she didn¡¯t properly manage her current situation, she¡ªwho was very likely to be a great Mage¡ªwould die in this filthynd.


    With no other options, Lucy gathered thest drops of her strength and once again let out a terrifying scream that shook the world around her.


    "Space!"


    "Listen to my desire!"


    "Space, break and destroy my enemies!"


    "Spatial Crack~~"


    "Tremor~~"


    In the next second, the space shattered, and everything around her was crushed to dust!


    "BOOOOMMM~~"


    ...


    1994 Words

 Chapter 26: Recovery of a vampire

    This was the third time Lucy used her Spatial Shatterer ability.


    As she had an innate talent for using spatial magic, although she was still an Apprentice, she was able to cast terrifying and devastating spells. However, it was clear that her body was not strong enough to endure the repeated use of these high-level spatial magics.


    Therefore, after tearing and shattering everything within a fifty-meter radius, part of her body disintegrated as well, showing how much damage she had suffered from the day¡¯s events.


    Taking the opportunity to escape while the girl in red was being sliced apart by her devastating ability, Lucy struggled and squeezed herself into a spatial tunnel that suddenly appeared behind her, disappearing without a trace.


    As blood gushed from every inch of her body, Bleia remained standing where she was, her body broken. There wasn¡¯t a single piece of unbroken skin on her body. In her entire life, she had never seen anyone in such a miserable state.


    It was as if she had just been thrown through a turbine, as all her skin was torn apart, and her flesh was severely mutted. Blood continuously streamed from all her wounds, of various sizes, staining her pale white skin a deep red. Beneath her feet, a small puddle of blood was forming.


    Leon slowly approached the battlefield.


    "Hey¡­ Are you still alive?" Leon asked, his voice trembling.


    The bloodied figure trembled, moving her blood-red eyes to look at Leon. A look of extreme thirstpletely filled her eyes, which had turned as red as her blood.


    "Blood¡­ I need blood¡­ Quickly, give me blood¡­" The figure spoke in a deep, hoarse voice. If Leon hadn¡¯t been paying extra attention, he wouldn¡¯t have heard what she said.


    Just saying those few words, the movement of her lips caused the muscles in her face to tear again, causing more blood to gush out.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you want my blood!" An ugly expression immediately appeared on Leon¡¯s face.


    Judging by the severity of Bleia¡¯s injuries, even if she drank every drop of blood in his body, it probably still wouldn¡¯t be enough for her to fully recover!


    Just when Bleia could barely control herself and was preparing to lunge at Leon, he remembered something. Without hesitation, he pulled out eight bags of blood, which looked like red spheres, from a pocket on his waist. This was something he had "earned" from the Ghost Nanny¡¯s nest.


    Bleia instantly grabbed the bags of blood and began to swallow them frantically, one by one, proving how terrifying vampires, a species that had inherited from the ancient era, could be. The terrible wounds all over her body began to heal at an incredible speed, and the whole process was so miraculous that Leon simply couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    A second ago she had been dying, looking like she might faint at any moment, but now, it was as if someone had just cast a magical spell that could turn back time. She was recovering at an unbelievable pace.


    After devouring three bags of blood, all the small and tiny wounds on her body disappeared, and therger wounds began to stitch themselves. After swallowing the fifth bag of blood, none of the terrifying-looking wounds on her body remained, and once again her skin, although covered in blood, became smooth and clear.


    After the seventh bag of blood, her entire body began to glow in blood red, and finally, Bleia came back to life.


    When she was about to swallow thest bag of blood, she hesitated, then turned and tossed it back to Leon. She was now fully recovered, so it seemed unnecessary to waste another bag of blood. Looking at Leon¡¯s heartbroken face, it was easy to tell that these bags of blood were probably very valuable.


    After tossing the bag of blood, a multitude of small cracking sounds came from her body. This was the sound of the crystallized blood in her body starting to crack, falling from her slender and shapely form and revealing her perfect, curvy, seductive, and incredibly naked body to Leon.


    Even having lived two lives, at that moment Leon had a strong erection.


    Although he tried his best to control himself, he looked at Bleia¡¯s body, just as she had looked at him moments before.


    Although it seemed she really didn¡¯t care.


    For some unknown reasons, the chippleted a deep scanning process on its own. Although Leon only took a brief nce at the report, all data rted to Bleia was saved in his mind. Furthermore, the Chip thought ahead and saved a 100% urate and realistic model of Bleia¡¯s current appearance...


    Name: Bleia


    ss: Apprentice Mage (Advanced)


    Attributes: Strength: 9 | Agility: 17 | Physique: 10/12 | Spirit: 17/18


    Innate Abilities: Vampiric Regeneration and Bat Transformation


    Ugh¡­ Just reading those ridiculous numbers made Leon feel like his heart was going to stop beating.


    Her agility was 17, which meant she had extraordinary reflexes, and that was why she was able to move so quickly. No wonder that even when she wasn¡¯t moving at full speed, she could still produce numerous afterimages to confuse her enemies.


    In contrast, her Strength was her weakest attribute, but it was still quite strong.


    With a Strength of 9, she could easily wield a two-handed sword with one hand and could send arge man flying with a single punch.


    As Leon delved into the world of numbers, Bleia donned her stunning red dress. In fact, her method of dressing seemed impossible. With just a snap of her fingers, the blood beneath her feet began to swirl around her body, moving like a wave of flexible snakes. When they finally stopped, a beautiful red dress appeared on her body.


    A round object hit Leon¡¯s chest.


    Startled, Leon looked down at the object. He was instantly taken aback by the twisted, ugly, and terrifying face in his hands and almost threw it away in fear. But in the next moment, he realized it was Sinbad¡¯s head.


    "That girl had to make a hasty retreat, but she left this behind. Consider itpensation for all those bags of blood you gave me!" Bleia said, showing a carefree expression as she curled her lips as if she didn¡¯t care.


    "You¡­ After suffering such a huge defeat, did you get what you were looking for?" Leon couldn¡¯t help but ask. When he thought about how she had been so corporeal and disfigured just seconds ago, his heart nearly stopped in shock.


    "Hehehe¡­" Bleia let out augh of extreme pleasure when Leon mentioned that, blinding him with an incredible smile and saying, "I devoured a bit of that girl¡¯s blood essence, so it will take her at least two or three months to recover! Besides, I have a feeling that the blood of that girl is going to help me make significant progress¡­ Haha..."


    Leon was shocked; he was finally beginning to clearly understand why vampires were considered so incredible.


    From what the Chip had detected about Bleia¡¯s attributes, her Physique was 10/12, and Spirit was 17/18. The first number was her current attribute, and the second value was her potential. Originally, Bleia had a maximum of 10 in Physique and 17 in Spirit. Now that she had fed on that scary Lucy¡¯s blood, she was able to rapidly increase those attributes.


    Although they were still the same, as long as she continued her training over the next few days, she should be able to raise both her Physique and Spirit to their maximum potential, and only then would today¡¯s harvest be consideredplete.


    A vampire who could increase her personal attributes just by sucking the blood of others¡­ Just thinking about it made Leon feel dizzy. Once again, it proved how powerful innate abilities could be!


    Judging by her appearance, that terrifying Loli, Lucy, was at most thirteen or fourteen years old. At that age, if she didn¡¯t have an innate talent for Spatial Magic, she might just be a novice who had just entered the Beginner Apprentice level. But the reality was quite different, as she was a terrifying Loli with high intelligence but low emotional control.


    Because of her innate talent for Spatial Magic, she became an elite among all the other Advanced Apprentices.


    It was the same for Bleia.


    Before that, she was just a Beginner Apprentice who had only mastered two magic spells. But after she was transformed into a vampire, her overall ability skyrocketed immediately, and she became one of the strongest Advanced Apprentices.


    Analyzing the data, Bleia had a 60% chance of defeating the Fatal Shot and a 30% chance of defeating the Super Girl. As for the Worm Controller, Bleia had less than a 10% chance of defeating him.


    After all, no matter how incredible her vampiric abilities were, they would only be effective when she had a supply of blood. Additionally, her desperate fighting style could be used against the Fatal Shot. If she broke through his defenses, no matter what kind of injuries she suffered, she would be able to recover.


    But if she used the same method against the Super Girl or the Worm Controller, Leon saw no hope for her victory.


    The terrifying metal sword of the Super Girl was not just for decoration, and with her Strength of 15 and Physique of 16, she had more than enough to unleash brutal physical attacks. Perhaps her 8 in Agility was her weakness, but with the help of magic spells, it would be very difficult for ordinary enemies to exploit that weakness against her.


    And although the Worm Controller didn¡¯t perform so well when confronted with Lucy, that didn¡¯t mean his actual fighting ability was weak. Furthermore, since his body was made up of scorpions, didn¡¯t that mean there was still blood for Bleia to use her vampirism on?


    Thus, in conclusion, while Bleia gained strong abilities, she had not reached the incredible stage that Lucy had.


    Since Bleia was willing to protect him, Leon hid nothing and, like a loyal military advisor, shared all his analyses with her, so she could abandon any unrealistic fantasies she might have.


    After bing a vampire, Bleia¡¯s temperament changed dramatically. It was not hard to see that the strength of that foreign lineage had profoundly affected her mind and consciousness. She was being nice to Leon, but that was mainly because, during the mutation of her lineage, he showed herpassion.


    But feelings did notst forever, and they would quickly fade in the harsh, rational, and cruel daily life of an Apprentice. Therefore, he had to demonstrate his abilities to avoid giving the impression that he was simply hiding under Bleia¡¯s wings.


    ...


    1787 Words

 Chapter 27: The tower master

    Leon needed time to grow.


    Although he firmly believed that, with the experience of having lived a previous life and the help of the Chip, his growth rate should not be lower than those geniuses born with extraordinary innate talents, he still needed time to grow.


    Just like a young beast, even if Leon received a pair of wings, his growth would still require a tremendous amount of time and the investment of significant resources.


    Currently, he was weak. If he had someone to protect him, he could grow much faster in the safety provided by that person. Therefore, when Bleia took the initiative to spread her wings and offer him shelter, although her approach was unsettling, he now dly epted her protection.


    But Leon wished he could show his worth, trying his best to make this "rtionship" seem more like a form of alliance that would benefit both partners, and not just him, as Bleia will still be useful, even when he vites her. Her value in Bleia¡¯s eyes has to be immense to make her think twice before protesting against the forced motherhood to which she will be imposed.


    Leon gave a long look at Sinbad¡¯s head, which was in his hand. If he was right, Sinbad¡¯s soul was still trapped in that head, and if he didn¡¯t manage it properly, the quality of his prize might be reduced.


    In any case, this was the head of a Leader of the Ghost Babysitters,parable to some Advanced Apprentices. Thus, no matter how he could use it, this was excellent material for experiments.


    There were a total of three outsiders who had intruded into the Magical Swamp. Although they hadn¡¯t killed Lucy, they had at least made her suffer. At that moment, that spoiled and arrogant girl was either dead or in very bad shape. As for the other two intruders, Super Girl and Deadly Shot should be dealing with them, so it wasn¡¯t something Leon needed to worry about.


    As for Bleia, she was clearly more interested in the blood of the other two intruders because, without saying goodbye to Leon, she transformed into her bat form and shot off into the misty fog. In the end, Leon was left alone in the swamp.


    After recovering from the shock of finally having a moment of calm on this hectic day, he stealthily made his way back to the Wizard¡¯s Tower, wanting to safely take his loot back to his room.


    ...


    A dazzling light show was shing before her eyes. At the same time, an intense dizziness made it difficult for her to identify directions, or even where she was!


    But, with the help of her spatial senses, Lucy struggled to free herself from the chaotic spatial storm, opening a spatial rift and returning to the physical world.


    A twisted spatial rift appeared in the air, and soon after, Lucy emerged from it upside down.


    "Ouch!"


    Lucy, who waspletely exhausted, hit her head on the hard, cold surface of a rock, and then she cried out in pain and surprise.


    Damn scoundrel. Damn vampire. You¡¯d better not let me recover fully. Once I¡¯m fully healed, I will definitely¡­


    As she cursed madly in her mind, Lucy suddenly frozepletely. With her intact eye wide open and filled with great fear, she looked directly at the terrifying figure that had suddenly appeared in front of her. The fear made her stop, forcing her to refrain from acting recklessly.


    Lucy examined her surroundings in confusion. Only now did she realize that she was in a dark, enclosed stone room. This ce was not the safe zone she had established beforehand, and the person standing in front of her was no Apprentice Mage she was familiar with.


    Looking at the thin, almost skeletal body of the man, his long gray Mage robe, his old wizard hat, and that mischievous, sinister smile¡­


    Lucy finally realized who was in front of her and couldn¡¯t help but let out a scream of shock, "Mage Eclivel!"


    The thin old man standing in front of her was none other than the master of the Tower, First-Rank Mage Eclivel.


    He was the highest authority of the Tower. Thus, as soon as Lucy used the Teleportation spell and retreated, her destination was altered, bringing this little Loli, who had already suffered so much, straight to his doorstep.


    The terrifying ability of a true Mage was not something anymon mortal couldprehend.


    Honestly, from the beginning of their training, many Apprentice Mages began to modify their bodies. In their minds, the appearance of their body and face was much less important than their overall power.


    If someone thoroughly examined everyone in this city, of the more than fifty Apprentice Mages, perhaps less than half of them still had pure human bodies.


    Lineage modification, biological modification, spell contamination¡­ All of this was the direct result of their tireless efforts to be stronger. The boundary between human and inhuman was not so significant in this world of Mages.


    Knowing that even the Apprentice Mages were heavily modifying their bodies, one can only imagine what the full-fledged Mages must do with their bodies.


    Capable of enduring the cruel and painful modification process, able to persevere in the solitary lifestyle of the pursuit of knowledge, capable of using any means to be stronger¡­ After going through all this suffering and finally bing an official Mage, do you think they would still have a kind andpassionate personality?


    When mentioning these Mages in the Magical World, what mostmon people thought of were powerful, unscrupulous, malevolent beings who were sensible in all scenarios. Although they dered themselves ves to knowledge, always walking the path of knowledge-seeking, their methods of gathering that knowledge could never be described as merciful or moderate.


    In the entire multiverse, being one of the rarerge-scale nes, it was inevitable that the Magical World had enved over a thousand medium and small-scale nes. They had brutally "appropriated" all the resources and knowledge of the nes they conquered, using them to arm themselves and grow stronger.


    If a Mage family did not have its own particr ne, they weren¡¯t even considered at the lowest level of Mage Families.


    The central force of the army representing the Magical World was made up of members of these Mage Families. If a First-Rank Mage like Eclivel were ced on the limitless battlefield of the endless conquering expedition, he would simply be cannon fodder.


    Yes, the entry requirement to be in the army of the Magical World was to be a First-Rank Mage. As for Apprentice Mages, they were merely novices without experience in the Principles of the nes. They weren¡¯t even qualified to be cannon fodder.


    Thus, after encountering so many Mages, Lucy held a deep fear and respect for these powerful individuals.


    Although her innate Spatial ability made her an extraordinary talent, when faced with these official Mages, even with her incredible protective barrier, she was just trash that could be killed by them at any moment. In the Magical World, innate talent represented potential, not strength. Over the past millions of years, countless geniuses had lost their lives to stronger Mages with lesser potential.


    Therefore, when Lucy realized she was facing an official Mage, her arrogant and violent attitude immediately vanished. Even though the severe injuries to her body caused her to feel intense pain, so much so that she was drenched in cold sweat, she still acted as if nothing was wrong, slightly bending her body forward and patiently waiting for the man to question her.


    "I¡¯m in a really bad mood today. It seems some insects have intruded into my garden while I was busy with experiments. So, stinky little girl¡­ Who gave you permission to enter my territory?" Mage Eclivel¡¯s face waspletely emotionless, and his cold voice sent shivers down Lucy¡¯s spine.


    "The honorable Mage Eclivel, my mentor, the great Deborah, sent me here to deliver a message." Lucy did not hesitate and immediately dered her purpose foring here.


    "Deborah, the Insane?" Eclivel frowned: "So, you¡¯re that brilliant Apprentice that Deborah got three years ago? Then what the hell is this? Are you trying to show off in my home after learning some tricks from her? Hahahaha¡­ Little girl, didn¡¯t your mentor tell you that I don¡¯t like to be disturbed? Oh, right, the other two little insects are from the Fragrance House as well?"


    Cautiously rising while keeping her back straight, Lucy quickly replied, "No. We met outside the swamp area. We¡¯re all here for our respective missions. One of them is from the Mandasor Academy, the other from the ck Glove Association."


    "Mission? You all came to my Magical Swamp for a mission?"


    "Yes! Each of us received training missions from our own organizations. That¡¯s why we came here uninvited!"


    "Damn it, damn it¡­ I knew those damned Zhentarim would never stop trying to take this ce. This is the Magical Swamp! My territory! How dare these guys define this ce as one of their mission locations. At the next Mage meeting, I will definitely report your damned behavior to the council¡­"


    Perhaps what Lucy said was a delicate matter for Mage Eclivel, but even though he had already been acting crazily, upon learning about the situation, he became even more insane. Almost shouting, he began to curse and swear at someone in some distantnd. At one point, Eclivel started speaking in several differentnguages, and Lucy could only identify no more than three of them.


    At some moment, Mage Eclivel calmed down and suddenly fell silent. Once again, his empty eyes locked onto Lucy¡¯s face.


    "Because you showed respect, I won¡¯t keep you here. But since you intruded into my garden and caused havoc, I can¡¯t let you go without punishment. This will serve as your lesson!" Mage Eclivel gently pointed his staff at the air and released a small, bright green point, which shot directly into Lucy¡¯s empty eye socket.


    At the same time, a bizarre ring suddenly appeared beneath Lucy¡¯s feet. After blinking a few times, a bright light shed, and Lucy disappeared from the stone room.


    Almost at the same time Lucy was expelled, the same teleportation ring also appeared beneath the feet of the other two Apprentice Mages, who were still searching in the depths of the swamp. With a sh, they too were expelled from the Magical Swamp.


    ...


    At the entrance of the Magical Swamp.


    It was a small, deste slope that looked miserable.


    Facing the slope was the Magical Swamp, shrouded in thick fog. Looking out from the top of the hill, beyond the numerous muddykes, one could only see a hint of tattered foliage. Otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.


    After a dazzling sh, Lucy was thrown onto the ground of the empty space.


    Before she could get up, two more shes of light urred, and two familiar figures appeared in the space around her.


    While whining, Lucy rose from the ground, hurriedly pulling all sorts of bottles from the pockets of her waist and starting to heal herself restlessly. Although she had left the confines of the Magical Swamp, she did not dare to utter any curses against that Mage.


    Who knew if that damned Mage had any way of spying on them? If he heard her say anything bad, they might be killed right where they were¡­


    ...


    1908 Words

 Chapter 28: Crystal

    "Urrrr~~"


    Moaning non-stop, the two neers dropped to their knees.


    Compared to the spatially talented Lucy, the other two rarely teleported, so besides the usual dizziness that apanied teleportation, both felt nauseous, almost to the point of vomiting. However, both had extraordinary physiques, which made them quite adaptable. Thus, after a brief moment of rest, they recovered.


    Apparently, before being teleported to this ce, these two had been in fierce battles, as both their bodies were covered in scars. Even now, they were holding their weapons tightly, as if they thought they could be attacked at any moment.


    When they saw Lucy, who looked incredibly unhappy, the two men exchanged nces, incredulous expressions in their eyes. Before entering the Magical Swamp, the three had fought, trying to determine who would be the leader of this temporary team.


    Although both were very confident in themselves, they were both defeated by Lucy¡¯s mysterious telekic ability. If they were being honest with themselves, this Lucy definitely had the ability to kill them instantly.


    But unexpectedly, after separating for a short time, Lucy suffered very serious injuries. Compared to her, their injuries were not worth mentioning.


    "Lucy, who were you fighting? Was it a Pseudo-Mage?" Hesitant, the muscr man with a huge sword on his back asked the terrifying Loli what was wrong. The man with the snake head, standing next to him, also showed a worried expression, silently waiting for Lucy¡¯s response.


    "Kerry, don¡¯t get involved in my business¡­" Lucy didn¡¯t want to answer the question and simply continued focusing on healing her own wounds.


    Lucy secretly felt a great fear in her heart. She wasn¡¯t worried about her injuries; she had suffered worse wounds before. What she feared was what the Eclivel Mage had done to her when he threw that bizarre green light into her eye. No matter how much she examined herself, she couldn¡¯t find anything unusual in her body, so she had no choice but to focus on healing her wounds.


    After drinking all kinds of potions, the wounds on her body finally stopped bleeding. Then Lucy began to apply a dark purple, foul-smelling medicinal paste to her injuries.


    Strangely, the result of this seemingly insignificant mud-like paste worked very well. No matter how terrible a wound was, as long as it was covered by the paste for a short period, the skin would be restored to its former state.


    After she finished healing all her wounds, Lucy began to heal her right eye.


    If a normal human lost a part of their body, it would be a scar for life that could never be healed. But for these Apprentice Mages, who had stepped into the realm of mysticism and supernatural forces, restoring lost body parts was quite possible.


    From a ck y pot, Lucy carefully picked out a strange-looking creature that resembled a small snake. Squeezing its tail, she carefully ced it into her empty eye socket.


    This strange creature was tightly held by Lucy so it couldn¡¯t move, causing it to continue spinning in the air while making a sharp, whistling sound. It had a head that resembled a meatball and a mouth that opened like a flower. Inside this oddly-shaped mouth were many tiny, sharp teeth.


    "Serpentine Sakura Herb!"


    Obviously, the muscr man knew about this creature and couldn¡¯t help but sigh at its value.


    "What is this thing?" The snake-headed man had never seen anything like it before.


    "It¡¯s a sacred healing remedy, capable of recing any missing vital organ in the body. Don¡¯t judge by its ugly appearance. It¡¯s a mutant nt specifically cultivated for this purpose. Its base price is about 70 Magic Crystals." The muscr man exined briefly. At the same time, his face was full of envy.


    "70 Magic Crystals?" The snake-headed man was shocked, and he instantly grasped the value of this item.


    Numerousrge-scale Mage associations existed in the Mage World. There were simply too many to count. Internally, each of these organizations and associations implemented a system of knowledge points or exchange points, none of which were interchangeable. Thus, to facilitate trade between organizations, Magic Crystals were born.


    This was an advanced magical universe with countless nes. Every space in each of these nes was filled with magical energy. Normally, this magical energy was evenly distributed throughout the space, but on rare asions or in unique environments, very dense clusters of magical energy could be found.


    Therefore, in these unique environments, the excessively dense magical energy would infest the surrounding minerals, transforming them into crystals. These crystals were unique items that allowed Mages to quickly replenish their Elementium consumption. Hence, it became an item that gained eptance from all users across all major nes.


    As a result, Magic Crystals became an important strategic resource for the Mage World, as they were constantly conquering other worlds. Thus, it was used as the basic currency for the entire Mage World.


    The snake-headed man couldn¡¯t help but swallow hard.


    For example, in the ck Glove Association where he came from, after sessfullypleting this training mission, he would receive 15 knowledge points and 30 Magic Crystals. To obtain 70 Magic Crystals, he would have toplete two ¡¯Dangerous¡¯ missions or seven ¡¯Difficult¡¯ missions or thirty-five ¡¯Normal¡¯ missions.


    So, when he saw Lucy use the Serpentine Sakura Herb without hesitation, which cost 70 Magic Crystals, the muscles in his face began to twitch uncontrobly.


    Despite its fierce and strange appearance, the Serpentine Sakura Herb was just a special mutant nt. Once Lucy ced it in her empty eye socket, it immediately coiled its body and centered itself. Its viscous body began to break down, transforming into tiny threads that looked like micro-sized snakes. Countless threads began to twist and intertwine, soon taking the shape of a human eye.


    But just a moment before the eyeball formed by the Serpentine Sakura Herb was about to finish, a bizarre green light suddenly shone around it. In the next second, the Serpentine Sakura Herb wentpletely berserk.


    Countless tiny tentacles began to pierce Lucy¡¯s eye socket and continued to grow, iling violently. Soon, some of these tentacles expanded to the size of Lucy¡¯s arm and continued to stretch further.


    After a long period of healing, most of Lucy¡¯s wounds had fully recovered. Thus, her beautiful Loli appearance had returned.


    But at that moment, a gigantic and terrifying ¡¯living octopus¡¯ was emerging from the eye socket of the small, cute Lolita; anyone who witnessed this would definitely tremble in disgust at the scene before them.


    Lucy¡¯s flesh stimted the disorderly growth of this Serpentine Sakura Herb.


    Under the influence of a mystical curse, Lucy¡¯s newly recovered body began to wither rapidly, and almost half of her flesh was devoured by the rapidly expanding Serpentine Sakura Herb.


    Without hesitation, and using all her strength, Lucy was able to forcefully pull out the Serpentine Sakura Herb that was currently upying her right eye socket. Raising the twisted, octopus-like monster into the air, Lucy let out a deep, hoarse roar to the sky while blood gushed from her eye socket.


    "Damn¡­ You bunch of damned scoundrels¡­ I will kill all of you!"


    The unusual situation startled the other two Apprentice Mages. Although they had no idea what this little Lolita had experienced in the Magical Swamp, they could still clearly feel a deep hatred in her furious roar.


    Judging by what had happened, it must have been the Mage who did this personally.


    That Eclivel Mage, who led a sedentary life in this Magical Swamp and didn¡¯t even show respect for the mage Deborah, who was Lucy¡¯s mentor, how could he let them go so easily? Because they were both expelled by the Eclivel Mage personally! Who knew what he had cast upon their bodies?


    Just as they were struck by these doubts, the lewd moan of a young woman suddenly reached their ears. Soon, two vague and indescribable Enchanted Souls emerged from the ground beneath their feet, transforming into two magnificent girls that perfectly matched their tastes, clinging tightly to their bodies.


    Well, things would have been better if they were just two illusory souls, but as soon as they were grabbed by these animated beings, their Spirits began to gradually deplete.


    "Spirit-Sucking Demons!"


    The snake-headed man was the first to identify these enchanting spirits, and his loud shout was filled with unmistakable fear.


    Spirit-Sucking Demons were very frightening souls. They consumed a person¡¯s Spirit, which was obtained through meditation. As long as someone¡¯s Spirit wasn¡¯t exhausted, they could survive being attacked by these terrifying demons. But once their Spiritual Points were depleted, the demons would start consuming the life force of their target.


    The snake-headed man went wild.


    He began to roar and scream, and his slender body started to stretch higher and higher, quickly bing covered in dark green scales. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a huge, furious serpent that was nearly ten meters tall.


    But what a pity; no matter what he transformed into, the bizarre Spirit-Sucking Demon still clung tightly to his body, continuously draining his Spiritual Points.


    Roaring, thrashing, shaking, rolling¡­ He tried every kind of highly difficult movement, wreaking havoc on this small hillside with his giant body. He even turned his head back and spat poisonous liquids at his own body, but all his attempts failed to rid himself of the Spirit-Sucking Demon.


    No magical spell could do anything, no physical attack could touch them; it was as if this demon were merely an illusion that didn¡¯t exist. It was as if it were all just his own fantasy. However, his Spirit was truly depleting. And with the restless and brutal movements of the giant serpent, his Spirit was being diminished at an elerated rate.


    The muscr man did not foolishly try to remove the demon from his body, as his high Physical Points gave him better magical resistance than the snake-headed man; thus, by avoiding unnecessary movements, he lost Spirit at a slower rate.


    When dealing with a curse cast by an official Mage, these Apprentice Mages had no means to remove it. Therefore, he didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer and began to run away.


    Only by returning to his own organization as quickly as possible could he seek help from his mentor; otherwise, he would die at the hands of this terrifying demon.


    After numerous failed attempts, the snake-headed man had no choice but to revert to his human form. Only then did his Spirit depletion slow down. He cursed angrily in his mind and then took a Magic Crystal from his pocket, absorbing its energy. He then did as the muscr man had done, relying solely on his muscr strength, he ran away.


    He also realized that as long as he didn¡¯t use any magical spells, the rate of Spiritual Point depletion would be slower, and with the replenishment from the Magic Crystal, he could sustain himself for a long period.


    After the two male Apprentices plunged into the jungle and fled, Lucy used her Spatial Energy to crush the monstrous creature in her hand. But she immediately felt a subtle tingling at the back of her eye as another new tentacle appeared in her empty socket.


    In the moments before, Lucy may have only felt hatred and anger, but now indescribable fear arose from the depths of her heart.


    With an explosive noise, Lucy disappeared from her location, reappearing in a distant ce. And just as her body solidified, she disappeared again¡­


    She was running out of time.


    If she allowed this terrifying curse to remain, she would soon be out of flesh. She had to return to her mentor as quickly as possible; only then could this frightening curse be removed.


    Therefore, even if itpletely depleted her Spiritual Points, Lucy still had to do her best and run back to the House of Fragrances.


    Soon, peace returned once again to the hillside near one of the entrances to the Magical Swamp.


    ...


    2001 Words

 Chapter 29: Mages

    Leon waspletely unaware of the events that urred after he returned to the tower.


    As expected, whenever something good happened, it was almost always apanied by misfortune.


    Before today, he thought he would have time to develop slowly and quietly, but after the events of the day, he realized that things wouldn¡¯t be so easy for him.


    His previous peaceful life made him think that his life as an Apprentice could continue forever at a gradual pace. But after the exciting encounter today, he recognized the vast gap between a Beginner Apprentice and an Advanced Apprentice.


    Having witnessed the extraordinary potential of Advanced Apprentices and how they utilized magical spells that perfectly aligned with their talents, Leon realized how slow and dyed his progress was.


    Following his original development path, it might take him three to four years of daily meditation and relentlessly pursuing the umtion of magical knowledge before he could be an Intermediate Apprentice. To be an Advanced Apprentice, Leon would need at least another ten years of hard work. As for bing a Pseudo-Mage?


    With Leon¡¯s current potential and innate talent, he had little hope of reaching that level.


    As an Apprentice Mage, each small increase in his Spirit was unimaginably valuable to him and resulted only from much hard work. His innate talent was no better than others, so if he wanted to grow faster than the other Apprentices, the only way was to leverage more resources and acquire enough magical knowledge.


    Beyond these, there was no alternative solution.


    And to enhance the power of his magical spells, his first priority was to improve the quality of his body. All magical spells, whether support spells or long-range attacks, were backed by the caster¡¯s body. Magical spells could only unleash their full strength when used by a user who had improved the quality of their body.


    After safely returning to the Tower from the jaws of death, Leon immediately locked himself in his room and began to reflect on his future path.


    Thinking about the four main branches of Mages, Leon carefully pondered the advantages and disadvantages of each, associating them with his own abilities and silently assessing his future.


    Body Refinement Mage.


    To be a Body Refinement Mage, the first requirement was a firm will, which had to be as solid as steel. To stimte and strengthen the body, these Body Refinement Mages had to be willing to do anything.


    As an example of a training method for Body Refinement Mages, they would soak in a container filled with toxins every day. Venoms from Scorpions, Snakes, Spiders, Poison Herbs, Nightmarish Herbs, Zombie Dust¡­ In short, no matter where the toxin came from, they would use anything they could get their hands on.


    From mild to strong, from weak to powerful, using all kinds of deadly toxins, they would continuously stimte every cell in their body, forcing it to release its potential and gradually strengthening it.


    Of course, while doing this, survival was definitely the most important thing. They would have to discover the maximum amount of toxin they could endure so that they wouldn¡¯t die from it.


    As they progressed in the body refinement process, as they surpassed the beginner threshold, they gained resistance to certain toxins, and perhaps nomon toxin in the mortal world could harm them. If they wanted to go further, the only way was to tirelessly seek rarer and more powerful magical toxins.


    Thus, as a Body Refinement Mage, perhaps the first half of their life would be spent discovering the maximum amount of toxins their bodies could take and hunting for those rare magical toxins that worked best for their bodies.


    Of course, there were also some Body Refinement Mages who used objects with horrifying radioactive characteristics to stimte and refine their bodies, and some specifically sought out hostile natural environments, using the terrifying forces of nature to advance.


    Overall, there was a variety of methods to train in this branch. But no matter the method used, a Body Refinement Mage would have to endure constant pain and hardships. Only then would they have a frightening body that no ordinary man could everpare to.


    If Leon wanted to be a Body Refinement Mage, he would first need to find aplete body refinement method. After that, he would have to gather all the poisonous items he would need to use over the long refinement process. Furthermore, during the body refinement process, he would be extremely weak, so he would need better and more nutritious meals to nourish his weakened body.


    Additionally, he would also need to find some suitable fighting techniques so that he could unleash the power of his enhanced physique and strength.


    After analyzing these basic situations, Leon felt extremely doubtful about bing a Body Refinement Mage. Setting aside the extreme difficulty of the body refinement techniques, it would be challenging to acquire the precious nutritious foods needed toplement the body refinement process.


    "Lineage Mage."


    Obviously, this was the easiest choice to gain a strong short-termbat capability.


    When talking about Lineage Mages, biological modification was a quitemon topic, as it was the most popr method among Apprentice Mages. With just a ¡¯small¡¯ magical ceremony, they could transnt a highly efficient organ from a powerful demon, potentially granting them special abilities in the process.


    Most Apprentice Mages would never turn down such a simple method of strengthening themselves whenever the conditions allowed, and they would always perform certain degrees of modification on themselves. However, this was easier said than done! It came with the risk of having their lineage contaminated, losing vitality, or transnting a faulty organ that didn¡¯t provide good abilities.


    For Apprentice Mages like Leon, who lived in the Magical Swamp, isted from the outside world, what kind of powerful demons could they encounter? With their skills and status, it was simply impossible for them to acquire organs from those truly frightening demons.


    Therefore, if these Apprentices could find a usable piece from a demon that matched the level of an Advanced Apprentice, it would be incredibly valuable.


    It was said that the lethal shot Evan, one of the three strongest Apprentices in the Tower, had transnted the eyeball of a ¡¯Red-Eyed Crow King¡¯, which granted him the ability to control Carnivorous Crows.


    Leon felt that this decision was shortsighted.


    Perhaps this demon organ would allow him to reach a higher level in a quick step, bing one of the Advanced Apprentices, the elite among all the Apprentice Mages in the Tower. But at the stage he was currently at, the potential brought by biological modification had reached its limit.


    If he were lucky, he might be a Pseudo-Mage in five years and begin his preparations to break through to the level of an official Mage. But if he were unlucky, he might never be an official Mage.


    After all, for anyone whose lineage was contaminated, the difficulty of bing an official Mage would be exponentially harder!


    So,pared to a Lineage Mage, biological modification was a wasteful path that led nowhere, a deceptive power that would ruin one¡¯s future.


    However, inparison to biological modification, the path of a Lineage Mage was much, much harder.


    To be a Lineage Mage, one would have to find a creature with ancestral lineage, using arge amount of its blood, and a process called blood purification, to obtain the inherited power hidden in its blood.


    If he chose this path, there would be many challenges he would have to face.


    First, many of the known powerful lineages were controlled by different families of Mages.


    These Mage families were descendants of some original Bloodline Mage who had be powerful in the past. As descendants of someone with a strong lineage, they naturally inherited the superior lineage of their ancestor. To ensure the continuity of their family lineage, they refused to marry anyone outside their own family, maintaining a closed circle to protect the purity of their family lineage.


    Besides these known powerful lineages, if any other Apprentice Mage wished to pursue the branch of Lineage Mages, they could only try their luck with the lineages of other inexperienced demons.


    If they happened to obtain a Third Grade lineage, perhaps their descendants wouldn¡¯t even be Second Grade Lineage Mages, and those Second Grade Lineage Mages would be lucky if their descendants became First Grade Lineage Mages.


    So, for junior members of families with strong lineages, if they did not possess powerful abilities, once they left their homes, they would be attacked by others. Some unscrupulous Apprentice Mages would happily capture them, trying to squeeze the essence of their lineage, in turn granting themselves some powerful abilities.


    But to achieve this, a huge amount of blood from the lineage Apprentice was required, and the sess rate was quite low. Another thing to consider was that this was a great taboo for these lineage families.


    With the incredible resources and strengths of these lineage families, would they simply sit by and let their lineage be obtained by others? Thus, even if they had to pay a high price, they would hunt down the culprit and kill them. Hence, in the history of the Mage World, there have been many incidents of great turmoil caused by the theft of a lineage from a powerful lineage family.


    In fact, perhaps the Serpent Head Apprentice from earlier today was also a descendant of a lineage family, or else he wouldn¡¯t have disyed such distinct characteristics of a demon. Perhaps Leon could have obtained his blood¡­ but he did not.


    Of course, he did not regret it.


    This descendant of a Lineage Mage was merely an Advanced Apprentice, so he wouldn¡¯t have a very strong lineage inherited in his blood. To ensure that Leon became a Pseudo-Mage, he might need at least a dozen of these descendants. Only then could he extract enough blood to purify his lineage.


    This would be as difficult for Leon as fighting a Mega Dragon!


    Moreover, ording to what Leon had learned from the books, currently, among all the Lineage families still active at the center of the Mage Continent, the highest level among them was only Seventh Grade. The Ninth Grade was the current pinnacle of the structure of Lineage Mages.


    As a Lineage Mage, there was no need to do much cultivation or knowledge umtion. All they needed to do was continue purifying their own lineages, and eventually, they would be able to obtain the abilities of their ancestral lineage.


    For example, let¡¯s say a Mage was the heir of a Fifth Grade lineage; just by being a Lineage Mage, he would be able to level up at a speed that was dozens to hundreds of times faster than that of the other branches. This allowed him to advance with an indomitable spirit during the first half of his life and live a life of glory.


    Furthermore, the Mage who possessed a unique lineage might have some special abilities as well, giving them an advantage when fighting against a Mage of the same grade.


    However, the peak of the original lineage was also the end of their path as a Mage.


    When a Mage with a Fifth Grade lineage finally became a Fifth Grade Mage, he would be forced to face the fact that the road ahead of him waspletely cut off. He would never be able to progress further after reaching that point.


    This was the saddest thing about these Lineage Mages!


    Once they chose to follow this path, and picked the wrong lineage, the chances of reaching the top of the Mage World were lost forever.


    ....


    1944 Words

 Chapter 30: Golem

    Since the path of a Lineage Mage was so difficult to enter and the fact that, although they could grow quickly, their growth was limited from the start, Leon decided to eliminate that possibility.


    So, all he had ahead of him was to be a Principle Mage or a Deep Mage.


    Among these two choices, Leon strongly preferred the Principle Mage. Whenever he envisioned those powerful Elementium spells capable of such vast destruction, and the bizarre and frightening curse spells, Leon yearned for that power and truly wanted to master some incredible spells.


    However, the path of the Principle Mage was also the hardest, as it had no shortcuts. In order to ascend the higher tiers of the Adept hierarchy, a Principle Mage had to take one step at a time, diligently improve their elemental affinity, and then master any rted Elementium spells. They also had to have a strong understanding of the Central Principles of the nes.


    Only when he became the master of a principle could he proudly announce that he was a Principle Mage.


    This was generally something that could be achieved after reaching the seventh rank.


    If he didn¡¯t have the Chip, Leon would never choose this path. Because, if he did, it would also mean that he would have to spend a lot of time meditating and improving his elemental affinity.


    In fact, in order to gain better elemental affinity, many Mages would go to great lengths to rece their body with the Elementium to which they had the greatest affinity, even if it turned them into a form of Elementium life.


    Analyzing from all aspects, undoubtedly, the path of the Principle Mage was an obvious choice for any Mage, as it was the path with the greatest potential to reach the pinnacle of the Mage World. So, with the n set by the Chip, Leon felt that this was the best path for him.


    However, before truly bing strong, Leon would have to find ways topensate for his weakness, or else how could he survive the intense and brutalpetition among the Apprentices?


    Thus, after deciding to be a Principle Mage, Leon also nned to learn some of the skills of the Deep Mages to support the slow growth of his main path. And undoubtedly, the ¡¯Golem Creation Manual¡¯ he obtained earlier was one of those Deep Mage methods that could help improve his currentbat ability.


    "Chip, what is the progress on organizing the data from the ¡¯Golem Creation Manual¡¯?"


    "Beep"


    "The copy of the spellbook ¡¯Golem Creation Manual¡¯ has beenpleted¡­"


    "The data has been optimized, and useless content has been removed."


    "The list of suitable Golems has been constructed¡­"


    Leon¡¯s eyes sparkled instantly as he heard the message.


    "Send me all the data!"


    "Beep" A stream of data was immediately transferred. Closing his eyes, he silently absorbed the additional magical knowledge that suddenly emerged in his mind.


    Strictly speaking, it was a list of items.


    "y Golem"


    "A basic life form that fights using its core to manipte Earth Elementium."


    "Estimated Attributes: Strength: 11 | Agility: 4 | Physical: 13 | Spirit: 4"


    Innate Abilities: (Passive) The Earth is in the Air (Regain 5 health points every minute within a location rich in Earth Elementium)


    Magical Resistances: Curse Resistance | Piercing Resistance | Cutting Resistance | Acid Resistance | Earth Elementium Resistance


    Materials: Core of an Earth Elementium Demon (Advanced Apprentice)


    Knowledge Required: Basic Golem Creation Skill | Basic Runes Inscription Skill | Energy Transfer Circuit System | Elementium Life Grant | Mental Control Printing System


    "Acid Golem"


    "A simple life form that uses its core to fight by manipting Water Elementium."


    "Estimated Attributes: Strength: 8 | Agility: 7 | Physical: 10 | Spirit: 5"


    Innate Abilities: (Active) Acid Spray (Single Target) | Acid Pool (20 Meters AOE Range)


    Magical Resistances: Curse Resistance | Piercing Resistance | Cutting Resistance | Acid Resistance | Water Elementium Resistance


    Materials: Core of a Water Elementium Demon


    Knowledge Required: Basic Golem Creation Skill | Basic Runes Inscription Skill | Energy Transfer Circuit System | Elementium Life Grant | Mental Control Printing System


    Previously, it was a long list, but after the Chip removed the Golems that were beyond Leon¡¯s current abilities and other useless content, all that remained were these two elemental Golems, which had been repeatedly optimized.


    Yes, the Chip rmended a Golem instead of a Titan.


    Comparing theirbat abilities, undoubtedly a Titan, which had a fixed body, was stronger than a Golem, which was more like a summoning. But, with the scarce resources that Leon currently possessed, it might not be realistic to expect him to gather enough resources to create a Titan.


    Take the most basic y Titan as an example.


    An eight-foot-tall y Titan weighing 600 pounds was made entirely of soft y. This didn¡¯t take into ount the manufacturing cost in construction. Just the soft y alone would cost him nine thousand gold coins. For everything he would need to make a y Titan, the base price was twenty-one thousand gold coins.


    In contrast, the Golem suggested by the Chip was much cheaper, as the only raw material required was a core from an Advanced Apprentice-level demon. Although a lot of magical knowledge was needed to sessfully create one, the total cost was around seven thousand gold coins.


    By his calctions, Leon would be able to save a significant amount of money, which was a great relief for him.


    Leon couldn¡¯t create an Acid Golem now because he didn¡¯t have a suitable Water Elementium demon core. But the y Golem was a perfect choice, as he had just obtained the head of an Earth Elementium demon, which would be a perfect core for the y Golem.


    When he thought of this, Leon quickly walked over to the wooden shelf in the corner of his room.


    Arge ss jar sat atop a wooden tray. It was covered with a ck cloth so that no one could see what was inside.


    Leon gently lifted the ck cloth, leaned forward, and silently gazed at the head of Sinbad, which was soaked in a yellowish liquid. Perhaps sensing Leon¡¯s gaze, some indistinct spasms could be seen on Sinbad¡¯s face, and he felt the weak soul pleading for mercy.


    A strong odor, reminiscent of formaldehyde, lingered near the jar.


    Scientifically speaking, the Ghost Nanny was not considered an immortal creature, so its organs had to be carefully preserved after being removed from its body, or else their usable value would quickly diminish. Although Sinbad¡¯s head had not originally been acquired by Leon, it was clear that Lucy had taken good care of it. She had also trapped Sinbad¡¯s soul within it.


    Of course, Leon had no idea whether this was because Lucy wanted to vent her anger by torturing Sinbad, or if she had other ns, but no matter what, this gave him a huge advantage. At least he didn¡¯tin about not having obtained Sinbad¡¯s heart.


    To maximize the benefits brought by this head, Leon even sought out some Apprentices who were specialists in anatomy and borrowed aplete set of tools.


    To protect his secret, Leon was forced to use his room as aboratory.


    A few minutester, Leon had prepared everything for the operation. He donned a sterile, non-magical white cloth and stood in front of the operating table. Sinbad¡¯s head was also removed from the liquid andy on the table with its eyes wide open, angrily cursing the human in front of it.


    Since Leon had been working to be a Mage for the past few years, he was mentally prepared for this type of surgical operation. Even though it was his first time conducting a biological experiment, he remained calm, in control, and well-prepared.


    Ignoring Sinbad¡¯s malevolent re, Leon calmly gave amand to the chip.


    "Chip, perform a deep scan of Sinbad¡¯s head!"


    "Beep" "Mission received¡­"


    "Starting scan¡­"


    With the blue light glowing in his eyes, a unique spiritual wave began to scan up and down Sinbad¡¯s head, revealing the secrets hidden within it, centimeter by centimeter.


    Most demons, due to their strong life force mixed with their bizarre innate abilities, formed an energy field simr to a shield. Thus, Leon normally could not scan beneath their skin with his Elementium Vision and Spiritual Vision, making it nearly impossible to analyze what was inside.


    But because Sinbad had lost all his strength, and his life force was nearly exhausted, the energy field that would have blocked Leon¡¯s vision was now ineffective. After probing and scanning several times, a three-dimensional image of Sinbad¡¯s head was constructed in his mind.


    A hard skull wrapped around an emptied brain. The brain, cerebellum, and brainstem were hidden deep within the cranial chamber. Thisplete model of Sinbad¡¯s brain was presented right before Leon¡¯s eyes. And right at the center of the emptied brain, a yellowish crystal the size of a thumb could be seen.


    Since Sinbad was a Leader of the Ghost Nannies and had mastered some Elementium abilities, a unique core had grown in his brain. Thus, his heart, brain, throat, and stomach were no longer vital organs. As long as this core and his soul still existed, his damaged organs could always be restored.


    Without hesitation, Leon plunged his sharp scalpel into Sinbad¡¯s head. When the skull opened, a putrid dark purple blood instantly sprayed out, staining Leon¡¯s clothes. But he didn¡¯t care and continued adjusting the depth and angle of his cut. With the help of a hammer, chisel, and other tools, Leon carefully dismantled the skull.


    With dozens ofrge candles lit, the room was aze with light. Covered in sweat, Leon stood firmly in front of the operating table. With the sound of a chisel cutting through flesh and bone echoing in the room, he slowly broke apart Sinbad¡¯s skull.


    Finally, under the flickering light of a candle, Leon extracted a light yellowish transparent crystal that smelled of decay and held it up against the light for a closer look.


    At the same time, a message from the Chip resonated in his mind.


    "Beep" "High-energy demon core detected. Type: Elementium Earth Creature¡­"


    A relieved smile finally appeared on Leon¡¯s bloodied face.


    He now had a core from which he could create a y Golem!


    ....


    1698

 Chapter 31: Creating a Golem

    It was impossible to create the equipment needed to summon a y Golem in Leon¡¯s room. So, he left and ran to the Alchemy Laboratory located on the third floor of the tower.


    After paying three Knowledge Points and thirty gold coins, Leon was allowed to use the most sophisticated alchemy station avable for three hours. This was nearly half of Leon¡¯s savings, so if he didn¡¯t have the highest sess rate for this first Golem, he would never have been willing to spend so much money.


    The floor was clean and tidy, and the walls were smooth and shiny. Wooden shelves lined the walls, holding all sorts of items. There werebeled containers for allmonly used magical materials, and Elementium rods used to detect the Elementium characteristics of an item. There was aplete set of metal armor used to test the strength of a magical item...


    In addition to all that, there were many items whose purpose Leon had no idea about.


    But Leon didn¡¯t care about any of that. What interested him most was the gleaming Magical Alchemy Station at the center of the room.


    Metal chains hung from the ceiling. A glowing stone was attached to the end of each metal chain. Eight metal chains; eight glowing stones. They formed a perfect circle around the Alchemy Station. With this, the operator could focus entirely on creating a magical item without being disturbed by shadows.


    These were essentially magical versions of astralmps!


    And the Alchemy Station was, in fact, a magical version of an industrial workbench.


    The Alchemy Station was an 8 x 4-meter object with some elevating tforms and indentations on its surface. It was covered with mystical equipment beyond the imagination of ordinary people. To be precise, the station¡¯s surface was divided into sixteen work areas, each capable of performing a specific crafting task.


    For a master alchemist familiar with the crafting process, they would be fullypetent with all this equipment and able to conduct a well-nned experiment seamlessly. But for someone new to this Alchemy Station, it might take several days just to get used to this magical equipment.


    However, this was not an obstacle for Leon, who relied on the Chip¡¯s help.


    "Chip, start scanning this Alchemy Station. Analyze the procedures for a crafting experiment!"


    "Beep!"


    "Mission created¡­"


    "Commencing scan¡­"


    When a shing blue light appeared in his eyes, all the equipment ced on the Alchemy Station, as well as hidden magical mechanisms and formations within the Alchemy Station, were scanned by the Chip and stored in Leon¡¯s mind.


    Combining the previously analyzed data with the on-site scan task, the equipment ced on top of the Alchemy Station was quickly stored in the Chip¡¯s database. Then, they were projected onto Leon¡¯s retina.


    Now, whenever Leon looked around the Alchemy Station, whenever a strange or mysterious item came into his view, a clear annotation would appear next to it.


    In simpler terms, the Alchemy Station was an amalgamation of many of Earth¡¯s forging and crafting machines, all merged into one convenient tform.


    A magnifying ss was mounted on a movable mechanical arm. It didn¡¯t use the same concave-convex lens as he had on Earth but rather a ss engraved with a special magical formation. Leon had chosen the highest-standard Alchemy Laboratory, so this ss could give him a magnification power of 300-500x.


    If he had chosen a regr Alchemy Laboratory, perhaps the maximum power of the magnifying ss would only be 150x.


    This was so important because, when creating most magical items, microscopic engraving was necessary. Typically, in a specific region of the magical item, it would be essential to engrave some independent but highly interconnected magical formations. Some experienced alchemists could even engrave more than a hundred magical formations on a fist-sized ruby crystal.


    As a beginner, Leon was not capable of aplishing this, but he only needed to carve seven magical formations into a thumb-sized demon core.


    The Summoning Rune was mandatory, as it was the most integral rune necessary to summon the y Golem. It was found in every magical summoning item.


    The Elementium Body Construction formation was also essential, as it would weave the magical forces of this world to construct an Elementium body for the Golem. His current design was to build a body of soft y.


    The Mental Control System Imprint was the most important among all the formations because, during the crafting process, Leon had to leave an imprint of his own soul on the formation. This would make the y Golem obey hismands.


    To allow the Golem to freely control the constructed Elementium body, the necessary energy nodes and circuits would also have to be carved, as they directly affected the mobility andbat capability of the Golem. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t afford any mistakes with them.


    Of course, Leon did not understand these highlyplex runes, but, fortunately, he had the Chip, which helped himplete the design and optimization. Therefore, all he needed to do was follow the n established by the Chip.


    But even with that, the difficulty of Leon¡¯s work was still beyond imagination.


    Over the past six years, Leon had conducted only a handful of alchemy experiments and had only performed somemon experiments, like purification and Elementium extraction. Honestly speaking, he was still a novice in the field of alchemy.


    But today, he had no resources for a trial, because he only had one demon core!


    If he failed, his dreams of an army of Golems would be shattered.


    ...


    Leon stood in front of the Alchemy Station for almost fifteen minutes without moving an inch. In his mind, using a simtion, the Chip was repeatedly showing him the procedure for creating the Golem core. It only stopped when he could vividly recall every detail.


    Leon, after standing still for over fifteen minutes, finally moved.


    From his waist pouch, he took out a bar of Magic ck Iron and tossed it into the crucible. In the next second, he sent his spiritual energy to the controlling magical formation of the Alchemy Station. A cracking sound was heard as an Elementium fire ignited beneath the crucible.


    If he worked without this magical alchemy station, he would need to create his own Elementium fire to heat and melt the Magic ck Iron. Throughout the entire process, he would have to maintain a stable output of Elementium fire for more than fifteen minutes; otherwise, it would not melt properly.


    And now, with the help of this Alchemy Station, he only needed to activate the hidden magical formation beneath it, and the equipment would automatically heat and melt the crafting material ording to the temperature and time he set. And while waiting for the Magic ck Iron to fully melt, he could take the time for other preparations.


    This alone fully demonstrated the benefits of using a Magical Alchemy Station.


    After carefully cing the core taken from Sinbad¡¯s head on top of the Alchemy Station, Leon adjusted the magnifying lens to an appropriate position and the correct power level. Only then did he start preparing the equipment for microscopic carving.


    The tool used for microscopic carving was a special magical item. Depending on the strength of the magical energy injected into it, this tool could produce a heat beam simr to aser as fine as a mosquito¡¯s leg. This heat beam was specifically modified and adjusted by the master Alchemist. Although it was small, it excelled at cutting.


    Not to mention thosemonly used magical metals, even Grade Eight Gold, Refined Subterranean Iron, and Kryptonium Steel, which were all unique metals with hardness beyond the imagination of any ordinary man, were easily carved by this heat beam.


    What Leon needed to do now was use this equipment to carve the seven required magical formations into the thumb-sized core: one summoning formation, one mental control system imprint formation, one Elementium life-granting formation, four energy nodes, and some additional energy circuits...


    All of this was easier said than done. Leon calmed his mind, then leaned forward and ced his eyes above the magnifying lens, finally starting on the project he had been preparing for.


    Under the 300x magnification power, the thumb-sized crystalline core became a massive object, its surface entirely covered by coarse bumps. Following the Chip¡¯s instructions, Leon controlled the magical formation, adjusting the core to the perfect position and angle. Only then did he activate the heat beam.


    A heat beam, only a tenth the width of an ox¡¯s hair, hit the core, turning the spot red and soft, gradually creating a recess the size of a quarter of a human hair. After that, Leon moved the heat beam with his spiritual energy, slowly traversing the core¡¯s surface. As this happened, a narrow, straight line appeared.


    Everything, from the beam¡¯s position to the depth of each cut, was marked in different colors in Leon¡¯s mind. All he needed to do was control the heat beam with his Spirit energy and draw ording to theyout and speed given by the Chip, meticulouslypleting this highly focused task.


    One by one, magical runes, which looked like scribbles, were engraved in a cross-pattern and surrounded by magical formations. All four corners were left empty so he could carve the necessary energy nodes and create an energy circuit in the center to connect them all...


    After an hour and a half of concentrated effort, all seven magical formations were interwoven onto the core¡¯s surface, forming a wless magical formation as a whole.


    The first step had beenpleted.


    The next step was to connect these magical formations, which also required patience and precision.


    The microscopic carving only produced the outlines of these magical formations. Magical energy would never flow through these recesses by itself, so a medium was needed that could respond to magical energy and allow it to flow freely.


    This medium was the Magic ck Iron that had been melted into a liquid form.


    Of course, if it were a wealthy official Mage, the medium would be reced with Mithril. But Leon did not have such resources or money, so he could only use Magic ck Iron, which was what he could afford.


    Although using it would cause significant energy loss as it conducted magical energy, for a simple y Golem that did not require advanced crafting skills, it was more than sufficient.


    Thus, Leon had to endure another hour of spiritually exhausting work. Though he was only using a tiny bit every second, after an hour of constant expenditure, blue veins began to appear on his forehead.


    With the help of the magical formation, Leon slowly poured the melted Magic ck Iron into the grooves carved by the heat beam. He had to be careful not to leave cracks or let anything spill outside the marks. For a Beginner Apprentice, this extremely difficult task was simply a powerful miracle that seemed impossible to achieve.


    But with the powerful Chip¡¯s assistance, Leon truly turned this impossibility into reality.


    When thest thread of the Magic ck Iron liquid fused into the groove, Leon cut the magical formation, pushed the magnifying lens aside, and silently looked at the Golem core, which was now floating atop the Alchemy Station. At that exact moment, his mind was reeling with thundering waves, and he felt like he was being torn in two.


    His first Golem wasplete!


    ....


    1901 Words

 Chapter 32: Missions

    Leon left the Alchemy Laboratory. Originally, he had nned to sneak away and test thebat strength of the y Golem in the swamp, but he was distracted by arge crowd of people running through the tower¡¯s corridors.


    "Hurried footsteps~~"


    "Voices of many people~~"


    Not once in Leon¡¯s memory had the Tower been so lively.


    Usually, everyone was busy with their own affairs. Those who received tasks would go about their business; those without tasks would meditate, copy books, or work on some magical experiment¡­ Every day in this Tower, except during mealtime, very few sounds could be heard. Even when two Apprentices met in a hallway, they would just nod at each other and move on.


    But today was an exception, as almost all Apprentice Mages were running down the hallway in the same direction.


    Leon was surprised and confused. He called out to his ¡¯friend¡¯ Benson, whom he barely knew, who was also a Novice Apprentice.


    "What¡¯s happening? Where are you going?"


    Right after Leon asked this, Benson responded with a surprised voice, saying, "You don¡¯t know? Haven¡¯t you checked your magic talisman? Master Eclivel is summoning all official Apprentices for a meeting in the auditorium. Don¡¯t bete!"


    Benson ran down the hallway after saying this.


    Master Eclivel calling a meeting?


    Leon was shocked by this rare event.


    ording to the proposal of the Zhentarim Association of the Mage Continent, as the Mage stationed in this Swamp Tower, Master Eclivel was required to give a free magic ss every three months to the Apprentices in the tower.


    And normally, if an Apprentice had a question about magic, they would need to pay knowledge points or magic crystals in exchange for the right to ask Master Eclivel privately.


    But unfortunately, in this Swamp Tower, which was almost isted from the outside world, Master Eclivel was the supreme authority. Thus, he simply ignored all the rules and regtions set by the Zhentarim Association.


    Over thest six years that Leon had lived in this Tower, Master Eclivel had given only a handful of open lectures¡­ In fact, it couldn¡¯t have happened more than four times. The rest of the time, he hid in the upper floors of the Tower, rarely interacting with any Apprentice.


    So, upon receiving this news, Leon was simply amazed.


    Quickly pulling out a magic talisman from around his neck, Leon noticed that it was blinking with a red glow and felt slightly warm to the touch.


    It seems that while performing the alchemy experiment just now, to avoid any interruptions, he had temporarily turned off themunication ability of the talisman. When he turned it on now, a deep and hoarse voice immediately came out of it.


    "All Apprentice Mages who hear this message must proceed to the auditorium immediately! If you do not reach it within fifteen minutes, I will revoke your Apprentice status!"


    Leon shuddered violently. He quickly put away the magic talisman and joined the running crowd.


    The seats in this lecture hall were simr to the theaters of Earth from his previous life, but the raised round stage at the front of the seats was reced by a high tform. With this arrangement, no matter where an Apprentice sat, they had to tilt their head slightly upward to look at the Mage teaching.


    Apparently, the person who designed this lecture hall refused to allow any Apprentice to sit higher than the Mage, even if it was only a physical position in a space.


    The spacious ssroom held more than two hundred people, but the Tower had only about fifty Apprentices, so everyone sat scattered. Three well-defined groups were seen, with the three strongest apprentices at the center of each group. Additionally, a fourth group gathered around the new Lead Apprentice, Brandon. The rest of the Apprentices sat alone, showing their status as ¡¯Lone Wolves.¡¯


    In the past, Leon had been one of those ¡¯Lone Wolves.¡¯


    As he observed the situation in the ssroom, Leon saw a figure that stood out from the rest of the crowd.


    A striking red dress. A cold and arrogant face, yet beautiful and alluring¡­ The owner of this face was waving for him to join her.


    Naturally, Bleia, sitting alone, was the focus of almost everyone in the hall, and, without a doubt, her action had made Leon the sworn enemy of most of the male Apprentices in the hall.


    Countless stares werending on Leon, causing his expression to change.


    That Bleia really knew how to stir things up!


    But at this moment, he had no room to hesitate. He walked over to Bleia and sat next to her in silence.


    "Remember, you¡¯re my subordinate. Arrive earlier next time!"


    Bleia leaned toward Leon, ced her charming face next to his ear, and whispered her threatening speech. Leon felt a terrifying killing intent apanied by her voice. It seemed that Bleia was genuinely satisfied with this oue. With an expression resembling that of a cat that had just eaten a canary, she straightened up in her chair.


    Leon sighed and thought. "I will still vite you, you bitch... Just wait... Just... wait..."


    Bleia¡¯s green eyes scanned the entire hall, enchanting all the male Apprentices who met her gaze, only to make them shudder, quickly lower their heads, and avoid her eyes.


    At that very moment, Leon felt another ¡¯strong¡¯ gazend on him, making his hair stand on end.


    Shocked, he lifted his head and realized who it was!


    The man who was staring at him was one of the three strongest, the Worm Controller, whose real name was ke.


    Two bizarre green lights could be seen under his hood, looking coldly at Leon. Although no words came from him, an invisible pressure began to fill the air around Leon.


    Facing a guy with a Spirit stat of 19, Leon was obviously at aplete disadvantage. If they fought, Leon couldn¡¯t guarantee he would be able toplete a magical incantation under such powerful spiritual pressure.


    But when he remembered the fierce battle that happened yesterday, and the look of panic in ke¡¯s eyes as he ran for his life from the terrifying Lucy, the fear in Leon¡¯s mind immediately diminished.


    ¡¯You covered your head and ran like a rat to its hole, but I saw you flee before me. Maybe you haven¡¯t even fully healed from your wounds! Covering yourself so tightly with that hood, I guess you¡¯re just trying to hide all the scars on your body, right?¡¯


    Internally, Leon was giving himself a pep talk. Whenever he thought of ke¡¯s disfigured face hidden behind the hood, a sense of pride immediately surged in his mind, boosting his confidence and allowing him to return the Worm Controller¡¯s stare.


    The Worm Controller¡¯s gaze grew colder.


    Though no words were exchanged between them, both could clearly sense the slightest changes in the opponent¡¯s emotions. ke could even see the mocking smile hidden behind Leon¡¯s stern and feigned expression.


    In an instant, two flickering green mes red up under the shadow of ke¡¯s hood, and condensed spiritual energy began to surge violently around him, almost spilling into the surrounding area.


    But in the next second, Leon, who had been locking eyes with him, disappeared, reced by a charming face.


    Bleia stepped in front of Leon and relentlessly stared at ke. Her lips moved, but no words could be heard. Although there were a dozen meters between them, ke could still read her lips.


    "He is my man! If you dare touch him, I will kill you one by one!"


    It was a short speech but depicted her fierce and authoritative nature clearly.


    The Worm Controller¡¯s eyes grew even colder.


    Judging by all aspects, this Bleia, who had just reached the level of Advanced Apprentice, was no match for him. Most of her abilities were countered by his. But¡­ Apparently, ke wasn¡¯t in his best shape at the moment. To be frankly honest, hisbat strength was pathetic right now.


    He would need a few more days to replenish his dead scorpions. If he were forced to fight Bleia now, even if he could win, his vitality would be greatly reduced.


    However, the Worm Controller was a patient man who knew when to retreat. He shifted his eyes away, avoiding Bleia¡¯s challenging gaze, suppressed all thoughts of anger, and stayed silent.


    "You¡¯re a real troublemaker! How dare you offend the Worm Controller!" Satisfied that she had forced her opponent to retreat, Bleia turned to Leon and teased him in a tone of mock threat.


    Leon smiled wryly to himself.


    I was forced into this situation, okay?


    But faced with the domineering Bleia, he had no resentment orints. Because, between the two, he could feel an indescribable trust and¡­ Dependence.


    Dependence?


    Leon shook his head, once again feeling that his thoughts were absurd. Bleia depended on him? Probably because he had exhausted his Spirit during his alchemy experiment. That must be why he had such a ridiculous thought¡ªor was it?


    Obviously, the delicate interaction between the Worm Controller and Bleia attracted the attention of the other two Advanced Apprentices, as they continued ncing between Bleia and Leon.


    Like a mother cat trying to defend her territory, Bleia kept showing her fierce and dominant expression to these guys, giving them a look that said she would never yield to any threat.


    As the atmosphere in the hall grew tense due to the interaction between the Worm Controller and Bleia, a shadow was suddenly seen swaying at the top of the high tform. Soon, the thin form of Mage Eclivel emerged from the shadows.


    Holding his Magic Staff in hand, Mage Eclivel looked around the hall with his indifferent eyes. After a brief moment of silence, he finally spoke.


    "Today, I have both good and bad news for you!"


    Everyone in the hall immediately held their breath and focused on Eclivel.


    "The good news is that you will all receive a batch of resources, which will be the most generous gift you have ever received in your entire lives." Casting a wicked nce around the hall, he noted that these Apprentices remained focused on him, even though he had said something shocking.


    Eclivel nodded in satisfaction, then continued, "And the bad news is¡­ Each of you will have to take on a mandatory mission!"


    "Zap!"


    Mage Eclivel struck the floor with his staff, and a semi-transparent image was immediately projected at the top of the tform. Numerous green characters were seen flickering on the surface of this projection.


    ...


    "Investigate an abnormal creature in Red Forest Vige."


    "Acquire a Bellflower from the Tower."


    "Defend Fort Fir."


    "Guard Twilight Vale."


    "Eliminate an enemy in the Whispering Hunting Grounds."


    "Hunt and find a low-level Subus."


    "Investigate supernatural urrences in ck Crow Forest."


    ...


    Line by line, most of them were Apprentice-level missions within the territory controlled by Zhentarim.


    Originally, as Apprentices of the Swamp Tower, they were only required toplete the inspection mission of this resource site, which meant they were living a rtively isted life. But now, Mage Eclivel had opened up all the Apprentice-level missions from the entire Zhentarim territory to them¡­ Could this mean that significant changes awaited them?


    Some of the older Apprentices couldn¡¯t help it, and their eyes clouded over as they got lost in thought.


    ...


    1889 Words

 Chapter 33: About the missions

    After spending so many years facing life-and-death situations around the tower and dealing with others, most of these Apprentice Mages had long understood one thing: pies don¡¯t fall from the sky, and nothing is ever truly free. If something imed to be free, it was definitely a trap!


    As they looked at the green-colored missions in front of them, they sensed something suspicious.


    As expected, with a wave of Mage Eclivel¡¯s hand, most of the words colored in green instantly vanished, being reced by orange text, representing dangerous missions, and red text, representing extremely dangerous missions.


    "These green missions that you saw earlier are Apprentice missions you may take on in the future. But before that, each of you will have toplete a mandatory mission! You have three months toplete any one of these mandatory missions, and if you fail... Hehehe... You will be punished with the loss of your Apprentice status!"


    At this moment, the expressions of all the Apprentices changed.


    For the Apprentices who trusted in their own abilities, this was undoubtedly a great opportunity to earn Knowledge Points and resources. But for those weaker Apprentices, perhaps all that awaited them was death.


    Everyone quickly scanned through the list of mandatory missions. At the end of the list was the only green-colored mission.


    Swamp Tower Garrison: This mission required ten apprentices, one librarian, oneb administrator, one tutor for apprentices, and two tower inspectors...


    A glimmer of hope rekindled on the faces of the few new novice apprentices, who were the weakest of the entire group, and they quickly turned to their leader apprentice, Brandon, who coincidentally had a joyful expression on his face. Meanwhile, the four ¡¯good friends¡¯ surrounding Brandon had triumphant looks, holding their heads high.


    Leon¡¯s gaze briefly paused on that green-colored mission before moving on to thoroughly examine the list of mandatory missions.


    With his skills and qualifications, he knew it was impossible for him to be one of those ten lucky ones. Perhaps, after today¡¯s meeting ended, many Apprentices would immediately begin covert negotiations among themselves, and some might even meet with Leader Apprentice Brandon privately, submitting to him in exchange for ess to the safe mission.


    After all, out of the 57 official Apprentices present, there were 4 Advanced Apprentices, 21 Intermediate Apprentices, and 32 Novice Apprentices, including Leon.


    Looking at the list of mandatory missions, an orange mission could be dangerous even for an Advanced Apprentice. How difficult must the blood-red mission be? Perhaps only a Pseudo-Mage couldplete it safely!


    No wonder that, after all the Apprentices saw the list, the room immediately filled with somber expressions.


    "Hmph! I¡¯ll go to that Brandon and force him to give you a spot in that safe mission. If he refuses, I¡¯ll¡­" For some unknown reasons, Bleia became quite angry. Although she was baring her tiny canine teeth and had a fierce look on her face, her actions were cute to Leon, making him feel warm inside.


    Leon grabbed her arm.


    "No! You have to trust me. I can handle these orange missions!" At that exact moment, a firm and calm look could be seen in Leon¡¯s eyes.


    "Well, since you¡¯re so confident, then you should focus and choose a good mission!" Bleia was very good at changing the pace and continued, saying, "Oh, right, what do you think of my skin? Is it delicate and smooth? I can feel that my skin condition is getting better and better!"


    Seeing how Bleia gently licked her lips and showed an arrogant expression, Leon shuddered. He knew that Bleia was testing him, so he quickly released her arm and did his best to focus on the list in front of him.


    After all, being a man full of hormones, he could end up getting an erection.


    ...


    Clearing the Great Cemetery (3/10) Orange Mission


    Mission Details: Elite-Level Undead Creatures have been found in the Great Cemetery, located to the south of the Tiga region. Ten Apprentice Mages are needed. During the mission, Viscount Gary will send a squad of two hundred elite guards to assist with the clearing.


    Mission Rewards: 30 Knowledge Points, 3 Magic Crystals, 10 Merit Points from the Zhentarim Association.


    ...


    Abnormal Creature in the Lands of the Giant Willow (2/3) Orange Mission


    Mission Details: Traces of an abnormal creature have been found in the Land of the Giant Willow, located near the southern border of Talion Forest. Eleven local residents are missing. Three Apprentice Mages are urgently needed for an expedition deep into the mountain to find the source of this abnormal creature.


    Uponpletion of the mission, the local base of the Zhentarim Association will issue a certificate of missionpletion.


    Mission Rewards: 20 Knowledge Points, 1 Magic Crystal, 5 Merit Points from the Zhentarim Association.


    (If the Apprenticespleting this mission can resolve the source of the disaster, based on the evidence provided, the reward will be considerably increased.)


    ...


    Cliff Griffin Taming Mission (0/3) Red Mission


    Mission Details: The Cliff Griffin, located in Rahia. The expertise of three Apprentice Mages is urgently needed to assist Beast Master Hank in the capture of Griffins. The mission will be concluded upon the sessful taming of ten Griffins.


    The missionpletion certificate will be issued by Beast Master Hank of Rahia.


    Mission Rewards: 50 Knowledge Points, 10 Magic Crystals, 30 Merit Points from the Zhentarim Association.


    (Upon missionpletion, the Hamilton Company will provide a private reward.)


    ...


    Subterranean Cave Investigation Mission (4/10) Red Mission


    Mission Details: Traces of subterranean creatures have been found in the Subterranean Cave of Nigond. An investigation team of ten Apprentice Mages is urgently needed. The team will be required to venture at least sixteen kilometers underground, investigating the activity of living creatures in that area.


    The mission status will be determined by the Zhentarim Association base in Nigond.


    Mission Rewards: 70 Knowledge Points, 12 Magic Crystals, 50 Merit Points from the Zhentarim Association.


    (The Subterranean Cave is well known for being rich in ck Herbs, Poisonous Mushrooms, and Night Eye Stones. If any of these materials are collected during the mission, you may keep them.)


    ...


    ...


    Line by line, a list of missions urring in almost all dangerous regions controlled by the Zhentarim Association was presented to them.


    In the center of the Mage Continent, in order to protect the ecosystem that nurtured the demonic resources of their home ne, all Mage associations and alliances strictly prohibited high-ranking Mages from engaging in any development that would devastate the continent. Thus, humans only upied about 35% of thend, with the rest being boundless wilnds, devoid of human activity.


    Countless demons and strange creatures roamed freely in these ces.


    When confronted with some of the moremonly seen wild beasts or demons, the local inhabitants were capable of defending themselves or driving these creatures away by force. But when they encountered those terrifying demons, possessing frightening abilities... small viges being massacred overnight was not umon in this world...


    Thus, whenever something like this urred, to eliminate these terrifying demons that encroached on the human world, these local authorities would need the help of powerful and supernatural Mages.


    Naturally, these Mages would never travel such distances for these petty matters. Therefore, most of these supernatural forces were dealt with by Apprentice Mages. Through all sorts of missions, they obtained the resources they needed, training themselves while helping to maintain the safety of human society along the way.


    And that was how the Mages maintained this world.


    Leon carefully examined every message he found on the list of mandatory missions. At the same time, the chip, which Leon had ordered to deactivate its scanning capabilities, was sorting and summarizing each mission, quickly copying all the data into its memory.


    Among all these mandatory missions, Leon was only able to take on Orange missions. He would never dare touch the red missions.


    A legend at the top of the list stated that Orange missions were only suitable for Advanced Apprentices. Apprentices below that level would have to be prepared to face a certain degree of danger. As for red missions, they were prepared for Pseudo-Mages. Perhaps even an Advanced Apprentice would have slim chances of surviving those missions.


    But, obviously, this was a bizarre and fantastical world of Mages. There was enormous uncertainty in any of these missions¡­ Even those simple onesbeled as ¡¯safe.¡¯


    Take, for instance, investigation-type missions, the mostmon type on this list. Venturing deep into a dangerous area was extremely risky, yet these investigation missions in ¡¯safe¡¯ regions were also not ces where one could rx. The demons that typically appeared around mortal viges were low-risk creatures, such as Swamp Slimes, Gnomes, or Stirges.


    A Novice Apprentice could handle them with ease.


    But if luck was against them, they might have to face Wyverns, Stone Monsters, or Forest Spirits. All of these were extremely frightening creatures. Even an Advanced Apprentice would be in a life-threatening situation if they actually encountered these demons.


    Thus, choosing a mission was like gambling, as no one knew when bad luck would strike. Every year, 13% of Apprentice Mages died while trying toplete missions.


    After a quick selection process, the Chip chose an Orange mission that was a perfect match for Leon. It examined each mission and removed those with the most uncertain elements.


    ---


    **Training Apprentice Alchemist Mission from ge (1/3) Orange Mission**


    **Mission Details**: An Apprentice Alchemist from ge ispleting his training mission. He urgently needs three Apprentice Mages to apany him to the Treasure Pit.


    The mission will be consideredplete once the Apprentice Alchemist¡¯s training mission is finished. The missionpletion certificate will be issued by the Apprentice Alchemist.


    **Mission Rewards**: 20 Knowledge Points, 3 Magic Crystals, 1 Tranquility Potion, 1 Invisibility Potion.


    ---


    The difficulty of this mission was not high. The Treasure Pit was a training field that all Apprentice Alchemists had to visit. It was a ce filled with countless ¡¯trinkets¡¯ that had been casually ced by master Alchemists over thousands of years, waiting for neers to unearth them.


    Although they were just small trinkets, no matter what, they were created by master alchemists. Each one held great research value. Some might even find the legacy of a master alchemist in a random object.


    Therefore, this Treasure Pit was the traditional treasure-hunting site for all Apprentice Alchemists.


    But every Apprentice Alchemist could only enter that ce once. They could bring one item from the location but also had to leave an item behind. This was the true purpose of the Treasure Pit.


    There were all sorts of items created there, and most were quite dangerous. For example, if an Apprentice Alchemist wanted to bring out a created Golem, the only way to obtain it was by defeating it. Since most Apprentice Alchemists were quite weak at the elemental stage, the Alchemist Association allowed these Apprentices to hire three helpers.


    However, these three helpers were not allowed to take anything from that ce.


    It seemed like a rtively easy Orange mission, as long as that Apprentice Alchemist wasn¡¯t excessively greedy and didn¡¯t try to challenge one of those truly dangerous items, this mission could bepleted without much trouble.


    Additionally, the mission reward of 1 Tranquility Potion also attracted Leon. It could increase the Spirit of an Apprentice who had less than 10 Spirit by 1. It was considered a supreme treasure among all Beginner Apprentices! (This item could only be used once. Afterward, it would have no further effect!)


    After making his decision, Leon whispered it to Bleia, and she also felt it was the right choice after assessing the risks. As for Bleia herself, she simply chose the Red mission to investigate the Underground Cave.


    Relying on her Vampire traits of flying, fighting, and regenerating, she was confident that she could stay alive, even when confronted with some fairly dangerous demons. Thus, she purposely chose the mission where she had the highest chance of encountering many different species of demons.


    It was not hard to tell that Bleia was in a stage of exponential growth, and what she needed most was the blood of powerful creatures!


    ...


    2022 Words

 Chapter 34: Trap

    Now that he had decided on the mission he was undertaking, he needed to register quickly.


    After all, each mission noted how many apprentices had currently applied and how many total spots were avable for that mission. These numbers were listed in parentheses. Once a mission filled all its spots, it would disappear from the list. If he arrived toote, his preferred mission might slip away right before his eyes.


    After making the announcement, Mage Eclivel disappeared without saying another word. Naturally, all the clerical work was left to the Apprentice Leader, Brandon.


    As expected, Brandon immediately took the garrison mission for the Swamp Tower, which was also the only Green mission on the list. His ¡¯Followers¡¯ also joined that mission. Although the mission still had room for a few more apprentices, Brandon had already imed the dominant position, wearing a look that said whoever paid the highest price could get a spot in the mission.


    Feeling indignant but not daring to speak, some weak Novice Apprentices gathered around Brandon, lowered their voices, and tried to bargain with him. Some beauties even gave him appreciative nces, clinging tightly to Brandon¡¯s arms. However, most of the Novice Apprentices actually gathered around the three strongest apprentices, talking amongst themselves as if they were discussing something.


    Obviously, they couldn¡¯t decide what to do.


    Bleia grabbed Leon and approached the crowd surrounding Brandon. Raising their eyebrows, those softly speakingpanions immediately moved aside, revealing Brandon, who satfortably in the middle.


    Although Brandon maintained a distant look in front of these apprentices, when confronted by the three strongest and Bleia, he didn¡¯t dare to act tough.


    The three strongest were Advanced Apprentices, recognized by all apprentices. If a confrontation arose, Brandon, who was barely an Intermediate Apprentice even with the help of magical items, would never stand a chance against them.


    As for Bleia, Brandon was truly afraid of her.


    Even after bing the Apprentice Leader, whenever he recalled his previous encounter with Bleia, with her fierce, terrifying face and blood-sttered body, Brandon couldn¡¯t stop the shiver that ran down his spine.


    Moreover, after being taken by Mage Eclivel, Bleia was released safely. It was clear that she was being groomed by Mage Eclivel at the Tower. Without sufficient excuses and reasons, Brandon would never want to cross Bleia.


    Looking at Bleia, who now approached him, Brandon tried his best to maintain a calm appearance, but his pale face and wandering eyes betrayed what he truly felt. Faced with this terrifying vampire, he felt an intense fear in his heart!


    "I¡¯m applying for the Underground Cave investigation mission. Register me now!" Bleia never took him seriously and acted with a domineering attitude.


    Without a word, Brandon took the Apprentice Leader¡¯s magic talisman, infused it with his Spiritual Energy, and a small screen immediately lit up above it. The content disyed on the screen was the Underground Cave investigation mission that Bleia chose.


    Bleia took her magic talisman and pointed it at the screen. Immediately, the number of apprentices registered for the mission changed from (4/10) to (5/10). It seemed that four apprentices had registered for this mission before her.


    Now it was Leon¡¯s turn to register.


    "I would like to ept the ge¡¯s Alchemist Apprentice Mission!" Leon spoke in a calm voice.


    Brandon nced briefly at him, then silently adjusted the screen¡¯s content. With the screen¡¯s shift, the mission chosen by Leon appeared.


    Leon said nothing. Without hesitation, he took his magic talisman and pointed it at the screen. But something unexpected happened. Just as his magic talisman was about to touch the screen, the mission on the disy suddenly flickered in an odd way and reverted to the previous mission Bleia had chosen.


    Caught off guard, Leon¡¯s magic talisman touched the screen.


    The next second, the number of participants for the Underground Cave investigation mission changed from (5/10) to (6/10).


    This unprecedented urrence surprised everyone present, and even Brandon seemed puzzled by it. With an ironic smile, he said, "Aiyaya¡­ What¡¯s going on? It looks like the magic equipment malfunctioned! What should we do now¡­ Uh¡­ Would you like to see the Master Mage? Maybe he can cancel this mission for you?"


    While everyone was still in shock, Bleia erupted. "Brandon. I will kill you!"


    Without warning, Bleia¡¯s sharp nails began to shine as they shed through the air toward Brandon¡¯s heart with a discordant noise.


    "Buzz~~"


    It was a short distance, and given the huge gap in their Agility, Brandon might not have even realized he was being attacked until Bleia was crushing his heart in her hand.


    But when Bleia¡¯s deadly ws were halfway to Brandon¡¯s body, a huge, dark hand that gleamed like chain mail suddenly stretched out from the side, both hands colliding instantly.


    "POW~~"


    It seemed like the two hands had collided only once, but for some unknown reason, in an instant, the massive hand, resembling a monster¡¯s w, shattered. In fact, it was sliced into pieces by Bleia¡¯s sharp nails.


    Although it seemed like Bleia was at an advantage in that exchange, there were no pieces of flesh or blood from the shredded hand; the small fragments turned into countless ck scorpions, quickly clinging to Bleia¡¯s arm.


    Bleia stepped back and swiftly moved her arms, quickly killing all the scorpions that were trying to attack her. At this moment, Worm Controller, whose body waspletely covered by a cloak, was seen next to Brandon.


    The huge hand belonged to him.


    Buzzing as they flew, the swarm of scorpions soon returned to ke¡¯s sleeve like bees to their hive. In the next few seconds, peace returned to the area. A bizarre scene unfolded before them, showcasing Worm Controller¡¯s terrifying abilities.


    Leon¡¯s pale face gave onest nce at the screen, turned around, grabbed Bleia, who acted like an overprotective mother cat, and left quietly. Strangely, the aggressive Bleia did not act recklessly this time. That was because, with her keen senses, she noticed that the other two Advanced Mages had silently risen and were stealthily approaching the scene.


    No fool could be a Mage Apprentice, and those Advanced Apprentices were as cunning as foxes. Except for a few oddballs, most Advanced Apprentices knew how to restrain themselves to ensure their survival.


    Bleia, a girl who suddenly rose to Advanced Apprentice, clearly posed a serious threat to the position of the top three. Thus, intentionally or not, the three grouped together in an attempt to elbow Bleia out.


    ...


    Before parting at Leon¡¯s door, Bleia seemed like she intended to say some words offort but stopped when she saw his sad smile.


    Back in his room, Leon closed the wooden door softly and remained silent in the dark for a long time.


    He was clear about what happened today, and it wasn¡¯t entirely Bleia¡¯s fault. If he really thought about it, Leon was sure it must have been Worm Controller who ordered his mission to be switched to Bleia¡¯s. Whether it was because of the intruder incident yesterday or the top three trying to intimidate Bleia, in short, Brandon¡¯s little trick was likely authorized by Worm Controller.


    Conflict between the powerful brought disaster to the powerless!


    A situation like this was, indeed, the sad reality of the powerless.


    Leon had no intention of seeking the truth about today¡¯s misfortune, as he decided to work hard for his future.


    The red Underground Cave Investigation mission was a dangerous one. If he were a Pseudo-Mage, it would be a challenging mission. If he had the skills of an Advanced Apprentice, it could be fatal. But he was only a Novice Apprentice!


    Mixing with a group of Advanced Apprentices while being so weak... Although Bleia would definitely look out for him, he would still need some usable skills. Yes, perhaps Bleia appreciated his kindness during her hard times, but that wasn¡¯t enough for her to risk her life to save him.


    Considering everything he was about to face, what Leon really needed was a skill to protect himself.


    In the dark, Leon took out the newly created y Golem from his waist pouch. The thumb-sized core glowed faintly with the light of Earth Elementium. The four energy nodes carved into it could continuously absorb Earth Elementium from the world around it, converting it into usable energy and storing it for future use.


    Out of the four energy nodes, two were lit, indicating it was 2/4 charged with Earth Elementium, which should be enough to conduct some tests.


    Leon tilted his head to listen for any movement outside his room. Then he gently opened the door and snuck out.


    At that moment, most of the Apprentices were still gathered in the lecture hall, dealing with the frustration of the mandatory mission. Therefore, Leon did not encounter any Apprentices as he stepped out.


    ...


    Fifteen minutester, Leon was once again walking along the familiar rocky path outside the tower.


    The fierce battle among the Advanced Apprentices yesterday had clearly killed many of the demons in this swampynd. Along the way, when he saw the scattered demons, an unusual sense of pity actually arose in Leon¡¯s mind.


    Although these demons usually looked truly terrifying and evil, once confronted by Mage Apprentices stronger than them, they immediately became trembling cattle, unable to resist the oppressive forces of the Mages.


    Perhaps, in the eyes of these demons, these Mage Apprentices were the real monsters, even crueler than them!


    Quickly traveling along the rocky paths, Leon soon arrived at the testing ground he had chosen ¨C the Muddy Swamp.


    Sinbad was dead, having been transformed into the y Golem in his hand. Now, the Phantom Nannies had no leader, meaning it was the perfect time for him to train here.


    Standing firmly at the edge of the Muddy Swamp, five steps from the filthy, stinkingke, he could faintly sense the weak soul waves of three Phantom Nannies hidden beneath the muddy water.


    Leon casually threw the y Golem¡¯s summoning core to the edge of theke. When the light yellow core touched the mud, a faint vibration reverberated from it.


    "Tremor~~"


    Guided by Leon¡¯s Spiritual Energy, no activation spell was necessary, and arge amount of earthy yellow smoke began to form around the core. Driven by strange forces, the y on the ground started to twist, quickly shaping into a form that was roughly human.


    Leon closed his eyes and sensed the y Golem, quickly locating the core he had created in the chest of the y being.


    He opened his eyes and gave it an examining look.


    He was cing his trust in this y Golem to change his destiny!


    ...


    1776 Words

 Chapter 35: Golem Abilities

    The Golem in front of him weighed about 90 kilograms and was 1.7 meters tall.


    The yellow surface of its body was constructed from loose, damp y. It had four distinct limbs and a head, but all were very poorly made. Additionally, it did not have as many joints as a real human.


    Its legs were two thick columns of y that seemed to merge with the ground beneath its feet. Its arms appeared capable of moving in any direction, and on those arms were a pair of giant hands, which were likely capable of gripping things with force. It had no face, but there were some protrusions where a face would normally be.


    From a distance, this y Golem looked like a bald man wearing yellow leather armor. If a cloak were draped over its body, it could be used to deceive an enemy.


    Leonmanded the y Golem to approach and stand in front of him.


    This y Golem was indeed a creature made of earth, as it could move its heavy body over soft ground without making a single sound. Its movement was faster and lighter than that of a leopard, and no trace of its passage could be found on the ground. However, it left strong traces of Earth Elementium in its wake!


    When Sinbad¡¯s core was obtained, his soul was captured within it. As a direct result of being made from a high-quality demon core, this y Golem possessed intermediate intelligence, which was not as rigid as other Titans and Golems. Through the mental control runes he had carved into the core, Leon only needed to give amand, and it would do its best to fulfill the order without issue.


    Looking at the y Golem standing in front of him, Leon stretched his arm out and touched it. Its skin was rough and solid. Although it was built from soft y, it still had decent defense.


    He picked up a dagger and stabbed the y Golem¡¯s waist a few times.


    "Zap!"


    "Zap!"


    "Zap!"


    The dagger simply prated the skin and left a few marks, which soon disappeared as a faint yellow glow appeared around the mark while the Golem regenerated.


    Well, it had basic defense, was mostly immune to piercing damage, and could heal itself. In summary, the basic defense of a y Golem was equal to that of a human fighter wearing a full set of leather armor. Of course, it couldn¡¯tpare to a Stone or Iron Golem, and the only noteworthy feature was its self-healing ability.


    Leon walked in a circle around the y Golem. He thought the Golem¡¯s 1.7-meter height didn¡¯t make it look powerful enough.


    So, he tried to make the y Golem bigger.


    Following Leon¡¯smand, the silent y Golem began to grow taller andrger. However, the once solid y body became soft and light. When it finally reached a height of four meters, its entire body looked like a cluster of gray mist. The once solid y body had turned into a gaseous Earth Elementium body.


    What was wrong?


    Aftermunicating with the Chip, Leon finally understood. The demon core used to create this y Golem only had the ability of an Advanced Apprentice. Therefore, it could only control a total of ny kilograms of Earth Elementium. Once this weight was exceeded, it lost any substantial form it previously had.


    The 1.7-meter height was the most optimized size after extensive calctions performed by the Chip. At this size, the density of the Earth Elementium was at an optimal level, giving it maximum defensive capability. If he tried to make it taller, the total volume of Earth Elementium remained unchanged, causing the defense strength of the y Golem to drop significantly.


    Thus, although it looked taller, its density decreased. As a result, it would be difficult to protect the core hidden within its body.


    Sighing helplessly, Leon had no choice but to let the y Golem revert to its previous form.


    Next, he needed to test the few basic abilities that came with this y Golem.


    Although weakened, the Earthquake ability that came with this Golem was still an offensive skill.


    "Tremorr~~"


    When activated, the ground around trembled as the y Golem moved. Leon tested it, and the vibrations had a greater impact on smaller creatures, as they could barely remain still around the y Golem, let aloneunch attacks against it. It could also be used decently against medium-sized creatures. As forrger creatures, this ability was useless.


    The second offensive ability to test was Mud Clump.


    To test it, Leon made the y Golem lure three lurking Ghost Nannies from a nearbyke. As a result, the y Golem and the three Ghost Nannies engaged in a ¡¯great fight¡¯ on Leon¡¯s behalf.


    Strictly speaking,pared to a Ghost Nanny, which barely had decent offensive or defensive abilities, the y Golem, which was the equivalent of a pseudo-summoned demon, could easily suppress them in every aspect.


    No matter how these three Ghost Nannies continued scratching or biting its solid skin, all scratch marks would disappear in the blink of an eye. But when the y Golem attacked with its heavy fists, the Ghost Nannies would be knocked down, suffering greatly.


    Following Leon¡¯s orders, the y Golem grabbed a Ghost Nanny with one of its hands and squeezed until a cracking sound could be heard.


    "Crak~~"


    Then, it threw it far away.


    "Zosh~~"


    While the Ghost Nanny was still flying through the air, the y Golem grabbed at the air above its head, and immediately, a one-meter-long spear of hardened mud appeared in its hands.


    "Transformation~~"


    "Buzz~~"


    It threw the spear through the air, prating the weak body of the Ghost Nanny and pinning it to a Murderous Tree growing at the edge of theke. As a demon itself, the Ghost Nanny had strong vitality. Although its body had been pierced by the spear, it still struggled tirelessly, trying to break free.


    "Bang~~"


    A second spear was thrown, hitting the Ghost Nanny¡¯s head, leaving it hanging lifelessly on the Murderous Tree.


    At that moment, the remaining two Ghost Nannies clung to the y Golem¡¯s body like two mad dogs on a meaty bone. With both arms, the y Golem forcefully pulled them away from its body and threw them to the ground. As they struggled to get up, the y Golem raised both arms in the air. The next second, countless earth spikes emerged from the ground, turning them into two chicken skewers.


    "Xink~~"


    In a brief moment, all three Ghost Nannies were annihted, and the y Golem remained intact.


    Throughout the entire process, Leon remained an indifferent spectator, letting the Chip collect real-time battle data to devise a better-optimized strategy for using the y Golem inbat.


    Soon, detailed battle data of the y Golem was projected in Leon¡¯s mind.


    y Golem


    A simple life form named Pseudo-Summoned Combat Golem


    Overall Combat Strength: Advanced Apprentice (Low Level)


    Attributes: Strength: 12 | Agility: 4 | Constitution: 14 | Spirit: 7


    Innate Abilities: (Active)


    Earthquake (Weak)


    Area of Effect: 5 Meters


    Vibration Magnitude: Excellent against small creatures, moderate against medium-sized creatures, and ineffective againstrge creatures


    Cooldown: None


    ...


    Mud Clump (Single Target)


    Damage: 12 Physical Damage (Based on Strength), 7 Earth Damage (Based on Spirit)


    Range: 5 ¨C 80 Meters


    Cooldown: 3 Seconds


    ..


    Spikes (AOE)


    Damage: 7 Physical Damage and 5 Earth Damage


    Range: 10¡Á8 Meters


    ...


    Innate Abilities: (Passive)


    Earth is in the Air (Recovers 7% health per minute)


    Through these detailed data, Leon was able to better understand this y Golem he had created.


    Judging by this data, the y Golem was onlyparable to an Intermediate Apprentice. However, considering its self-healing andck of fear of death, it could unleash a basicbat strength simr to an Advanced Apprentice.


    ording to Leon¡¯s understanding, the damage that could be inflicted by a spell cast by an Advanced Apprentice Mage was around 20-30 points, varying ording to the caster¡¯s Spirit. As for an Advanced Apprentice¡¯s defensive spells, they had a defensive value of about 30-40 points, so two attacks from an opponent of a simr level would be enough to break a defensive spell.


    In this aspect, the offensive strength of a y Golem was rather weak. If confronted by an Advanced Apprentice, the y Golem would need offensive support from Leon. Only then would it have the chance to defeat the enemy. After all, Leon¡¯s Fire Arrow spell could deal 13-18 points of Fire damage and 6-7 points of Physical damage.


    If he and the y Golem worked together, they could break through an Advanced Apprentice¡¯s defenses in a single round of attacks.


    And once the enemy lost their magical defenses, unless they were a Body Refinement Mage, they would be like a meek sheep that Leon could easily kill, not even worth mentioning. So, as long as he didn¡¯t have to face someone like the worm controller or that scary little Loli, thebination of Leon and the y Golem was enough to threaten even an Advanced Apprentice.


    But, unfortunately, the mission for the Underground Cave Investigation exceeded the abilities of an Advanced Apprentice. Most likely, he would be working with a group of Pseudo-Mages, so, even with a y Golem now, Leon was still too weak.


    ording to the mission requirements, they had to depart in half a month to reach the mission location. So, Leon was left with fifteen days to prepare. Such a short period was clearly not enough for Leon to improve his magical abilities. Therefore, he had to continue exploring the potential offered by Golems to increase his strength while he still had the chance.


    Leon stood where he was, pondering what this meant for him. Finally, he looked far into another area of the swamp, which was obscured by a thick mist.


    He was looking at the habitat of the Giant Alligators, which he believed were also Earth demons.


    If he could kill the Giant Alligator King there, he would probably acquire another useful Earth Elementium core. As for a Water Elementium core, Leon simply couldn¡¯t think of a demon in this swampynd that met the requirements.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll spend the next few days fighting those giant alligators!"


    With a fierce look gleaming in his eyes, he spoke maliciously while gazing in the direction where those Giant Alligators lived.


    After that, he pointed at the y Golem, causing the human-sized Golem to copse. Freed from the constraints of the Earth Elementium, arge amount of y formed a pile where the Golem had stood.


    Leon grabbed the summoning core, rolled it in his palms, and examined it closely. Initially, there were two lit energy nodes, but now, one of them was slightly darkened. Based on this rate of consumption, with all four energy nodes lit, this y Golem could probably only fight in an intense battle for fifteen minutes. If it wasn¡¯t a fierce fight, it mightst longer.


    Since the energy stored in the y Golem wasn¡¯t suitable for hunting that Giant Alligator King today, Leon put away the summoning core. Then, using Burning Hand, he ignited all three destroyed Ghost Nanny bodies. He pulled up his hood and disappeared into the dark mist.


    ...


    1878 Words

 Chapter 36: blood bag

    Once Leon was gone, all that remained was a pile of earth and three charred bodies. At the top of a nted Killer Tree not far from the scene, a Scavenger Crow with blood-red eyes let out a soft caw and pped its wings, taking flight in the misty air.


    "Caw~~"


    But at that very moment, a smooth, snow-white arm suddenly extended, firmly grabbing the Scavenger Crow before it could get too far. Without allowing this foolish creature to struggle, the small hand casually clenched, and then one of the demons titled the ¡¯Swamp Butcher¡¯ was crushed into a mess of flesh, sending tiny sshes of blood in all directions.


    "Ssh~~"


    The curvaceous and alluring figure of Bleia appeared on the highest branch of the Killer Tree.


    She stood there gracefully, gazing in the direction Leon had left. A faint smile appeared on her face. Then, as suddenly as she had appeared, she vanished.


    Although Leon considered himself clever, he had underestimated how bizarre and unpredictable spells could be. There was no ce in this Magical Swamp where one could conceal their movements. The Scavenger Crows, found everywhere, were, in fact, spies of Fatal Shot, secretly watching the actions of every Apprentice for him.


    In the dead of night, when Apprentice Mages hid in their rooms, conducting all kinds of strange magical experiments, they would never suspect that, in the nighttime sky outside the Tower, a pair of blood-red eyes was spying on them.


    As for this flying spy, only those with keen and sensitive Spiritual Senses could detect its presence.


    Had this spy not been killed, Leon¡¯s trick would have been reported to Fatal Shot within half an hour. Therefore, although Fatal Shot had the weakestbat power among the Advanced Apprentices, his information-gathering abilities were, without a doubt, the highest.


    Thus, the only way any Apprentice could keep their secrets safe was to ensure that these ¡¯spies,¡¯ found everywhere, were removed from the equation.


    ...


    Leon had no idea what had just happened behind him. Although his Elementium vision had detected the Scavenger Crow, he hadn¡¯t thought to associate it with Fatal Shot.


    After sneaking back into his room, Leon couldn¡¯t help himself and started organizing his belongings.


    In addition to Sinbad¡¯s core, he had gained a few items from the events involving the battle with Loli the other day. Since he was hurrying to transform the best resource he had into his personal strength, Leon focused all his attention on Sinbad¡¯s core and hadn¡¯t had time to properly examine the other items!


    The core of Sinbad was the most valuable among them and had been transformed into the summoning core for the y Golem. Of all the eight premium-quality Blood Sacs he found, Bleia devoured seven, leaving him with only one. Such a delicacy could only be sustained by a Master Mage like Eclivel without considering it a waste.


    As everyone knew, aside from Body Refinement Mages and Bloodline Mages, most Mages had very weak bodies. Constantly dealing with Corrosive Elementium and spending long hours reading spellbooks and magical scrolls¡­ A lifestyle like that would only lead to a frail body. Thus, although most Mages weren¡¯t so fragile as to be blown over by a gust of wind, almost all had weak constitutions.


    If one focused too much on utilizing and strengthening their Spirit but neglected their body, they would often have a very frail physique and would be forced to take extreme measures, using tonics to strengthen their bodies.


    The Blood Sac, harvested from the root of the Rattan, was an excellent supplement to nourish blood and qi. However, if someone could find an Alchemist to help them create a ¡¯Bloody Banshee Potion,¡¯ it could increase a Mage¡¯s weak Physique by up to 2. Of course, this Potion only worked for those with 10 or fewer in Physique, and it only worked once.


    Obviously, Leon didn¡¯t have the resources or skills to get an Alchemist to make a Bloody Banshee Potion for him! So, although he knew that consuming it directly would waste most of its essence, Leon drank the Blood Sac.


    When the soft, gtinous Blood Sac burst in his mouth, a strong, bloody, and sweet taste exploded on his tongue. As the sticky essence of the blood began to flow down his throat and into his stomach, a warm sensation began to spread within Leon¡¯s body.


    "Beep!"


    "Unknown energy detected in Host¡¯s body, unable to predict what changes this energy may bring to Host¡¯s vitality."


    "Would the Host like to cleanse it?"


    "If no response is received from the Host, the cleansing procedure will begin automatically in 5 seconds..."


    ¡­


    "5... 4... 3..."


    "Cancel the cleansing procedure!"


    "Hostmand received, cleansing procedure terminated¡­ Would the Host like to monitor internal body data in real-time?"


    "Yes!"


    "Hostmand received. Initiating real-time monitoring of internal body data..."


    A series of indistinct beeps followed, and then his body data was projected in his mind.


    Name: Leon


    Race: Human


    Attributes: Strength: 4.03 | Agility: 4.07 | Physique: 3.05 (Changing) | Spirit: 8.20


    Alignment: Loyal-Neutral


    ss: Apprentice Mage


    HP: 11/12 (Changing)


    Experience: 650/1000


    Status: Healthy


    Skills: Scroll Copying | Spell Reading


    Personal Abilities: Burning Hand (Solidified) | Fire Arrow (Solidified)


    As he examined the information about his body, Leon discovered something unexpected. Beyond the Physique and Health Points, which were gradually increasing, it seemed that his experience had also gone up. If he remembered correctly, he had only around 530 experience points during hisst self-inspection, but now it had risen to 650. This... was a significant jump of over 100 points!


    Where did these pointse from?


    Ignoring the changes the Blood Sac was causing, Leon dedicated his full attention to reading the Chip¡¯s records. He quickly found a message he had previously missed.


    "The Host has sessfully created the first y Golem, earning 120 experience points."


    So they came from the creation of the Golem!


    It seemed he had found a suitable secondary ss, as it could provide an additional way to gain experience. In the past, he had always feared that learning a magical spell would consume a significant amount of his experience points. But with these supplemental experience points, the pressure of learning magical spells would be slightly reduced.


    Strictly speaking, Leon was only 15 years old now, which meant he had plenty of time before reaching his peak, leaving him ample room for self-improvement. This could be easily seen from the slowly but steadily growing attributes he had recently acquired.


    But, unfortunately, living in such a dark and oppressive environment had altered his character, inclining him slightly toward darkness. Utilitarianism and materialism were all that upied his mind. As for those seemingly beautiful emotions, likepassion and love, he had long since abandoned them for their uselessness.


    Before one could truly be powerful, they needed to be cautious and meticulous to guard against threats. But even with this mindset, he still couldn¡¯t escape the power struggles of those Advanced Apprentices...


    He had a favorable impression of Bleia, and from what he observed, Bleia seemed to think positively of him. Although she appeared a bit arrogant, she always tried to protect Leon.


    But with Leon¡¯s cautious and modest nature, he was obviously unwilling to ce his safety in someone else¡¯s hands. So, making full use of this period of security, he would dedicate all his efforts to growing as quickly as possible. This was his top priority. As for his future? Leon had no idea what the future held.


    He had no idea how he had arrived in this ce or why he was here, if there even was a reason. So far, all he had done was drift with the tide, avoiding getting entangled in any intrigues. His current status and identity limited his vision, making it difficult for him to perceive the true nature of this world.


    Perhaps leaving this ce wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing¡­ At the very least, he could truly experience this strange world!


    And perhaps he could discover which path he should follow in this life.


    While his mind was preupied with imagining his future, the blood essence from the Blood Sac finally merged with his body, tinting his pale skin with a red aura and filling his body with a strength that couldn¡¯t be exhausted.


    As he watched, the number representing his physique on the self-test report began to rise, eventually stopping at 4.37. Just as when the river rose, the boat floated higher, his digitized Health Points rose to 14.


    His Physique had changed from 3.05 to 4.37, an increase of 1.32 points. Although it wasn¡¯t the result that a Bloody Banshee Potion could bring, it still exceeded his expectations. Perhaps this was rted to his previously low physique.


    However, even though his Physique had increased to 4.37, it was still on par with other Apprentice Mages his age, and he still couldn¡¯t withstand a single blow from those Body Refinement Apprentices.


    As for the 14 Health Points, this was merely a digital model constructed by the Chip based on the characteristics of life forms in this magical world. It wasn¡¯t truly rted to reality. It was more of a representation of Leon¡¯s current vitality.


    Moreover, with Leon¡¯s frail physique, if he had no protection against an offensive magical spell, any spell that directly struck him would kill him on the spot. Therefore, in theing days, aside from relentlessly pursuing the potential of his Golem, he had to find a defensive spell.


    If he didn¡¯t, when he faced wars in the future, let alone participate in them, even the shockwaves caused by battles among those powerful warriors would kill him.


    After he finished with the Blood Sac, Leon resumed his inspection of the rest of his loot from the previous day.


    A broken piece of magical equipment, degraded to the point that no one could tell what it originally was; a fist-sized piece of metal ore shining in a strange blue; a peculiar white stone the size of an egg.


    That magical equipment was obviously a low-quality item, made from the mostmon material, Thorium. It likely belonged to an Apprentice Mage who had been devoured by those Phantom Nannies, and it was almost useless. Leon tossed it aside.


    The egg-sized white stone was indeed a valuable find. After several tests, he finally identified what it was.


    A giant lizard¡¯s egg!


    Giant Lizards were demons resembling a crocodile, like the one Sinbad had ridden. Their natural habitat included ces like smallkes or swampy areas, and they had the innate ability to petrify things with their Petrifying Ray skill. If it weren¡¯t for its short range, it would actually make a good contractualpanion.


    He sensed the egg¡¯s vitality, indicating that it was still alive. If he could trade it with other Apprentices, he should be able to get something useful in return.


    ...


    1819 Words

 Chapter 37: Little revenge

    As for thest item, which was a fist-sized ore, after a few seconds of analyzing it, Leon realized it was Magic Iron.


    With proper smelting, refining, and forging, weapons made from this ore would stand out from standard iron weapons, exhibiting improvements in sharpness or pration capability. Among mortals, this was an incredible treasure, but among Apprentice Mages, who possessed supernatural powers, it was just amon item.


    After briefly examining all the items, Leon picked up a magic book and began reading. In truth, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to immerse himself in the atmosphere of researching magical knowledge. But he needed to make use of every second he had.


    When his Spiritual Energy was full, he practiced magic spells. Although he could solidify useful spells with the Chip¡¯s help, he still needed to practice them. Additionally, he had the capacity to learn a skill. Whether it was ¡¯Spellcasting Mastery,¡¯ ¡¯Walking and Reciting,¡¯ or even ¡¯Wondrous Item Crafting,¡¯ all were excellent options for him.


    Only by purposefully strengthening a specific skill could he obtain abilities that wouldplement his current capabilities, allowing him to survive the next mission.


    ¡¯Spellcasting Mastery¡¯ was a skill that decreased the casting time of an Apprentice Mage. He only needed to recite up to 80% of a spell, then it would be cast automatically. Although it only reduced the casting time by 20%, it was a prerequisite skill for the ¡¯Quick Spell¡¯ ability.


    The value of the ¡¯Quick Spell¡¯ ability was immense for Elemental Mages. But it was beyond Leon¡¯s current skills.


    ¡¯Walking and Reciting¡¯ was the Apprentice-level skill that Leon most wanted. It allowed an Apprentice Mage to cast a spell while moving. Without it, whether it was an offensive or defensive skill, he could only cast them while stationary.


    Thus, this skill was mandatory for allbat Mages.


    ¡¯Wondrous Item Crafting¡¯ was a skill necessary for Apprentice Mages who wanted to create potions, artifacts, or magical equipment. Only by mastering this skill could someone further develop their abilities in crafting magical items.


    As for the process of acquiring these skills, most magic books did not mention it in detail. However, they all mentioned the term ¡¯Will of the Mage World.¡¯ Leon had always been skeptical of this.


    Regardless of the kind of knowledge or technique one knew, as long as they could practice it diligently, the body would remember it and it would eventually be second nature. But, depending on feedback from the ¡¯Will of the Mage World,¡¯ one could gain some mysterious skill without doing anything. It was like a pie falling from the sky andnding perfectly in someone¡¯s hands.


    Leon couldn¡¯t understand how this could work.


    Could this boundless world truly have its own will? Was there some supreme divinity dwelling in this world, paying attention to each individual living within its body, and when an individual did something it approved of, would it reward them at the right time?


    If this Will did indeed exist, what did it look like? And where was it hidden? Furthermore, what kind of power did it have that allowed it to ovee everything and control this universe?


    However, regarding this extremely mysterious and obscure testament, Leon couldn¡¯t guarantee that it didn¡¯t exist. After all, the Mage World, where he currently lived, was arge-scale ne surrounded by a vast magical ocean. With such an abundant amount of magical energy, it was not surprising to see all kinds of mystical events ur.


    So, before uncovering the forces behind this mystical world, he had to maintain a reverent and respectful attitude toward everything. And that was the right approach for an Apprentice Mage seeking knowledge and universal truths.


    Leon continued copying the knowledge from the book into his database until he was left with 1 Spirit point. Then he stopped ¡¯reading.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t use up all his Spirit because the Fire Arrow spell was in the process of optimization and would use 1 Spirit point every day.


    He looked out the window and saw the dark sky. He quickly realized it was already past midnight.


    Leon closed the book, exhausted, stood up, and stretched his body, making cracking sounds as he stretched. Then he went to his bed.


    But he still wasn¡¯t going to sleep because he hadn¡¯tpleted his daily meditation!


    Thus, within his quiet, silent room, his breathing slowly stabilized as his conscious soul plunged into the spiritual world, filled with glowing ¡¯points.¡¯


    This was one of the harsh realities an Apprentice Mage had to deal with.


    Every day, from the moment they opened their eyes, they had to face a full schedule. Even when they finally returned to their beds after beingpletely exhausted, what awaited them wasn¡¯t sweet dreams, but tedious meditation. And only by meditating daily could they increase their Spirit little by little.


    ...


    However, as the candles within the Tower went out one by one, eventually leaving the tower inplete darkness, except for the faint moonlight that could prate the mist and clouds above the tower, a strange figure suddenly appeared on one of the Tower¡¯s outer walls.


    On an almost perfectly perpendicr wall; countless hidden and mysterious magical formationsy in ce, yet none of them were obstacles, for it was still crawling around the tower faster than any ordinary person. From its movement, you could tell it had a target in mind. It continually passed by many open windows, never stopping even once, moving from shadow to shadow at an incredible speed.


    It wasn¡¯t a type of shadow creature that could leap freely between shadows, but its extremely high agility gave it fantastic mobility. For it, walking on the perpendicr wall of the tower was like walking on a t road, and it could do it all without making a sound. It was like an assassin thriving in the shadows.


    Finally, it found its target.


    With a leap, the figure quickly jumped from the outside of the narrow window, hiding its body in the shadow where no light could reach. It seemed to be listening to something.


    No sound could be heard from the room, except for a steady and long breath. Obviously, the Apprentice inside was in deep meditation. An Apprentice Mage in a meditative state was defenseless. As long as a thief, or someone of a simr profession, could sneak into their room, they would be able to easily kill a future ambitious Mage.


    But, clearly, the figure hanging outside the window was experienced, as it didn¡¯t impatiently jump through the window. It examined the window carefully.


    Calm! Silent! As still as death!


    Everything around seemed perfectly normal, but, for some unknown reason, a sense of apprehension grew within it.


    It didn¡¯t sense anything, but it had a premonition, from the depths of its strange bloodline, as if there was something truly dangerous waiting inside the window.


    Though it truly hated this damned bloodline, which made it partly human and partly inhuman, as a Vampire who had undergone the awakening of its bloodline, it had absolute confidence in anything that came from it.


    That bastard dared to go against it earlier that day, and now he was in deep meditation, seemingly defenseless. This Apprentice Mage was truly careless!


    Within the dark shadows below the window, parts of a bizarre smile could be seen in a pair of glowing eyes. Bleia gracefully waved her arm, tossing a round, fist-sized object through the narrow window, then she immediately transformed into a ck bat and merged into the dark night, pping her wings and flying away.


    Just as the round object crossed the window, a hidden magical formation on the inner side of the window was triggered.


    A blue ¡¯Stunning Thunder¡¯ instantly swept across the area the round object passed through. As it was electrical energy, even if she doubled her speed, Bleia wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge this trap.


    Not only that, in the darkness of the room, a pair of bizarre, colorful magical spells suddenly shot from an empty spot, instantly striking the round object that had safely passed through the Stunning Thunder trap.


    After all, the round object was just a hard shell made ofmon y. It stood no chance against so many magical spells and thus immediately shattered!


    The outer shell was broken, revealing the gtinous goo trapped inside. It was actually a living creature, and a human face could be seen on its pale green body, which seemed to be made of mud, human excrement, and foul water.


    "Oh crap, it¡¯s the Sludge!"


    "Damn, it¡¯s the Sludge¡­"


    "Everyone, run¡­"


    "..."


    As they were intelligent Apprentice Mages, they all recognized this ¡¯terrifying¡¯ demon, which was truly infamous within this Magic Swamp. Those who had experienced its terrifying ability would be overwhelmed with sorrow. On normal days, if someone encountered it in the Magic Swamp, they would definitely stay far away from it. This included even the three strongest.


    Because it was the filthiest demon living in the swamp: the Sludge.


    The Sludge was a super disgusting demon with a soft and flexible body. It looked like a strange organic object with soft, slimy tissue, messy teeth, and a pair of eyes. Its pale green body looked like a pile of mud, but it was actually more like a goo.


    Its offensive strength was so weak that it could be easily ignored. But it had a ¡¯terrifying¡¯ ability that brought pain to those who faced it: ¡¯Acid Vomit.¡¯


    This strange creature contained a certain amount of Elementium within its body, but it had been contaminated by a chaotic force. If any object or creature became stained by its vomit, they would suffer a bit from the corrosive acid¡­ But there was also its incredible and terrifying stench.


    This filthy smell could not be removed by any magical spell. Those who made physical contact with this ¡¯Acid Vomit¡¯ would have to endure it for ten to fourteen days! During this time, anything the person touched would also pick up the stench.


    Imagine this: if an Apprentice Mage who had touched this ¡¯Acid Vomit¡¯ tried to eat, even if it was the most delicious delicacy in the world, it would smell like sewage that had been soaking in filthy water for a thousand years. The torture, the ridicule from people who avoided them like the gue¡­ it would simply drive an Apprentice Mage mad.


    And now, the Sludge, which had previously been trapped in a hardened y shell, was broken open by the spells. Then, what followed was a very entertaining scene!


    When the pale green acidic liquid sshed across the room, sounds of vomiting immediately echoed.


    "Ble-¡­ Ugh¡­ Bleia¡­ I¡­ Urrgh¡­ Haven¡¯t finished with you¡­ rgh¡­"


    An extremely tragic and furious roar escaped from the mouth of Apprentice Leader Brandon. But before he could finish, his voice was drowned out by the loud sounds of vomiting.


    ...


    1814 Words

 Chapter 38: A stupid alligator

    The next day, Leon encountered two smelly Apprentice Mages.


    Clearly, they were two unlucky guys who had been attacked by the Sludge, which seemed to have hit them with both ¡¯Acid Vomit¡¯ and a ¡¯Shrink¡¯ curse, transforming them into their current forms. But before Leon could learn how it had happened, the two, upon noticing his presence, clenched their jaws and red at him.


    Faced with their furious res, althoughpletely confused as to why they were doing this, he quickly handed his list of items he wanted to exchange to Danny, turned, and left.


    Danny was considered one of the friendliest guys among all the Apprentice Mages in the tower, and he had established an underground market selling information on supply and demand. Leon hade to tell him he was selling a Giant Lizard egg and some Magical Iron Ore. If any Apprentice Mage was interested, they woulde to him for a trade.


    At the same time, he bought a few useful items from Danny at a high price.


    Compared to previous days, the Tower was quite lively today. Most of the Apprentice Mages had left their rooms, going out and conversing with their familiar ¡¯friends¡¯ about everything that had happened the day before. The mandatory mission that Mage Eclivel had set for them was like a bomb, bringing a massive storm into these Apprentices¡¯ once peaceful lives.


    All the Apprentices were forced to discontinue their research projects and pay attention to thetest developments, as their very status as ¡¯Apprentices¡¯ was at stake.


    After all, only a handful of Apprentices had immediately decided on their missions yesterday, and most of them were still hesitant. In fact, everyone could tell that these missions had been issued by the Zhentarim Association. This also meant they would have to form a temporary team with Apprentice Mages from across the Zhentarim region to fight together.


    This was a situation that had never happened before, so while the uniqueness of this event in their previously monotonous lives was refreshing, it also terrified and unsettled most of them.


    Walking slowly in the second-floor public hall, Leon passed by all these disturbed Apprentice Mages. When these Apprentice Mages saw him pass, they immediately fell silent, casting him a ¡¯not wee here¡¯ look. Even some of the ¡¯lone wolves,¡¯ who usually conversed with him, avoided him, their faces filled with mixed emotions.


    Leon was like a lone wolf who had just been rejected by the wolf pack, slowly wandering across the grasnds. Pulling his hood up and covering his head, Leon turned and left the hall.


    Only the three strongest could make everyone stay away from him. Brandon couldn¡¯t do that.


    Leon had no intention of finding out why the three strongest were being so hostile to him. In any case, it was probably because of Bleia. What he cared about most was how to improve himself in the shortest possible time, so he could survive the next mission.


    Taking advantage of the moment when no one was watching, Leon once again slipped out of the Mage Tower.


    Returning to the muddy swamp, Leon suddenly felt how deste this ce had be.


    Originally, no matter how deste this ce seemed, Leon could always sense a group of ghost nannies hiding around the muddyke shores, waiting for their prey. But now, after conducting numerous scans, he simply couldn¡¯t find the red dots representing the ghost nannies in his Elementium vision.


    In his line of sight, there were about four to fiverge, stinky ponds. ording to the habits of the Ghost Nannies, each pond should be inhabited by a group of them, at most thirty, at least seven.


    But now, after going through all those intense battles, thergest group of Ghost Nannies that had inhabited thergest pond had suffered greatly, causing the groups living near the borders to weaken, making their lives seem truly miserable.


    However, this was better for Leon, as it saved him some effort.


    Today, Leon had purposelye here to kill demons, so he really needed arge battlefield. If any ghost nannies from previous days remained, they would be killed by him today.


    After inspecting the area once more and checking all the surrounding areas (he had the Chip record the terrain data), only then did Leon take out the core of the y Golem.


    After more than ten hours of recovery, all four energy nodes on the summoning core were lit up, indicating they had been fully charged with Earth Elementium. The Golem was ready to disy its power!


    Leon tossed the summoning core onto the muddy shore of theke.


    "Boom~~"


    Just like before, when it touched the muddy shore, an enormous amount of yellow smoke instantly exploded. This wasn¡¯t real smoke, but rather dense Earth Elementium burning around the core.


    The Earth Elementium quickly gathered. Driven by invisible forces, the damp soil began to rise and twist, quickly forming a humanoid Golem about Leon¡¯s height.


    Too bad it wasn¡¯t a Stone or Iron Golem; otherwise, its defense would be strong enough that it might be able to fight head-to-head with the Giant Alligator King, Leon¡¯s target today. You get what you pay for! Indeed, the y Golem was cheap, but its defense was only on par with that of a human fighter in full leather armor.


    It could hardly withstand the sharp fangs and powerful tail of a giant alligator.


    But the Giant Alligator had a weakness, or else, with its formidable strengthparable to an Advanced Apprentice, it would only be a dream for Leon to battle it.


    ...


    In the early morning, the muddy swamp was still peaceful.


    Less than 800 meters from the stinkingkes where the Ghost Nannies lived, there was a vast area inhabited by Giant Alligators. Some terrifying giant alligators were just lying among grass bushes,zily sleeping.


    But as they enjoyed their quiet, leisurely lifestyle, a loud noise was heard, and a crooked figure was seen jumping into theke where they lived.


    Looking at its disheveled, moss-covered hair, pitch-ck filthy ws, and thin but vigorous body¡­ It was actually one of their neighbors, a Ghost Nanny.


    As a native creature of the Magic Swamp, all the strong demons had their own fixed territories, and the borders of these territories were distinct. No one was allowed to enter another¡¯s territory. But today, this smelly, filthy Ghost Nanny dared to invade the Giant Alligators¡¯ territory, and this made the Giant Alligators, who had just been rudely awakened from their sleep, extremely angry.


    Without making a sound, seven to eight giant alligators left the grassy bushes, sank into the water, and disappeared. The only signs of them were a few lines of fast-moving water heading toward the Ghost Nanny.


    Somehow, the Ghost Nanny had all her arms and legs broken by someone. So, even with a strong body, she simply couldn¡¯t do anything to save herself. Soon, arge, fierce mouth leapt from the water and bit down hard on the upper part of her body, dragging her under as it dove back into the water.


    More giant alligators arrived, causing water to ssh everywhere and mud to churn furiously. Once these alligators tasted blood, they entered a Berserk state and began to relentlessly tear the Ghost Nanny apart.


    A massive Giant Alligator appeared on theke shore.


    Unlike the other giant alligators, it didn¡¯t rush to devour the intruder who had invaded its territory. Instead, it raised its upper body, like a true king, and slowly surveyed the surroundings.


    These ghost nannies had their own leader, so it was impossible for them to invade another¡¯s territory without a reason. Could that Sinbad be trying to provoke a war between them?


    As a demon leader that had undergone a unique evolution, this Giant Alligator King obviously possessed some basic intelligence. Thus, it was able to rationally ponder a few simple issues.


    But as it was still wondering, another Ghost Nanny came flying through the air, drawing a strange arc as it fell into the depths of the swamp. After tearing an intruder to pieces, the alligators werepletely enraged, and the noise immediately attracted those Giant Alligators, causing them to swarm toward the new "arrival."


    Only the Giant Alligator King, standing firm on the shore, could see that this new Ghost Nanny had been thrown here by someone, and that "someone" was hiding behind a Killer Tree not far from theke.


    Without hesitation, the Giant Alligator King moved its short but powerful legs, beginning to waddle toward the Killer Tree. To avoid alerting the "enemy," it deliberately moved around theke, hiding in dense waist-high weeds as it stealthily approached its target.


    Obviously, it had a massive body, but it still attempted to sneak around like an assassin. Hidden behind another Killer Tree in the distance, Leon couldn¡¯t help but shake his head.


    Even though it had evolved and possessed some basic intelligence, it was still a mere demon. Compared to deep human intelligence, its limited mind was nothing more than a joke.


    Even with its stomach nearly touching the ground, the Giant Alligator King¡¯s enormous body still stood over two meters high. No matter how dense the weeds were, they barely covered its legs and stomach. Its gigantic body was fully covered in hard scales, and sharp spikes stood high on its back, easily visible from afar. In such a situation, it still thought it couldn¡¯t be seen.


    This situation was simplyughable.


    What was even more ridiculous was its enormous body, weighing over thirty tons, causing the ground to briefly tremble with every step it took. Yet, it still tried to sneak, as if it would reallyunch a stealth attack. It seemed to have no idea how much it shook the ground with each step it took.


    Having maneuvered smoothly past several obstacles, the Giant Alligator King finally spotted a suspicious figure behind the Killer Tree.


    It was a hateful human dressed in an Apprentice¡¯s robe. He also had a few immobilized ghost nannies beside him. Every so often, "he" would toss one into the distantke. Thanks to "him," the once peaceful and quiet swamp had be a lively, bloody battlefield, with the frightening sight of giant alligators ripping apart their prey everywhere.


    The Giant Alligator King red angrily at this wicked Apprentice, and to prevent the enemy from escaping, it patiently, slowly, but steadily advanced toward him.


    100 meters...


    70 meters...


    50 meters...


    20 meters...


    Today was its lucky day.


    It had almost reached the back of that vile Apprentice, and "he" still hadn¡¯t sensed anything unusualing from behind.


    While congratting itself on how well it had closed in on its target, the Giant Alligator King lowered its body, making the final preparations for a devastating attack.


    Time to die, human! I¡¯ll have Apprentice Mage for dinner!


    Moving explosively, the Giant Alligator King lunged at its target.


    ....


    1826 Words

 Chapter 39: Golem vs Alligator

    When the Giant Alligator King opened his mouth fully, it was even taller than an adult human. Terrifying-looking teeth were chaotically scattered across his upper and lower jaws, each resembling a sharp dagger.


    "Bite!"


    With its incredible biting force, this unprepared Apprentice might have been immediately torn in half.


    But something surprising happened. The human Apprentice turned, throwing the Ghost Nanny in his hand directly into the Giant Alligator King¡¯s mouth. Then, twisting and spinning in a strange way, he escaped the frightening bite of the Giant Alligator King at lightning speed.


    "St~~"


    The thin, resilient body of the Ghost Nanny was instantly torn in half, causing coagted, foul ck blood to ooze between its sharp teeth.


    The Giant Alligator King let out a disgusted roar.


    "Roarrrrrr~~~"


    Like a demon itself, it was never picky about food. However, it would definitely refuse these neighbors without hesitation. Even from a demon¡¯s perspective, these Ghost Nannies really stank. Only when food truly ran out would it consider eating one or two of these Ghost Nannies.


    The Giant Alligator King spat out the torn body from his mouth. The next second, he spotted a fleeing human figure. He could tell that this human Apprentice couldn¡¯t run very fast, as he was stumbling and tripping through puddles.


    With a gleeful roar, it moved its gigantic body and charged forward toward its target, like a small mountain.


    "Rushed footsteps~~"


    Due to the terrain in this area, the Giant Alligator King actually moved faster than that human Apprentice, quickly catching up from behind.


    Although he kept running, the bizarre human constantly dodged miraculously out of the path of its giant mouth. This made the Giant Alligator King even more furious, and it became increasingly reckless as this went on.


    Finally, in a sessful attempt, the Giant Alligator King crushed the human¡¯s arm with a fierce bite. But strangely, there was no taste of blood or flesh in its mouth. In fact, it seemed as if it had just bitten into a mouthful of y.


    Furthermore, after the Apprentice¡¯s cloak was torn away, it revealed that the being in front of it wasn¡¯t a human Apprentice at all but a strange humanoid y Creature.


    The Giant Alligator King immediately realized it had been tricked. Enraged, it pounced on the unlucky creature that had lured it here, preparing to tear it into a thousand pieces.


    Now that its true identity was exposed, the y Golem had no need to continue acting.


    Tearing off the troublesome cloak, the Golem was finally able to reveal its full power. It began to fight this clumsy Giant Alligator King in an orderly manner.


    After all, the Giant Alligator King was a water demon, which meant it could move like a fish in the swamp¡¯s muddy water. But when it came tond movement, its massive body was extremely clumsy.


    With its entire body covered in hard scales, it continued pushing forward like a frenzied war machine, sending grass flying everywhere, breaking trees, and leaving a deep trail in the ground.


    "Pow~~"


    "Crack~~"


    "Tremor~~"


    But its attacks were overly focused on its head and tail.


    Most of its offensive abilities could strike within a fan-shaped area around the front of its head. Within this area, its fierce bite could easily destroy an enemy. Furthermore, whenever it used its long tail to attack, it would shatter the enemy¡¯s bones.


    However, the region between its front and hind limbs was its offensive weak spot, as neither its head nor its tail could reach it. If an enemy hid within this area, it would have to slowly shift its massive body to position the enemy where it could strike.


    And this cursed Golem had clearly found its weakness, as it dashed straight into that area and continued attacking its body madly.


    "Bang~~"


    "Bang~~"


    "Bang~~"


    Using its heavy and powerful fists, the y Golem continued pounding on the hard scales that lined the Giant Alligator King¡¯s ribs.


    In addition to physical attacks, the y Golem also used Mud Spear to support its offense. But all of this was useless. With its body fully covered in thick, hard scales, the Giant Alligator King didn¡¯t even care about these ineffective blows. It simply kept twisting its body, tirelessly trying to shake off this unpleasant enemy that dared to fight so close to it.


    But the Golem kept close to the Giant Alligator King, ensuring it couldn¡¯t be struck.


    The thick, resilient scales served as a defensive mechanism for the Giant Alligator King, but they also limited its offensive reach to its mouth. The enemy was so close, yet it simply couldn¡¯t do anything.


    Although the Golem was dominating from a position of advantage, Leon, who was controlling it remotely from a distance, didn¡¯t feel pleased at all.


    This wouldn¡¯t work!


    Without prating the enemy¡¯s scales, there was no way the Golem could deal enough damage. If this continued, the battle would end in a stalemate, as neither side would be able to harm the other.


    The Giant Alligator King was blinded by its rage now, which was why it kept fighting the y Golem. Once it regained its senses and returned to the swamp water, there would be no way for the y Golem to fight it.


    Fortunately, before Leon came here, he had done aplete analysis of the Giant Alligator¡¯s strengths and weaknesses, so he had an idea of how to defeat it. After receiving hismand, the Golem stopped wasting its energy attacking the opponent¡¯s body with its fists and began releasing ¡¯Spikes¡¯ under the Giant Alligator King¡¯s body.


    Most parts of the Alligator King¡¯s body were covered with a thickyer of scales, which provided excellent protection against physical attacks. But there was one area these scales didn¡¯t cover: its abdomen.


    These spikes not only caused physical damage but also inflicted Earth Elementium damage. Since the Giant Alligator was an Earth Elementium demon, it had significant resistance to Earth Elementium damage, so it suffered no harm from this part of the spike attack.


    Nevertheless, the pure physical damage still caused the Giant Alligator King pain, making it continuously groan in agony.


    "Urrr~~"


    Throughout the entire Magic Swamp, no demon could pierce its thick scales and attack its weak spot, and this had made it the Lord of this vast swampynd. But today, this unpleasant Golem had truly upset this king.


    Only after feeling pain did the Giant Alligator King remember that it had a simr innate ability. So, with an enraged roar, a thick concentration of Earth Elementium immediately began to gather around its body.


    "Mire Mire Spell!"


    Leon clenched his fists tightly as he watched the Giant Alligator King¡¯s innate ability activate. When he confirmed that it was indeed the ¡¯Mire Spell,¡¯ he couldn¡¯t contain his excitement and let out a loud cheer.


    Excellent! The Giant Alligator King was as good as dead now!


    To be honest, if this Giant Alligator King had the innate ability to use offensive spells or those supplementary spells that could provide additional defense, Leon would have called back the y Golem and left immediately. But since it was only the Mire Spell, the sess rate for today¡¯s battle shot up to 70%.


    As expected, just as Leon was jumping with joy, a rather amusing scene unfolded on the battlefield.


    "Hahaha¡­"


    "What a stupid creature!" Leon thought.


    Less than 50 meters from the Giant Alligator King, the ground had turned into a thick, deep mire, acting like quicksand. If other creatures fought him, they might be caught off guard and trapped in the quicksand. It was a type of restriction spell that covered arge area. This,bined with his terrifying physical abilities, brought the Giant Alligator King to a dominant position in thisnd.


    Unfortunately for him, the y Golem was an Earth Elementium creature!


    While other creatures would be trapped by it, the Golem stood in this constantly shifting mire as if it were solid ground; nothing actually happened. It seemed as though the Golem¡¯s heavy, solid body had suddenly lost all its weight, as it moved easily through the quicksand, showing no signs of sinking.


    Thus, on this slowly shifting quicksand, an intense yet strange game of cat and mouse erupted between two Earth creatures.


    The y Golem gave up on attacking with Mud Spear, which hadn¡¯t caused any real damage, and continued releasing Spikes beneath its opponent¡¯s body. On average, it could cast this once every 11 seconds. After all, Spikes was an AoE spell.


    Although the y Golem couldn¡¯t see the exact weak spot on the Giant Alligator King¡¯s abdomen or gauge the attack¡¯s effectiveness, as long as the attack was focused under the Giant Alligator King, it would be enough to hurt it.


    After fifteen minutes of this intense battle, it was obvious the Giant Alligator King couldn¡¯t hold on much longer, as its movements became slower than before.


    Not only was it unable to strike the enemy, but it also continued to feel immense pain in its abdomen. This frustrating battle had left it furious. As a demon with basic intelligence, it realized that if things continued like this, it would indeed be killed by this creature.


    Thus, the Giant Alligator King decided to stop bothering with this Golem. It turned its body and started moving toward a distantke.


    However, this was within Leon¡¯s expectations. When it began to turn its body, it noticed another human blocking its retreat. Moreover, the human was holding a strange-looking object that resembled a spider.


    Relying on its keen sense of smell, the Giant Alligator King sensed real blood and flesh from this obstacle. Unable to contain its rage, it let out an enraged roar. "Roarrrr!" Before the true culprit behind today¡¯s sinister scheme, it lunged forward ferociously, nning to take down this enemy and return to its home territory.


    In the next moment, a white spider web covered its head, sticking to its short, thick front paws. At the same time, a zing fire arrow shot forth, quickly embedding itself in the upper part of its long, narrow snout.


    "Zoshh~~"


    This was where its head was located and also the area closest to its eyes.


    The Giant Alligator King closed its eyes, and ayer of small scales appeared on its eyelids. It felt a sharp pain on its forehead as a violent me erupted across its face.


    "BOOM~~"


    With its front paws tangled in spider webs and both eyes forced shut by the fire, it couldn¡¯t see anything and had to slow down. As a result, the y Golem, which was apanying it, began to increase the frequency of its attacks.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    To win this battle, Leon was almost broke.


    These one-time-use spider web items weren¡¯t cheap. Every time he used one, his heart bled. But to prevent the Giant Alligator King from escaping, he had no choice but to keep using them to restrain its legs.


    The Giant Alligator King had overwhelming strength. ording to Leon¡¯s preliminary estimate, it had at least 14 in Strength. With that incredible power, each spider web could only hold it for six to seven seconds.


    If it weren¡¯t for Leon continuously attacking its eyes with Fire Arrow, preventing it from finding its way back, it might have forcefully pushed through these obstacles and returned to itsir.


    Thus, with careful and precise nning, after nearly seven to eight minutes of relentless attacks, the abdomen of the Giant Alligator King was finally pierced by the y Golem¡¯s Spike spell.


    ...


    1925 Words

 Chapter 40: Merging golems

    The Giant Alligator King had died, and at the hands of two seemingly insignificant beings!


    Leon ordered the y Golem to explore the corpse of the Giant Alligator King so he could gather some important materials, including an Earth Elemental core the size of an egg. After that, before all the other giant alligators could bother them, they hurriedly left the area.


    After Leon disappeared at the end of the path, behind a Killing Tree less than 800 meters from the battlefield, Bleia was distractedly watching the giant alligators roaring furiously in the distance. Around her on the ground, fourteen broken bodies of Carnivorous Crowsy scattered.


    She had witnessed the entire course of Leon¡¯s battle now, and she was filled with mixed emotions.


    The Giant Alligator King was a terrifying demon that even she had not dared to provoke!


    Although the Giant Alligator King was considered to be on the same level as an Advanced Apprentice, this was not a good representation of his true fighting ability. With his high agility, even if the Giant Alligator King had a pair of wings, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to think of catching her.


    However, the thick and tough scales of the Giant Alligator King were also not something she could break through, as she was ¡¯weak.¡¯


    If they fought, the Giant Alligator King wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about her speed, and she couldn¡¯t do anything about his defense.


    Bleia was aware of the limitations of her abilities. While they were weak, she might be able to intimidate most of those Apprentice Mages. But after the inevitable improvement, her advantage was, in fact, diminishing.


    And now this seemingly insignificant ¡¯subordinate¡¯ Apprentice of hers had actually been able to use that strange y Golem to kill the Giant Alligator King.


    This¡­ This brought a great confusion to her!


    Turning her eyes back to those broken crow bodies, her eyes clouded, and her mind wandered.


    He was a ¡¯subordinate¡¯ that she had personally subjugated! Since when had he be the mainbat force, and she had be the ve responsible for clearing out the spies in the perimeter? A me of anger erupted in Bleia¡¯s mind, and a blood-red thread appeared in the middle of her green eyes.


    She was the boss, and he was just a weak subordinate. That rtionship could never be changed! It seemed it was time to teach this arrogant brat a lesson. Although he had treated her well in the past, she wouldn¡¯t allow him to take her to the top¡­ Yes, she would give him a lesson when she got back!


    Suppressing the growing anger and frustration in her mind, Bleia leaped into the air, transformed into a small bat, pping her wings as she flew toward the tower.


    When Bleia knocked on Leon¡¯s door, furious anger in her heart, she was surprised when the door opened to reveal Leon¡¯s dazzling smile.


    Pulling Bleia into his room, Leon presented his gift to her as if offering her a precious treasure.


    "Bleia, look at this! I know you like the blood of strong beings, right? Would this be useful for you?"


    Pungent, sticky blood was inside a small jar. With both hands, Leon extended it toward Bleia. His face shone with anticipation, his expression like that of a small child begging to be praised.


    "This¡­ What is this?" Bleia stammered.


    Somehow, even though she hade here to teach Leon a lesson, her anger instantly vanished, and she even stammered while speaking to him.


    "Don¡¯t ask. Just try it first and see if you like it! I collected many of them this time. If you like it, I¡¯ll go to theb to purify them and get rid of the pungent smell, and I¡¯m sure it will taste better!"


    Making a poker face, Bleia criticized him to cover her surprise at the situation.


    "Who would give such a gift? You didn¡¯t even wrap it properly. You just put it in a rough ceramic pot. At the very least, you should pour it into a crystal goblet! And how did you get this blood? Don¡¯t you know that the sweetest blood of a creature is the blood from the heart?


    For your sincerity, I¡¯ll forgive your rudeness this time. Remember! Next time, prepare your gift properly before presenting it to me!"


    "I understand¡­ I totally understand¡­ But¡­ Bleia! Look, it¡¯s going to take me a long time to prepare all this, and I think I don¡¯t have enough Knowledge Points at the moment¡­"


    Her beautiful green pupils constricted, and a dangerous glint shone in her eyes.


    "So¡­ are you trying to ask me for a loan?"


    "No¡­ Well, yes, but just temporarily. As soon as I sell all the items I¡¯ve listed, I¡¯ll pay you back." Leon couldn¡¯t help but smile awkwardly. The quality of the Earth Elemental core he harvested this time was better than the first, and thus he had more space to incorporate Magic Formations into it. So, he was worried about how to use it fully.


    He didn¡¯t have much time until they had to leave for the mission, but he still had some urgent matters that needed to be resolved.


    The newly harvested Earth Elemental core was definitely one of them.


    Leon hade up with a unique n for this new core. Since it was also an elemental core of earth, why couldn¡¯t he connect the energy of both the summoned y Golems? When separated, each Golem would work on its own, and when connected, they would share their energy. Wouldn¡¯t that be better?


    Thinking about this, Leon had the Chip perform some preliminary calctions. What he needed now was to learn about energy connections and soul synergy. Once he acquired that knowledge, he should be able to create this new Golem.


    Leon also needed to find a suitable defensive magic spell.


    At present, he had mastered two Fire magic spells: one used for closebat with minor defensive uses, and the other was a pure long-range offensive spell. Thus, he still had a significant weakness in dealing with his defense. If he didn¡¯t resolve this issue, he would likely die on the next mission.


    Using his insect fusion ability, Worm Controller was like an unbeatable cockroach, and he never feared enemy attacks.


    The Super Girl had an incredible physique, and her offensive strength was nearly invincible, so she never had to worry about her own safety.


    The abilities of Fatal Shot were unknown.


    Bleia possessed inhuman agility and the frightening ability to suck blood, which granted her powerful regeneration. Therefore, she was also as invincible as a cockroach.


    All these Advanced Apprentices had their ownplete and systematic paths of magic. It didn¡¯t matter if it was offensive or defensive; they possessed their unique skills and therefore differed greatly. But regardless of whom he had to face, Leon had no confidence in surviving their attacks.


    This was Leon¡¯s current weakness.


    Due to ack of knowledge and resources, Leon was considered an underdog, even among the Beginner Apprentices, and he had yet to decide on his development path. Thus, he had not developed a systematic way to cultivate his magical ability.


    Although he had wished to be a Principle Mage before this and had even learned some Deep Mage skills, the damn mandatory mission had interrupted his original development n.


    ording to his initial n, he was supposed to invest most of his resources in learning elemental knowledge and theories of Fire Elementium magic spells, trying his best to increase his Spirit so he could reach the same level as most of the other Apprentices his age, advancing to the Intermediate Apprentice grade. By his estimates, this process would take at least three months.


    But now, that mandatory red mission was pressing down on him like a nightmare. If he didn¡¯t have any appropriate countermeasures before starting, he might die in that terrifying Underground Cave. Because of this, Leon had no choice but to readjust the allocation of his resources, putting all of them into the Golems.


    As a direct result of this, Leon was nearly bankrupt!


    He didn¡¯t have enough Knowledge Points to rent the Alchemy Laboratory; he didn¡¯t have enough Knowledge Points to learn defensive spells; and he didn¡¯t have enough gold coins to buy suitable items for anything¡­


    Setting aside the gold, without enough Knowledge Points to support the creation of a new summoning core, Leon had no hope of surviving in that cave. If it weren¡¯t for this, he would never have swallowed his pride to try to obtain something from Bleia.


    Bleia looked directly at Leon¡¯s face with her dazzling eyes. Finally, she nodded without saying anything.


    After receiving an ¡¯investment¡¯ from Bleia, and unaware of the beating he had narrowly escaped, Leon rushed to the Alchemy Laboratory and, like a spendthrift, rented the high-quality Alchemy Station for seven hours.


    The Earth Elemental Core obtained from the Giant Alligator King was asrge as a pigeon¡¯s egg. ording to the Chip¡¯s designs, in addition to some basic magical control formations, he could add a few more energy nodes in the extra space. Thus, while the previous summoning core could only have four energy nodes, this one could have nine.


    More energy nodes meant a moreplex magical formation and countless modifications throughout the structure. So, from the moment Leon obtained the core, the Chip had been busy calcting and testing the design.


    When Leon finally prepared all the magical materials, the Chippleted the task.


    "Beep!"


    "Thetest structural design for the Golem summoning core has beenpleted."


    "Start data transfer?"


    "Transfer!"


    After the data transfer waspleted, Leon closed his eyes and saw the customized three-dimensional design of the magical formation.


    After these calctions, he needed to carve fifteen magical formations of all sizes onto the surface of the pigeon-sized summoning core. He also needed to connect them all together, forming them into arger and moreplex magical formation. A design task like this could only bepleted by the Chip in such a short time. For Leon, he could barely recognize any of the runic structures on it.


    After spending a few minutes trying to understand it, Leon stopped trying and turned his attention to the problems he would faceter during the carving process.


    With the help of the Chip, Leon was able topletely avoid the issue of insufficient knowledge and skill and was capable of breaking down the entireplex task of creation into numerous simple and straightforward operations.


    Through these small and trivial operations, Leon, who was just a novice in Alchemy, couldplete the intricate runic structures all at once, something that would typically only be possible in the hands of those Master Alchemists.


    Therefore, at this moment, what Leon was concerned about was not whether he waspetent enough toplete this project, but whether his Spirit was strong enough to withstand the enormous strain he was about to ce on it.


    But he had no alternatives.


    He had to build his army of Golems as quickly as possible to optimize his offensive capability. Then he had to find time to learn a suitable defensive magic spell to give himself both offensive and defensive advantages. And this was the key to his survival in the mandatory mission!


    Leon took a deep breath and once again stood before the Alchemy Station. He cleared his mind of any disturbing thoughts and focused entirely on creating the new summoning core.


    ...


    1921 Words

 Chapter 41: Pedro

    Several hourster, when Leon exuberantly ran back to his room, he found an Adept Apprentice waiting for him.


    To his surprise, after putting up the ¡¯item for sale¡¯ notice, the first person toe and see him was actually Pedro, the manager of the Magic Practice Room. Although Leon had barely had contact with anyone, he had heard that this Pedro had not managed to squeeze onto the list of ten men for the mission to guard the Swamp Tower.


    This also meant that Pedro, who was an Intermediate Apprentice, had to face the risks brought by the uing mandatory missions.


    "I heard you have a Giant Lizard egg in your possession?" Upon meeting Leon, Pedro didn¡¯t hide his purpose for being there. With the ticking of the clock, all beginner and intermediate Apprentices were gripped by a sense of urgency, seizing every second they had to strengthen themselves.


    As a result, items very useful for small-scale battles between Apprentices, like potions and scrolls, had skyrocketed in price. They were so expensive that even the wealthiest Apprentices felt a pang in their hearts when buying them.


    If it weren¡¯t for this, Leon wouldn¡¯t have nearly gone broke just for purchasing a few single-use spider webs.


    But this wasn¡¯t all bad either.


    From the ¡¯ck market¡¯ list provided by Danny, Leon saw many rare materials that he could hardly find under normal circumstances. These items were definitely the treasures of other Apprentices, many of which were set aside to be used when they advanced to the next level in the future.


    But what a pity¡­ Due to this mandatory mission, which was a life-or-death matter, they were forced to give up on their future, selling these treasures in exchange for items that would instantly boost theirbat abilities.


    Leon politely invited Pedro into his room.


    As Pedro stepped into the room, the strong smell of blood and the pungent scent of formalin filled his nose. ss jars of all sizes could be seen ced on a shelf in the corner of the room. They were filled with light green liquid, and all kinds of demon organs floated inside these jars. Hearts, stomach pouches, brains, eyeballs¡­ Many of them still had blood within and on them.


    Clearly, they were freshly harvested.


    A lively croak resounded in the air from Pedro¡¯spanion beast, the Poison Dart Frog, as it suddenly appeared on his shoulder, croaking restlessly at these materials. After Pedro finally calmed it down, it crawled next to his ear and began whispering something.


    "Looks like you¡¯ve got some new materials. Why don¡¯t you sell them to me?" Pedro quickly made a demand.


    "All these materials were harvested from the Giant Alligator King. I think there are people out there eager enough to improve their ability that they wouldn¡¯t mind imnting the Giant Alligator King¡¯s heart into their bodies. If you really want to buy it, you¡¯d better give me a good price!" Leon remained calm and reminded Pedro.


    In this unique period, anything that could enhance one¡¯s battle ability could no longer be traded at a reasonably normal price. As for the price hike, it was actually proportional to the quality of the item and also depended on the urgency of the individual who wanted to buy it. Therefore, faced with a desperately needed item, anyone would have to be prepared to go broke.


    "The Giant Alligator King? That¡¯s even better!" What Leon said made Pedro feel his heart burn with desire, but then he paused, puzzled. He looked at Leon, asking, "Were you able to kill the Giant Alligator King?"


    Leon shook his head briefly and pointed to the wall between his room and Bleia¡¯s.


    Pedro quickly realized what that meant and nodded, obviously believing that it was Bleia who had killed it.


    When a Beginner Apprentice tried to challenge the Giant Alligator King, it was no different from courting death. But if it was an Advanced Apprentice, who was also a Vampire, attempting it, it was a totally different story. Although it still seemed uncertain, it wasn¡¯t hard to ept.


    In the minutes that followed, the two Apprentices haggled intensely with each other. Although one was eager to buy and the other was impatiently trying to sell his items, neither was willing to give up their profit so easily.


    Finally, after two hours of intense negotiations, Leon sold all his organic materials in exchange for seventeen Knowledge Points, three Magic Crystals, a ¡¯Screaming Tree Gramal,¡¯ and a Weak Invisibility Potion.


    As for the scales, fangs, and ws of the Giant Alligator King, Pedro showed no interest in them. However, Leon considered selling them to some of the Apprentices who were preparing to follow the Body Refinement Adept path.


    If it weren¡¯t for the difficult times, Leon had actually nned to extract the Giant Alligator King¡¯s spine and tendons, as both were in high demand among Body Refinement Apprentices. But if he really ran back to the scene, the Giant Alligator King¡¯s corpse might already have been devoured by the other Giant Alligators.


    Pedro took a few trips to move all the materials, and as soon as he was done, Leon immediately rushed to the library with his newly obtained Knowledge Points.


    He was searching for a good Fire Element defensive spell.


    ...


    Infernal Force Field, a basic fire magic defensive spell capable of forming a high-temperature field around the body, scorching any enemy that entered the region and causing them to suffer rapid bodily dehydration. Effective Range: 10 meters. (Note: This is a prerequisite magic spell for Fire Ring, an advanced Fire Element defensive spell.)


    ...


    Fire Burst, a basic fire elemental defensive magic spell capable of cing Elementium orbs rotating around the body. Any enemy that touches the Elementium orbs will suffer a Fire Burst, dealing 3-5 Fire damage. Effective Range: 8 meters. Number of Elementium orbs: 17.


    ...


    Infernal Body, a fire elemental defensive magic spell capable of temporarily transforming part of the body into Elementium to avoid a lethal offensive attack. Significantly enhances Fire Elemental resistance for the caster. Effective Range: 0 meters. (Note: This is a prerequisite magic spell for Fire Elementium Body Modification.)


    ...


    Fire Shield, a basic Fire Element defensive magic spell capable of forming a small fire shield in front of the caster¡¯s body. It can block most long-range magical spells and melee attacks. Any enemy that attacks the shield will receive 1-2 points of fire damage. Effective Range: 3 meters. Defensive Strength: 35 points. (Note: This is a prerequisite magic spell for Infernal Shield.)


    ...


    Infernal Shield, an intermediate fire element defensive magic spell capable of forming three rotating fire shields around the caster¡¯s body. Before the shields are broken, they can block all long-range and melee attacks. Deals 3-5 Fire damage to melee attackers. Effective Range: 5 meters. Defensive Strength: 80 points. (Note: Requires Fire Shield as a prerequisite magic spell.)


    ...


    Fire Ring, an intermediate fire element defensive magic spell capable of using arge amount of Elementium to form a ring of fire around the caster¡¯s body. It inflicts 5-7 points of fire damage per second on any enemy that enters the ring. Effective Range: 15 meters. (Note: Requires Infernal Force Field as a prerequisite magic spell.)


    ...


    ...


    This dazzling array of Fire Element defensive spells presented a tough choice for Leon. Each of these magic spells had its own pros and cons, so to choose a suitable spell, he needed to carefully identify their differences and weigh them against each other.


    Furthermore, since most defensive magic spells came in sets, some intermediate and advanced defensive spells required a caster to master certain basic prerequisite spells. So, if he chose the wrong spell andter wished to learn other advanced spells, it would take more time and energy.


    Infernal Force Field and Fire Ring were part of sets, both being field control spells. They didn¡¯t provide substantial individual defense, so they couldn¡¯t block any long-range attacks. However, when faced with melee attacks, their field control was quite effective.


    Especially the intermediate spell, Fire Ring, which could deal 5 to 7 Fire damage every second¡ªagainst enemies who only possessed melee abilities, it was almost impossible to endure. Take Leon, for instance: he currently had only 14 Health Points. If he entered the Fire Ring, he might be burned to ash within three seconds.


    And what could he do in three seconds? If he hadn¡¯t solidified any magic spells, he might be killed by the fire damage before he even cast a spell.


    Imagine this: within a group of Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices, a Pseudo-Adept who had mastered Fire Ring suddenly appeared and cast the spell on these novices, subjecting them to intense pain. Not only that, he might not even need to attack personally, as the Fire damage alone would be enough to kill any novice without Fire elemental resistance.


    Whenever Leon pictured this breathtaking scene, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver with excitement. But when he remembered that Fire Ring couldn¡¯t prevent an enemy from attacking, his excitement quickly turned to dislike.


    On the other hand, Fire Shield and Infernal Shield were more discreet.


    Forming a dense shield of Fire Elementium and having it hover around the caster¡¯s body to block any potential direct spells and melee attacks¡ªand if an enemy dared to get close before the shield was fully broken, it could also inflict some Fire damage.


    In general, it didn¡¯t have any obvious offensive abilities, but it possessed excellent defensive qualities.


    So, as expected, Leon borrowed two spell books: Fire Shield and Infernal Shield.


    In this ce, it cost fifteen Knowledge Points to purchase the Fire Shield spell book, but only three Knowledge Points to borrow it once. Thus, most Apprentices preferred to borrow it a few times and take their time copying it rather than spending so many of their precious Knowledge Points on buying a book.


    It was time for the Chip to shine.


    Leon only needed to borrow the book once, and the Chip would be able to scan all its contents and store them in his mind. Then, he could take his time studying them, saving a huge amount of Knowledge Points that he could use to borrow more books.


    Moreover, he couldn¡¯t master a defensive magic spell just by reading. He still needed to do a lot of preliminary studies. Clenching his jaw and strengthening his resolve, Leon borrowed all the necessary books at once.


    ...


    ¡¯The Influences of Fire Element Density on the Effectiveness of a Magic Spell¡¯


    ¡¯Elementary Fire Control Techniques¡¯


    ¡¯Analysis on the Usage of Fire Shield¡¯


    ¡¯Characteristics of Fire Element Distribution¡¯


    ...


    ...


    Carrying a tall stack of borrowed books, Leon once again dashed back to his room. As he reached his door, he heard the neighboring door open and saw Bleia¡¯s cold, elegant face appear behind it.


    "Where¡¯s my gift?"


    "Uh¡­"


    Suddenly, Leon was at a loss for words, feeling like he was glued to the spot.


    Since he¡¯d been so focused on his summoning core, he hadpletely forgotten about Bleia!


    Seeing Bleia¡¯s darkening expression and realizing she was about to lose her temper, Leon quickly let out a loud plea.


    "One hour¡­ Just give me one more hour. The gift will be ready soon!"


    With that, he rushed into his room.


    ...


    1879 Words

 Chapter 42: Preparation

    After making sure Bleia was appeased, Leon was finally able to finish preparing for the uing mission.


    In order to better protect his life, Leon had nearly used up all his resources adding all kinds of items to his inventory, each capable of helping him handle different situations.


    The ¡¯Screaming Tree Branch¡¯ that he had received when trading with Pedro was one of them.


    The Screaming Tree Branch was a unique item produced by nature. If one cut a branch from it and tied it to their skin, it would let out a shrill scream when the holder was struck by a curse. The one Pedro traded with Leon could still be used three times, and was vital for the mission.


    Before leaving the Tower, he had to prepare quite a lot of simr items.


    Blood coagting medicinal paste, which made wounds heal more quickly; Purple Wistaria, which could reattach an amputated limb; basic antidotes formon poisons; Absinthe Powder, which could repel insects and snakes in the wild; a talisman that could detect spiritual creatures...


    Being away from the tower, besides forgetting all those strange and unpredictable demons, beasts, and monsters, the most troubling of all were other Apprentice Mages. who possessed all sorts of fanciful abilities. The more thoroughly he prepared, the more likely he could save his own life at a critical juncture. Therefore, during the preparation of these items, Leon tried his best to take into ount all possible situations so as to be ready for anything.


    Most importantly, as the mission was taking ce underground, Leon purposely studied the information rted to the Underground Cave. So he had gained a basic understanding of the location.


    To Leon¡¯s surprise, the underground of the Mage Maind was not entirely hard rock and soil, but included vastworks of underground caverns and karst caves, and twisting tunnels that connecting them together. In this underground world, one could find glowing rocks, crystals, and phosphorescent mosses, lichens and fungi. Compared to the world above, strange nts were verymon in this ce. Without using any magical methods, it would be impossible to identify which of them were poisonous and which were edible.


    However, these mutated nts and creatures weren¡¯t the most frightening things in this underground world, but the countless monstrous, evil, dark creatures and Fallen Mages who had separated themselves from the path of official Mages.


    Most of these Fallen Mages hadmitted serious crimes against the Mage Maind. In order to escape being hunted down by Mage Associations, they were forced to hide in the underground, choosing to live among all those ugly and twisted creatures. Some said that these Fallen Mages had actually built a small city for themselves. It was awless ce where evil ran rampant, a true city of crime.


    As the underground world had aplicated terrain and countless tunnels, although the major Mage Associations had organized numerous clean-up operations, never once had they been able topletely wipe out these dark Mages. Thus allowing these criminals to grow stronger. By now, this underground city of sin had several hundred official Mages, and were considered an abnormal branch of official Mages: the Fallen Mages.


    The Underground Cave, where Leon going to investigate, was just one of the entrances to the underground world, of which there were dozens. Although an Mage Tower had been built there, and was guarded by an official Mage, they still couldn¡¯t stop those Fallen Mages from trying to sneak through this cave with all kind of methods.


    With the abilities of Apprentice Mages, such as Leon, there was no way they could fight with those Fallen Mages. Thus, they were only required to investigate the distribution of demon creatures within ten miles of the surface. Also, they needed to report if they found any traces of Fallen Mages.


    The first mission was easy, but the second one would bring them great danger. If they actually ran into Fallen Mages during their investigation trip, even those Pseudo-Mages would find it hard to escape.


    Therefore, knowing he might face such a situation, Leon had to specifically prepare some unique items.


    Since the ce was filled with rough, twisting tunnels and caverns, any creature from the surface world would find it hard to see things in the dark. So, the first thing Leon had to solve was how to maintain his vision when traveling underground.


    In order to solve this problem, there were two solutions.


    The first solution was to purchase some crafted items which came with the effect of Low-light Vision. Of course, it would be better if it carried the function of Dark Vision. But taking his finances into consideration, Leon had no choice but to lower his expectations.


    Low-light Vision allowed the bearer to maintain normal vision in a dusky environment, and Dark Vision was an enhanced version of it, allowing the bearer to have a perfect vision, even in total darkness.


    The second solution was to imnt an ¡¯Eye of Void¡¯ or ¡¯Thousand Eyes Bug¡¯ in his body.


    Using some techniques from biological modification, recing one of his eye with an ¡¯Eye of Void¡¯, which was an eyeball modified with a magical spell. With that, he would possess the ability to see invisible objects and vision in total darkness. But as this method involved biological modification, the purity of his bloodline risk being contaminated.


    As for thetter, he had to swallow a ¡¯Thousand Eyes Bug¡¯. After that, the bug would live in his body, and apound eye would grow on his forehead. After the Thousand Eyes Bug integrated with a body, it would form a symbiotic rtion with the host and thus the host would gain its special vision: Infrared Senses.


    This parasitic method did bring an amazing effect, but, at the same time, it came with some irritating side effects. Every day, the host had to consume mothrvae, which was the favorite food of the Thousand Eyes Bug. Without it, from time to time, the parasite bug would feed on the host¡¯s blood essence and flesh. ording to the description in the book, thoservae looked nearly identical to silkworm in his past life, which made Leon nearly thrown up when reading about it.


    After taking all situations into consideration, Leon felt his priority would be on those supplementary crafted items. If he really couldn¡¯t find anything, then he would have to force himself to use the Thousand Eyes Bug.


    After taking care of his vision problem, Leon started to ponder about the issue of mobility.


    That ce was underground, fully surrounded by wet soil and hard rock. Any intense fights could cause a devastating copse. How was he going to rescue himself if he was trapped in a pocket cavern?


    Leon¡¯s mind was deeply troubled by this question. However, the Chip gave him the answer. The y Golem!


    Leon¡¯s elemental affinity was Fire Elementium, but the y Golems he owned now both had an affinity for Earth Elementium, and all Earth creatures were experts in traveling underground. With help from the y Golems, there shouldn¡¯t be any earthen ce that could trap Leon.


    But after all, this supposed to work theoretically. In order to get first-hand information, he had to test it out himself. Therefore, after meeting with Danny and telling him he was looking for a Low-light Vision talisman, Leon once again snuck out from the Tower.


    To be honest, after thepulsory mission was announced, most of the Apprentice Mages were busy preparing. Hence, the inspection mission of the tower had temporarily been halted. With that, Leon didn¡¯t have to worry that someone would disturb his practice.


    Following the familiar path that led to the outer perimeter of the swampy area, Leon found himself a t field, nning to practice the offensive model he envisioned. The reason he chose this pace was because Sinbad, the leader of Ghost Nannies, had been killed. Without their leader, and with all the recent deaths, no Ghost Nannies woulde and disturb him.


    He casually threw out the two y Golem summoning cores. When they touched the ground, two totally different looking y Golems immediately appeared in front of Leon. The core obtained from Sinbad summoned a human-shaped golem that was nearly two meters tall, and the newly crafted Giant Alligator King core actually brought forth an alligator shaped golem. Aside from being smaller than the real Giant Alligator King, they looked nearly identical.


    Leon narrowed his eyes and pondered on this for a brief moment.


    Both cores were extracted from demons heads, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that they contained part of the demon¡¯s soul. So, when the summoning core gathered Earth Elementium and formed a body, the conscious of the former demon, before they were killed, decided the final shape of their body after being crafted into a golem.


    Of course, as this body was formed with Earth Elementium, as long as Leon gave a precise order through the Mind Control Imprint System, the golems could still change into any shape Leon wanted, by adjusting their distribution of Earth Elementium. But this process would consume a certain amount of their energy reserve.


    Staring at his two subordinate golems, standing side by side in front of him, Leon couldn¡¯t control the excitement growing in his mind. Three days ago, he was still a lone wolf that no one seemed to care about, but now he hadpleted the first steps of building a loyal army of golems. Although the number of his subordinate was still small, he still took heart in his progress.


    The Chip had gathered statistics on this new golem, so Leon focused his attention on the data.


    As expected, as the Giant Alligator King was way stronger than Sinbad, as the attributes of the y Alligator Golem totally surpassed his first y Golem, excluding Agility. Also, all its fighting skills were perfectly matched with Leon¡¯s abilities. At a nce, it looked like it was perfect for melee battles.


    But Leon didn¡¯t bring them out to show off their muscles, as he wanted to practice the firstbat tactics he had envisioned in his mind.


    Taking a brief moment to calm his mind, Leon howled, giving a battlemand to both golems.


    "My golems! Use your braveness and fearless to open up the path to victory! Now, follow mymand! Combine!"


    ...


    1728 words

 Chapter 43: Carnage

    Following Leon¡¯s order, the humanoid y Golem trembled, like a statue that had its internal supports taken away, and copsed. At the same time, an earthy yellow dust exploded from the back of the y Alligator Golem, which quickly molded itself into the shape of the humanoid y Golem.


    Therefore, the previously separated humanoid y Golem and the alligator y Golem merged, transforming into a strange looking ¡¯Demon Alligator Hunter¡¯ form.


    From a far distance, they looked like a masculine hunter riding on a nearly three meter long demon alligator, holding a dirt spear in his hand. As the summoner of both golems, Leon was able to clearly see this newly formed golem. Actually, the hunter was not riding on top of the alligator, but its entire lower body had merged with the back of the alligator.


    A y Golem could never detach themselves from the ground, or else they would lose their endless supply of Earth Elementium. Now that they had merged, most of their abilities had beenbined. The dense Earth Elementium had formed ayer of sparkling and crystal-clear Earth armor on their body, showing some signs of being simr to stone armor.


    Demon Alligator Hunter!


    Through extensive calctions performed by the Chip, and the merging of magical formations, two y Golems, with nearly identical sources, had been merged together, giving birth to a brand new golem.


    Leon strode forward. Following his arrival, the Demon Alligator lowered its body, gently coiling its long tail around Leon¡¯s body and lifting him onto its back. The spikes on its back wriggled, transformed into the shape of a chair.


    cing his body firmly into the y chair, Leon lightly tapped his feet.


    "Let¡¯s go!"


    Following hismand, the Demon Alligator opened its mouth and let out a deep howl as it began to waddle its huge body toward the Ghost Nanny¡¯s nest in the distance.


    Actually, those Ghost Nannies resting in the muddy swamp not far away had noticed their presense. But after going through two devastating mass killings, they had be like birds which jumped at the mere twang of a bow-string ¨C badly frightened. Thus none of them dared toe out and look for trouble. However, having such arge Demon Alligator intrude into their territory and begin to wreak havoc to the muddy swamp they lived in, no matter how weak they were inparison, these Ghost Nannies had no choice but to force themselves to face this foul intruder.


    Sharp, shrill howls, like night owls call, started ringing through the air of the muddy swamp. Skinny, yet surprisingly strong, figures kept squeezing out from the muddy pond, one after another one, letting out sharp cries and crowding in from all directions.


    Their hair was dirty and disheveled; their bodies pale and wrinkled; their nails pitch-ck and razor-sharp... Like frightening ghosts, these demons charged toward the intruders while letting out terrifying howls. If an ordinary Apprentice Mage was here, perhaps he would have scurried away at this frightening scene, but Leon was just the opposite.


    Today, he was testing the strength of his newlybined Golems. How could he be scared at such a small scene?


    After ran his eyes over the swarm of Ghost Nannies storming in from all directions, Leon had a cruel smilee over his face as he stomped his feet.


    "Kill! Kill them all for me!"


    Upon receiving Leon¡¯smand, the seemingly stiff and dumb Demon Alligator Hunter suddenly ¡¯woke up¡¯. Although it didn¡¯t have clear facial features, a strange ¡¯roar¡¯ actually rang through the air, causing ripples to spread across the water.


    Biting with its mouth; ripping with it¡¯s sharp ws; swinging around its long and powerful tail, the Demon Alligator dashed into the swarm of Ghost Nannies whileunching frightening attacks. Though walking on the muddy, stinking water, its gigantic body moved like it was walking on t ground. Shock waves could be seen spreading out from underneath its body, causing any Ghost Nanny that came within 5 meters of Demon Alligator to tremble, barely able to stay on their feet.


    Any Ghost Nanny who fell into the sharp ws and gigantic mouth would be ripped into a bloody mess in an instant, staining the water with their stinking, ck blood. But even so, wave after wave of Ghost Nannies still broke through Demon Alligator¡¯s head and tail attack, sessfully squeezed themselves into both sides of its body, restlessly climbing up onto its back, trying to pull Leon and the ¡¯Hunter¡¯ into the muddy pond.


    Faced with few hundred ck, dirty hands clustered below its body, the Hunter showed no fear at all. Holding the spear in its hand, the Hunter kept piercing through the heads of Ghost Nannies. Since the Ghost Nanny was a demon and not an immortal creature, once their head was pierced through by the spear, they would die. Thus, ugly, twisted bodies of Ghost Nanny continuously fell off from Demon Alligator¡¯s back, sinking to the bottom of the muddy pond.


    When the fight became furious, the Hunter would wave its arms, unleashing countless Spikes in a 10 x 8 meter area, puncturing the bodies of Ghost Nanny on the ground.


    On his side, Leon pped his palms before separated them, shooting out two frightening mes. In an instant, the Ghost Nannies, who had nearly reached his pant legs, were drawn into the scorching me.


    Burned by the intense heat, the Ghost Nannies started screeching. For a moment, countless ming bodies rolled off the back of the Demon Alligator, struggling in the muddy pond while letting out miserably cries, turning the entire muddy swamp into a living hell.


    Moving forward while growling aggressively, the Demon Alligator ripped apart everything that got in its way. Located at the highest point of its back, the Hunter attacked anything that got too close, while asionally throwing its spear at a long range target. If there were too many enemies, it would unleash a Spike spell, causing Ghost Nannies to shed blood like fountains.


    Even though both Golems hadbined their strength, they were nowhere near as shy as Leon, who had transformed fire wielding maniac. He sat firmly on the rear end of Demon Alligator¡¯s back, both arms slightly stretched out, shooting two frightening mes out a few meters, causing any Ghost Nanny who got too close to be caught up in a terrifyingly hot inferno.


    Following the reckless charging of Demon Alligator in the Ghost Nanny army, Leon¡¯s frightening me had nearly set the entire muddy pond on fire. Moments ago, these Ghost Nannies were still leaping to them crazily, but they were now filled with great terror, each and every single one was screaming and swimming away from the battlefield.


    Within the zing, scorching hot muddy pond, the putrid smell of burnt flesh filled every inch of the air, making anyone who smelt it feel like throwing out. Leon had transformed into a frantic demon lord, controlling his frightening mes arbitrarily, killing every single enemy he could found on his way, totally had no idea that all the enemies around him had been turned into charcoal.


    When the zing mes formed by Burning Hand finally died down, Leon finally woke up from the satisfying ughter. After waking up, the first thing came to his attention was the pungent smell that filled his nose, which nearly made him suffocate.


    Stamping his right foot a few times and giving the golem a mentalmand, the Demon Alligator moved. Though it looked slow, it actually left the muddy pond at an incredible speed. When they finally left the pond, Leon looked over his shoulder, a miserable scene immediately revealed in front of his eyes, and he was filled with a great shock.


    Just a brief moment ago, when he was recklessly killing all those ¡¯weaklings¡¯, countless terrifying, horrible consciouses had swarmed into his mind, making him frantic and crazy. Although it had been satisfying, it went against the elementary Mage teachings, which said all Mage had to keep calm and rational at all times.


    "Chip, activate Elementium Vision!" As if Leon had sensed something, he gave out hismand with a soft voice.


    *Beep* "Elementium Vision activated."


    The multi-colored Elementium Vision projected into Leon¡¯s eyes. Looking around, he found the entire sky above the muddy swamp was full of broken souls, who were howling and groaning endlessly. No wonder his conscious had been upied by something else just now. It was all because of these broken souls!


    If he was an Apprentice Mage who had an affinity Darkness, he would definitely have been struck with a wild joy, skipping around as he gathered all these broken souls. For them, these high quality broken souls were the best materials for their experiments. But Leon was unable to do these things.


    Without protection from Dark Elementium, if he got too close to these broken souls, who mainlyprised of negative energy, his Spirit and body would suffer a certain degree of corrosion. If this situation persisted, his body would be skinny, as his blood and soul were slowly corrupted by the negative energy. Therefore, Leon always kept a safe distance from any souls.


    Just now, he was immersed in a satisfying emotion of ughter, forgetting his original purpose ining here. Now, thinking back, he started to ponder on thebat performance of his Demon Alligator Hunter.


    Overall, the Demon Alligator Hunter possessed the ability of an Advanced Apprentice, thus it had no problem suppressing an Intermediate Apprentice. Leon even had the confidence to fight the strongest three, but, of course, it was tough to tell if he could actually beat them in a fight.


    Among all the Advanced Apprentices Leon met before, perhaps only the frightening Loli, Lucy, would be able to suppress his Demon Alligator Hunter. As for the other Advanced Apprentices, he could only evaluate their abilities after fighting with them.


    Actually, the real weakness of this Demon Alligator Hunter was Leon.


    As the Demon Alligator Hunter was summoned by Leon, as long as the enemy took care of Leon, it would no longer be a threat. So, when a real fight erupted, perhaps most of the enemy¡¯s offensive attack would be aimed at Leon. If he couldn¡¯t withstand another Mage¡¯s massive firepower, no matter how tough was his Demon Alligator Hunter was, he would have no chance of winning a fight.


    Therefore, Leon had to find a way to solve this weakness, and this was also the second test would run today.


    "Demon Alligator Hunter! Dive down!"


    Following Leon¡¯smand, the small ¡¯throne¡¯ he was sitting on started to move forward. At the same time, the Hunter golem in front of him started to expand as Leon slowly merged with it.


    When Leon¡¯s body finally disappeared into golem¡¯s body, the Demon Alligator underneath let out a short growl, and an earthy yellow smoke started emitting from its body. In next moment, the entire Demon Alligator Hunter disappeared without a trace.


    As if suddenly he had sunk into a pitch ck abyss. Leon¡¯s breath suddenly stopped, being reced by the strong smell of dirt. All of his senses had vanished, but there was a massive external force pressing onto his body. The force was so strong, it nearly made all his bones start to crack.


    But following the dispersion of Earth Elementium around Demon Alligator Hunter¡¯s body, this external force started to subside, eventually disappearing.


    Although he couldn¡¯t see with his eyes, nor hear with his ears, Leon slowly sent forth his Spirit energy, using it as a recement for his eyes and ears, allowing him to sense everything around himself.


    He was traveling underground! Although he was not moving at an incredible speed, Leon still felt like he was riding on the clouds. It was like Demon Alligator Hunter was floating within a pool of sticky, heavy liquid, continually consuming the Earth Elementium energy stored within its body and breaking through the dirt around him, traveling by slipping through the earth.


    ...


    2003 Words

 Chapter 44: fire spear

    Leon was ¡¯swimming¡¯ three meters underground, like a fish in the water.


    His Spirit energy went through the dense fog of Earth Elementium surrounding him, showing him the surrounding earth. Twisting roots of old trees; coarse sand and rocks; wriggling insects; gophers hiding in their nests; rotten tree branches, and some other unidentifiable things...


    It was only a short journey, but it allowed Leon to glimpse apletely different world that had always been right under his feet. In this secret world, Leon was like an untouchable king overlooking his kingdom, not caring about anything. If he really wanted to do something, with just amand, Demon Alligator Hunter would be able to wreak havoc in this ce.


    Although he wished he could spend a little longer traveling underground, but after merely seven to eight minutes, he could no longer stand it anymore.


    It was not because he had depleted his Spirit, but because he was out of breath.


    As an Apprentice Mage who worked with supernatural forces every day, no matter if it was resistance or endurance, Leon¡¯s body was way stronger than an ordinary mortal. Any ordinary human would go into aa after holding his breath for a few minutes, but he was able to hold his breath for nearly eight minutes before needing to catch his breath.


    Following hismand, the Earth Elementium around the outside of the Demon Alligator Hunter¡¯s body started to vibrate, pushing away the thick and heavy soil above its head and slowly squeezing its way to the surface.


    The sudden arrival of the Demon Alligator Hunter had shocked the surrounding demons. Numerous sharp cries rung through the air, as curses poured onto them like rain.


    "Damn it! We surfaced in the nest of the Demon Babies!" Leon cursed, driving the Demon Alligator Hunter forward and breaking his way out of the swarm of Demon Babies.


    Although the Demon Babies¡¯ Curse spell was unpredictable and hard to defend against, they were just low-ranked demons. Faced with the Elementium formed Demon Alligator Hunter, the sess rate of their curses was not very high. Instead, two Demon Babies were killed by spears thrown by the Hunter, causing the rest of them to scurry away, hiding in nearby bushes and daring not to move the tiniest bit.


    At this moment, Leon had dimly tasted the mentality of Lucy and the other two Advanced Apprentices when they intruded into the Magical Swamp. Once a person possessed the abilities and resources of an Advanced Apprentice, ordinary low-ranked demons were no longer a threat to them. As they were only faced with a bunch of ¡¯ants¡¯ they could kill easily, no wonder that, even they knew this was a forbidden ce, they could still behave so recklessly.


    To be honest, if Mage Eclivel hadn¡¯t done anything, with just the Apprentice Mages and demons of the Magical Swamp alone, there was no way they could¡¯ve stopped the trio.


    As for Lucy¡¯s sad encounter, it waspletely by ident.


    Just because Lucy possessed an overpowered skill and a frightening ability, it had forced Worm controller to fight her with his life. Then she had chased Leon all over the swamp and suffered a great loss at the hands of Bleia.


    In the past, these hateful Demon Babies were a group of frightening and hard to deal monsters. If he had been surrounded by them, even with the protection of his magical talisman, he would have faced miserable consequences. But now, with the help of the Demon Alligator Hunter, Leon could actually kill them easily, and no longer feared them.


    Unknowingly, Leon¡¯s mentality had started to change.


    Use one¡¯s strength to bully the weak; the weak are easy prey to the strong; be pushy and overbearing... all these phrases sounded nasty to the ear, but, now that he was in the position of the strong, it was rather an enjoyable experience.


    Driving his Demon Alligator Hunter forward and rushing out from the Garden of Whispers, Leon came to the stony trail and jumped off his Golem. He dispersed the Earth Elementium and picked up the two summoning cores. He was quite close to the entrance of the Tower, thus, Leon decided to try to appear like his former weak self.


    Pulled his hood up and covering his face, Leon stealthily returned to the Tower.


    The experiment had been sessful, and Leon¡¯s confidence had grown. But, at the same time, it had exposed some problems, the most serious of which was how to handle long periods of time underground.


    Perhaps the Demon Alligator Hunter didn¡¯t need to breathe, but Leon did! Deep underground, protected by the Earth Elementium emitting from the Demon Alligator Hunter, Leon had been given the ability to travel through the Earth. However, there was no air underground. If he didn¡¯t solve this breathing problem, he would never be able to stay underground for more than 8 minutes.


    Hence, after returned to the Tower, for the next few days Leon spent most of his time running between different Apprentices, searching for a solution that would allow him to have dark vision and breath underground. When he had some spare time, he would sneak out from the Tower to hunt for suitable demons that he could use to craft new Golems.


    But too bad, up until thest day before he had to set off, he still couldn¡¯t find any suitable demons.


    After all, this Magical Swamp was just an extremelymon resource site of an Mage family. It was all ordinary demons and nts being raised and nted here, where they were all easy to maintain and harvest. Therefore, it was just a fancy dream to harvest arge quantity of demon cores from this ce. In fact, both Sinbad and the Giant Alligator King were rare advanced demons of the Magical Swamp, which only leveled up in the past hundred years. If not because of this, Leon would never have found any demon cores he could use.


    But though he didn¡¯t find any new demon cores, Leon still harvested a bunch of magical materials and ingredients for magical medicine. Using these materials, Leon was able to exchange for some rather useful items from other Apprentices.


    Out of these items, Leon was most satisfied with an exquisitely made Circlet of Nobility.


    Wearing the Circlet of Nobility on his head, the crystal clear diamond socked right in front of the circlet was pressed against Leon¡¯s forehead. Besides making him look a little regal, it also increased his Spirit by one.


    For an Advanced Apprentice, this circlet was unable to supplement their Spirit. But for Leon, who only possessed 8 Spirit, it brought him a rather significant improvement.


    Also, his dark vision problem had been solved.


    The solution? A pair of Gnome Goggles!


    ording to the exnation he had received from the Intermediate Apprentice who had sold this item to Leon, the goggles were a product from another ne. It was made frombining a ck leather belt with two transparent crystals. Wearing it, Leon had clear vision in low-light environments.


    Leon had the Chip run an analysis when he returned. This strange object was supposed to be a product of a mechanical civilization. The Chip couldn¡¯t sense any Elementium ripplesing from it, as if it was just an ordinary item used by mortals. It was made from a type of underground crystal and was polished using a special method. This allowed the wearer to pierce the veil of low-light environments.


    The Chip had also performed an analysis on theposition of the crystals. They were not a product that could be found in the World of Mages, and should be a unique material that only existed in the ne of that mechanical civilization.


    As a major scale ne, the World of Mages had conquered countless small and middle sized nes. These Gnome Goggles most likely came from a secondary ne that had been conquered.


    It wasmon knowledge in the Mage World that only those who were official Mages were qualified to travel between nes. Anyone below this level, even those Pseudo-Mages who possessed extraordinary talent, were not allowed to participate in the conquering war for other nes. Therefore, Leon could only let his mind run wild as he tried to imagine what this mechanical civilization was like. Meanwhile, he carefully ced this Gnome Goggle in his waist pouch.


    As for the problem of breathing underground, Leon had also solved it by employing a biological method.


    Within the Tower, some Apprentices were experts in biological modification. Using ¡¯Snake Vine¡¯ and ¡¯Purple Left Flower¡¯, together with ¡¯worm ointment¡¯, toad poop, and some other bizarre items, an Apprentice had produced a bulbous looking breathing organ. When Leon needed to travel underground, he just had to ce this biological apparatus into his mouth and he would gain the ability to breathe through his skin.


    As it was only a supplementary organ, and not a recement for his own organs, the risk of having his bloodline contaminated was non-existent.


    After solving all these problems, Leon could finally put his heart to rest. He spent all his day on either meditating or restlessly researching those magical books he had just copied.


    On the fifth day after signing up thepulsory mission, Leon finally received the message he had been waiting for from the Chip. The optimization of Fire Arrow spell had finally beenpleted!


    "Beep"


    "Optimization for the spiritual model of Fire Arrow has beenpleted."


    "Does the host wish to see the optimized content?"


    "Show me!" Leon yelled out in impatience.


    Following a long stream of data, the look of his long-ranged offensive spell, Fire Arrow, after extensive optimizations done by the Chip, was projected into Leon¡¯s mind.


    If the look of Fire Arrow before this was a magical arrow, it had now transformed into a ming spear. The seemingly tame me had formed into a zing spear. With a thought from Leon, it would shoot out with an incredible speed, dealing twice the damage the Fire Arrow had.


    While wearing the Circlet of Nobility, Leon had a total of 9.37 Spirit, giving him a little less than 94 Mage energy. As the ming Spear used 24 Mage Energy every time it was used, his Spirit would be depleted after using it four times. Thus, a skill like this would have to be reserved, only being used at the most critical moments.


    After all, with the offensive strength of the ming Spear, he could easily break apart an Intermediate Apprentice¡¯s magical defenses. Even if he had to face an Advanced Apprentice who had mastered defensive magic spells, the ming Spear would still be able to put a dent in it.


    To be honest, only now did Leon feel that he had finally mastered a good skill. With it, he felt a slight bit of confidence in surviving the mission he was going to undertake.


    Finally, after a nerve-wracking few days, it was time for the mission.


    ...


    1834 Words

 Chapter 45: Ship in the sky

    To Leon¡¯s surprise, it was not a long parade of coaches that came to pick them up, but a flying ship that descended from the sky.


    Of course, it was not the same as a ship that sailed on the ocean.


    It had a wide, t bottom and an exquisitely built and spacious three floor tower, but there wasn¡¯t any mast or sail to be seen. This meant it was not an air powered ship. When the hundred meter long, thirty meters wide ship came thundering down, all the Apprentice Mages waiting in front of the Tower were filled with fear, their breath catching at the sight of, seemingly, impending doom.


    Leon had no idea what any of the other Apprentices were feeling. Through his Elementium Vision, he saw the bottom of the ship had been carved with runes and strange magical formations, and a massive magical energy was flowing rapidly between these lines. From what he saw, the Elementium was no longer a singr and isted particle, but had been kneaded together by a mystical and majestic force, transforming into a mighty magical melody of energy that could no longer be differentiated into different elements.


    The reason why Leon paid so much attention to it was that this magical energy had mysterious and strange characteristics. As they came out of the runes, they showed no specific attributes, but when they passed through certain magical formations, they started showing signs of specific Elementium.


    For example, the billowing wall of air that was surrounding the flying ship had been shot out after the energy passed through a magical formation. Carried by this powerful wind, the flying ship could gracefully and firmlynd on therge empty area in front of the Mage Tower.


    Mage Eclivel, who rarely showed his face in public, was standing in front of the Tower. Wearing a resentful expression on his face, he was staring at the flying shipnding in front of him. When he saw a figure flying off from the flying ship, his expression became even more incensed.


    "It really is you. I was still wondering why we suddenly have to visit one more mission site, but now I understand. Now you can¡¯t hide from us anymore." It was a burly man who came flying from the ship. His defining features were a pair of thick eyebrows and the shining, luxurious, golden armor he was wearing. His bulky muscles were sorge they looked to be trying to burst from his armor.


    Waving the magical staff in his hand angrily, Mage Eclivel let out a raging roar.


    "You bunch of damn thieves! You bandits! I have emphasized it many times... this is my private territory and ce of residence, you have no right to turn it into a mission site... Regarding this, I¡¯ll keepining to the Zhentarim Association..."


    Disdainfully, the masculine guy saying,


    "What are you scared of? Afraid your petty tricks would be discovered by the association? Hahaha... don¡¯t forget, you¡¯ve just been stationed here and this piece ofnd is still owned by the Sarubo Family. Now that the head of the Sarubo family has agreed to open this ce up, can you stop him? Let me give you a friendly reminder, you better hurry up and clean up your mess. Don¡¯t let those inspection Mages find your dirty secrets!"


    After saying that, the masculine man turned around and swept his eyes over the Apprentices waiting in front of the Tower. An ¡¯as expected¡¯ expression appeared on his face.


    "So, this is the result of you garrisoning this ce for twenty years? Three half-Advanced Apprentices and not a single Pseudo-Mage! En, that little Vampire does seem to have potential, but why is her foundation so weak? I can smell that she is still limating to her bloodline!" With his sharp vision, the masculine man ran his eyes over the few Advanced Apprentices. Those who met his eyes would feel a prickling pain and quickly lower their gaze.


    The guy had briefly looked at Bleia, said a little, and moved on. He didn¡¯t even look at Fatal shot and went straight to Worm controller. The moment he saw Worm controller, a disgusted and disdaining expression covered his face. Only after he saw Super girl, a girl with a simr body structure to him, did his expression rx.


    As for all the other Intermediate and Beginner Apprentices, the guy simply turned a blind eye to them, not showing the slightest interest in checking on them.


    "Looks like the association should¡¯ve made this ce a mission site long ago. Look at you. After being stationed here for so long, and you were only able to cultivate three advanced Apprentices?"


    "Let me emphasize this one more time. This ce is my private territory. ording to the aLeonent signed between me and the head of Sarubo family, I..." The gloomy faced Mage Eclivel was still raging.


    "Haha... you better tell that to the association! My mission is to bring all the Apprentices of various mission sites to their respective destinations. I am not troubling with any other matters. Oh right, I heard you had taught a lesson to Deborah¡¯s apprentice a few days ago? That woman said she is not finished with you..." Delighting in Mage Eclivel¡¯s future misfortunes, the guy grinned evilly.


    "That crazy woman, Deborah? She dared to say that? Her apprentice intruded on my resource site and wreaked havoc. If not for Deborah¡¯s sake, I would have used that little wretch as an experimental specimen... I only gave her a petty punishment, and that crazy woman still wants to look for trouble..." As he mentioned this, Mage Eclivel¡¯s face filled with rage.


    "A petty punishment? I heard that you nted a Blood Worm in her body, and nearly sucked all that little girl¡¯s blood essence out? She is a valuable individual that possesses an innate talent for spatial magic, and also the only one who has been found in the past hundred years of the House of Fragrance. Why would Deborah not be angry with you? Also, they said you had given a good torture to the other two apprentices, which made their mentors very angry. In my opinion, you¡¯d better be very careful the next time you leave this swamp!"


    "You think I¡¯m afraid of them? If they are capable, let theme to this Magical Swamp! I, Eclivel, have never feared anybody!"


    The masculine guyughed, then ignored ¡¯tough guy¡¯ Eclivel and turned to face the awaiting apprentices.


    "This ship is going to Erathia, Bracada, and Dagon. Apprentices who are going to attend missions in these ces, board the ship now. If you miss this ship, you¡¯re going to travel by foot. For those apprentices who don¡¯t arrive at their respective mission site on time, the association will revoke their Apprentice status!"


    Leon was shocked, but he quickly calmed himself.


    The mission he ¡¯chose¡¯ was located in the Dagon region. It looked like he was among the first batch of apprentices to leave this Magical Swamp.


    After the masculine man waved his hand, a couple dozen apprentices started hurrying towards the flying ship, carrying simple luggage on their backs. Walking along a wood nk lowered from the ship, the group boarded this mystical vehicle in an orderly manner.


    The spacious deck of the ship was crowded with people. Judging from their dress, all of them were Apprentice Mages as well.


    Asteers, when the apprentices of Swampy Tower boarded the deck, they were weed with countless demeaning gazes and criticisms. Although none of them could hear what was said, but, just from their disdainful expressions and exaggerated tones, clearly they were not saying anything positive.


    Since all three destinations of this ship were advanced mission sites, the majority of the passengers were Intermediate and Advanced Apprentices. There were even a few Pseudo-Mages with extraordinary bearing hidden among them. On the flip side, most of the Swamp Tower apprentices who boarded the ship were Intermediate Apprentices, and only three of them were at the Advanced Apprentice level: Super girl, Worm controller, and Bleia.


    When Leon followed the group and boarded the ship, the crowd suddenly heated up.


    "What? A Beginner Apprentice is going to an advanced mission site? Is he looking to die?"


    "Yeah... I bet he must be an idiot that performed too many experiments on himself!"


    "Perhaps he will piss his pants when we arrive!"


    "..."


    Countless discussions were resounding across the deck. Anyone who saw Leon would have a disbelievable expressione over their face, as if they had suddenly discovered an underground dwarf in a kingdom of giants.


    Leon¡¯s expression went rigid for a second, but he had no choice but to lower his head and followed the group to a corner of the deck.


    Intentionally or unintentionally, even the apprentices of the Swamp Tower, including Super girl and few others, kept a distance from Leon. Bleia didn¡¯t move away, and she still stood firmly beside Leon, responding to those ill-intentioned gazes with her normal, overbearing manner.


    For some unknown reasons, Fatal shot actually chose an orange mission. Thus, he hadn¡¯t boarded this flying ship.


    As the crowd was measuring up the neers, the masculine man boarded the ship once again. Throwing a fierce gaze at all the Apprentice Mages, he saw Bleia and Leon being isted by the crowd, and his gaze paused.


    "Why is there a Beginner Apprentice here? Didn¡¯t those old men who released thepulsory missionbel them correctly?" Muttered to himself, then, with a serious expression, he continued speaking, "I don¡¯t care which institute or region you are from, as long as you are on this ship, you better behave for me. Arriving at your destination safely is the only request I have for you. If anyone dares to cause trouble on the ship, don¡¯t me me for being cruel!"


    As a powerful Body Refining Mage, when the masculine guy made no effort to hide his strength, a powerful aura came from his body, making all the Apprentice Mages tremble.


    "You live on the deck, and no one is allowed to step into the cabin. Anyone who disobeys the order will be thrown off the ship. You hear me?" Sweeping his fierce gaze around, when the masculine man saw the crowd remaining silent, like cicadas in cold weather, he felt satisfied. He retracted his aura and entered the cabin.


    Following this, loud yells from dozens of boatmen, who dressed like sailors, the flying ship trembled, and a loud buzzing noise came from the bottom of the ship. At the same time, a pressure started building on all the apprentices.


    The ship gradually ascended into the sky.


    Looking at the people on the ground getting smaller and smaller, Leon was struck with a brief thrill. He was finally going to the outside world.


    There was no hypocritical affection between Apprentice Mages, hence, Leon had no intention to wave goodbye from the side of the ship. But he saw a female apprentice of the Swamp Tower rushing alongside the ship, continually waving her hand at someone down below while crying.


    This made all the Apprentices on board look at her with disdain.


    ...


    1867 Words

 Chapter 46: Traveling

    The flying ship streaked through the air, leaving a cloud-like trail of Wind Elementium behind it.


    Anything on the ground, no matter if it was a human, a beast, or a tree, had be a tiny little ck dot. Even the magical swamp, which Leon had spent the past six years in, just looked like a filthy pond covered by a dense fog.


    After staying in the magical swamp for so long, Leon felt that the outside world was quite strange.


    After the ship ascended to cruising altitude, Leon walked over to the ship¡¯s side to have a good look at thend below. Asides from the magical swamp, Leon saw a few human viges and a small city.


    There were pale yellow wheat fields everywhere, each decorated here and there with thumb-size windmills. On the road, which stretched on and on like a silver belt, he could also see some ant-sized coaches.


    The flying ship was heading South.


    The further South they got, the greener the earth became, but human activities were still rare. Whenever they approached a human colony, Leon could always see vast, thick forests around it, and the lively activities of the wild beasts within them.


    This was the current situation on the Mage Maind.


    Every human colony was surrounded by a boundless virgin forest and savage woods. Countless wild beasts, demonic beasts, and demons were living within them. The human forces of the colony could deal with those ordinary wild and demonic beasts, but when they were forced to face those strange and unpredictable demons, they would have to rely on the help of more powerful forces.


    And these forces were, obviously, Mages.


    As powerful individuals possessing supernatural powers, Mages were the true masters of thisnd. Although they had ceased to be normal humans, most official Mages were willing to contribute part of their strength to allow ordinary humans to continue live and multiply in thisnd.


    Ordinary human society was like the sheep living in captivity, and the Mages were the shepherds who looking after these ranches, looking forward to new blood joining their ranks. In the eyes of ordinary humans, Apprentice Mages like Leon had powerful, mystical, and bizarre abilities, but in the eyes of official Mages, they were still just ants.


    As long as they hadn¡¯t crossed the threshold and be an official Mage, these apprentices were still creatures that couldn¡¯t be mentioned in the same breath with official Mage.


    As he saw the world unfolding in front of his eyes, his desire to be stronger rose in Leon¡¯s mind alongside a sense of urgency.


    Although he had poured forth a lot of effort recently, that was more because of habit and had been required for survival. But today the desire of bing stronger actually came from the bottom of his heart.


    This was a mysterious, profound, and strange world, totally different from the Earth, where he hade from. Back on Earth, the strength of an individual was insignificant, and one could only grow stronger by relying on the strength of the masses. But in this world, which had an ocean of magical energy, the strength of an individual had great meaning. Things that couldn¡¯t be achieved on Earth were possible here.


    For the first time, Leon couldn¡¯t restrain his desires. He wanted to stand at the pinnacle of this world with his own strength, so he could the real shape of the world. Perhaps this was the why the mighty Will of the Mage World had drawn him from Earth, a world where no magic existed, into this world of advanced magic.


    A bitter wind scraped it way up the side of the ship.


    Although the deck was protected by a Barrier, sparing these apprentices from the brunt of the gale-force winds, the temperature was still very low on deck.


    Leon only had a Physique of 5. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t withstand the changing temperature with his body alone, thus, he pulled his robe tight to keep warm. Bleia was still wearing her same iconic thin red chiffon dress, exposing arge amount of her fair skin, yet she didn¡¯t seem to feel the chilling breeze.


    With more than 10 Physique, an Apprentice Mage would never be affected by the temperature changes caused by the seasons. For Leon, it was a freezing wind, but for Bleia, it was just a rather cool breeze. When an Apprentice Mage had more than 15 Physique, those ordinary harsh environments would no longer be impossible ces to live.


    Beyond 20 Physique was a frightening level that only Body Refining Mages could attain. If someone really reached that level, he would be tough to kill even by being thrown into a pit ofva or an extremely cold abyss.


    Although much weaker than Body Refining Mages, Principle Mages would also gain some resistance to the elements when became official Mages.


    As it was his first time seeing it, the scenery outside of the ship was indeed breathtaking, and was too beautiful to be absorbed all at once. But after looking at it for quite some time, it became boring. Thus, Leonid out a cloth and invited Bleia to sit together with him, stealthily measuring the crowd with his eyes as he did so.


    He had a feeling when he boarded the ship that he was the only Beginner Apprentice on board. Now, through the passive probing with his Elementium Vision, he was able to get a clearer understanding of the situation.


    Striking red glows, which represented danger, were spread out amongst the crowd. There were even a few people who glowed purple, which meant extreme danger.


    The Chip quickly presented the actual statistics of the crowd to Leon.


    There were a total of 317 Apprentice Mages on board. 11 Pseudo-Mages, 92 Advanced Apprentices, and the rest were Intermediate Apprentices. Leon was excluded from the statistics.


    Those Pseudo-Mages were the big shots among the poption of Apprentices. Each of them was surrounded by arge group of opportunists. But, the rtionship between these Pseudo-Mages was cold and detached, as if there was a clear distinction between them, and no one wanted tomunicate with the other.


    Actually, this was understandable.


    At their current level, as long as they could break through the frightening barrier, they would be able to have a meteoric rise, bing supreme existences that stood out from the crowd. At that point in time, these opportunists surrounding them would be disgusting flies, which they would never take seriously.


    They were not willing to spend time in making friendly contacts with other Pseudo-Mages at the same level. After all, there was a huge risk they had to face during the ceremony of bing an official Mage. If the Pseudo-Mage they had established a friendly rtionship failed in breaking through the barrier, then the previous investment of affection would be wasted. At that point in time, one person was an official Mage, while the other was still an apprentice, and so they wouldn¡¯t be able tomunicate as peers.


    As for a true rtionship, they could totally have it after both became official Mages. Presumably, no newly promoted Mage would reject a friendly rtionship with same level Mages!


    Therefore, influenced by such proud and aloof, yet narcissistic mentalities, all eleven Pseudo-Mages had divided into their own factions, each showing no intention ofmunicating with others. The livelymunication between Advanced Apprentices was in sharp contrast with the Pseudo-Mages.


    Across various groups of all sizes, Advanced Apprentices were the group had the liveliest and most frequentmunication. While the Intermediate Apprentices, who was also thergest group, kept silent or simply agreed with what other people said. They were like green nts that ented the beauty of red roses, insignificant and unworthy of being mentioned.


    By contrast, Bleia, who quietly sitting beside Leon had be the perfect target for a friendly rtionship. Even a few male Pseudo-Mages were peeking at her.


    A female Advanced Apprentice who excelled in both appearance and body shape, even though she always wore a cold and aloof expression, she still attracted frequent nces from many male Apprentices.


    "Don¡¯t you want to make a few friends?" Trying hard to hold his smile, Leon continued whispering, "I can tell many of them really wish to get to know you!"


    Bleia opened her green eyes and swept across the crowd. She chuckled disdainfully, then said, "Too bad, I have no interest in their filthy blood. If they bother me, I¡¯ll let them know how the Bloody Queen handles annoyances!"


    "Bloody Queen? Is this a nickname you came up with yourself?" Leon chuckled, "That¡¯s rather appropriate. I wonder when I will have the honor of experiencing it?"


    "You?" Bleia coolly gazed at Leon¡¯s face with her beautiful eyes, saying, "You¡¯ll have to work really hard for that!"


    After that, she stretched her curvy body,id on her side, and ced her head on Leon¡¯sp, started her daily meditation.


    Leon sighed softly.


    After hearing her words, he realized that had definitelye from Bleia¡¯s heart.


    From the day they stepped onto the path of bing Mages, strength became the only measurement of status. When looking for a lover, even if Bleia had a favorable impression of Leon, the huge difference between their strengths had be a gap, and Bleia didn¡¯t want a ¡¯partner¡¯ who was too weak.


    Leon had a feeling that, if he had pushed for it, Bleia wouldn¡¯t mind ying with him in bed. But if she was truly looking for a partner to spend the rest of her life with, Leon was only a weakling in her eyes, and would never be a candidate in his current state.


    This cold reality watered down the joy of having a beauty sleeping on hisp. Leon shook his head and smiled wryly. Then he took a book out from his luggage and started to read.


    But as he read, he thought. ¡¯Well, when I rape her, it won¡¯t matter!¡¯


    In the current situation, where everyone was talking, meditating was rather rude. Therefore, Bleia had used meditation to iste herself from the crowd, avoiding the trouble that came from rejecting their invitations. It was actually a rather brilliant method, but now Leon had be her temporary guardian, and had to endure hostile nces from the crowd.


    Worm controller had sat down cross-legged near Leon and Bleia. His face was covered with a hood, making sure that nobody could see his current expression.


    No matter what, there was no serious resentment between him and Leon. He set the trap for Leon out of a dispute caused by personal feelings. If not because he had promised Brandon, the new Apprentice leader, that he would protect his safety, Brandon would never have had the guts to provoke Bleia.


    Regarding how he felt about setting this trap, perhaps Worm controller had no feelings at all.


    In his mind, Leon was just a roadside ant that he could kill at anytime. Not worth his time remembering. Perhaps, when he returned to the Swamp Tower after finishing hispulsory mission, the person with the name ¡¯Leon¡¯ would have long since vanished, never to be seen again.


    Therefore, For Worm controller, Leon had never been his enemy. Only Bleia was qualified to be his enemy.


    ...


    1870 Words

 Chapter 47: Continuing the journey

    Life on the flying ship was monotonous and boring.


    Though there was magnificent scenery underneath, it eventually got boring, causing some to even turn a blind eye to it.


    As the deck was packed with over three hundred apprentices, it was not afortable ce to stay. But fortunately, around noon the next day, the flying ship had arrived at the first mission site, in the Erathia region.


    It was a stronghold built in the middle of the mountains, fully surrounded by dangerous high peaks that stretched far into the sky. Clouds were floating within deep valleys, making sure no one could peak through them and get a glimpse at the ground below. The flying ship docked at a massive thirty-meter-tall tower in the center of a stronghold.


    The entire tower was built with huge logs, all of each were at least half a meter thick. Although it looked rough and simple, it had a touch of solidarity that would give one the feeling that nothing could destroy it.


    The flying ship didn¡¯tnd on the ground, but hovered on the side of the tower. A wood nk was ced between the ship and the tower, allowing apprentices to leave the ship. Wind Elementium was swirling around the flying ship violently, creating a small windstorm. Therefore, all apprentices who needed to disembark here would have to withstand the strong wind as they walked along the trembling wood nk before arrived at the top of the tower. As the result, when each and every single apprentice walked on the wood nk, their heart was trembling just like the wooden nk.


    Lying on the side of the ship, Leon nced down beneath the flying ship. He saw numerous hardworking figures within the stronghold.


    No matter whether it was the masculine guy carrying huge wooden logs and walked through the empty field, or the guards who had bows and arrows on their back and spear in hand as they patrolled the top of the outer wall, the majority of them were not human. Some had the heads of lions, some had the heads of tigers, and others the heads of wolves. They were not human.


    Humans only ounted for a small portion of the poption of this ce, and most of them were supervisors.


    Looking at these weak human supervisors, a few of whom were waving their whips and yelling at a ferocious looking ¡¯beast man¡¯, who was farrger than them, Leon couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with their courage. Judging from the muscles of these beast-men, perhaps even without using any weapon they could easily squeeze and crush these supervisors¡¯ head with a single hand! However, these supervisors showed no signs of fear, instead, they held their heads high, yelling and scolding these beast men as if they were lowly ants.


    Also, from time to time, people wearing the gray robe of Apprentice Mages would appear around the stronghold. Their status was clearly higher than the human supervisors. Wherever they went, those human supervisors would bow to them act in a ttering manner, while the masculine, tall beast men would have frightened expressions appear on their faces as they clumsily bowed to the Apprentice Mages.


    Most likely these beast men were ves brought from some secondary nes which had been conquered by Mages! No wonder they were acting so tame!


    Leon suddenly realized something.


    Although these beast-men had great physical strength and constitution, and tall, muscr bodies, they didn¡¯t possess any supernatural powers. So, they didn¡¯t have any way of countering apprentice Mages who had mastered mystical forces. Perhaps, even a beginner apprentice could kill dozens of beast men without too much trouble. That¡¯s was probably the reason why they were so respectful to apprentice Mages.


    Actually, this ce was considering a small mission site, and only around twenty to thirty apprentices left the ship. Most of them were intermediate apprentices, and two were advanced apprentices. No Pseudo-Mages left the ship.


    Soon, under the submissive yet numbed nces of countless beast men, the flying ship once again ascended into the sky, flying along the steep and rough mountains as it continued heading South.


    ...


    After passing countless mountains and rivers and a vast virgin forest that stretched tens of thousand miles, the flying ship finally arrived at another human colony. The slope of the terrain gracefully ttened out, andrge scale of human activities could be found around the ce. But too bad, as most of the mission sites picked by Zhentarim Association were at the borders of the colony, the ship never went too deep into the heart of the Erathia region. Instead, it turned its nose, started to fly along the edge of the colony.


    Over the next two days, the ship visited five mission sites. Nearly half of the apprentices had left the ship by this point. The third day after Leon boarded the ship, it adjusted its course to South West and left the Erathia region, quickly approaching the Bracada region.


    Compared to the warm sunny days in Erathia, Bracada was simply a world covered by freezing snow.


    As the flying ship entered the region, the greenery started to diminish, being quickly reced by a boundlessnd of white snow.


    Pure white snowkes were swirling in the air as the temperature started to drop significantly.


    Some apprentices with high Physique still had their shirt loosened, happily exposed their ripped muscles. On the flipside, those with low Physiques had pulled their robes tight, using all kind of methods to keep warm.


    As Leon only had a Physique of 5, he hadn¡¯t reached the level where he could ignore this extreme cold. Hence, he summoned Fire Elementium and had it hover around his body, warming him up.


    But fortunately, the flying ship never visited the deepest area of this realm of ice and snow, but kept flying along it¡¯s edge. It visited three snowy remote towns along its way, and, by the end, had dropped off most of the apprentices.


    As the flying ship turned its nose and adjusted its course to fly East, there were less than fifty apprentices left on the deck. Five Pseudo-Mages, twenty-seven advanced apprentices, thirteen intermediate apprentices, and the one and only beginner apprentice, Leon.


    After spending a couple of days on the ship, with regards to the world outside the Magical Swamp, Leon was no longer as ignorant as before.


    The world Leon was currently living in was an Mage World named ¡¯Lethon¡¯.


    Throughout the entire multiverse, the ne of Lethon was a rather rare major scale ne. It was a ne with a single political system, led by Mages, which made it a pure Mage world. Their enemies were other major scales nes. For example, the ne of the Gods, which was guarded by deities; the ne of the Dragon, which was protected by Divine Dragons; The ne of the Gnomes, which was a highly advanced mechanical civilization; The Dark ne, which was filled with foul demons and evil spirits...


    All major scale ne had mature civilizations. The Mage World of Lethon had established aplete framework for Mage development, with it, batch after batch of qualified and powerful Mages were cultivated. Afterwards, they used these new Mages to expand their territory, invading intermediate and small-scale nes.


    In order to seize the resources and intellectual property of different nes, there would be violent conflicts and wars between all major nes. Therefore, if one wanted to describe it, the Mage World was a powerful and aggressive civilization that loved engaging in wars.


    This was the current state of the Mage World¡¯s foreign ¡¯policies¡¯. Internally, there wasn¡¯t a single n powerful enough to unify all the Mages. Thus, ording to territories and regions, many ns of Mage had formed. Among them, four of them held the most dominate positions.


    The Northern Witches upied the northern region of the Mage Maind, controlling and that covered more than six million square kilometers, which was then divided into dozens of human kingdoms of all sizes. The rulers and nobles of these kingdoms were ordinary humans, but they all recognized the Northern Witches as the guardians of their kingdoms.


    In fact, whenever a mighty female Fourth Grade Mage came into power amongst the Northern Witches, she would call upon a group of followers and venture out into the vast wilderness, zing her way through all manners of obstacles and established a great kingdom that would only belong to her.


    Relying on the constantly emerging, powerful female Mages, the Northern Witches were constantly fighting for living space in this savage world. Whenever a new kingdom was born, and a magnificent Mage Tower was built, it also meant that another Female Mage has risen to power.


    The Northern Witches were experts in Curses and Prophesy, thus they were all Principle Mages.


    The South West side of the Mage Maind was mainly the territory of the Silver Alliance.


    Strictly speaking, it was the haven for Profound Mages.


    The Silver Alliance was made from a group of Profound Mages who were notable for always wearing silver robes. Using alchemical knowledge and resources gathered from countless nes, they constructed a magnificent and majestic floating city in the sky and countless fortresses which they used to invade new nes.


    In brief, most of the crafted weapons used by the Mage World when invading new nes were supplied by the Silver Alliance. They were like a group of crazy, yet amazing, engineers, machinists, and alchemists. Using massive amounts of resources and tremendous knowledge, they invented all sorts of creatively crafted machines, providing the Mage World with powerful devices.


    The eastern region of the Mage Maind was the territory of the United Mage Association. Nearly all kinds of Mages could be found in this association. By utilizing a systematic cultivation road map, and a shareable knowledge system, it had attracted many Mages who possessed powerful abilities. These Mages had formed an association governed by strict rules, yet emphasizing impartiality.


    Aside from these three major Mage associations and ns, within the center of the Mage Maind, which was also the region with the densest poption, there was a rather loosely organized Mage association: The Zhentarim Association. Honestly speaking, unlike the other three major Mage forces, the Zhantarim Association didn¡¯t have a clear direction of development or core bond between its members. It was more like a consortium of Mage families.


    Actually, it had something to do with how Mage forces were distributed in the center of the Mage Maind.


    The center region of Mage Maind was a vastnd with abundant resources, but the human colonies here were scattered. Each human colony was a small kingdom, usually guarded by at least one Mage family. Therefore, the center region was made up by many Mage Families.


    In order to counter the invasion from all three major Mage forces toward the center region, Mage families of all sizes had grouped together and formed the Zhantarim Association,bining their might to ensure they maintained their ce in the world.


    Therefore, the Mage forces that Zhentarim Association could call upon were definitely stronger than the other three surrounding forces, making them the strongest of the three. But, unfortunately, as the internal workings of the Zhantarim Association were quite loose, and there were too many different families, which prompted many internal rivalries, whenever they were in a battle, the Zhentarim Association could never be as effective as the other three major forces.


    In light of this, the newly elected top management of the Zhantarim Association had decided to strengthen the intensity of their Apprentice Mage training, and thus Leon was forced to face this dangerous training mission.


    ...


    1945 Words

 Chapter 48: Arrival

    ording to the annals of the Mage Maind, the Zhentarim Association controlled thirty-one regions. The smallest region covered seven to eight hundred thousand square kilometers, while thergest upied more than a million square kilometers. It was a boundless area rich in resources. These areas contained 60% of the entire Mage Maind¡¯s poption.


    Leon¡¯s mission site was located in the Ker mountain range, northeast of the Dagon region.


    After discovering an entrance to the Underground, the Zhentarim Association had constructed an Mage Tower nearby, and sent a powerful Second Grade Mage to guard it. Ninth Grade was the highest rank in the Mage hierarchy, so a Second Grade Mage sounded like a weak entity, hardly capable of shouldering such an important task, but, as a matter of fact, within the Mage Maind, which was the source of most of the Mage poption, the highest grade Mage one could get in touch with, or even hear about, was a Fourth Grade Mage.


    Even for Zhentarim Association, the highest grade Mages on duty were Fourth Grade Mages. As for all the higher graded Mages, rumors said they had left the Mage World, to explore and conquer worlds in the vast ocean of stars.


    This had led to the current power structure of the Mage Maind: First Grade Mages were crazily gathering knowledge and enriching themselves so they could grow, and were the most numerous grade of Mage across all the major ns; Second Grade Mages were the backbone of all different institutes, and most of them were able to undertake tasks alone; Third Grade Mages could gather a group of followers and build themselves a small Mage n or family.


    As for Fourth Grade Mages, they were powerful entities that all major ns wanted. Of course, if a Fourth Grade Mage had the will, he could always explore a new region and establish an Mage kingdom that belonged to himself.


    Therefore, the ranking of all Mage associations and ns were based on the number of Fourth Grade Mages they had.


    As for the Fallen Mages in the Underground, Second Grade was as high as they went. Thus, by sending a Second Grade Mage to stand guard at the Mage Tower, it was more than possible to resist surprise attacks from those Fallen Mages.


    No matter what, the war between these official Mages was not something an apprentice Mage like Leon could involve themselves in. So, this mission was more about investigating the distribution and activities of the underground creatures, and noting signs of Fallen Mage activity.


    Whether intentionally not, within the shallow area of the Underground Cave, the most active Mages presence were the apprentice Mages cultivated by the Fallen Mages. Also, the Zhentarim Association rarely sent official Mages into that area. The missions were mostly carried out by apprentice Mages.


    Therefore, not surprisingly, this ce had be a ughterhouse for apprentice Mages, as brutal battles happened nearly every day. A lot of Apprentice Mages had gone through life and death battles here, hardening themselves for their futures.


    ......


    When the flying ship started descending to the mission site, Leon was shocked by what he saw.


    Their mission site was actually a small city.


    Considering their proximity to the Underground Cave, from time to time, rare resources from underground would be found and traded here. So, upon introspection, it wasn¡¯t actually that strange for so many merchants and ck market ¡¯tradesmen¡¯ to be found in this ce.


    As the flying shipnded on arge square outside of the city, a man could be seen waiting for them. He had an uncaring expression on his face, and reeked of the smell of blood. Judging from his Spirit Energy, he was an Advanced Apprentice.


    While staring at the five peopleing down from the ship, this man wore a strange smile on his face, portraying a disdainful and proud look, like an experienced veteran looking down on some weak rookies. But when he saw the masculine Mage jump off the ship, he retracted all unnecessary expressions and bowed respectfully.


    "Alright, alright! Save yourself the trouble. This batch of apprentice Mages is for you. You guys better use them carefully. The next batch wille in two months time. If you kill them all, it will cause trouble, and you will have issues with the Association!" The masculine man waved his hand unconcernedly, pushing thest five Apprentices off the ship, like shooing chickens.


    "Don¡¯t worry, master Sammir. The underground activities have been rather calmtely, and it has been more than two weeks since our patrol team has encountered any of those ck bastards. Oh, the ¡¯ck Wood Lotus¡¯ and ¡¯Night Eyes Stone¡¯ you ordered have been prepared, and are waiting for you." The ferocious looking male apprentice smiled politely as he said this.


    Finally, Leon and the other apprentices knew the name of this Body Refining Mage, Sammir.


    "En. You go ahead and settle these new apprentices, I¡¯ll make a trip to the city. After you are done with them, find me at Old Kerry!" Without waiting for the male apprentice to reply, Mage Sammir strode off into the distance.


    As the rest bowed as master Sammir left, only the ferocious looking male apprentice stood tall.


    "All of you, follow me!" The male apprentice quickly ran his eyes over these five apprentices. His expression didn¡¯t change when saw the two Pseudo-Mages, but frowned when he saw Leon, "My name is Kevin. You can call me ck-hand Kev."


    It was a rather simple introductory, but judging from his proud undertone, it seemed he preferred his nickname over his real name.


    "ck-hand Kev? Don¡¯t tell me you have a brother called White-hand?" A young manughed. He was wearing a short yellow robe, and numerous magical items could be seen on his exposing skin. He was one of the Pseudo-Mages, and, obviously, he was dissatisfied that this ¡¯ck-hand¡¯ Kevin didn¡¯t respect him.


    Surprisingly, the Pseudo-Mage started preparing a spell to strike out at the ¡¯rude¡¯ ck-Hand Kev.


    Nearly at the same moment he began to chant, ck-hand Kevin disappeared. In next second, a vague figure appeared behind that young Pseudo-Mage. Each of his hands held a dagger. ck-Hand Kev aggressively leaped toward the Pseudo-Mage.


    As a Pseudo-Mage with 20 Spirit, even the slightest changes in his surroundings could be detected. Although he was shocked by Kev¡¯s sudden strike, that didn¡¯t stop this young Pseudo-Mage from reacting.


    A series of zapping noises rang through the air, as a blue colored electrical defensive web appeared behind his back. The Pseudo-Mage remained calm and turned around, shooting out two thick lightning beams from both of his palms, aiming right at the advanced apprentice who was surrounded by an electrical web.


    "BUZZZZZZ~~"


    Right at the very moment when he wasunching the attack, this Pseudo-Mage hesitated.


    This was the first time here, and he was about to kill a ¡¯teammate¡¯? That might get him into trouble!


    When he was wondering whether he should reduce the strength of his ¡¯Electro Charge¡¯, a sharp pain suddenly came from his back, and a pitch-ck dagger came out from his chest. Only now the vague figure who was struggling in the electrical web transformed, shattering, like ss in front of them. At the same time, a cruel and hoarse voice spoke into his ears.


    "In this ce, Pseudo-Mage means nothing! Remember, next time, don¡¯t make fun of that which you don¡¯t know!"


    Finished speaking, ck-hand Kevin pulled the dagger out from the young Pseudo-Mage, took two steps back, and coolly gazed at him.


    The Pseudo-Mage¡¯s face was bathed in sweat, due to pain. He was shocked by ck-Hand Kev¡¯s great dexterity and preternatural swiftness. Suppressing the intense pain, he took a purple potion from his waist pouch, drank half of it and poured the other half into the wound on his chest. Strangely, in few seconds the punch-through wound healed, leaving nothing but bloody crust.


    The young Pseudo-Mage wiped off the blood crust, revealing smooth and fair skin underneath.


    "Hell!" Kevin whistled, "A Bloody Mary? You Pseudo-Mages do have a lot of good stuff, don¡¯t ya! I should¡¯ve given you a bigger wound just now! Now you know why they call me ck-hand Kevin, because I always like to attack the enemy¡¯s back. Next time you are looking for trouble, remember to watch your back!"


    The suffering young Pseudo-Mage clenched his jaw tightly, but had no intentions of provoking him again. On the other side, the other Pseudo-Mage furrowed his brows, obviously, he too was startled by the aggressiveness of this ce.


    But what really frightened these two men was not Kevin¡¯s aggressiveness, but his bizarre ability.


    Firstly, he was not using any sort of spatial attack, or else, they would have sensed the ripple of the spatial. Secondly, it was also not a shadow clone technique, because there was no sign when Kevin revealed his true self at the end, and they could still sense the spirit ripple of him from the vague figure which served as a lure. How could that young Pseudo-Mage be deceived so easily?


    For the moment, the group was pondering what just happened in front of them, but no one had any clue on how Kevin did that. Though he was just an advanced apprentice, he was able to easily defeat a Pseudo-Mage. Of course, it was partially because it was a surprise attack, but more was because of Kevin¡¯s unpredictable and strange magical ability.


    Before getting to the root of Kevin¡¯s abilities, the young Pseudo-Mage decided not to agitate him anymore.


    Although Bleia was an assassin who fought in closebat with her high speed, she was unable to see how Kevin had done that. This made her knit her brows in a tight frown.


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    While she was frustrated by this, Leon gently nudged her arm and mouthed the word: ¡¯Illusion¡¯.


    Perhaps only Leon could clearly saw the entire process of that extremely short battle.


    The Kevin¡¯s ability was the rare ¡¯illusion¡¯.


    While all the other apprentice Mages were going after for more powerful magic spells, Kevin was emphasized onbining his innate magical ability and his ownbat ability. Just now, using his illusion to deceive the enemy¡¯s five senses, he never moved, but simply covered himself with an illusion.


    While the young Pseudo-Mage was deceived by the illusive figure, which looked like a real human, and turned his body around, he had exposed his defenseless back to Kevin, who was also an assassin who fought with his high Dexterity. Judging from the swiftness of his movement, Kevin¡¯s Dexterity was just slightly lower than Bleia, perhaps around 13 to 15.


    If a guy like this was moving with his full speed, without Elementium Vision, perhaps Leon couldn¡¯t even find out where he actually was, let alone counter the full force of his attacks.


    Thus, among all Body Refining Mage, a high agility assassins like Bleia and Kevin, were the biggest threat to apprentices who fought with offensive magic spells.


    ...


    1833 Words

 Chapter 49: Meeting

    Led by ck-hand Kevin, the group of Apprentices soon arrived at a rather shabby stone room located on the first floor of the Mage Tower. There, they finally met the other mission members.


    Out of ten apprentices who signed up for the Underground Cave investigation mission, three of them were Pseudo-Mages. They were Leo, from the Mushroom Forest of the Rofen region, Sabrina, from the Tracy family of the Woodrow region, and Marcus from the ck Forest Institute of the Sidney region. Leo was the young Pseudo-Mage who was wounded by Kevin previously.


    As for the six advanced apprentices, Sh, Matthew, Leander, Bleia, Isaac, and Bruce, four were male and two female, and they all came from different regions and families. The magical spells they studied were different in a thousand ways, but now, because of the mission, they were grouped together in this room.


    As for Leon, the only beginner apprentice within the group, he was elbowed out from their interactions, as if he never existed. As one of the members of a ten man team, no doubt Leon¡¯s existence would lower their overall strength. Thus, when facing Leon, no one would give him face.


    And there was no way Leon could exin why he was here. So, he just kept his mouth shut and listened to their conversation, all the while secretly having the Chip gather basic information on these people.


    All ten apprentices were brought here via three different flying ships. The earliest had arrived two days ago and, after spending a few days in this Mage Tower, they were rather familiar with this ce. Hence, they were now briefly talking about the details of the mission site.


    But as they were talking, a middle-aged male Mage wearing a white robe and a pointy hat, rushed into the stone room.


    "Looks like all of you are here. This is perfect, I don¡¯t have to exin this for the second time. Wait, why there is a beginner apprentice here? Alright, alright, this must be the mistake by the old fools of the association. Heh... since all of you are here, you will have to resign yourself to your fate! Those Hooked Horrors in the Underground are going to have a lovely feast..."


    A vicious grin followed his words, sending chills up everyone¡¯s spines. But obviously, no one would dare refute his terrifyingment.


    "Fine, fine... apparently you¡¯re a group of boring fellows, none of you even dare to get dere otherwise... but this may not be a bad thing, as you, likely, won¡¯t get yourself killed in the dark underground because of your arrogance. The duration of this mission is six months, and the ten of you will be a team. Every ten days, you need to patrol the underground, and you¡¯ll have to visit five inspection sites every time. They are all located in different locations."


    "Therefore, if you don¡¯t want anything bad to happen to you, you¡¯d better move in a full group of ten, following the provided route and inspecting these five mission sites in order. If you¡¯re quick, you canplete it within five days, and then you¡¯ll have five days to rest. Of course, you can split your team up, and that way you might even finish the inspection trip within two days. But if you bump into those ck bastards in the underground area, you¡¯re on your own. Hehehe..."


    The exnation of the mission brought unsightly expressions to all ten apprentices, but at this point, the middle-aged Mage introduced himself.


    "My name is Angus. You cane to my residence toplete the missionter. Remember, no matter what kinds of dangerous situations you encounter in the Underground, you¡¯re on your own. No one will be there to save you. If you¡¯re lucky and kill some stupid ck bastards, remember to bring their heads back. You can exchange them for rewards from me!"


    "......"


    Faced with a group of silence apprentice Mages, this Mage Angus had no interest in providing further exnations. He turned around and quickly left.


    Now, there weren¡¯t any outsider remaining in the room. The ten apprentices, who were thrown together by thepulsory mission, had no choice but to sit down together, beginning to discuss how were they going toplete the mission.


    The young female Pseudo-Mage, Sabrina, who had arrived two days earlier, became the primary source of information for the group. She began to exin the mission in greater detail.


    She had long dark hair, which flowed down to her waist. The left side of her face was covered with a silver mask, but the other side of her faced showed that she was a fairly pretty girl. But strangely, under the silver mask, her left eye was reced with a mechanical mechanism. Her left arm was also mechanical. When she moved, metal noises could be hearding from her body.


    All five mission sites were located fairly close to the surface, and the furthest one was around ten miles away from the entrance. If this distance was on the surface, it wouldn¡¯t take more than seven to eight minutes for these few Pseudo-Mages toplete the patrol. But when it was in the underground world, this distance amounted to quite the challenge.


    From the entrance of the cave to thest mission site, the linear distance was ten miles. But, between them were rough mines, tunnels, rift valleys andrge cracks. Asides from some rather safe routes, which had been found, the underground was filled with twisting and turning tunnels. If they followed the safe route, they should only bump into lesser underground creatures. But if they struck out in a random direction, perhaps all that would await them would be something nasty.


    "The first patrol will start in three days, so we need toe up with a detailed n today. With that, we can prepare ourselves." Sabrina concluded her exnation of the mission with this, which brought deep frowns to everyone¡¯s faces.


    Three days? This was such a short amount of time to prepare!


    "Did you guys forget that we have a burden on our team?" One of the male apprentices, Isaac, gazed at Leon discontentedly. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t happy that Leon was dragging down the strength of the entire team.


    "I brought him here, I¡¯ll be responsible for his safety!" Bleia¡¯s green eyes brightened suddenly, ring at Isaac as she spoke with a cold and stern voice.


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    "If that is the case, I suggest we¡¯ll split up for the mission. Let this beautifuldy bring her knight along. With this, we¡¯ll be more efficient inpleting the mission, and we¡¯ll have more spare time to study and rest!" Isaac spoke with a cold grin.


    "Are you sure about this?" Sabrina shook her head, then said, "Don¡¯t think that we can just ditch this burden. Since we¡¯re a team, we need to take the whole situation into ount and n ordingly. Every time we patrol, if we miss two sites, our earnings will be cut in half, and if we miss three, we won¡¯t receive any earnings at all. If two people are assigned to a mission site, of course we canplete the patrol quicker. But if a small team is too weak, they might note back..."


    "What¡¯s wrong? Are you feeling sorry for the rookie?" Obviously, Isaac had decided that someone on the team had to be the realist.


    "It¡¯s not that I feel sorry for him, but, if we follow your suggestion, that also means we might need toplete the ten men mission with just eight of us the next time. And the time after that, we might need toplete it with just six of us. With this, even if you are strong individually, in the end, you might still end up getting killed while between all mission sites!" Sabrina spoke with a cold tone.


    Obviously, for the past two days, she had thoroughly studied their mission, and had clearly analyzed all the possible traps hidden within it.


    She felt she this was a dilemma!


    If they carried out the mission as a team, as all five mission sites were scattered in different locations, it would take them extra time to travel between them. But there was strength in numbers, and they could face all possible dangers with ease. If they split up, unavoidably, their overall strength would be diluted. If they were unlucky and had one or two small teams annihted, they would suffer over the next few months!


    For the moment, everyone was lost in deep thought, and even Isaac, who was upset of Leon¡¯s presence, kept his mouth shut.


    For any simple task flow, not only did they had to consider the time efficiency, they also had to give consideration to the bnce of strength. Even if some Pseudo-Mage thought he had a superb ability and left hispanions to die, he alone wouldn¡¯t be able toplete the patrols by himself, and would tire out before the end of the mission.


    They had to carry out their mission underground, so no matter how strong an individual was, there was no way he could spend seven to eight days without resting. Wandering through the underground alone would never be as rxing as having a group of people together. That¡¯s the reason why the Mage association created this mission, not only was it was an assessment of their teamwork, but it also served as an examination of their individualbat abilities.


    "I think we should split up! All of us are here to train and improve ourselves. We¡¯re not here to rx and enjoy ourselves. I¡¯ll team up with Bleia, we should be able to handle one mission site, I have confidence in this." Leon spoke.


    Hearing what he said, many people silently breathed out sighs of relief.


    After all, if they had to bring a burden into the dark and bizarre Underground, even those three Pseudo-Mages would be troubled.


    "Alright, so be it. Everybody use the next two days to rest and prepare yourself with the items needed for our mission. Three days from now, we¡¯ll meet up here." All three Pseudo-Mages couldn¡¯t help but look at Leon, once again reconfirming that he was only a beginner apprentice. Obviously, that Sabrina intended to be the leader of this team, which is why she promptly concluded the meeting.


    Silently, everybody nodded their heads, then left the stone room one after the other.


    When they were the only ones left in the room, Bleia teasingly asked, "Why are you so sure I¡¯ll team up with you?"


    "Heh. You want blood; I want demon core. We¡¯ll split up any other materials we findter. There is no conflict in this, so it¡¯s a win-win situation for the both of us." Leon stretched his right hand out towards the blood-loving girl with the green eyes.


    "Hmm! I want first pick of the loot!" Bleia ced her soft, fragile-seeming palm into Leon¡¯s and shook his head. Then she turned around and left the room.


    They only had three days, and she needed to prepare a few more items. After bing an apprentice Mage, this was the first time they had left the Magical Swamp, so Bleia decided to go for a walk...


    After the room becamepletely quiet, Leon closed his eyes, pretending he was thinking about something, while, in fact, he wasmunicating with the Chip in his mind.


    "Chip, have you gathered all the data on those people just now?"


    "Beep!"


    "Data sampling has beenpleted."


    "Transmitting..."


    Following a series of beeps, data starting flowing into his mind.


    ...


    ...


    This data really showed him nothing...


    Left speechless, Leon breathed out a long sigh. It looked like, without witnessing them actually fight, it would be really difficult for him to get data on the actual abilities of his teammates.


    ...


    1981 Words

 Chapter 50: Cave

    Within the dark underground tunnel, a perfect silence prevailed.


    Originally, there weren¡¯t any routes in the Underground world. Only irregr rock fractures and water channels formed after thousands of years of water erosion. However, through the endless excavating efforts by many generations of underground creatures, the winding cave system with many chambers,rge and small were interconnected by tunnels of all length, forming an awe-inspiring three-dimensional tunnel system that extended in all directions.


    There weren¡¯t any straight paths down here, like the ones back on the on the surface. All the passages were meticulously excavated along rock fractures. Stretching through those ancient water channels, twisting and turning. Sometimes, when the walls between caves were rtively thin, you could hear sound from other passages, but they were still forced to travel a long, winding passage of tens of miles inplete darkness, before reaching their destination.


    Countless stctites were hanging from the ceiling of caverns; stgmites protruded unevenly from the damp floor. Water continually dripping down through the uneven rock formations, allowing for the ground to be damp and covered with moss.


    To be honest, when traveling in such an isted and quiet environment, it was very easy to feel a creeping sensation. Thinking that just the few hundred tons of rocks and soil on top of your head could copse at any time, and in turn, crushing you.


    Everyone was holding a torch in. The group of ten, including Leon, were formed in a long line, walking slowly and difficulty in the underground tunnel. Stay updated with §Þ??


    The glow of their torches could only light up a region of five meters. From time to time a bone chilling breeze would squeeze out from some unseen cracks in the rock wall, causing the torches to flicker in the wind. The flickering projected their shadows on the other side of the rock wall.


    Although they had tried their best to keepplete silence while walking. But the indistinct noise of their footsteps and the sounds that came from their bodies scratching against the rock wall, all of them were still echoed far away in this dark and quiet tunnel. And, this would bring them so much more unexpected dangers in their journeyter.


    After walking continuously for three hours, the team finally arrived at their first stop on the inspection route.


    Strictly speaking, the first three hours journey was just a small assessment before they truly entered the Underground Cave. The real starting point of their investigation and inspection mission started here.


    "Alright, this is where we split. Try your best toplete the mission as soon as possible, then we¡¯ll meet back here again. I wish you all the best!" The clear and melodious voice of Sabrina became hollow in this oppressive cavern.


    Ten Apprentice Mages split into five small teams. All traveling to different sites toplete their own mission. The deepest mission site was taken care by Sabrina and Sh. Of course, no one would have any objection when she volunteered for the most dangerous mission, thus, they too had tacitly approved her leadership.


    As for the team of Leon and Bleia, although everyone was jealous, but they had no choice and gave them the easiest mission. Because if the rest of the group sought momentary satisfaction and gave Leon¡¯s group a tougher mission, which eventually brought them to death. Next time, they would have toplete the ten person mission with only eight members.


    Every single person was wearing a thick ck robe, which fully covered every single inch of their skin. This was to prevent their aura and body temperature from exposing their positions in the eyes of those underground creature who possessed infrared vision. After whispering wishes to each other, five small teams disappeared themselves into the darkness, heading to their respective destination.


    After split up, Leon and Bleia continued walking in the dark tunnel for nearly seven to eight minutes, then they stopped.


    Leon listened for any sound that might be audible. When he finally confirmed there wasn¡¯t anything nearby, he casually killed off the torch in his hand. When thest glow of light faded into the darkness, a mystery and bizarre world was made revealed in front of Leon¡¯s eyes.


    The illuminating mosses on the cave walls were glowing coldly in the dark. Drawing out apletely different yet bizarre scene in Leon¡¯s eyes, which had temporarily been granted with the ability of low-light vision. Lit up by this faded glow, darkness gradually retracted, recing by a mysterious world of glittering.


    The color of the cold, gruesome-looking cave wall was ck, and the region where water gathered was gray. Within Leon¡¯s Elementium Vision, besides from arge patch of green illuminating glow, the world in front of him was full of ck and gray colors. However, hidden in a dark corner not far from where he stood, he could barely see a few creepy moving red dots.


    Red dots represents the leaking life force.


    Judging from the size of the red dots, they should be some tiny creatures. Perhaps Rock Scorpions or wall lizards.


    Leon turned around and saw Bleia. She was still wearing the same bright red chiffon dress, exposing arge area of her fair skin. But strangely, even though Leon was only three steps away from her, but he couldn¡¯t sense any temperature that all living beings had. If just looking at her with infrared vision, perhaps Bleia was no different from a human shaped stgmite.


    Alright, a Vampire¡¯s ability was indeed unpredictable.


    With infrared vision, able to hide her vitality aura, and together with her supreme agility, the dark Underground was a perfect ce for an assassin like her.


    Leon pulled down his hood, took up the lead and resumed their journey, walking along the winding rough slope in front of him.


    Their mission site was near an underground pond located seven miles away. They might pass by a couple of Underground creature habitats along their way, but there wasn¡¯t too much of a risk to worry. As long as they paid more attention to their surroundings, they should be able to walk passed them without any issue.


    ...


    Although both of them possessed powerful magical abilities, yet when traveling in The Underground world where dangers were everywhere even Bleia, who was an advanced apprentice, was still like a toddler who just started learning how to walk.


    Leon thought he had been well prepared, but before he reached one hundred meters from starting point, he was met with the first ambush in this Underground world.


    Yes, an ambush!


    When Leon was passing by a rock crack, a Rock Python who was hiding within it suddenly darted out, opening its stinking and ferocious mouth, biting toward his neck.


    "Bite~~" He was caught off guard.


    The cold, hard rock wall had provided a well cover for this Rock Python¡¯s indistinct vitality aura. So, when Leon saw a red dot suddenly jumped into his vision, the venomous fangs of Rock Python had nearly reached his face.


    If Leon had 10 or above Agility, perhaps he could respond on time. But, his 4 Agility had severely limited his instinctive reflex, forcing him to shut his eyes in great fear while waiting for the brutal bite to hit him.


    A Rock Python wouldn¡¯t kill him, but a painful wound was inevitable.


    A shrill whistling sound of object piercing through the air beside his ear.


    "Zosh~~"


    "Zap~~"


    Bleia, who was apparently walking behind of him second ago, suddenly jumped in front of him. With her fingers pointing like a de, she sliced through the air with incredible speed. In just a split second, the Rock Python had been sliced into seven pieces.


    A pungent smell of blood filled the air within the tunnel.


    Leon took a few deep breathes, finally making his racing heart beats returned to normal. His body was wet with cold sweat. Damn Underground creatures, they sure knew how to pick a perfect spot to ambush!


    Although the tunnel was dark, Leon felt his face was burning.


    He was overconfident. A theory was always just a theory. He thought he had stored a huge amount of skills and experiences required for the adventure, but in real life there was always traps that he could never predict.


    After the first setback, two people exchanged their position.


    Nimble and noiseless, Bleia took the lead. No Underground creature that tried to ambush them could escape from her sharp magical weapon-like nails. Even if it was an extremely close range ambush, she could always slice the enemy into pieces with her supreme Agility.


    Thus, within just an hour, eleven Underground creatures were killed by her.


    Indistinctly, Leon heard the noise of creatures fighting from the tunnel far behind him. It seemed like a small scale of war was inevitable. In this Underground world, no matter how loud noise was or how small of a wound is, they were both a huge taboo. As both could easily lure bigger and more aggressive Underground creatures.


    Although with Bleia and Leon¡¯s overall strength, they had no fear in these weak creatures, but they could still bring Leon and Bleia unnecessary troubles for their journey.


    The first real trouble urred at the seventh hour after they entered the Underground world. A group of eleven Hooked Horrors struck them.


    Hook Horrors were widely distributed in all parts of Underworld world. They looked rather simr to a small dinosaur with its body fully covered in hard scales. When they stood straight, they reached the height of two meters. Although they weren¡¯t considered arge creature, but they had a strong bone, and a mouthful of big, shining, sharp fangs. Their sticky saliva was dripping down from this brutal mouth, looking like they were going to have a big feast.


    Unlike other smaller creatures, they didn¡¯t use ambush as their strategy, but patiently waited until Leon and Bleia entered their encirclement, only then did they steadily walked out from the darkness. Before seeing their body, Leon was greeted with pairs of pale yellow eyes.


    A hard-skin creature like this was tough to deal with, at least, Bleia¡¯s sharp ws couldn¡¯t prate their strong scales. Without hitting their armpit, eyes, or neck, the weak spots of their defense, Bleia¡¯s attack was harmless to them. On the opposite, their slim but sharp upper limbs, located on their chests, could cause her devastating damage.


    Together with the tremendous mming force that came from its heavy body, plus the Paralyze and Slowing effect that was innate to all Earth Elemental creatures, this all made it really tough for an ordinary Apprentice Mage to escape safely with such limited space.


    A wry smile emerged on Leon¡¯s face, he shook his head, quickly took out two summoning cores and threw them onto a nearby dirt patch.


    Although majority of the underground tunnel was excavated on the solid rock wall, utilizing the hardness of the rock to prevent the tunnel from copsing, but there was always dirt and sand to be found everywhere. Thus, Leon nevercked the material to shape his y Golems.


    A soundless roar rang through the air. The Demon Alligator Hunter gradually took its shape beside Leon.


    "Oh, good kid! You have a hidden trick!" Bleia¡¯s voice came from the darkness.


    With Bleia¡¯s 17 Agility, freeing herself from these Hooked Horrors was a piece of cake. If not because of Leon, it would just take her five seconds to pass through the enemy¡¯s rather shabby encirclement.


    After a few failed random attacks at those Hooked Horrors, Bleia gave up trying. She returned to Leon, started to give an examining look at this new, strange golem.


    This... it seemed different from the one she sawst time! Could this y alligator a new golem he obtained, after killed the Giant Alligator King? Apparently, this kid wasn¡¯t as weak as she imagined!


    Filling her mind with countless questions, Bleia saw Leon walk up to the y alligator¡¯s back and sit down. Following a mild vibration, the y alligator moved its huge body, crushing its way to those Hooked Horrors who starting to tighten up the circle.


    ...


    2021 Words

 Chapter 51: This golem is a real help

    The y alligator charged forward, and, with the breeze it caused sweeping up dead leaves, it looked as if it were invincible.


    It was worth mentioning that the build of the Demon Alligator Hunter had entered the scope ofrge creatures. Inparison, the ferocious Hooked Horror was only considered a medium size creature.


    Fights between demon beasts always came down to strength, and no doubt, the size of their bodies was the most direct method of showing off their strength.


    Facing the charging Demon Alligator Hunter, the Hooked Horrors, who even Bleia couldn¡¯t harm, had transformed into a group of terrified little bunnies putting up a deathbed struggle.


    "Smash~~"


    One after another they were thrown to the ground by the Demon Alligator, who used his powerful jaw to shred them into little pieces.


    "Bang~~"


    "Bang!!"


    At the same time, the hunter, who sat up high, kept throwing spears down. Each spear pinned the Hooked Horrors, who tried to leap onto the Demon Alligator¡¯s back, to the ground.


    Although Hooked Horrors were also Earth Elemental creatures, which granted them immunity from the Earth Elemental damage brought by the Dirt Spear, they couldn¡¯t escape from the brutal physical damage. Hence, while charging towards their enemy, many Hooked Horrors were nailed into the ground by the spear, putting up a useless struggle.


    A few of the lucky Hooked Horrors managed tond beside the Demon Alligator. They vented their anger by using the most powerful attacks they could muster. They tirelessly hit the thick, tough y armour covering the top of the Demon Alligator¡¯s body. They attacked aggressively.


    "Pow~~"


    "POWW~~"


    "BANG~~"


    Their scratching and biting caused dirt chunks to fall off continuously. But from time to time, an earthy yellow ring of light would burst out from the Demon Alligator¡¯s body, bringing the Demon Alligator anotheryer of new y armour.


    The hunter who sat high up would never let the enemies who tried to destroy the body of the Demon Alligator go. The dirt spears, that were fired from close range,


    prated the Hooked Horrors¡¯ skulls instantly, making them fall to the ground while letting out miserably cries.


    In just ten minutes, this group of Hooked Horrors had been wiped outpletely by the Demon Alligator Hunter.


    Once the battle was over, Leon started to clean up the battlefield. But the result, once again, made him scorn these Hook Horrors who died miserably. Even amongst this ratherrge group of wandering creatures, there wasn¡¯t even a single demon core to be found. Leon hastily harvested some of the still intact razor sharp ws. After harvesting, Bleia and Leon climbed back up onto the Demon Alligator and ventured deeper into the Underground World.


    In around half day, the broken bodies of the Hooked Horrors they had left behind would be digested by other Underground creatures. The other creatures would be lured in by the smell of the dead bodies. Within the Underground world, there were plenty of ¡¯natural scavengers¡¯, as food was extremely scarce, and anything that could be eaten would not go to waste. These ¡¯natural scavengers¡¯ would wander around the dark and quiet Underground world all day looking for food that would cure their hunger.


    However, something happened that Leon hadn¡¯t considered. Not long after they left the battlefield, a short stgmite in a corner of the cave suddenly trembled and transformed into a weird-looking human figure who had, what seemed to be rock-like skin. It was staring nkly in the direction in which Leon and Bleia disappeared, seeming like a lifeless object. The creature then sent a strange wave forth and, by using a secret message, transmitted it far into the distance.


    Only after transmitting all the information, did the stone figure difficulty and slowly merge back together with the short stgmite, leaving no trace that it was ever there. It was such a strange life form, that, even if Leon had the intention to find it, he would find it really hard to differentiate it from other ordinary stgmites.


    ...


    Deep down in the Underground world, within a secret cave.


    A bonfire was brightly burning in the centre of the cave, spreading its toasty warmth throughout it. Four bizarre-looking figures, covered in ck cloaks, were standing in a circle around the fire. They remained quiet, as if they were waiting for something.


    In order to prevent their aura from leaking out, the ced a thick, transparent barrier at the entrance of the cave.


    All of a sudden, a strange croaking sound was heard from one of the members.


    Apparently, this figure was female, as her arm, that stretched out from underneath the ck cloak, was very slim. An extremely ugly toad was squatting in the middle of her palm. It kept letting out jarring, croaking sounds by squeezing and expanding its huge yet half-transparent stomach.


    "There is also activity detected in sector seven! Including sector four and five, which were triggered moments ago, this makes three sectors in total. We can be sure that they¡¯re from the outside," Thedy finally spoke.


    "Jajaja... We had just received the news that a group of delicious prey areing from the outside, and now we¡¯ve finally detected their whereabouts. What a bunch of fearless rookies! Since the triggering time of these few sites are so close to each other, they must have split up. Jajaja... this is the best news we¡¯ve heard all day!" A sinisterugh came from another man in a ck cloak.


    "Can you find anything out about the overall strength of each small team? I heard that there are a few Pseudo-Mages in this group? I just need one more Pseudo-Mage soul toplete my corpse puppet!" Another man in a ck cloak spoke. From his lofty and domineering voice, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that this guy was the leader of this four-people group. This man also had the strongest treacherous undertone.


    "It is really tough to tell! After all, any overly aggressive spying methods would be easily detected by them. Therefore, the message I received only tells me that some


    creatures, who have fulfilled the preset requirements, passed by. However, we can¡¯t confirm their actual strength and numbers," The samedy replied.


    "Hmm! Once they split up, they are not far from meeting their death. ording to their tradition, most of them will probably form a two-person team, and, at most, a three people one. We have four people here and three of us are Pseudo-Mages. Can¡¯t we capture one of their small teams?" Grinning hideously, the ck cloak leader continued saying, "Let¡¯s go to site number four first, as that¡¯s the closest site from here. If everything goes smoothly, we can visit a few more sites afterwards, and try our best to capture few more teams!"


    "Let¡¯s go!"


    The group put their words into action immediately. They were a group of people who handle things with resolute and cruel means. After a short discussion, they had given up this temporary camp and started squeezing their way out of the cave, relinquishing themselves to the eternal darkness outside.


    ...


    At the same time, Leon was enjoying a rxed journey. He absolutely had no idea that great danger was approaching from a far distance.


    He and Bleia had be indifferent spectators who did nothing. The Demon Alligator Hunter alone was able to make a clean sweep of all Underground creatures who kept leaping out from the darkness. Marching and crushing all in their way, they had virtually turned this extremely dangerous mission into a rxed and peaceful sightseeing trip.


    But, a discovery had brought all sorts of feeling to his mind. The Underground world was a ce where all dirty things hid, and a ce where different species crossbred with each other. All sorts of messy bloodlines could be found here.


    The aggressiveness and cruelty of these Underground creatures were stronger than those on the surface. Sometimes, even though they knew they were not the match of Leon and his minions, they stillunched an attack on him.


    They attacked in such a way that they seemed to not take their own safety into consideration. In fact, some hunters only needed to throw their spear at the weaker charging creatures in order to kill them. As for those stronger creatures, before they could break up Demon Alligator¡¯s tough y armour, it¡¯s sharp and powerful front legs would have crushed them into meat paste.


    Facing such an enormous creature, who could absorb Earth Elementium from the surrounding environment and continuously self-heal, these creatures¡¯ attacks could never bring any threat. If they really wanted to defeat the Demon Alligator, they would have to use a devastating magic spell and crush the summoning core that was buried deep inside its body in one go. The only other option was to use a continuous amount of super energy to smash its tough shell. But, obviously, none of these small Underground creatures was capable of achieving either one of the options.


    Actually, this was rted to the environment they were living in.


    The Underground world was full of long, narrow tunnels, caverns with protruding stgmites on the ground, and countless stctites that hung from the ceiling of caverns. Living in such environment, an overly grown body brought two major harms. Firstly, it was very hard to find sufficient food to sustain their life, and, secondly, it was very difficult to pass through all the narrow tunnels without getting stuck.


    Therefore, in order to adapt to such an environment, the majority of the Underground creature had evolved. Although they became cruel and aggressive, their bodies were short and t. This meant that they when faced with the Demon Alligator, who was clearly a massive monster in this Underground world, were suppressed in both Strength and Physique.


    As the golem was moulded from Earth Elementium, the size of the Demon Alligator was controlled directly by the summoning core. When it was required to face battle, it would charge in with its biggest form. However, when it was required to travel underground, it would adjust its body shape ording to the shape of the tunnel.


    For example, when travelling in some really narrow and rough tunnels, it could even adjust itself into the shape of huge Rock Python, which allowed it to squeeze through the tight space more easily. The two ¡¯masters¡¯ who owned this self-moving golem, who was capable of changing its shape, needed only to sit on its back and allow the golem to do all the work. Was there anything else that could be more rxing than this?


    In order to see throughout their long and boring journey in the dark, Leon and Bleia even lit up their torches on the back of Demon Alligator. They tried to ovee their own boredom by studying their own magical topic. As for those Underground creatures, who had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai, they just let their dedicated Demon Alligator Hunter handle them!


    Therefore, the mission which initially required them to embark on a tiring seventeen-hour long journey, only took seven hours before they arrived at their destination.


    It was an enormous limestone cavern and was filled with all kinds of strangely shaped stctites. In a lower region in a corner of the cave, water fell off the cavern wall and formed a small pond. The pond made this ce be one where surrounding Underground creatures always visited.


    The team stopped in this dark limestone cavern. Lit up by the dancing me of the torch, the huge body of the Demon Alligator appeared even more frightening and ruthless. Frightened by it, most of the Underground creatures who came here for water immediately scurried away, and only a handful of creatures who didn¡¯t possess sufficient intelligence initiated their attack. Of course, these poor fellows were all killed on the spot.


    Leon¡¯s soft, thick and waterproof ck deerskin boots stepped onto the muddy and slippery stone path. As Leon climbed down from the Demon Alligator Hunter, he pushed back his hood. He quickly started scanning the mission site through his strange goggles.


    It was unexpectedly calm, a mission like this was considered an Orange mission?


    But, before he could continue pondering this strange urrence, an extremely gentle and lovely female voice suddenly rang out from behind him.


    "As an elegant gentleman, don¡¯t you think you should help the beautifuldy get down from the vehicle?"


    A cold shudder suddenly went down Leon¡¯s back. He was taken aback by Bleia¡¯s ¡¯frightening¡¯ voice. To be honest, Bleia always showed him the brutal and aggressive side of hers during a fight. By suddenly portraying the look of a gentledy, clearly, because of boredom, she was once again trying to fool him.


    After knowing her for a long time, he now had a clearly understood Bleia¡¯s temper.


    She was an extremely dangerous girl; she was a wounded girl whocked trust in the outside world.


    Leon had absolutely no idea how Bleia endured all those frightening magical experiments done by Mage Eclivel. However, Leon was sure of one thing: the current Bleia was showing signs of having split personalities. One was the original Bleia, who was a shy and introverted girl, while another was the cruel vampire Bleia, whose mind was twisted. The two totally opposite personalities were ced in the same body, producing a Bleia who always felt insecure.


    She was like a mind twisted dowager. On one hand, she wanted to use her beautiful and sexy appearance to make everyone crazy about her. Whilst, on the other hand, she couldn¡¯t restrain her desire for fresh blood and wished she could rip every single human into pieces, pouring their blood onto her beautiful body.


    Therefore, her behaviour swung between seduction and cruelty. Even a slight mistake would trigger the pain hiding deep within her heart, causing her to transform into the ¡¯Bloody Queen¡¯ that she always dreamed of!


    In brief, it was extremely rare to see a perfect human being to walk on the path of Mage!


    ...


    2334 Words

 Chapter 52: A lizard man

    The biggest benefit of owning the Chip was the near encyclopedic knowledge it granted him.


    After searching through its database, the Chip transmitted the most appropriate action into Leon¡¯s mind.


    After receiving this data, Leon bowed like a noble. He bent down on one knee and offered Bleia his hand, allowing Bleia to use his knee as a way to dismount the Demon Alligator.


    Bleia was obviously satisfied with Leon¡¯s sweet and considerate behavior. She gracefully turned, her soft, striking red dress contrasting vividly against her delicate and fair skin. Under the reflection of the dim torchlight, she seemed to be the most dazzling object in the eternal darkness.


    "If I were powerful enough, I would rape you right here in this exact ce." Leon thought as he looked at Mary.


    "I like this ce and wish to take a bath here. So, I¡¯ll need to trouble my honorable knight to stand guard for me!" Bleia gave her wish, once again portraying the lofty manner of a nobledy.


    "As you wish!"


    Clearly, whenpared to Bleia, Leon seemed much more familiar with these types of role-ying games. Leon ced his arm on his chest and bowed. He then grabbed the Demon Alligator Hunter and left to patrol the surrounding area.


    They were sent here toplete their mission and, coincidentally, the mission site was located in the middle of that water pond. So, after leaving Bleia behind, Leon couldn¡¯t refrain himself from starting to search for the biggest benefit of this trip.


    There was a reason why this Underground Cave was so famous. This Underground Cave produced some rare and special resources that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere on the surface. An example of one such resource was the Soul Mushroom.


    The Soul Mushroom was a kind of white mushroom, which existed in two different forms: its incorporeal form and its corporeal one. It was one of the main ingredients used to produce Invisible Potion and Shadow Perish Enchantment. They grew in shady and cool ces and were able to feed off of negative energy. Therefore, Soul Mushrooms were frequently found growing near evil spirits. This was the reason why normal people couldn¡¯t see them. Only apprentice Mages who possessed supernatural power, like Leon, were qualified to harvest them.


    Before they left, Mage Angus had told them about these Soul Mushrooms, promising that if anyone was to find some on their mission, he would purchase them off them for a good price. From his desire for the mushrooms, Leon believed that Mage Angus had decided to be a pharmacist.


    It was because of this that Leon showed great enthusiasm for this additional job, as he could easily aplish it. After all, in order to prepare himself for this mission, he had depleted nearly all of his umted resources and savings. Right now, apart from some necessary spell casting materials and travel kits, the only things left in Leon¡¯s waist pouch were three Magical Crystals.


    With just this meager wealth, it was impossible for him to buy anything good in this ce.


    As Leon was traveling further and further away, Bleia had just reached the edge of the pond.


    Here in the Underground world, everything was covered in an oppressive, eternal darkness. From time to time, indistinct noises were even heard echoing throughout the caves.


    If any ordinary human had found themselves in this ce, perhaps they would have long screamed their lungs out by now, frightened by the terrifying and gruesome environment. But, Bleia was theplete opposite to them. She inserted her torch into a crack in the wall, and, while humming a joyful tune, she slowly peeled the thin red dress off her body. She tested the temperature by


    cing her perfectly shaped leg into the water, and, finding it to her liking, she cheered and dived in.


    The water sshed in all directions, presenting a barely visible beautiful body. If this sight was not seen in the Underground, it would definitely be called a seductive and magnificent wondend.


    But, whilst Bleia was happily swimming in the water, at the ceiling, where the light of the torch couldn¡¯t reach, a pair of bizarre eyes lit up.


    Clearly, those pair of eyes belonged to an intelligent creature. They were fluttering from side to side, looking puzzled and undecided.


    To be honest, this Underground world was and where darkness was eternal and ughter and blood were asmon as flies. Nothing in thisnd could be rted to the words ¡¯beautiful¡¯ and ¡¯warm¡¯. Although he had learned about the free and peaceful life on the surface from books and knowledge shared by wandering travelers, he had never believed in any of those fairytales.


    He knew that the surface was cruelly and brutally ruled by frightening and evil human Mages. Since this was the case, how could the humans on the surface live a free and peaceful life? Those fairytales must be the lies that the evil Mages used to deceive the weak-minded humans. From what he could tell, they had seemed to work, as the foolish humans had fallen hook, line, and sinker, into believing them.


    This was something that he firmly believed in, so, when suddenly seeing a beautiful naked girl bathing in his hunting zone, he was struck with uncertainty.


    The numerous ferocious actions, performed by apprentice Mages, had caused a wariness to develop in him. Thus, without making any noise, he started to crawl along the ceiling, inching closer and closer towards the beautiful girl.


    His delicate and flexible body enabled him to perform extraordinary movements, so, even if he was moving along a surface covered with slippery moss, he was still able to move as if it was t ground. He moved silently, and, like a spider


    creating its web in darkness, he slipped down a crack in the wall. He hid behind the various stgmites and stctites, and, unseen, he approached the edge of the pond.


    Bleia had just finished swimming and was now sitting on a rock at the edge of the pond, slowly and gently squeezing out the water from her hair. Her long, dark hair flowed down her body and reached just below her perfect asset. Her hair covered her body perfectly, preventing anyone from witnessing the ultimate beauty. What a sad moment!


    The perfectly hidden humanoid figure stealthily arrived at Bleia¡¯s red dress. After searching for a while, he found nothing that seemed to be a storage pouch or a magical weapon.


    Could this beautiful girl not an apprentice Mage?


    After stealing a nce at the barely visible beautiful body, he couldn¡¯t help but gulp. As he watched her an evil thought arose in his mind.


    Regardless of whether she was an apprentice Mage or not, shipping such a high quality ¡¯product¡¯ to Elysium city would definitely result in a high profit. If he could get that profit he would be able to live a nice life; he wouldn¡¯t have to run around in the oppressive tunnels all day trying to make his living


    The person who had left earlier was definitely an apprentice Mage. A man who was able to control such a frightening Golem monster was obviously something that he, as an Underground Rogue Hunter, could possibly deal with. However, since the beginning, thisdy never showed any special ability. It was likely that she was just a mistress the male apprentice had brought along. If she was really a normal human, then it was possible that he could sessfully abduct her.


    After making up his mind, the shadowy figure hid behind the rock that the nakeddy was sitting on. He quietly pulled out the leather pouch that was tied onto his waist. A palm-sized green object climbed out of the leather pouch and quickly moved onto the rock, climbing towards the nakeddy.


    After a brief moment, Bleia cried out.


    "ARG~~... what??!"


    As soon as this happened, the shadowy figure instantly bolted out, like a lightning strike, and ced his two bent des against her neck.


    The tiny green lizard opened its mouth, draping itself over Bleia¡¯s naked body and sticking its tongue out. It had actually bitten Bleia¡¯s sexy butt! Greenish liquid oozed from the small wound, and Bleia seemed to be paralyzed, looking as if she could hardly stand by herself.


    The shadowy figure had no use but to use one of his hands to hold up Bleia¡¯s body. He had to do this in order to prevent Bleia from slipping into the pond.


    "You better make sure to hold her tight. If you tear any of her skin then you¡¯ll suffer some nasty consequences." A deep and steady male voice suddenly rang out throughout the cave, scaring the shit out of the shadowy figure.


    Somehow Leon had returned from patrolling and was leaning against a stgmite. He was watching the scene with a smile on his face. Behind him, the frightening Demon Alligator Hunter walked out of the darkness. The noise it made as it walked wasparable to a giant.


    The shadowy figure seemed not to have expected this situation. He stepped back and positioned his body behind Bleia¡¯s. He then raised one of his bent des to Bleia¡¯s throat and gripped her arm with his other hand. He looked like he was holding Bleia hostage.


    However, the figure was puzzled, as the male apprentice didn¡¯t seem to want to rescue hispanion. On the contrary, he seemed to be preparing himself to watch a good show.


    ¡¯Her... life... is in my hands, don¡¯t...try... anything rash!" The shadowy creature was speaking in the Salusnguage, which was different from the universally used humannguage. However, this didn¡¯t stop Leon from understanding what it was saying. Language, with the help of the Chip, was perhaps the easiest thing for Leon.


    Leon, still leaning against the stgmite, watched the scene before him.


    The perfectly curved, seductive body of Bleia was a magnificent view and Green would never miss such a good opportunity to enjoy it. Also, as Leon was extremely interested in this creature, he ordered the chip to scan it.


    "Beep! Scanning of creaturepleted. Found a matching species in the living beings database. Does the host wish to view it?"


    "Yes! Show it to me!"


    After Leon¡¯s aLeonent, the detailed information on the creature in front of him was sent into his mind.


    The Lizardmen race are intelligent creatures found in the Underground. They possess the bloodline of both a lizard and a human. They are mutated creatures and are able to move stealthily, and control their body temperature. In the Underground world, they are found in every major region working as assassins.


    Lizardman?


    While studying the information, Leon quietly matched the shadowy figure in front of his eyes with the one in his mind.


    The creature had a skinny, human-like body and wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes. Dark green lumps could be found everywhere on its rough, thick skin. It only had four fingers, and its hands were like webbed like a frog. It also had long and curvy nails, which looked like razor-sharp des.


    The creature seemed to have human-like facial features, but, as its skin was too dark, no one could clearly see its expression. Its transparent eyelids kept blinking, allowing its protruding eyeballs to focus freely and turn in any direction it wanted.


    Judging from its voice, it should be a man, no, a male.


    However, this was beside the point. In any case, it was an ugly fellow who made Green feel disgusted after just one look.


    Especially, after it recklessly abducted Bleia!


    Inwardly, Leon gave out his final verdict.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the advantage it had in this environment, it would only be able to, at most, match up to an intermediate apprentice. Leon scoffed. With this little ability, it still dreamed of abducting the frightening Bleia?


    A faint smile emerged on Leon¡¯s face. He really didn¡¯t know whether he should give a three-second tribute for its unfortunate encounter.


    Leon only hoped that it wouldn¡¯te to regret its decision.


    ...


    2017 Words

 Chapter 53: Explosion in the cave

    Leon¡¯s overly calm attitude had caused the Lizardman to start to doubt the value of the hostage he held in his hands.


    But, before he could do anything, the frail Bleia moved first.


    With just a few twists, her fair and slippery naked body was freed from Lizardman¡¯s control. Bleia then dodged nimbly, suddenly appearing behind the Lizardman. Leon could see that the Lizardman¡¯s arms were hanging limply by his sides, and he seemed to have lost the ability to defend itself.


    Blood was oozing out from the joints of the Lizardman, dying his dark green scales red. It seemed that Bleia had cut his muscle tendons using her sharp nails.


    Any ordinary human, when getting wounds like these, wouldn¡¯t be able to fight, however, Lizardmen were different. They had a strong vitality and excellent resistance, so, to them, it was simply a minor injury. After all, although the Lizardman couldn¡¯t move his limbs, he still had a mouth full of sharp fangs.


    But, because Bleia was hiding behind him, all of his attacks had failed.


    As he was trying to detach himself from the frighteningdy, his body turned numb and, like a robot losing power, he stiffened. A smile graced Bleia¡¯s features as she slowly pulled her long, sharp nail out of the Lizardman¡¯s back.


    In closebat, by using the gap between the Lizardman¡¯s scales, Bleia could sever his neck instantly. At this moment, the Lizardman waspletely powerless and had no way to fight back.


    "What? Are you going to stay here and watch?"


    After ridiculing Leon, who was in a rather embarrassing situation, Bleia draped herself over the Lizardman¡¯s body, gradually moving her tender lips towards his fragile neck.


    "Beauty and the Beast!"


    "Little Green Man Fighting the Vampire!"


    It was such an erotic drama, that Leon hoped he could enjoy it close-up. He wanted to p excitedly.


    However, whenever he imagined the potential scene that was going to unfold, he felt that it was better to just avoid it. Unlike those vampires who, in his memory, would gently poke their sharp fangs into their lover¡¯s necks, Bleia obviously preferred to ravage her meal and enjoy itpletely.


    Leon felt that if he saw the scene of fresh blood mixing with organs, he would lose his appetite. Therefore, he just spun around and sulkily left.


    As he passed by a stgmite, he heard the frightening sound of muscle ripping, followed by Bleia¡¯s excited moans.


    "Bite~~"


    "GLUB~~"


    "Sucking~~"


    "Break~~"


    "Crak~~~"


    As Leon heard the weak cries of a creature in the throes of death, he couldn¡¯t help but shudder and increase his speed.


    After nearly half an hour, Leon saw Bleia fixing her dress as she walked out of the cave. It seemed that she had enjoyed her ¡¯restaurant¡¯.


    Anyone looking at her beautiful face brimming with energy, wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what had just happened.


    "Have you taken the sample from the mission site?" Leon closed up his magical book and asked.


    "This is just a small matter, so obviously it¡¯spleted!" Bleia said contentedly. After agreeing, she casually tossed a Rune Crystal to Leon.


    Leon cast a verification spell, and, after finding it suitable, he ced it into his waist pouch.


    Every pond located in the mission sites had a small magical formation ced at the bottom of it. These formations helped the Mages on garrison duty grasp the situation in the Underground Cave. It enabled them to observe the terrain without leaving their Mage Towers.


    The duty Leon and the other apprentices were given was to collect the information stored in the formations by using a custom-made Rune Crystal. Afterpleting this duty, they were free to use their spare time to harvest some rare Underground resources.


    The team, after splitting up, had agreed to reunite in three days. Thus, they had plenty of time to harvest all the resources located around the mission site. Since both of them hadpleted their mission in half a day, they had some spare time they could use to leisurely travel around.


    However, while both of them were traveling around, a heart-pounding battle was urring in another cave just five miles away!


    Leo, the apprentice Mage from the Mushroom Forest in the Rofen region, was fleeing. Two ck-robed Pseudo-Mages were chasing after him. Matthew, the other advanced Mage in Leo¡¯s team, was nowhere to be found. It seemed that he had been struck with great misfortune.


    Leo truly deserved to be the young Pseudo-Mage his family had high hopes for. It could be seen that he had extraordinary talent in Thunder Elemental magic spells. Although he didn¡¯t have great Agility, he could move freely thanks to theyer of white Wind Elementium surrounding his body. In fact, one could even liken his speed to that of a feather or a fast stallion. If it wasn¡¯t for the winding tunnels and stgmites, Leo probably would¡¯ve already escaped his pursuers by now.


    Whenever he ran by some narrow areas, he would stretch both his hands outward and form an arc of blue electricity, allowing it to dance violently between his palms. Then he would toss it over his shoulder and, without even bothering to check the result, continue onwards. After throwing it, within ten seconds, a loud boom would ring out from behind him, followed by a bunch of cursing.


    Following that, two sorry-looking, burnt figures would emerge from the dust. This happened so often that, every time they exited, the small Lightning Storm would¡¯ve ripped off a bit more of their ck robes. Their robes were falling off like butterflies.


    After one of the ck robes waspletely torn to pieces, it revealed a man wearing pitch-ck, soft leather armor. He carried a snake-headed staff and had bloodshot vertical pupils. He was absolutely terrifying.


    "Are we still going to chase? This guy is a tough nut to crack!" A middle-aged man asked through clenched teeth.


    The figure on the left pulled off his hood, revealing a malicious and cruel looking face.


    "Chase! This guy isn¡¯t familiar with the surrounding terrain, and, once he runs into a dead end, we¡¯ll teach him a slow lesson."


    "Where are Anna and Gary? Why aren¡¯t they here yet? Do they really need to take so long just to settle an advanced apprentice?" The man with bloodshot eyes asked, looking over his shoulder.


    "They changed their route! They¡¯ve already sent me the details about the enemy team¡¯s situation. They sent me all the information they got from that advanced apprentice. I think that they¡¯re on their way to sector seven right now in order to search for the weakest team." It seemed that judging by the way he gave orders, the middle-aged man was the leader of the group.


    "Damn it! I knew this was going to happen! It looks like we have to try harder. If we let this guy go, then we¡¯ll have to return empty-handed." The man with bloodshot eyes cursed with clenched teeth. After hitting the ground with his staff, he transformed into smoke and merged with the cave wall, disappearing without a trace.


    The ck-robed leader grinned somberly, and a ring of ck light flickered out from his body, doubling his running speed.


    A momentter, a ground shaking boom echoed out from a tunnel far away.


    "BOOM~~"


    The brutal and violent shock wave swept across the winding tunnel, crushing everything in its way. Anything that stood in the way of it, be it stgmites, stctites, sand, stone or dirt, was all swept up and thrown in a random direction. The residue magic energy caused the debris to act like sharp arrows, shattering the cave in a violent explosion.


    The battle of life and death that had urred between the Pseudo-Mages had brought about devastating damage to the Underground tunnel. It had even caused widespread damage within a two-three mile radius. Arge amount of the area had copsed, causing rocks to shift positions and block tunnels. This caused many tunnels to be unavable for usage, however, at the same time, new passages were being formed. The old saying "When one door shuts, another one opens" had never been so true before.


    Of course, such a massivemotion could never escape from the eyes of the apprentice Mages in this region. After witnessing the destruction, they all quickly found themselves a stable spot and hid. They were all quietly wondering what had caused this huge turmoil.


    Within a dark, quiet and broken cave, a soft popping sound was heard, and a huge, dark figure suddenly emerged from underground. The figure nearly upied the entire space in the cave.


    "Damn it! Why is there suddenly an earthquake? Could those other Mages have stumbled upon an active region during their inspection? Damn it..." Bleia¡¯s sweet and seductive voice echoed throughout the darkness of the cave.


    "I¡¯m afraid this earthquake isn¡¯t a natural one!" Leon¡¯s stable and calm voice quickly followed. His eyes flickered with an intelligent expression as he continued saying, "The source of the quake is located five miles to the south-east of us, and is around twenty metres deeper than us. If this was a natural earthquake, the focal point wouldn¡¯t be so close to the surface, so..."


    "So... someone caused it!" Bleia looked over her shoulder at Leon. Obviously, she was surprised by the fact that Leon could still remain calm in such an situation. She was also surprised that he could have such an urate sense of direction, even though they were in an underground area with no light. After thinking these thoughts, she continued with her speech, "Are you saying one of our teammates has met with enemies?"


    "That¡¯s highly possible!" Leon analysed. "Firstly, because the source of the quake is so close to us, it is unlikely that it has no rtion to our team. Besides, you know the strength of the Underground creatures in this ce, and, except for a few rare creatures, it is impossible for any of them to harm us. Therefore, the earthquake cannot be because of a Pseudo-Mage going all out against a creature. Since that isn¡¯t a possibility, there can only be one logical exnation!"


    "En!" Bleia nodded her head in aLeonent. "It should be those ck-clothed bastards from before. The only thing is, is that we have no idea who bumped into them. Truthfully, I really want to test out their ability. I mean, with your golem we can travel underground, so maybe we canunch a sneak attack!"


    "We were overconfident on this mission. After all, this is our first mission and the first time we¡¯vee to the Underground. Hence, before we understood the unique environment and the new style of fighting here, we shouldn¡¯t have split up. We should¡¯vepleted our mission together and waited until the next mission to split up. Also..."


    "Also what?"


    "Also, don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re the weakest team amongst all of them. If the enemy really wants to ambush our group, we¡¯re the most likely to be targeted!"


    "So what? I really want to test out their ability. Since you im your Earth Elemental golem is so amazing, can you sense the surrounding enemy¡¯s activities? I¡¯ll tell you what, if you help your sister catch one of those bastards, I¡¯ll spend the night with you. What do you think?" Bleia trailed her finger across Leon¡¯s lips and giggled carefreely.


    For some unknown reason, Leon suddenly shuddered. He couldn¡¯t help but feel heartache due to Bleia¡¯s naughty behaviour.


    Bleia¡¯s interest in teasing men had grown stronger, and she never forgot to keep flirting with Leon. However, after noticing that her bloodshot eyes would grow darker when she got excited, Leon had no choice but to use his powerful will to suppress his lust. He did this because he didn¡¯t want to be Bleia¡¯sb rat and someone she could just toy with whenever she wanted.


    ...


    1987 Words

 Chapter 54: A trap

    After trying his best to get rid of the thoughts brought about by Bleia, Leon used the chip to connect his mind with the controlling core of the Demon Alligator Hunter.


    Leon¡¯s surroundings seemed to suddenly dissolve intoplete silence, and, by using the golem¡¯s crystal core, Leon found himself looking at a whole new world. In this strange new world, Leon could see the all of the Earth Elementium in his surroundings. By using this feature, Leon could observe any movement made on the ground, as even a slight movement would cause ripples in the surrounding Earth Elementium.


    However, these ripples were extremely weak, and only urred in the Earth Elementium. So, anything that wasn¡¯t an Earth Elemental creature would find it extremely difficult to sense movements happening far away.


    But, Leon had actually done it!


    While he was immersed in that strange world, he could sense movement from as far away as a hundred metres! Not even the sounds of snakes crawling or scorpions nesting could escape his notice. He could sense all of these movements through the delicate spiritual connection between each Earth Elementium. He could then project these movements into his mind, forming an image that looked almost identical to the real world.


    As he was limited by his Spirit, the maximum distance he could sense was only one hundred meters. If he tried to sense anything beyond one hundred meters, he could only roughly sense the direction where the vibration originated. In addition to this, he couldn¡¯t picture the exact scene in his mind like he could when it was within his range.


    When on the surface, observing a distance of one hundred meters was an easy thing to do. In fact, any apprentice Mage could see dozens of miles by simply standing on high enough ground. If the apprentice was capable of flight, then they could see over an area of nearly one hundred miles. However, when this one hundred meters was ced within the Underground world, where everything was coated in thick rocks, sand and dirt, it became really impressive.


    After all, whilst in this Underground world, even if two men were separated by a ten meter thick rock wall, it would still be very hard for them to discover each other. The Underground Cave was a strange ce, because there was more metal the deeper you went. This metal greatly interfered with spiritual sense and detection magical spells. Therefore, unless a special method was used, it was near-impossible that these two men would discover each other.


    Either way, the ability to move stealthily and to see in the dark were basic abilities for all intelligent Underground creatures. Without these abilities, it would be very hard for them to earn their living in this eternally dark ce.


    Like a man talking in their sleep, Leon kept muttering things under his breath, describing everything he was sensing. Suddenly, his body trembled violently and he whispered urgently into Bleia¡¯s ears.


    "There are two human-like creatures located one hundred meters down, at an angle of seventeen-degrees south-east. I¡¯m sensing a strong Elementium aura. It is highly likely that they are both apprentice Mages."


    Bleia¡¯s body went stiff, and her bloodshot eyes narrowed.


    The source of the quake had originated from that same direction, and, now there were two apprentice Mages emerging from there. It wasn¡¯t hard to put two and two together. They both knew that there was a higher possibility of it being a bad situation than a good one!


    "Can you identify who they are? It would be best if you could get a clear sense of their strength!" Bleia whispered, cing her lips beside Leon¡¯s ears.


    It seemed that Leon hadn¡¯t heard what she said, as he continued immersing himself in his detection. "They are heading in our direction right now, but there is a four-degree deviation... between us, there are three tunnels and two caves. They are ny-three meters away... they have arrived at the first cave, however, the cave has copsed. There is no tunnel leading to where we are. Wait... it seems that they are casting some kind of spell, as I can sense a strong Elementium ripple. It seems that they¡¯re holding something in their hand that can pinpoint our location... that is..."


    Leon suddenly opened his eyes, a shocked expression emerging on his face. He whispered, "It¡¯s amunication crystal! They have themunication crystal we were all given before we split up! They¡¯re using it to track us!"


    After arriving in the Underground Cave, each person, in order to makemunication easier, had exchanged their respective personal auras. The fact that the enemy had gotten hold of amunication crystal meant that one of their group members had already been caught by them.


    Leon took out a fist-size blue crystal from his waist pouch and prepared to toss it far away, but before he could, Bleia stopped him.


    "If they are really locating us through the personal aura in themunication crystal, then why don¡¯t we just prepare a trap for them...?" Bleia asked. It seemed that whenever ughtering was involved, a strong killing intent would always leaked from her eyes.


    Both of them were scheming and merciless people, so, after a short discussion, Bleia took Leon¡¯smunication crystal and hid in the darkness. Leon grinned evilly before kicking the Demon Alligator and sinking into the soil.


    ...


    Anna lead the way as they wormed their way through the broken and winding tunnel.


    Before entering the next cave, she quickly scanned the surrounding area.


    Her eyes swept across the silent tunnel before stopping. She looked far into the distance. Broken rocks and stgmites were scattered around at the edge of the winding tunnel. Dimmed light,ing from unknown sources, was shining through the gaps between them, resembling the sharp fangs of grinning devils.


    She tilted her head slightly and listened to any audible sound. She heard a muffled rumblinging from the beneath her. Sprays of mist were constantly bursting out from the cracks in-between the rocks; while the glow of illuminating fungus shone onto these mists, created a strange and unusual illusion-like scene.


    In such an environment the difficulty of hunting enemies was huge.


    The battle that had happened previously had caused a lot of damage to the surrounding terrain, resulting in many passages bing hard to recognize. This caused the natives¡¯ advantage to weaken, as they no longer had a solid grasp over the area.


    As the enemies they were hunting were very cunning, Anna made sure not to leave too many traces in the air. It was because of this that, after travelling a certain distance, she had to reconfirm the enemy¡¯s location.


    Anna ced the blood-stainedmunication crystal on the ground and began to softly recite some strange, unintelligible spells. After she had finished casting, a pale, long-haired women, who didn¡¯t have any facial features, manifested itself in front of her.


    "The great ancient banshee, please show me the location of our enemy!"


    After hearing her request, the faceless banshee, who was hovering above themunication crystal, slowly turned her head before stopping when she faced a certain direction.


    "Looks like they¡¯re moving towards sector eleven!" Gary, the ck-robed Pseudo-Mage, who was following behind Anna, said excitedly.


    Gary¡¯s interruption had clearly caused the summoning ceremony to rebound. The faceless banshee¡¯s head turned around until her gruesome face faced Gary. A mouth appeared and opened up on her face. It seemed like she was preparing to let loose a howl and devour Gary¡¯s soul.


    Anna, who was an advanced apprentice, abruptly bit the tip of her tongue. She immediately spat out a mouthful of warm blood. An extremely miserable cry rang through the air as the banshee instantly disappeared.


    At the same time the banshee disappeared, Anna gave out a muffled grunt. It was clear that she too had suffered some bacsh.


    Gary, showing no remorse for his reckless actions, pped his robe and transformed into a strong wind, disappearing from where he was. His voice rushed into Anna¡¯s ears and lingered there for a while.


    "I¡¯ll go ahead and hunt for those enemies. Take your time and catch up quickly!"


    As soon as Gary had left, a hateful and venomous expression leaked out from Anna¡¯s cold eyes. However, she knew, that with her status of only an advanced apprentice, there was no way she could offend those Pseudo-Mages. If not for their need for her ¡¯summoning¡¯ abilities, perhaps these Pseudo-Mages would never even have allowed her to join in their hunting group in the first ce.


    Their target was only a beginner apprentice and an advanced apprentice. Why did they dare traverse this Underground world with such weak strength? Sometimes Anna really wondered whether there was something wrong with the brains of the Mages on the surface. How could they send such weaklings to the Underground world? This was no different than sending them to their death!


    Anna hastily grabbed the things she had left on the ground, before pulling her ck robe tightly against her and rushing through the dark tunnel. If she waste, then that Gary would never leave anything good for her. Now, Anna¡¯s only wish was that the enemy¡¯s advanced apprentices could hold on for a little bit longer. If they did that, then she might have a chance to capture the beginner apprentice.


    In Elysium City, the city of Fallen Mages, resources were extremely scarce. The resources she could get in exchange for a beginner apprentice from the surface could let her rx for nearly a year.


    The abyss-like tunnel didn¡¯t seem to have an end. The winding passages full of obstacles made it difficult for her to run at full speed. Fortunately, there was still some residue Wind Elementium, left behind by Gary, in the tunnel. This not only prevented Anna from getting lost but also saved time.


    Anna had almost arrived at the huge cavern in sector eleven, however, she stopped in the middle of thest tunnel.


    For some unknown reason, her intuition was warning her that there was danger.


    Rumble...


    The ground suddenly shook, causing Anna to be terrified, as she felt that the source of the quake came from right under her feet.


    The violent quake caused the tunnel ceiling to copse and huge amounts of sand and rocks to pour down from the ceiling. Soon, Anna was forced to retreat to the cave she had previously entered.


    In the dark and cold cave, a bizarre human figure silently waited for her.


    For any outsider, the darkness was the source of terror. However, Anna had lived in this Underground world for her entire life, so, for her, it was the best source of protection. But, right at this moment, she couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. She stared at the apprentice Mage, who was standing far away.


    Anna used the enemy¡¯s spiritual ripples to quickly identify them.


    It was actually that advanced apprentice! She couldn¡¯t believe that he actually dared to confront her face to face!


    "Just let yourpanion show themselves!" Anna¡¯s clever mind had quickly analyzed the whole situation. She continued by saying, "I can¡¯t believe this! A beginner apprentice actually has the ability to travel through the earth! It looks like he really is suitable for living in this kind of ce!"


    The mild earthquake just now had happened at the perfect time. It executed just the right amount of force to it had utilize the surrounding terrain and separate Garry and her. It looked like her enemies had chosen to ambush them and had picked her as she was the weakest. She scoffed. They actually dared to try and seek advantages over her, an advanced apprentice.


    A cruel grin lit up Anna¡¯s face. She bent down and charged towards the girl in the red dress.


    ...


    1977 Words

 Chapter 55: Leon and Bleia vs Anna

    As Anna was charging towards the enemy, she quickly tossed a few bizarre magical rings onto Bleia¡¯s body.


    Confusion spell!


    Slow spell!


    "Zoshhhh~~"


    One spell could confuse the target¡¯s mind and cause there to be a dy in their reactions, while the other one could reduce the target¡¯s movement speed by nearly half. If the target didn¡¯t have immunity or couldn¡¯t quickly dispel them, then these two simple curses could lower their strength by more than thirty percent.


    But, Anna wasn¡¯t done yet! She cried out and stretched her arms out, facing her palms towards the sky. A strange-looking, glowing green rune soon appeared on each palm. Almost as soon as those runes appeared, the lower section of Anna¡¯s arm began to transform into green vines. These vines brought about a fierce gale and began to whip Bleia, who was standing there, motionless.


    It was Spirit Summoning.


    However, Anna¡¯s Spirit Summoning spell was quite unique and could massively enhance herbat ability. This was because she could actually let a part of her body merge with the summoned spirit.


    The powerful whip smashed into the ground, causing tworge cracks to branch out like a spider web.


    "Pow~~"


    "Pow~~"


    As the debris shot in all directions, Bleia¡¯s body suddenly turned into a series of after-images, and, within a split second, she appeared beside Anna.


    Anna couldn¡¯t help but be shocked by Bleia¡¯s ghostly speed.


    In actual fact, Bleia¡¯s after-images were formed under the effect of the Slow spell. Anna shuddered as she realized that if the Slow spell wasn¡¯t activated Bleia probably wouldn¡¯t even have left after-images at all. As soon as she realized that she was facing an opponent who possessed super speed, Anna couldn¡¯t help but curse at her reckless and impulsive actions.


    Damn it! She shouldn¡¯t have tried to start a melee fight with an opponent like this!


    However, it was toote to pull back the whip now.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"


    Anna cried out loudly as she unleashed a dazzling ring of green light that started to spread around her body. Soon, the light transformed into a thorny set of armor that perfectly covered her well-rounded body. After ensuring that she had a proper defense, Anna restlessly swung the whip above to protect her head, shattering all the after-images that had appeared in front of her.


    "Zosh~~"


    Although Anna had a nearly imprable defence, ripples still continuously appeared on the surface of her armor. A few crisscrossed scratches were seen on the armor near her chest and ribcage. Also, after suffering a few hits from the enemy¡¯s sharp nail, a long strand of the vine had been cut off from her left arm. Despite the fact that only green liquid was oozing from the wound, Anna couldn¡¯t stop herself from taking a step back and letting out a painful groan.


    Anna crazily forced a new strand of the vine whip to regrow. After regrowing, it once again began swinging violently in all directions, brutally attacking every possible enemy that appeared.


    As a matter of fact, she had absolutely no idea where the true form of the enemyy. The only thing she could catch was the bizarre after-images that were left behind by the enemy attacking at their top speed.


    It was clear that Anna wasn¡¯t familiar with melee fighting, and she could only decently attack by using the summoned spirit. Thus, whenparing Anna, a beginner-level melee fighter, with Bleia, who was a master of meleebat, it was obvious that she would suffer a tragedy today!


    Her whip vine, that she crazily swung from side to side, couldn¡¯t touch Bleia at all, and her body armor could only barely spare her from Bleia¡¯s attack. However, despite this, she was still hanging on. At least, under Anna¡¯s crazy offensive strikes, Bleia found it rather tough to get close and attack the body armor. Although from time to time, Bleia could sessfully attack it, it still wasn¡¯t enough to deal a deadly blow.


    At the same time, far behind them, sudden, rapid booms were heard from the other side of the tunnel.


    "Bang!"


    "Tremor~~"


    "This tunnel had been clogged up by countless rocks and sand. It was obvious that the ck-robed Pseudo-Mage, who was led down the wrong tunnel, had discovered that something was amiss. The rapid booms were probably caused by him crazily attacking the clogged tunnel.


    The raging magic spells that the Pseudo-Mage was unleashing caused arge amount of rock debris, and countless stgmites and stctites to fall down and break into pieces. They were falling apart in haphazardly, filling the entire battlefield with smoky, rock dust.


    If that Pseudo-Mage was given sufficient time, it was likely that he could really break through the cave wall and open a new temporary passage.


    Anna knew that her reinforcement would soon arrive, so she gave up on attacking and just focused on defense. Anna ignored the fact that Bleia kept leaving bloody scratch marks on her body and just kept crazily swinging her whip.


    Indeed, it seemed that none of these advanced apprentices could be taken lightly.


    Although the magic spells they had mastered hadn¡¯t yet reached an extravagant stage, they still covered all the aspects ofbat: offensive, defensive, distraction and self-enhancement. This meant that the outsiders barely any weaknesses to exploit. This eventually led to the outsiders gaining a quick win.


    Anna and Bleia were both advanced apprentices, but, judging from the situation, Anna was clearly weaker than the quick and aggressive Bleia. Although Bleia wished to end the fight as soon as possible, it was something that was easily said but not done. At the very least, Bleia couldn¡¯t do it without paying a price!


    Bleia¡¯s attacks had caused the cave wall to be on the brink of copse, with many cracks decorating it. After seeing this, Bleia gave up on killing Anna alone.


    "Rascal! Don¡¯t just hide there and do nothing! Quicklye over and help me!"


    After dodging the vine whips attacking her sides, Bleia once again waved her hands. She then left two deep, bloody scratches on Anna¡¯s body. However, as Anna had quickly regained the initiative and had begun to attack again, Bleia was unable to attack any more. She quickly dodged the vine whip that curled backwards. When she once again broke Anna¡¯s defence and managed to move closer, she found that both the wounds had beenpletely covered by the thorny armor.


    It had happened again and again. Eventually, Bleia couldn¡¯t tolerate anymore and called for help.


    Anna¡¯s face turned pale in an instant.


    Anna was already struggling with fighting Bleia alone. She was absolutely convinced that, if she had to face thebined attacks of two people, she would face disaster.


    Anna didn¡¯t dare to neglect this thought, so she immediately bit off half of her tongue. As she spat out a mouthful of blood, her body suddenly became taller.


    Before this, only a small part of her arms had been transformed into green vines. But now, her body started to expand and her skin started to break apart, exposing countless green vines worming in between.


    By forcefully increasing her summoned spirit¡¯s level, Anna hadpletely transformed her body into a frightening Man Eating Flower. Her feet had transformed into green roots that dug their way into the ground, her arms were fully transformed into whip-like green vines, and her body yed the part of the thorny flower stalk. However, her head, the only thing left that resembled a human, was surrounded by a countless number of huge flower petals.


    After transforming into the carnivorous, violent "Flogger", all of her vital organs had disappeared from her body. She knew that as long as she could hold on until Gary arrived, all the energy spent on performing the secondary transformation of her summoned spirit would be worth it.


    Leon, who had been hiding in the dark, dared not to neglect the fight anymore. He finally made up his mind and got himself involved in the battle between the two advanced apprentices.


    A vibration suddenly resonated through the ground. The ground underneath the Flogger¡¯s feet had turned into a slippery, muddy swamp-like area. Before Anna could flee from this area, a huge and frightening figure emerged beside her. It opened up its huge mouth and bit on the flower stalk that made up her waist.


    Anna let out a jarring shriek as the pain hit her. She violently waved her two thick, long vine whips, hitting the Demon Alligator¡¯s y armor over and over again. Debris and y flew across the room, turning the cave into a violent battlefield. At the same time, behind the heavy protection of the huge petals, she opened her mouth and spat out a clump of sticky, stinking, green, acidic vomit.


    The acidic vomit sprayed at the Hunter who was riding on the back of the Demon Alligator. The vomit instantly corroded and melted its upper limbs and skull. If the crystal control core of the Hunter wasn¡¯t located at its chest, it would have likely beenpletely destroyed in this attack.


    Leon, who was lurking in the shadows, was struck by terror. Your next read awaits at NovelBin.C?m


    It was as expected. The battle between advanced apprentices was not something he, a beginner apprentice, could easily get involved with. If it wasn¡¯t because he was being cautious, and only let the Demon Alligator Hunter ride on the Demon Alligator instead of him, he probably would have been killed.


    He hadn¡¯t mastered a defense magic spell, so, when facing a furious counterattack by an advanced apprentice, he had no trump cards that he could use to bring him out alive.


    But, the Demon Alligator Hunter, controlled by Leon, only needed to briefly restrain Anna¡¯s attacks. That was more than enough to turn the tides of battle.


    Before Anna could save herself from the Demon Alligator¡¯s gaping jaw, Bleia¡¯s attack had arrived.


    The sound of flesh being cut rang through the air.


    "Zap!"


    Sh~~


    Bleia bent over and stared at Anna¡¯s head. She reached out and, using her sharp nails, she sliced through Anna¡¯s firm skin. Then, she sunk her fangs into the area where the head and the stalk met.


    The quick, sucking motion made Anna go berserk. She struggled desperately, waving her arms and using them to violently whip Bleia¡¯s mutted back. However, no matter how hard she tried, there was no way to stop the vampire from wildly sucking her blood.


    "Glub~~"


    "Glub~~"


    "Glub~~"


    "Glub~~"


    As more of her blood essence was drained, the power behind Anna¡¯s whip began to shrink. Finally, her arm dropped and her body began to quickly dry up. Her eyes, hiding behind her petals, began to hopelessly close.


    As her life force was quickly departing from her body, Anna could no longer maintain her summoned spirit body transformation. Her body kept shrinking


    and transforming and finally returned to her original human form. Just as she died, Leon ordered the Demon Alligator to open its huge mouth and swallow Bleia and the dead body into its body. It then turned to Leon and did the same before quickly descending into the earth again.


    The moment after they had disappeared, a loud boom was sounded out from a cave wall on the far side. Parts of the cave wall crumbled, resulting in a huge hold. A Pseudo-Mage, whose ck robe was covered in a mist of green, illuminating light, sprinted into the cave.


    As he stared at the remains of, what seemed to be, an incredibly tumultuous battle, and smelled the stinking vomit that had spilled all over the cave, Gary unintentionally let out an extremely angry roar.


    He didn¡¯t roar because he was heartbroken about Anna¡¯s death. He simply hated the fact that the enemy had used the simple method of luring the strong and striking at the weak to eliminate his partner. This... this action simply disyed contempt towards him!


    "You bastards! Come out and fight me now, damn it! I¡¯ve remembered your auras. You better not let me bump into you again. I..."


    After spending a long time furiously roaring into the cave, Gary had never sensed any abnormal auras. Left with no choice, Pseudo-Mage Gary turned around and dissolved into the darkness of the tunnel.


    ...


    2044 Words

 Chapter 56: Loot

    [WOODD here! We¡¯ve decided to change the term "Elemental" to "Element" when talking about a specific element to avoid any confusion. For example, Saying Fire Elemental could give an entirely different meaning which could mean a being made of fire. So in this case, Fire Element or the Element of Fire is going to be used. Also, we¡¯ve changed "Blood Clotting Medicinal Paste" to "Blood Coagting Medicinal Paste". Sorry for the inconvenience and enjoy the chapter below. :D]


    ...


    After travelling for nearly two hundred meters underneath the earth, Leon was forced to resurface.


    After all, traveling underground underneath the earth¡¯s surface wasn¡¯t as easy as it is on the surface. Areas full of rock formations and random patches of sand had brought no small amount of trouble for the golem. For this very reason, Leon had immediately ordered the Demon Alligator to resurface by making their way out of a random tunnel just after they had left the danger zone.


    Leon closed his eyes and used his senses to probe things out. Inside the Demon Alligator¡¯s stomach, Leon found Bleia breathing rapidly, her body as hot as boiling water. As for Leon¡¯s reaction to this, he just shook his head and sighed.


    The ancient bloodline of the vampires was, as expected, quite incredible. Just by sucking blood alone, their strength would continue to soar into greater heights.


    During the previous battle, Bleia had forcefully sucked the blood essence of the enemy advanced apprentice, filling her body with great amounts of blood energy enabling her to, once again, undergo another round of evolution.


    Due to theck of necessary information pertaining to Bleia¡¯s situation, Leon did not dare to disturb her natural evolution. What he could do, however, was to find a rtively safe ce, he then made the Demon Alligator spit her out and ced her on a warm and cozy nket. After that, he excitedly started to search the dead body for treasures it won¡¯t need anymore.


    Before he started, he sped both of his hands together forming a posture of a prayer, closing both of his eyes as he prayed to all of the gods he could think of. After he finished praying, Leon rubbed his palms excitedly, kneeling besides Anna¡¯s miserable-looking body and started to conduct a search for possible loot.


    Being an advanced apprentice, she must have some magical items she carried with her. No matter how poor she was, she should at least have some magical books or notes containing valuable magic insights. Even if she didn¡¯t brought those with her, Leon still hoped he could at least find some magic crystals or magical materials.


    When Anna was still alive, she was beautiful while also having a well-developed body which added another level of attractiveness towards her. Unfortunately, thest battle was incredibly violent, resulting in most of her skin being torn into bloody scars, making her current looks a far cry to her previous one. Despite her body being in such a state, most of her clothes and equipment were still intact.


    The very first item that Leon looted from her body was a bracelet Anna had worn on her right wrist.


    Through his Elementium Vision, he could see that the bracelet emitted a bright green glow making it obvious it was indeed a unique magical item. Leon spent quite some time in identifying it and found out that the bracelet could swiftly unleash a nt element armor made of countless thorns.


    Although the nt element was not in line with Leon¡¯s elemental affinity, as long as there is energy stored in the bracelet, Leon could still forcibly use it. Having mastered not even one defensive magic spell, being able to use it as a substitute for such spells brought him a great sense of happiness. He even gave the bracelet a few kisses out of joy and wore it on his wrist with not an ounce of hesitation.


    The next item Leon looted was Anna¡¯s leather boots.


    After going through identification, Leon found out it was a pair of magical boots made from Lantern Grass and the leather from a Demon Flower. The boots had the magical effect of being unhindered when walking through a forest. When wearing them, one wouldn¡¯t be stopped by the bushes,vines and brambles when walking through a virgin forest. Even if it was in an impassable forest that no one could walk through, these boots would allow the wearer to pass through it as if he was walking on t ground.


    Unfortunately, it was ady¡¯s boots!


    Leon had tried putting it on a few times, but it clearly wasn¡¯t suitable for him. Left with no other choice, he set it aside for now and decided to go and ask Bleia in the future to see if she has any interest in them.


    The third item he discovered was a pair of magical earrings.


    It had the effect of self-recovery magic of the nt element. By wearing these earrings while standing still in a ce filled with lush vegetation, the wearer would recover approximately ten health points every fifteen minutes. Although ites with a strict condition, it could still help during certain types of situations.


    After all, just using Blood Coagting Medicinal Paste would only heal external wounds but not provide any restoration to health points. For this very reason, wearing these earrings might be able to save his life in precarious situations.


    With Anna¡¯s status of an advanced apprentice, owning three magical items was considerably good. Soon, Leon stripped off her waistband and quietly identified it while holding it within his hand.


    It was a well-made and luxurious-looking waistband. A bunch of bizarre runes were engraved at its inner side. Leon spent a decent amount of time reading them but he could only recognize four of them from the eleven runes present. Read new chapters at NovelBin.C?m


    Feeling hopeless, Leon borrowed the strength of the Chip.


    "Chip! Scan these runes!"


    "Beep. Scanning of storage waistbandpleted... discovered eleven Ancient Mage Runes, initial result shows they are the activation spell of the waistband... the content of the spell is..."


    Following the data transmitted by the Chip, Leon furrowed his brows and imitated the pronunciation of the eleven Ancient Mage Runes.


    Right after the spell was recited, Leon sent out his senses and discovered the existence of a small spatial space from the waistband. Within this tiny space, dozens of unknown items floated around.


    A storage waistband! It really is a storage waistband!


    Leon had long coveted a convenient treasure like this one.


    Although the storage waist pouch was quitemon among apprentice Mages, it wasn¡¯t a spatial item, that¡¯s why it wasn¡¯t capable of eliminating the weight of the items stored within and it was also unable to iste the magical ripples emitted by magical items. While the waistband was considered to be of the lowest grade of spatial items, anything stored inside would no longer weight anything and no outsider would be able to sense the magical ripples inside.


    Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised for being able to harvest a luxurious treasure such as a storage waistband. For his very first battle in the underground world, it was considered to be really good.


    Leon carefully looked over his shoulders and realized Bleia was still in a state of deep meditation. He immediately put on the storage waistband carefully hiding it beneath his waist pouch.


    This precious treasure cannot be exposed!


    This was an incredibly amazing item. Leon already had one even though not all pseudo-Mages have the fortune to own one!


    After ncing at Anna¡¯s corpse several times, making sure there weren¡¯t any leftover magical items on this Fallen Apprentice Mage¡¯s body, Leon went on to inspect the contents of the storage waistband, taking them out one by one.


    Inside, he found seven magic crystals, a notebook about magic spells, a Croaking Frog used for special magic spells, amunication crystal, a crystal green wooden stick which was as long as his arm, a magic mythril the size of a thumb, and a wooden statue normally used by priests.


    ...


    Including today¡¯s loot, Leon currently owns a total of ten magic crystals indicating how rich he had be with this small fortune of his.


    The notebook about magic spells recorded Anna¡¯s insight and her experiences on her learnings of nt element magic spells. It also contains iplete knowledge concerning the use of summoned spirits to possess and strengthen the summoner¡¯s body. Unfortunately, all of these weren¡¯t of much use to Leon because of his magical affinity towards fire which contradicts the element of nt. It looks like he has to find a way to trade it for something else of use after his return.


    The Croaking Frog was amon magical material. It¡¯s primarily used for setting up alert-type magic arrays which belongs to the auxiliary magic array type.


    Themunication crystal Leon found was obviously from one of his groupmates who was captured by Anna. By sensing the personal imprint stored inside it, he knew the unlucky owner of it was in fact, Matthew, an advanced apprentice.


    Both the crystal green wooden stick and the magic mythril were rare magical materials. The former was a semi-finished product, a nt element magical item Anna was crafting but only managed to finish halfway. Thetter was a high-grade material used for crafting magical staves, which could greatly improve the conductivity of magical energy. Effectively reducing the loss of energy when casting spells.


    The amount of magic mythril Leon has on hand was enough for him to craft a small-sized single-handed magical staff.


    Leon was uncertain about the purpose of thest item, the wooden statue. A magical aura exuded from it but there wasn¡¯t any magical runes or characters engraved on this item. It looks like he has to return to the Mage Tower and have an expert appraise it for him to know what exactly it is used for.


    While Leon was observing the wooden statue and silently pondered, a soft and warm body suddenly assaulted him from his back.


    "Hehe, my dear, handsome Leon! Since you treated me so nicely, how do you want me to repay your kindness?" A sweet and seductive rang beside Leon¡¯s ears. After that, Bleia squeezed her arms beneath his armpits, gently stroking the area around his chest.


    Ugh...


    This sudden and unexpected lustful development instantly made all of Leon¡¯s hair on his body stand on ceremony, also causing his body to be as stiff as a stone statue.


    "Do you want me to give you a kiss?" Bleia¡¯s sweet voice lingered in his ears.


    "I..."


    Just when Leon was about to say something, a fragrant but sloppy tongue forced its way inside his mouth.


    It was as if a Magma Fireball spell suddenly exploded in Leon¡¯s mind, blowing all other thoughts away! His mind lost on cloud nine, losing himself over the blissful moment of the present.


    A fairly long time had passed by, and only then did Leon finally struggled to get his mind out of this dream-like state. At this moment, Bleia could be seen sitting beside him, holding a pair of magical leather boots in her hand.


    "Chip, tell me what happened just now? Why does Bleia affect me so deeply?" Leon secretly asked the Chip this question.


    "Beep. Detected traces of a magic spell... Host might have been charmed by a spiritual magic spell. Judging from the experience the host went through just now, it should be the ¡¯Natural Charm¡¯ spiritual spell..."


    Natural Charm?


    Leon couldn¡¯t help having his lips twitch.


    Damn! This particr one is extremely effective!


    Ultimately, most magic spells of the spiritual type would show obvious spirit ripples when being casted. So long as one paid close attention, it¡¯s rather easy to guard against them. But, what makes Natural Charm a cut above the rest lies in the word ¡¯Natural¡¯.


    This spell cannot be learned at all, as it only awakens in a limited number of species. Once it was awakened, it would bring the host a tremendous but hidden benefit.


    Whenever a creature possessing the ability of Natural Charm entered a dangerous region, it would not gain the hostility of those neutral creatures as long as the creature didn¡¯t have any destructive behavior.


    If Bleia does indeed possess this ability, then every word and action from her would be more seductive and charmingpared to before, making it harder for enemies to be on guard against her.


    Leon couldn¡¯t help but start to doubt, did Anna possessed some kind of special bloodline in her body, for example, that of a Demon Flower or a Demon Tree? If not, how could she bring out such a weird ability by having her blood absorbed by Bleia?


    "You¡¯re awake now, Leon?" Marry seemed to be fully satisfied by how the situation turned out.


    "I never thought just a single kiss from me could bring your head up in the heavens! Looks like you really have to temper your willpower more often!"


    Leon stared at Bleia with a distressed expression. He noticed that Bleia is still unable to properly control her newly obtained ability, that¡¯s why each and every word and action of hers carried a strong power of suggestion and seduction.


    "We already killed an advanced apprentice Fallen Mage, should we continue looking for more resources or return back as soon as possible? Leon can only try his best and divert Bleia¡¯s attention.


    "Let¡¯s go back!" Even though Bleia was an overenthusiastic, her mind was still clear and logical saying, "We have created more than enough of a racket here. Maybe the other teams are already rushing back to our base as we speak. And so, I¡¯ve decided we should be heading back too! I don¡¯t want any more of this underground world ce crawling with those ck-robed Pseudo-Mages!"


    "Yes!"


    Leon nodded his head, fully agreeing to Bleia¡¯s suggestion.


    ...


    2320 words

 Chapter 57: Return

    When Leon and Bleia finally arrived to where the groups had split apart, there were four people waiting for them already.


    Noticing the weakest team had sessfully returned safely, a rxed smile simultaneously appeared on the faces of Marcus, Leander, Isaac, and Bruce as their hearts finally felt at ease. If something happened to the Leon and Bleia duo, someone would have to do investigation missions all alone.


    But before they could ease their blooming smiles, they were ck-jawed after seeing the dead body Bleia had brought back with her. Seeing the ck-colored Mage robe with distinct characteristics from the ones they¡¯re wearing, they all came up with an idea... this apprentice Mage¡¯s corpse belonged to a Fallen apprentice Mage.


    While the three advanced apprentices could still remain impassive, the Pseudo-Mage Marcus sported an unnatural expression on his face.


    "Did that body belonged to an advanced apprentice or a Pseudo-Mage?" Marcus asked in a deep voice.


    "Of course she¡¯s an advanced apprentice. If she was a Pseudo-Mage, we won¡¯t be standing here before you, safe and sound." Bleia said naturally.


    Hearing her answer slightly rxed Marcus¡¯ stiff expression, but he was still unable to get rid of his unnatural expression. If he didn¡¯t experienced going to the underground world himself, he might not even be the slightest bit interested regarding this kind of result. But if there was one thing the cruel experiences of the underground world had taught him, it would be that using any kind of elemental magic spell in a ce like this would be catastrophic. He knew their victory didn¡¯te easy as most apprentices only know a few elemental magic spells.


    Elemental magic spells could inflict a massive amount of damage within arge area of effect, thus making them stand at the very forefront among all other kinds of magic. This made apprentice Mages who mastered elemental spells to be likened to a magic cannon with frightening firepower, able to bombard the battlefields with magic spells and cause mass ughter. What limited their potential was not the number of enemies but the very little amount of magic energy they had.


    However, in this underground environment, all of these skills would no longer be of much use.


    In the event of an unexpected fight urring underground, the fiery elemental spells would destroy not only the enemy, but also the area around them. With that said, immeasurable amounts of dirt and sand would pour down from above. Even if it was a Pseudo-Mage, once he¡¯s trapped in this dreadful situation, escape would have an extremely slim chance.


    What apprentice Mages want in this location was not some kind of magic spell that has a highly destructive power, but one with just enough power to defeat their foes. An apprentice Mage can only be called a qualified spellcaster when he/she is able to both control the power and effect of the spell, and efficiently cast it towards the enemy urately.


    Put it this way, a swarm of Rat Men ambushed you amidst the darkness, it¡¯s not them that is more likely to kill you, but the explosive fireball you nonchntly sent to the enemy. After being viciously swarmed by the underground creatures and being ambushed by strange demon beasts of the darkness, apprentice Mages who had gone through this stressful and miserable situation would slowly adapt, shrugging off their previous arrogant and pretentious attitudes. Bing someone ruthless but calm, yet smart and shrewd.


    These few apprentice Mages experienced firsthand how painfully hard it was to fight an enemy of the same level in this underground world making them feel shock over the corpse of an advanced apprentice brought by Bleia.


    Not one Body Refining Mage was present among the apprentices who signed up for the Underground Cave exploration mission. But why is that? It is because the deep and narrow underground tunnels aren¡¯t suitable for Body Refining Mages who fought with pure strength. When fighting in this kind of environment, mini magic spells with moderate power and quick casting speed would be preferable.


    In a fight between apprentice Mages, the two parties need to constantly change their battleground and slowly umte advantages to devour the enemy one bite at a time. Once either side realized the situation wasn¡¯t looking good for them and decided to flee, it would be incredibly difficult for the chasing side to entrap the enemy without having any special ability.


    But this red-dressed Bleia could actually aplish this feat, showing that she must have some kind of strange magic spells that are extremely suitable for use in this types of ces. What would that be?


    The group couldn¡¯t help but ponder upon this.


    At this time, thirty-four hours had already passed since they decided to split up. From what they could infer from the distances from here to the paths each of them took, even Sabrina¡¯s group who took the toughest mission site should have returned by now. When they connected the dots between their absence and the violent ¡¯earthquakes¡¯, the group was struck with worries.


    Fortunately, the worst case scenario never happened. After three hours of waiting, Sabrina and Sh returned in a rtively bad shape.The mission site they chose was located nearly ten miles deep beneath the ground, thus being greatly affected by the violent earthquake earlier. If it wasn¡¯t for Sabrina mainly studying mechanical spells, having reced a few of her vital organs with powerful magical machinery, perhaps it would be very difficult for them to break through the copsed underground passages that led them back to the surface.


    Out of the five teams that had gone here, only four had returned safely. Hence, it was painfully obvious who among them were attacked.


    Right when the group was about to bitterly ept the loss of two fellow members in their very first trip to the underground world, the young Pseudo-Mage named Leo fled back to their camp, bathed in blood. Your journey continues at NovelBin.C?m


    His gray apprentice robe had torn apart here and there, his skinny body full of crisscrossing wounds. Dark smoke emanated from these wounds, staining the flesh around them in pitch-ck color. Leo¡¯s face had also been hit by an Acid Arrow, with half of his face making a sizzling sound resulting from the corrosive effects of the strong acid. If not for his distinct spiritual ripple revealing his identity, the group would¡¯ve treated him as an enemy.


    Although he was severely wounded, Leo still refused his teammates¡¯ treatment. Especially because they were yet to truly establish trust between each other. He does not want his body¡¯s secrets to fall into the control of any outsider.


    Hiding in a corner alone, Leo hastily treated his wounds. He then came back to the group with a gloomy expression, prepared to be questioned by his teammates.


    When they heard there were three ck-robed Pseudo-Mages and one advanced apprentice attacked Leo and Matthew¡¯s group, even Sabrina couldn¡¯t help but ponder in silence. If she was the one who bumped into the enemy group, maybe she herself wouldn¡¯t escape uscathed. Seeing Leo was able to preserve his own life, it meant he possessed good enough ability to do so.


    "How was the overall strength of the enemies you guys encountered?" Sabrina asked Bleia after she was done with Leo.


    "We met two enemies, one Pseudo-Mage, and one advanced apprentice. We set up a n and lured away the Pseudo-Mage then ambushed this advanced apprentice. Leon and I cooperated to kill her!" Bleia described lightly.


    Although she told them it was her and Leon together that killed the enemy, whether it was intentional or not, the group naturally ignored Leon¡¯s existence.


    No way, a beginner apprentice who had less than ten Spirit points and only mastered a spell or two, could a guy like this really participate in a battle between advanced apprentices? The group had a hard time imagining this.


    It was only at this time that Leo noticed the female corpse lying besides Bleia¡¯s feet. Immediately after, he shrieked out loudly.


    "S-she... she was among the four who attacked us. After Matthew and I split up and fled on our own, two Pseudo-Mages went after me while this girl and the other Pseudo-Mage chased after Matthew. I only managed to escape from their pursuit after a bitter fight."


    Although Leo spoke evasively, the group didn¡¯t really care much.


    Split up and flee separately? Hmph. Under such perilous circumstances, would a mere advanced apprentice like Matthew even have the courage to flee on his own? Leo must have realized the situation wasn¡¯t looking too good, thus he ditched Matthew and ran for his life. By doing that, he divided the enemy¡¯s strength and attention.


    Although everyone had already guessed what probably happened, no one med Leo for his actions. If they were in his shoes, they might have done the same thing as him.


    Matthew¡¯s inability to escape can only be me to his ownck of ability. Who gave him the audacity to take on this Red Mission without any life-preserving methods?


    After gathering information from both teams, Sabrina finally concluded the intelligence gathering about the enemies.


    There were three Pseudo-Mages. The first among them took the path of Bloodline Mages possessing the frightening bloodline of the Demonic Serpent; the second one took the path of Profound Mages able to summon some corpse puppets with powerful battle power; thest Pseudo-Mage walk the path of Principle Mages having an elemental affinity with Wind Elementium.


    With this intelligence in their hands and the dead body of an enemy advanced apprentice, the group received rewards from Mage Angus when they returned to the Mage Tower. Although Leo was ambushed on his way back, he was still able to return andplete his mission, thus he also received his share of the reward.


    As for Bleia, the girl who got lucky and was able to kill an enemy of the same rank all alone, she obtained a special reward from Mage Angus. But no one knows what kind of reward she actually received since the process of giving out rewards was done with utmost secrecy.


    At the time the group was about to leave, Mage Angus warned them in a ghastly voice saying, "Little apprentices, you better not regard yourselves as veterans already after only one sessful trip from the underground world. In the uing mission you will have, you¡¯ll be met with more difficulty with the frequency of attacks from the enemy will rise. Only those who are cautious and prepared will live longer lives. So take advantage of the few days of rest you have, otherwise, you won¡¯t be as lucky as you are now in your next trip."


    "Moreover, the intelligence you brought back is useful. I¡¯ll pass them onto the hunting team here. I assure you, the ones who attacked you wouldn¡¯t have a peaceful trip back towards their base. Jajaja..."


    From the hidden meaning faintly revealed by Mage Angus¡¯ words, the group finally understood the importance of the few apprentice teams that only consisted of pure veterans.


    If we were to talk about it figuratively then, them, the new team would be the bait to lure out the prey. While the team of ckhand Kevin would be the harpooner that strikes down the enemy. One acting as a prey to lure out the strong enemy apprentices, while the other acted as the hunter, specialized in hunting down these ck-robed Pseudo-Mages who took the bait and exposed themselves.


    In fact, when those ck-robed Pseudo-Mages failed to kill Leo and Bleia, they had also exposed their whereabouts. With just a send of a message, the hunting group who had roamed the underground world for many years would immediately pursue them.


    Upon imagining the possible cruel fates the ones who ambushed him and made him flee in desperation, a savage smile emerged on the Leo¡¯s half-festered face.


    ...


    1998 Words

 Chapter 58: Another Core

    The reward they received was directly tied to the difficulty of the mission they turned over.


    The mission that Bleia and Leonpleted together had the lowest degree of risk, so the reward they received was much lesserpared to the others. But the special reward they got from bringing back an enemy¡¯s body made them smile widely.


    After they returned to their residences, Leon was nning on having a good rest in his room. But Bleia stopped him and threw an object at him.


    It was an Earth Element Crystal Core the size of an egg. An earthly yellow halo can be seen floating around the brownish yellow core with bits of tiny bright specks of light emitted from it. When he was holding it in his hand, It shined beautifully like a bright and shimmering star!


    Leon could not help but hold his breath.


    Through the rhythm of the undting elemental ripples, he could clearly see that it was a Pseudo-Mage level Earth Element Crystal Core.


    "You deserve this. I had already savored my reward by sucking dry all the blood essence of the enemy. Let this be the reward for your hard work!" Bleia was still as generous as always and with that said, she turned towards her own room and went in.


    Leon was pleasantly surprise and hesitated for a while but finally decided to keep the gift and went back to his room.


    Leon waited for a bit to ascertain the surroundings were safe and calmed his mind. He remained silent as he startedmunicating with the Chip.


    "Chip, can you digitize Bleia¡¯s attributes?"


    "Beep. Data collection has beenpleted... Detailed information is as follows..."


    Ugh... She does indeed have a powerful ability that allows her to evolve just by sucking blood. Leon wondered what kind of magical experiment Mage Eclivel, one who had resided in the Swamp Tower all these years, did to Bleia. How is he able to create such a frightening magical puppet?


    If Leon guessed correctly, Mage Eclivel must have ced some kind of controlling mechanism in Bleia¡¯s body, deeply rooted in her Vampire bloodline. Although Mage Eclivel might be lenient towards Bleia now, once she matured sufficiently to his taste, perhaps that will be the time he wille and harvest what he had fostered.


    What was the limit of Bleia¡¯s growth? Pseudo-Mage or official Mage? Could it be, Mage Aderson is nning to use some kind of method to create an Mage-level magical puppet?


    Most importantly, once Bleia bes a Pseudo-Mage, she would have the terrifying ability to produce blood ves. At that time, if Mage Eclivel really wants her to, Bleia could give him a loyal army of blood ves. For a first grade Mage like him, this would be an excellent trump card against his enemies!


    Bleia might already be aware of her own situation which is why she was rather self-indulgent in both her actions and words. She did everything arbitrarily, unrestrained by her own natural instincts. She probably isn¡¯t able to distinguish whether her thoughts wasing from her true self or from the will Mage Eclivel nted deep within her soul using magic.


    That¡¯s why even though the rtionship between Leon and Bleia had been rather good as ofte, he still harbored vignce deep within his heart because he did not know when the trigger hidden in Bleia¡¯s body would be activated.


    But this was a ¡¯small problem¡¯ that can be solved with time. So long as Leon sessfully be an official Mage, that Mage Eclivel would no longer be a superior existence he couldn¡¯t reach. Perhaps he could even solve Bleia¡¯s problem through exchanging benefits or other means.


    Leon satfortably in front of the wooden table in his temporary shelter. He took out the spoils of the previous underground trip examining them one by one.


    Naturally so, the thorny armor bracelet and the storage waistband he looted from Anna had to be kept for his own use. As for the earrings that has a self-healing effect, he would put it up for sale in exchange for magical equipment that¡¯s more suitable for him. Since he already scanned and copied the contents of the notes about magic spells, it was no longer valuable to Leon. He would sell it too and see if anyone was interested.


    The crystal green wooden stick and magical Mythril looked like the materials Anna had prepared to craft her future magical staff. Too bad though, as she hadn¡¯t collected all the required materials, so she had to carry them with her which ended up as loot for Leon.


    After having Mage Angus identify the crystal green wooden stick, he found out it was a tree branch from an Mage-level Treant that boosts the power of all nt Element magic spells. Regarding the magical Mythril, it was a native product of the underground world, unable to be found above the surface. The thumb-size Mythril Leon found can easily fetch a price of more than a thousand magic crystals. It¡¯s also quite rare and highly demanded that once it was sold, it can¡¯t be bought back with the same price.


    This is only natural as magic Mythril is a high-ss consumable product and those who already got it after spending a hefty amount of money will also soon use them up. So a situation of high demand but low supply persisted.


    Therefore, if Leon really wanted to craft his first-ever magic staff, he doesn¡¯t have to find magic Mythril anymore. Though he needed to rece the material used as the main body of the staff. In the end, Leon¡¯s elemental affinity was Fire and not the nt Element.


    Concerning thest item, the wooden statue, Mage Angus identified it as a spiritual beacon used tomunicate with creatures from other nes. ording to Mage Angus¡¯ exnation, that female apprentice Fallen Mage that they killed could establish a stable and strong connection with an unknown powerful being from another ne through the ritual of Spirit Summoning. And it seems that from time to time, they would exchange items from the other¡¯s ne that they needed.


    However, for this matter, Mage Angus expressed serious contempt.


    The World of Mages itself is a major ne that attracted the universe¡¯s attention, dominating more than thousands of small and medium-sized nes. And thus, no matter what kind of resources one needed, anyone could obtain it through the local trading system. There wasn¡¯t any need to use the backward method ofmunicating with other nes. Because each and every one of these nes have their own respective principles, added to that the severe interference caused by the tidal waves of energy from the oceans of stars, the resources consumed by a sessful long-range item exchange would be three to five times higher or more, in contrast to the cost to get it via the normal method.


    If it wasn¡¯t for some extremely rare types of resources, no one would use such a primitive method anymore. As for the reason why that female apprentice still kept thismunication beacon, it is most probable that she wanted to exchange knowledge with that existence.


    And this was strictly forbidden by the entire Mage society!


    Most importantly, if a native Mage carried out such scornful behavior that betrays the Will of the Mage World, then it would essentially reduce the beneficial response that person gets from the Will itself. As a result, it would be progressively harder for the Mage to advance to a higher gradepared to others.


    That¡¯s why there are not that many official Mages who would do something like this, an act that would give them more losses than what they would gain. Probably only those Fallen Mages that were banned by official Mages would be willing to use this inefficient and harmful method simr to quenching thirst with poison.


    Being just a mere beginner apprentice, Leon still haven¡¯t qualified to get in contact with the Will of the world in a direct and clear manner. So, regarding the Will that Mage Angus had revered in utmost respect, Leon¡¯s mind was filled with curiosity. Even though he has no specific n to use it for magic experiments, he still kept the wooden statue with him.


    Maybe, just maybe, when his ability has improved a bit allowing him full control of his own life, he might consider exchanging something that he¡¯s interested in with the powerful beings that existed in other magical and mysterious nes.


    As for the Pseudo-Mage level Earth Element Crystal Core he got unexpectedly, Leon did not dare to deal with it carelessly. He ordered the Chip to give it a full scan then have it draft a n for a custom golem modification.


    After Leon was done with all these, he took out a magic book and began his daily routine of studying while working with the Chip to run simted experiments within his spiritual domain. When his Spirit was at the brink of depletion, he lied down on his bed and started to go in a state of deep meditation.


    Now, with the help of the Chip, he could enter into a deep meditative state whenever he wanted. Every meditation would give him an increase of 0.08 Spirit and four experience points. This was very important for any Mage since it could increase their maximum level of Spirit. While there are many Mages who would consume magic medicines or special potions to increase their Spirit, this isn¡¯t an option for those ordinary apprentices without the support of a wealthy family who would offset the astronomical cost of the said special consumables.


    For example, the ¡¯Mind Concentrating Potion¡¯ which was very effective in increasing the Spirit of any apprentices below the level of advanced apprentice. The list price for it in the Potion Hall of the Mage Tower was five merit points plus five magic crystals for every bottle. A bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion could bring an increase of 0.5 to 0.7 Spirit to a beginner and intermediate apprentice. Despite the fact that the number wasn¡¯t that remarkable, it was still a precious item for those ordinary apprentice Mages.


    After all, before Leon had the help from the Chip, he could hardly enter into a deep state of meditation. Besides, normal meditation could only bring an additional increase of 0.01 to 0.02 to Leon which was vastly inferior to his current rate of growth from his deep meditations.


    Strictly speaking, merely a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion could save two full months of strenuous meditation for an apprentice Mage. By looking at its wondrous effects, even if the price of Mind Concentrating Potion was rather expensive, it was still sought after by countless apprentices. Experience tales at NovelBin.C?m


    Merit points is used to purchase most of the resources in this ce. It waspletely different from the knowledge points Leon gained back in the Swamp Tower. The knowledge points he knew of were merely a currency implemented by Mage Eclivel solely for use inside the Swamp Tower. On the other hand, merit points implemented by the Zhentarim Association could be used in any area that was under them.


    As for the other three major Mage associations, they also have their very own independent currency system. There is clear dissimrity between them and they also couldn¡¯t be exchanged with one another.


    After risking his life through thepletion of his very first underground inspection mission, aside from the rewards he got, Leon also received five merit points which was just enough for him to buy one bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion.


    It was already midnight when he was done meditating. After verifying the results from his meditation, his body was wracked with exhaustion. Leon shook away all other thoughts and went to a deep slumber.


    ...


    1974 Words

 Chapter 59: Selling item

    Built by the Zhentarim Association, the Mage Tower garrisoned in the Underground Cave was considered a small one. It had seven floors aboveground and two floors below, making it a building that consisted of nine floors.


    It''s worth noting that the structure of the building was also simr to the Swamp Tower which Leon had stayed before.


    The first to third floors above the ground was a public area. They were open to all apprentice Mages, functioning as the main area of activity for them. The public facilities avable for them covered nearly every field of study an apprentice could ever be involved in. On the other hand, the fourth to seventh floors were only avable to official Mages, serving as their living quarters and a site for experimentations. If any apprentice intruded in these ces without special permission, they would be mercilessly attacked by the defensive mechanisms of the Mage Tower.


    Currently, Leon was out on a stroll around the public hall located on the first floor of the tower.


    Unlike Swamp Tower, the Underground Cave was an open territory, allowing apprentice Mages to form their own items to visit different areas in search of materials and harvest resources. That''s why the materials and resources avable in this ce was many times more abundantpared to the Swamp Tower.


    In addition to the gloomy and dark underground world, there''s also the resource-rich Ker Mountain Range in the surface. Within the confines of these steep mountains, countless exotic flowers and rare herbs can be found growing healthily. While numerous powerful magic creatures were hiding in their respective nests deep within mountains.


    Actually, the surrounding area of the Underground Cave was perfectly suitable in nurturing apprentice Mages.


    For beginner apprentices, they could team up together and venture into the wild forest around the Mage Tower to harvest the resources they need. They could even practice their magic spells while they were at it at the animals that can bemonly found in the woods. Intermediate apprentices could venture deeper, able to set foot into the depths of the mountain range and go for solitary training. As for advanced apprentices, they could journey to the upper regions of the underground world, fighting Ratmen, Hooked Horrors and many more undead creatures.


    An apprentice Mage who honed his skills through these methods would be far more brutal and strong-willed than an apprentice from the Swamp Tower who only know how to grow with time through long-term meditation. In other words, Leon gave off the impression of a typical apprentice that came from a low-tier Mage academy, while the others seemed to be battle hardened apprentices who learned from realbat. There was too much of a difference between them that they cannot bepared at all.


    Early in the morning, the public hall had already been packed to the brim with apprentice Mages who are seeking for new additions to their teams. Most of them were beginner and intermediate apprentices with a small number of advanced apprentices can be found among them. Even more apprentices were on the corners of the hall with ck cloth spread out on the floor, with a couple of strange looking items on top of it, all the while holding a book in their hands. When an apprentice came up to them, only then would theyzily answer a few words. They would just read their books quietly most of the time.


    Chapter Continue:


    This lifestyle waspletely different from the Swamp Tower making Leon feel envy but helpless before it.


    After all, before they entered Swamp Tower to learn, all apprentice Mages were required to sign a magic contract with Mage Eclivel, making them lifetime apprentices of the tower. In order to break free of this contract, there were only two methods: Either obtain Mage Eclivel''s permission or be an official Mage.


    If any apprentice bound by the contract secretly escapes from the Mage Tower he belonged to, he would lose his status as an apprentice, bing a traitor that will be sought after by hunters. Truth was, among those Fallen Mages living in the depths of the Underground Cave, majority of them were traitors before they became Mages. However, with their status as an Mage not being approved by the Zhentarim Association, they could only conceal their identities and be stray Mages.


    Although Leon envied the lifestyles of apprentices in this ce, he could only shake his head and sigh as he felt sad for his fate.


    Taking cover within the crowd of apprentices, Leon browsed through the stalls located on the sides of the road while secretly examining these apprentice Mages of the Underground Cave.


    From the apprentices who were recruiting members in the center of the main hall, Leon found out something about them. He noticed that even a beginner apprentice here would be fully equipped with decent magic equipments and magical items. The magic wand that can hasten casting speed, a waist pouch full of magic scrolls and potions, a dazzling disy of tiny decorations... each and every one of them here was considered a mini arsenal. Although their individual battle power wasn''t strong, but with the help of so many items to supplement them, they would be able to bombard the enemy with a plethora of magic spells.


    In Leon''s eyes, these apprentices were walking human gold coins. From top to bottom, inside and out, every single inch of their body was giving off the strong smell of money. Comparing himself to them, Leon can''t help but feel ashamed of his own unbing, quickly erasing the proud feeling he had after the small victory he aplished.


    Possibly only the beginner apprentices who ran stalls while reading books would be the only people as poor as Leon. Anyone can easily tell they just became beginner apprentices, the rookies who are still unqualified to venture into the wild.


    Leon circled around the public hall and when he had stored enough information, he stopped and came to a rather lively stall and interacted with the owner.


    The owner of the stall was a young man. He looked quite heavy, donning a poorly fitted short apprentice robe provided by the Mage Tower. This gave him a funny appearance. Together with his facial features that kept changing while he was talking, all of these had made his stall the liveliest ce in this area.


    "Hello, my name is Leon!" Leon walked up to the owner and introduced himself.


    "That... hello to you too, my name is Sam." The fatty responded with humorous atmosphere. He continued, "Is there anything I can help you with?"


    "Hello, Sam. I would like to inquire, is there any special procedure that I have to go through to be a vendor here?"


    "Ugh...


    Sam stared at Leon from top to bottom and asked curiously, "You''re a new beginner apprentice here, aren''t you?"


    "That''s right! I just came here two days ago." Leon replied vaguely. He didn''t want to waste any energy in exining why he, a mere beginner apprentice, woulde to this ce and carried out a deadly mission here in the Underground Cave.


    "You poor thing! You must be a neer who was ditched by your mentor. I knew it at first sight! But don''t worry, just follow your big brother Sam and sooner orter, you''ll be like them, armored to the teeth with all kinds of magical equipment.." Unexpectedly, Sam was actually a warm-hearted person, as he quickly activated his enthusiastic brother mode.


    But when Leon had nced on this guy''s face, he was left speechless after seeing the data detected from Sam in his mind.


    This person who proimed himself as big brother was actually a super rookie, a beginner apprentice who only has six Spirit points. This had nearly driven Leon insane.


    "Ugh...Sam, I just wanted to ask you... Can I also put up a stall here to sell a few items?"


    "No problem, it''s not a problem at all! I, Sam, is known for taking good care for all neers. Come here... I still have some extra spare space here, you can just ce your things here!"


    After he obtained Sam''s permission, Leon quickly paced a tray-sized ck cloth on the ground then took out five items from his waist pouch, cing them on top. There was the nt element self-healing earrings, the crystal green wooden stick used as the body of a magic staff, leather boots that has the ability of "Jungle Walk" that enables the user to walk unhindered in jungles or woods, the Croaking Frog andstly, the notebook of magic spells he got from the enemy.


    The leather boots were here too, and the reason why made Leon angry. The reason was simple, Bleia didn''t like it as the magical pattern on top of the boots wasn''t exquisite enough for her taste. So, early in the morning, she simply threw them back to Leon asking him to get rid of it himself.


    Leon totally could not understand this reason at all. And thus, hebeled Bleia as one of the most iprehensible creatures of this world.


    Watching how Leon had made a fuss while setting up his stall, Sam, who sat beside him wasn''t able to hold hisughter. He gave Leon''s shoulder a pat and warmly said, "Yo brother. Don''t me your big brother for not reminding you. You''re going to have a hard time selling your item by doing that."


    "Take a look at me! My stall is so big while yours is very small. With what are you going to attract people''s attention? Look, my stall even has a superb collection of beautiful things, but you only have... wait, what''s that?"


    No matter how weak Sam''s Spirit was, he was still able to quickly sense the distinct magical ripples from the items that Leon took out. Good heavens! He had a total of five items, and four of them were obviously magical items! From the design of those items and the magic runes carved on them, they clearly looked like items from the underground world.


    Puzzled, Sam stretched out his arm and picked up the pair of magic earrings and carefully gave it a look. In an instant, he let out a cry full of shock, "Recovery Earrings! This is a pair of Recovery Earrings!"


    Although his voice wasn''t that loud, it still alerted a few apprentice Mages who happened to pass by. One after another, they stopped by the stall and turned their eyes to the earrings held in fatty''s palm.


    "Fatty, what are you shouting at? Can you really get yourself a pair of Recovery Earrings? Don''t try to bluff with us!"


    "That''s right! Sam, you must have gone mad from wanting a pair of Recovery Earrings! Can a poor vendor like you really find yourself a pair of Recovery Earrings? Hahaha..."


    Ridiculed by the surrounding crowd, Sam''s face flushed with embarrassment but he never loosened his tight grip on the pair of earrings.


    Among the crowd, a girl with delicate features and a sweet smile suddenly walked towards the stall.


    "Sam, can you let me have a look at those earrings?"


    "This... the muscles on the fatty'' face twitched as he showed a look of wanting to give himself two ps on his face.


    In the end, he had no choice but to helplessly open his palm revealing the beautifully crafted earrings in front of this female apprentice.


    Curious, this female intermediate apprentice picked up the pair of magical earrings and examined it. After that, a pleasantly surprised expression was portrayed on her face. Under her skillful control, a bright green glow quickly and shily emitted from this seemingly unimportant looking magical item. A faint fragrance of vegetation spread out and filled the surrounding air.


    A series of gasping sounds could be heard.


    "There really was a pair of Recovery Earrings!"


    "Heavens! Someone is selling a tier-3 magical item in the main hall..."


    "No way! I have to inform Lina quickly! She had always wanted a pair of Recovery Earrings!"


    "You''re right! I have to inform my boss too..."


    "..."


    Within the crowd, many people hastily took out strange lookingmunication devices. In an instant, sounds of frogs croaking, birds chirping, insects calling, wolf howling... all kinds of weird animal noises reverberated in the entirety of the main hall.


    ...


    2062 Words

 Chapter 60: Tier-3 magical item!

    Leon rubbed his nose, clearly taken aback by the massive uproar. On the other hand, the fatty Sam couldn''t help but keep whispering to himself.


    "This is bad... this is really bad... if I knew beforehand that it was truly a pair of Recovery Earrings, I wouldn''t have shouted out loud with my big fat mouth! If boss Kern knows about this, he''ll surely give me a good scolding..." after he finished saying that, he also took out a round crystal ball and used it to call someone.


    The messy situation made Leon''s brows furrow. He had no idea what had caused thismotion. It was just some ordinary self-healing earrings, how was it able to cause such amotion? However, through the help of his sensitive senses, he soon heard a keyword from the conversations between the surrounding apprentices.


    Tier-3 magical item!


    Leon had only read a few books of Alchemy before and had neverprehensively learned or researched much about the ssification of magical items. That''s why he was totally unfamiliar with the term of Tier-3 magical item.


    Right when he was hesitating while thinking, the delicate looking female apprentice finally asked her question.


    "Pardon me, between the two of you, who is the owner of these Recovery Earrings?"


    Meanwhile, fatty Sam had gloomily set aside hismunication crystal and with a discouraged look, he pointed his finger at Leon.


    Left without any choice, Leon nodded his head and rubbed his nose saying, "I own this item!"


    "How much are you selling it for? How many magic crystals?" The female apprentice asked, full of anticipation.


    "I''m not selling it!"


    "Not selling? Then why did you disy it?"


    "Instead of selling, this item can only be traded. Items of the nt element doesn''t suit me, so that''s why I nned to exchange it with...:"


    Before Leon was able to finish his words, an uproar suddenly broke out from the crowd. Soon, a few men covered in sweat pushed through the crowd and arrived in front of him.


    These men were shocked to see each other in front of the stall and red at each other furiously.


    "Boy from the Patton family, it''s you again? One of my man saw this item first today, don''t you go on thinking you can seize it from us!" A burly man said in an imposing manner. He was also carrying a broadsword strapped on his back, wearing a finely made leather armor.


    On the other hand, while showing a sinister expression and unwilling to be outdone, an apprentice in a gray robe who had rushed here responded disdainfully, "Your man saw it first? Hmph. Just with that childish thinking alone makes you unworthy of my time. Whoever bids the highest price will get the item, this is the rule of this ce. If you''re so great as you say, why don''t you buy everything you see here?"


    Apparently, both men were team leaders of two established teams with both possessing the ability of advance apprentices. Therefore, when they started to challenge each other, the raging killing intent they exuded gave made everyone suffocate to the pressure. Since this ce was the inner area of the Mage Tower, none of them dared to start a real fight. What they could do, however, was to keep pressuring the other side using their powerful spirit.


    "Alright, alright! Why are you two doing this every time you meet? Since all of us came across the Recovery Earrings together, let''s name our prices. We''ll see who get''s it at the end!"


    The voice came from a young man dressed in a red robe who pushed his way out through the crowd.


    Although he looked young, he had a calm and cold expression, like someone who had been through many things. He didn''t have a handsome face but he wasn''t ugly either, his looks were quitemon, a faint smile formed from his slips.


    "What a surprise, Boss Kern is here too!"


    "This is going to be lively!"


    "Don''t push me aside! I still want to see what will happen!"


    ...


    ...


    The crowd''smotion was getting louder and louder.


    The man in the red robe turned around, sweeping his eyes over the crowd that had gathered. They quickly settled down when his nced passed by them. Afterwards, he gave the crowd a warm smile.


    "Alright, let''s stop making a racket. It''s quite rare to encounter a pair of Recovery Earrings here, and we all know everybody would want to get their hands on it, but we''ll see who has the fortune of bing its owner in the end!"


    Being suppressed by the man in the red robe, the two team leaders had no other choice but to retract their spiritual pressure. Together, they all went in front of Leon''s stall, casting greedy looks towards the earrings resting on the female apprentice''s palm.


    This female apprentice was clearly a team member of the guy with the broadsword as his brows quivered with extreme pleasure when he saw her.


    "Heidi, you truly have a good pair of sharp eyes. How is it? Are you able to buy this pair of earrings? If you don''t have enough magic crystals, the few of us together can go gather more. You have to buy it, no matter what!"


    The man in the gray robe and Kern furrowed their brows at the same time.


    "But he doesn''t want to sell, he only wants to trade it with something else!" Heidi couldn''t help but stomp her foot.


    "Trade?" All the three leaders were struck dumb and immediately asked, "Trade with what?"


    "Trade it with fire element magical items!"


    The three men simultaneously became silent.


    Where was this ce? It was the Underground Cave!


    Fire element materials were extremely rare in this ce. As a result, all Fire element magical items were considered a raremodity.


    However, all three of them were obviously not someone who would give up easily. One after the other, they all secretlymunicated with Leon through Spiritual Whisper, seeking for an alternative deal but Leon was firmly turned them all down.


    Right when the three leaders were calling their men to help out and look for fire element magical items, Leon found a chance to ask fatty Sam and learned the main reason why Recovery Earrings was a sought after item by many people.


    For most of the beginner and intermediate apprentices here, although the resources and materials found in Underground Cave had a high value, the risk from obtaining them was consequentially enormous. So most of their training and the areas of activity were carried out in the Ker Mountain Range. Catching demon beasts, harvesting magical medicines, exploring secret ces, all of these were always apanied with unpredictable dangers. Therefore, if a team could have a member with them who was well-versed in healing during their trip, it would definitely bring massive benefits to any apprentice team.


    That''s because if they only use Blood Coagting Medicinal Paste and Health Potions in healing their injured team members, the expenses they would incur would be too much, cutting down their earnings. Under such circumstances, a nt element Recovery spell would definitely help them save arge amount of additional expenses. Also, one advantage of the Recovery earrings was that, once the nt element energy stored within it ran out, they only have to stay within a ce filled with lush vegetation for a period of time and the energy would be refilled automatically.


    This, without a doubt, gave it a higher value!


    As for the so-called tier-3 magical items, it was actually a ssification of magical items given by apprentices. Magical items that could provide an effect 10 to 20 energy points were ssified as tier-1. Most small decorative items crafted by apprentice Mage belong to this category.


    Meanwhile, items that could provide 20 to 30 energy points of effect were tier-2 magical items. Sometimes, a few top quality items that were crafted by apprentices would be able to reach this tier as well.


    As for the tier-3 magical items, their effects had reached an outstanding 30 to 40 energy points. Most of these items were crafted by official Mages, usually as the products of their alchemy training. But when it falls to the hands of an apprentice Mage, it would be their trump card that can increase their strength.


    After listening to fatty''s exnation, Leon was confused and said, "This is impossible! I have tested it myself and these earrings can only provide me at most 10 green life energy. It can''t be a tier-3 magical item!"


    Hearing what Leon had said, fatty couldn''t help but pat his shoulder.


    "Don''t tell me you were using your own energy to test it? In order to activate the Recovery Earrings'' maximum healing effect, there are two conditions. Firstly, you have to use it at ce filled with vegetation like for example, a forest. Secondly, the user must also be a nt element apprentice. Since you''re a fire element apprentice, the effect would surely be reduced!"


    Atst, Leon was lit with a me ofprehension.


    No wonder these earrings gave him such a weak response when he tested it. Although the female apprentice only gave it a brief test, it instantly showed a distinct green glow. Apparently, he had used the wrong energy for it!


    ncing at the noisy scene, fatty shook his head while saying, "This have be such a mess... if this continues, those bastards of the enforcement force might be drawn to themotion here soon..."


    Maybe fatty was truly a real jinx or bad things were really just supposed to happen. Amotion broke out from the crowd once again as two intermediate apprentices wearing blue uniforms rushed in through the audience.


    "Who was the one? Who dared selling tier-3 magical item in this ce? Who gave you the audacity to do this? Don''t you all know tier-2 and above magical items and equipment can only be traded by us, the Murphy Association?" Showing a fierce expression, the young apprentice who was in the lead viciously red at fatty Sam upon his arrival, convinced that the guy was the culprit.


    "Sure enough, it''s you again! Sam! How dare you!"


    His face covered with fury, Sam refused, "Ryan, you better not speak without knowing the truth. This thing doesn''t belong to me. No matter how unreasonable you are, you can''t incriminate an innocent man!"


    The enforcement guy named Ryan moved his somber nce away from Sam''s face and came to a stop on Leon who was wearing a calm and rxed expression. He was suddenly hit with uncertainty.


    Although there were many apprentices in this Mage Tower, he knew who possessed strong abilities among them. However, he never once saw this beginner apprentice before, and from where did this guy found a tier-3 magical item?


    "Kid, I think you don''t probably know the rules in this ce!" Ryan stood loftily in front of Leon and continued, "As I said earlier, in this Mage Tower, any tier-2 and above magical item can only be sold to us, the Murphy Association. This is the magic contract that was signed between our association and Mage Howard. If you don''t obey the rule, you''ll risk having your apprentice status being revoked! Hmph..."


    After he finished saying that, he timely snatched the earrings away from the female apprentice''s palm and held it in front of his face. After inspecting it, he nodded with satisfaction. Chapter Read:


    "The quality of this earrings is pretty good. ording to the rules of Murphy Association, I''ll buy it from you using the market price. The price is..." Ryan rolled his eyes and added, "Fifteen magic crystals!"


    Ryan actually only wanted to say twelve magic crystals but he realized there were too many apprentices gathered around. He had no choice but increase it by a tiny bit.


    But even so, when the price of fifteen magic crystals was heard by the crowd, an uproar quickly ensued.


    "Why don''t you go and rob someone else?"


    "Heavens! Only fifteen magic crystals! This price can''t even buy a mere tier-1 magical item!"


    "That''s right, this is robbery in broad daylight!"


    ...


    ...


    The agitated replies of the apprentices obviously made Ryan angry from embarrassment.


    "Shut up! This is the aLeonent between our association and the master Mage himself! Who dares to question me? If any of you still make irresponsible remarks, I''ll immediately report you to the Mage on duty!"


    His blunt threats eventually quieted down the crowd. Even the three leaders who were standing in front of the stall were wearing annoyed expressions, suppressing their fury.


    ...


    2108 Words

 Chapter 61: Training camp

    After finding out that the crowd had be quiet, Ryan nodded in satisfaction.


    Right at this moment, a servant who had followed him here suddenly pulled on his sleeve from behind, pouting his lips at Leon''s stall.


    "Master Ryan, why do I have a feeling that those other items aren''t ordinary things too?"


    Ryan leaned his face forward and gave those items a careful look. Indeed, it was as the servant had said. He discovered some rather umon characteristics among them.


    "Croaking Frog, Elven Boot, Treant Branch..."


    Chapter Your:


    For every name he called out, the crowd would gasp in amazement. And when the name of Treant Branch was called out, a few apprentices who were experts in nt element magic spells couldn''t help but ce their palms against their chests, as if they couldn''t withstand the intense shock with their heart breaking into pieces.


    At the same time, fatty Sam was wearing an unsightly expression. He was portraying a look as if his heart had died, much like the look one would have if their father had just passed away.


    As for the other few team leaders, they had totally given up their intention of owning these treasures. They called their men back and walked away from the stall, bing one of the bystanders instead. They had a clear judgement. If a beginner apprentice was struck by luck, it was possible that he could find himself a tier-3 magical item. But if this beginner apprentice was able to take out a couple of tier-3 magical items together, then it wasn''t luck anymore.


    Only a beginner apprentice who was backed by a powerful n or one who was exceptionally powerful could do so. Either person was not someone they could afford to offend. Perhaps it was only Ryan, who was blinded by his own greed, who could not see such a simple fact!


    Indeed, upon seeing so many tier-3 magical items, Ryan could no longer maintain his calm. He immediately stretched his arms forward and tried to snatch all of them away.


    "holding~~"


    Arge hand reached out from the side and grabbed his wrist.


    "Mister, I don''t think you have the right to forcibly buy my items!" Leon could no longer stand the lousy show this clown was putting on, so he decided to stop this man from continuing to behave recklessly.


    "Why? You dare to disagree with me? Every single apprentice who lives in this Mage Tower knows that all tier-3 magical items are traded solely by us, the Murphy Association. You''ve already vited the rules for trading in this ce, so you better be careful or else I''ll put you into custody!"


    "Haha, mister. I think the agreement signed between your Murphy Association and master Mage himself is only limited to the members of this Mage Tower, right? However, I''m not an apprentice of this ce. Furthermore, these items weren''t produced by your Mage Tower. Therefore, what gives you the right to forcibly buy them off me?"


    "Kid, don''t try to fool me. If you''re not a part of this Mage Tower, how did you enter this ce? Hmph. You better let go of your grip, or else..."


    "Or else what?"


    "Or else, I''ll take you to Enforcement Quarter and teach you a good lesson!"


    "Hehe, if you really n to do so, you should prepare to be humiliated!" Leonughed through clenched teeth. He was finally unable to take it anymore and waspletely pissed off by this idiot.


    "What? Are you going to assault me?"


    While saying that, Ryan pped on his waist. In that instant, ck and thick hairs suddenly burst out from his once fair and clean face, and his body vaguely started to expand.


    Beastialize!


    A frown appeared on Leon''s face. He took two steps back, and swiped his fingers across his waist pouch, taking out two summoning crystal cores.


    Right when he was hesitating about whether or not he should really fight, a cold voice could be heard from the middle of the crowd.


    "Stop right there!"


    The voice sounded familiar to Leon.


    Leon immediately recognized him after being hinted by the Chip.


    A thought came over him, so he clenched his right palm tightly and didn''t throw the summoning crystal cores out.


    To be honest, this ce wasn''t suitable for the Demon Alligator Hunter to fight. Firstly, there wasn''t any y in the public hall. The only way to get the Earth Elementium was to try and absorb it from the surrounding air, however, this wasn''t an easy task. Also, as the Demon Alligator Hunter was his trump card, the better he kept it a secret, the better the result would be in a real fight. Thus, unless it was a critical moment, he didn''t want to expose this secret.


    Right when both men were confronting each other aggressively, a man strode out from the crowd. Judging from the way the crowd parted to make way for this man, it was obvious he was quite well-known.


    "Master Kevin!"


    ...


    One after another, the apprentice Mages bowed and greeted the man. Soon, ckhand Kevin, the advanced apprentice who Leon had run into once, arrived next to both the men.


    "Master Kevin, why are you here?" Ryan, the blue-robedw enforcement, nodded while bowing towards Kevin.


    The young, yet prestigious, Kevin wouldn''t even bother responding to Ryan. Instead, he nodded his head at Leon. He then squatted in front of Leon''s stall and examined the items.


    "Elven Boot, Croaking Frog, Treant Branch... good stuff, they''re all tier-3 magical items. No wonder these guys are so crazy about it. But, I thought I heard someone say that there was a pair of Recovery Earrings here?"


    "That... that... master, the Recovery Earrings are here!" Ryan hesitantly handed over the Recovery Earrings.


    "Alright!" Kevin took over the earring and tossed it back to the stall. Then he assumed a serious attitude and grabbed the magical notes. He gave it a few flips and briefly read through.


    Finally, Kevin raised his head and lightly sighed.


    "Just as I came back, I received news that the Demon Vine Lady was killed in the underground world, but I didn''t believe it. I''d never have thought that you''d even brought back her notes about magic spells. I suppose these items are taken from her, too? You''re really one of the younger generation who is worthy of respect!"


    "Demon Vine Lady? Are you referring to the girl who can transform her body? She was killed by Master Bleia, and it was her who ordered me to sell these equipments!"


    "Bleia? The girl who can transform into a vampire?" After pondering for a few moments, Kevin chose to believe Leon''s exnation. After all, no matter how he looked at it, it was impossible to believe that a beginner apprentice would have the ability to kill a notorious advanced apprentice Fallen Mage. "Pack up all your things and follow me! You won''t find anything you want here. I''ll bring you to the ce you''re supposed to go!"


    After finishing speaking, he helped Leon roll up the cloth before striding away. Throughout the entire process, he simply ignored the existence of Ryan.


    After both men finally disappeared from the sight of the crowd, an uproar once again broke out from the public hall. The few team leaders even dragged fatty Sam to a corner to thoroughly question him about the background of that mysterious young man.


    But those questions had lost all meaning to Leon. He was totally struck dumb by what he saw now.


    Kevin had brought him to a small training camp outside of the Mage Tower. In order to reach the camp, they had to fly. Therefore Kevin led him to a flying demon beast. For the first time in his life, Leon had the chance to ride on a flying demon beast. The demon beast Kevin had led him to was referred to as a ''Socrates Condor''.


    Socrates Condor was an advanced apprentice level Wind Element demon beast. It stood three meters tall and had a full wing span of five meters. It had a big, strong body and possessed the ability to cast Wind de, Wind Vortex and a few other basic Wind Element magic spells. It was a rare flying creature that dominated the forest region.


    Because of its great physical strength and incredible flying speed, they were often captured by Mages and tamed into excellent flying vehicles.


    It was the first time he had the opportunity to fly on a demon beast, so he was rather nervous about the experience.


    When the majestic looking condor soared up into the sky, its golden feathers sparkling in the sun, Leon couldn''t help but grip the soft feathers behind the condor''s neck. He felt like his heart was beating so fast it would jump out of his chest.


    Whilst riding on the other condor, and leading the way, Kevin looked over his shoulder. He saw Leon''s nervousness and simply let out a loudugh. Clearly, this wasn''t the first time he saw someone behaving like this.


    Leon had his eyes closed tightly. It was only when the condor stopped its eleration, and started to cruise steadily in the bright blue sky, did he finally let loose of his sweaty palms and tried his best to open his eyes.


    For the first time, Leon felt like he was so close to the sky. Those pure white, fluffy clouds were hovering over his head like cotton candy. Below him were steep and tall mountains, valleys and woods that rolled through thend, and a dense forest littered with wild animals. From time to time, he could even see some birds chirping on treetops...


    All of these had brought light to Leon''s mind, who had been spending too long in a dark and treacherous world. To be honest, after staying for a while in that gloomy and bizarre Swamp Tower, Leon had felt his body and mental state be rotten. He could no longer retain the rxed and easy-going attitude he had when he just arrived in this world.


    Following the rxation of his mind, the feeling of nervous he felt from his first time flying gradually subsided. Leon folded his legs and sat on the back of the condor. He started to enjoy the magnificent scenery he saw underneath the condor.


    It was lucky he wasn''t afraid of heights! Or else, if a future great Mage was afraid of heights, it would besting stain on his mighty reputation.


    The training camp wasn''t far and was located approximately thirty miles from the Mage Tower. It was situated right in the middle of a serene valley.


    The two Socrates Condors pped their wings and slowly descended from the sky. Although Leon still had a pale face, his performance descending was much betterpared to when he was ascending.


    After getting off the condor, Kevin casually tossed out a magic crystal. His condor immediately grabbed it with its mouth and swallowed it. At the same time, the condor ridden by Leon was staring at him with a cold gaze.


    This was probably the fee for riding this flying creature!


    Leon copied Kevin and tossed out a magic crystal, which made the condor previous anger turn to joy. After swallowing the magic crystal, it slowly walked to an empty field beside them.


    "Let''s go. I''ll bring you to a real circle of friends. We and those people in the public hall are from two different worlds! You''ll get nothing good by hanging around with them. Besides, what you really want can never be found in that ce!" Kevin spread out his arms and said, "Only here can you find the true value of yourself. And this ce is the future that belongs to allbat Mages!"


    Ugh... what a dramatic opening speech! But too bad there wasn''t a round of apuse. Instead, there was a rather awkward silence.


    But before Leon could think of a way of handling such a situation, a haughtyugh was hearding from a far distance.


    "Cheesy Kevin, you''re giving the same speech again. Who are you trying to fool into your team? Quickly bring him to me, the bald Hulk, and let me have a good look!"


    The fervent and excited Kevin''s enthusiastic expression waspletely crushed. While cursing under his breath, he and Leon walked towards the man who just undermined him.


    ...


    2072 Words

 Chapter 62: Duel

    The entire training camp upied a vast tract ofnd, however, there weren''t many buildings that could be found in this ce.


    On the east side was a row of solidly built wooden cabins. They were all built with huge logs. Although they looked simple and primitive, they were extremely sturdy. While on the west side, a number of tents were found scattered around. Judging by the size of them, each could only house one to two people and were used for resting.


    In the entire camp, the thing that drew one''s eyes the most was arge area upied by a training ground. Countless apprentice Mages were using this training ground and were seriously fighting each other. Yes, they were all apprentice Mages. They weren''t some ordinary human fighters. Looking at those bowl-size fireballs that dashed through the air like shooting stars and the frightening figure of a man, covered in raging lightning, raising his axe high up, made Leon''s heart, once again, start to pound fast.


    All this while, the impression Leon had toward apprentice Mages was rather dark and crafty, with many of them having a twisted mind. Thus, this was the first time he saw something like this. Out in the broad daylight, these apprentice Mages were fighting each other, face to face, with their raging magical spells.


    At the edge of arge training ground, a group of men could be seen gathered together, watching the fight between two advanced apprentices.


    One was like Leon, a long ranged spell caster who had mastered Fire Element magic spells.


    The other took the path of a Body Refining Mage, a frightening god of war who possessed the powerful ability of thunder.


    Both men were exchanging attacks in the field, locking themselves in a fierce battle.


    Three Inferno Shields were spinning around the body of the Fire Element apprentice and helped him block most of the dirt and sand that sshed into his direction. The thunderbolts flew towards the Fire Element apprentice like huge silver serpents. At the same time, a strange magical array could be seen flickering under his feet.


    Apparently, this magical array had some sort of quickening effect, which allowed him to run at a speed not slower than those apprentices who had high Agility. In addition to this, a fireball, which was enshrouded between his palms, kept spitting out continuous fireballs. He was bombarding his opponent like the pouring down of a heavy rain of mes.


    On the other hand, the wrathful Body Refining Mage, with the help of his intrepid physique and the lightning web that covering around his body, had withstood the continuous bombardment of fireballs. He kept letting out raging roars before charging forward, trying his best to follow after the Fire Elemental apprentice.


    Frightening thunderbolts kept bolting out from his giant axe. If he was allowed to get closer to his opponent, even if it was just by a little bit, then he would be able to throw out the thunderous axe and instantly inflict severe damage on his opponent, as they had a weak physique.


    Following behind Kevin, Leon came to the edge of the battlefield. Before he arrived, he could already smell the pungent smell of lightning burning through the air. His ears were also filled with loud booming soundsing from the explosion of those fireballs.


    Although the field wasrge, it appeared to be too small to amodate the overly brutal and violent magic spells. Previously, a few fireballs even flew out from the battlefield and shot towards the crowd of bystanders. Whenever this happened, everyone would cheer like it was a great party.


    Some would take out their magical staffs, shooting out freezing beams to freeze the fireball into an ice cube. Meanwhile, some would jump up in the air and sh through the fireball that passed besides them, breaking it into small fireworks. No matter who stood out and showed off their incredible magical ability, the crowd would always respond with loud cheers and apuse.


    The man who had jeered at Kevin was seen standing in the middle of the crowd. He was a bald man with a burly body, with chunks of muscles that looked like pieces of metal filling every inch of his body. Although he was standing there bare-handed, he was releasing a mighty air of indomitable spirit.


    He was a Body Refining Pseudo-Mage. The enormous pressure he gave off had almost turned into a physical pressure. Standing right beside him, Leon felt that he was having a hard time breathing normally.


    His mind had been bombarded by a series of warning tones given by the Chip.


    "Warning! Warning! A high-frequency spiritual radiation is detected... The host needs to leave the source of said radiation immediately, or else, signs of Spirit decay will appear in three seconds. Countdown started: 3... 2... 1..."


    Leon couldn''t help but wear a bitter smile on his face.


    In this Mage World of advanced magic, all apprentice Mages had umted magical Elementium in their body by constantly meditating and consuming magical medicine. The more Elementium that was in one''s body, the stronger their spirit radiation would be. For them, perhaps this was something normal, however, for ordinary humans, this spirit radiation was the equivalent of the nuclear radiation that could be found on Earth in his previous life.


    Apprentice Mages could only be considered as nuclear material or nuclear waste, as, although they were dangerous, there was a limit to the damage they could inflict. However, those official Mages had crossed the line of qualitative change and had transformed from nuclear material to a nuclear reactor. Thus, their hazardousness was brought to another higher level.


    This burly bald man who always wearing a smile on his face was definitely a Pseudo-Mage who could break through the line of official Mage at any time. Even though Leon had just gotten a little bit closer to him, as a beginner apprentice, he nearly couldn''t withstand the frightening spirit radiation he unintentionally emitted.


    After greeting Kevin, the bald Hulk''s eyes rested on Leon''s face. However, after a brief gaze over at Leon, his metal-like square face showed a curious expression.


    "Howe he is only a beginner apprentice? Don''t tell me that those ck bastards of the Underground world were fed with Corpse Worms, which caused them to be defeated by a mere beginner apprentice? You, Dark Wood, go and test him out!" Clearly, Hulk was the true leader of this training camp, as he simply picked an opponent for Leon without asking for anyone''s permission.


    "Hey, both of you, don''t you feel tired after jumping around in the battlefield for so long? Hurrye over here, we have a new game now!"


    Soon, following Hulk''s shout, both advanced apprentices left the battlefield. They were bathed in sweat and their bodies were full of wounds. You could tell this wasn''t the first time they had fought each other. It seemed that both of them had fully understood each other''s ability. Although, before their opponent revealed any significant weakness, both of them did have the chance to defeat each other. However, it wasn''t easy to grab hold of this winning chance.


    The burly man who possessed thunder elemental ability had his body fully covered in burned marks of all sizes. While receiving treatment from someone, he asked with a loud, hollow voice, "Where does this beginner apprenticee from? Chief, are you trying to get him killed by asking him to fight? Look at his tiny body that is as weak as a bean sprout. I''m scared he won''t be able to withstand this torture!"


    Hulk threw his head back and let out a ground shakingugh.


    "Mark, you better not brag without feeling shame! Do you have any idea what this little guy did? This tiny beginner apprentice is the guy who killed the Demon Vine Lady. So, among all of you advanced apprentices, who of you dares to m their chest and guarantee that they can defeat that Demon Vine Lady?"


    Hearing what Hulk said, the confused crowd instantly threw their nces over to Leon, who was currently smiling wryly. They tried to figure out what made this tiny man so strong.


    Leon opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words to cover his secret. However, Kevin immediately patted his shoulder lightly. He moved closer to his ear and whispered, "Little man, let me teach you a lesson today. If you don''t want others to spy on your secret, then, next time, remember to destroy your enemy''s soul!"


    Leon''s mouth hung open for a minute before he finally realized what gave himself away.


    Damn it, the dead body of that Demon Vine Lady.


    Indeed, he and Bleia had killed her, but they never extracted and destroyed her soul. After submitting her body to the Mage Tower, those Mages must have learned his secret by studying the memory that remained in her broken soul.


    Fuck! Damn!


    Right at this very moment, Leon wished he could give himself a really good p. He wanted to cry and shed bitter tears for his thoughtless mistake. At the same time, he felt a sense of powerlessness when he thought about the bizarre magic spells that existed in this strange world of Mages.


    There were all kinds of magic spells, and, while no one could really tell how many spells were out there, their bizarre results were simply impossible to guard against. It looked like his n of hiding behind Bleia and earning his fortune secretly had just burst. Today, in this ce, he had to show out his true ability.


    Fortunately, his strongest ability was something that none of these guys could ever spy upon. In actual fact, the ability that they thought he possessed was actually the tiniest part of it and was not worth of mentioning.


    After making up his mind, Leon decided to give up the idea of concealing himself anymore. A wicked smile emerged on his face. Chapter Your:


    "Alright, since you guys want to see my true ability, then send your fighter now! Let him show himself. I wonder who my opponent will be?"


    "Err... excuse me. I''ll be your opponent! My name is Dark Wood!" A rather deep, hoarse voice came from the crowd. After that, an old, skinny hunchback, walked out from the crowd. He was carrying a staff made from ck wood.


    He had loose and wrinkled skin, a skinny and shriveled body, a somber and ferocious expression and a head full of dried and yellow disheveled hair. His hands and legs looked dark and dirty, and his pitch-ck curved nails looked like the sharp ws of an eagle. He gave Leon a gruesome smile, revealing a mouthful of brown, broken teeth.


    On top of the ck wood staff, he carried in his left hand, were chains of teeth and miniature skulls. Whenever a shivering breeze blow by, they would produce a rattling sound that sent chill down one''s back.


    Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be approaching the end of his life, as he looked like a skeleton with one leg already in the grave. But, upon seeing this man, Leon''s pupils contracted, and his expression gradually turned dignified.


    Although this guy only had the spiritual ripple of an advanced apprentice, the threat of death he brought to Leon was distinct and straightforward. If Leon''s guess was correct, this frightening guy must be someone with the elemental affinity of negative energy. The only thing he didn''t know now was whether this guy was one who yed with dead bodies or a frightening one who yed with curses.


    Perhaps, in order to understand his real ability, Leon would have to experience it personally on the battlefield!


    "Hehe! Don''t you think it''s unfair to let an advanced apprentice, fight with a mere beginner apprentice like me? Since you guys wish to see my real ability, you''ll have to pay a price. Before we start the match, I need to know what I''ll be earning when I win the match?" Leon folded his arms in front of his chest, portraying a look of confidence.


    "Kid, you''re pretty cocky!" Dark Wood once again showed his insidious smile, saying, "Initially, Master Hulk only wanted to see how long you could hold out when facing my attack. So, do you still think you have the chance to win this match? Jajaja..."


    "What if I really win this match? Do you dare to bet with me?" Leon took the opportunity and counter-checked the guy.


    "Why not? For the sake of your courage, I can give you odds of ten to one. No matter how many magic crystals you bet, as long as you can defeat me, I''ll pay ten times back!" The insidious smile of Dark Wood, along with his skeleton-like head, made him looked really frightening.


    "Who else wants to bet with me? Come on, show me your courage!"


    Leon yelled out loudly and tossed out all his belongings.


    He offered all the contents wrapped in that ck cloth and thest nine magic crystals he had.


    He had instantly kindled the atmosphere of the scene!


    ...


    2197 Words

 Chapter 63: Leon vs Dark Wood

    They had seen many arrogant people before, however none were as arrogant as this guy!


    How dare a mere beginner apprentice provoke and challenge a group of elite enforcers who were, at the minimum, advanced apprentices? No doubt this was an act that truly provoked the ire of the crowd.


    While grinning viciously, one after another elite apprentice epted this bet. At the same time, they kept cheering, encouraging, threatening and teasing Dark Wood, wanting him to teach this unbridled rascal a good lesson. Following the piling up of the bet, the crowd became more excited. Eventually they even pushed Hulk aside, and started clustering around both men to escort them into the battlefield.


    Watching his enthusiastic peers, Hulk''s expression couldn''t help but turn strange. He secretly pulled Kevin into a corner.


    "Kid, you''re the one who referred this guy here. You better not give me trouble. Do you think he has a chance of winning?"


    "Ugh... ording to the memory that Mage Angus extracted from her soul, this Leon owns a pretty powerful Earth Element Golem. Perhaps... maybe... if he brings all his ability into y, I think there is a possibility he can save himself from losing. However, it is absolutely impossible he can defeat Dark Wood!"


    After obtained a satisfying answer, Hulk couldn''t help but feel excited too.


    "Guys, get your ass out from the field and leave them alone! I don''t want that kid to have any excuse for his defeatter. Mensa,e here and help me calcte the total bet. Don''t forget to include my bet. I''ll bet two hundred Magic Crystals on Dark Wood!"


    Hulk''s loud roar resounded throughout the entire ce and further ignited the atmosphere of the scene.


    Weird yells and roars of the name ''Dark Wood'' echoed around the field and lingered in the air.


    Right at this moment, Leon and Dark Wood had entered the battlefield. They facing each other with a distance of a hundred meters between them.


    While he was staring at how Leon calmly and unhurried began preparing for the battle, Dark Wood grinned broadly, exposing his broken and brownish teeth. He grinned and said, "Kid, you do have guts! But I hopeter you won''t be howling sorrowfully of your own blood, with a rotted body. Don''t worry, as long as you are willing to lie t on your face and admit your defeat and ignorance, I''ll consider sparing you! Jajaja..."


    In regard to his opponent''s offensive remark, Leon simply responded with a cold gaze, before continuing his preparation and tossing out the summoning crystal core.


    It was a perfect battlefield for him. Although the ground he was stepping on a was made by magically hardened dirt, it they was still dirt!


    In next moment, a huge amount of Earth Elementium gathered around the summoning core. It gradually revealed a vague, mammoth figure in front of the crowd.


    Ugh... wasn''t this a little too oversized?!


    Staring at the huge Demon Alligator Hunter who slowly making its debut, the exciting mor from the edge of the battlefield starting to subside, while a feeling of doubtful starting to rise in the heart of these bystanders.


    Was this kid a summoner? Why did he summon such a huge creature?


    Following the condensation of Earth Elementium, the body of Demon Alligator Hunter became firmer and sturdier. It continued like this until its massive body and ferocious appearance had finally revealed itself in front of everyone. Leon strode forward and climbed on top of the Demon Alligator''s back, sitting therefortably.


    Damn it, this kid surely had remarkable skill!


    Dark Wood cursed inwardly and quickly preparing his own magic spells.


    As this was a battle under the watchful eyes of the crowd, both parties were allowed to prepare themselves with some supplementary magic spells. However, they were forbidden fromunching an attack in advance. Thus, the magic spells Dark Wood prepared were mostly assisting and summoning type spells.


    When Dark Wood waved his ck wood staff in the air, the little decorative items tied on top of the staff hit with each other and produced a nking noise. Numerous white illuminating balls burst out from the sharp teeth and miniature human skulls. They soon formed into two frightening bone shields that floated beside his body.


    The bone shield was assembled by countless pale white bones, and there was even a ferocious-looking skull protruding on the surface of the shield. Two pale green mes were floating in the eyes of the skull and the skull kept moving its jaw, portraying a frightening look of being constantly ready to devour someone.


    At the same time, Dark Wood was reciting some magic spells quickly. A bizarre- looking dark halo, whose purpose was unknown, began emanating from his right palm.


    "Have both of you prepared?" Hulk''s loud roar echoed throughout the entire battlefield.


    Upon seeing both men quietly nodding their heads, Hulk then yelled out loudly, "Then, I hereby announce that the battle has begun!"


    Right at the very moment when the announcement was given, the dark halo floating in Dark Wood''s palm trembled in a strange manner. On the other side, Leon, who had been on full alert, immediately noticed the iing attack through his Elementium Vision.


    It was a curse attack!


    Only a curse attack could be so incorporeal, making it hard to defend against.


    Leon sat high up on the back of Demon Alligator. His apprentice short robe began to wave lightly in the breeze. Below his exquisite Circlet of Nobility was a pair of eyes, flicking with a blue glow. These eyes stared at Dark Wood, who was standing a hundred meters away.


    If it was another apprentice, perhaps he would''ve been hit by Dark Wood''s dirty trick without knowing anything prior. But Leon''s Elementium Vision allowed him to see all magical Elementium, so he could see this dirty trick vividly. An incorporeal, bizarre-looking darksso coiled out from the dark halo in Dark Wood''s palm and flew towards him.


    At this moment, the Screaming Tree Branch, which Leon had brought along, was sounding a constant rm.


    But Leon''s mindset wasn''t disturbed at all by the Screaming Tree Branch. Instead, he had all his attention focused on the hints that the Chip was transmitting into his mind.


    "Warning... warning... A hostile Spiritual lockdown is detected... Host, please move away from this spot immediately... Failure to do so will result in host being attacked by any subsequent curse spells... Upon matching the spells with current magic spells database, possibility of Spirit Confusion is 71%, possibility of Spirit Slow is 26%, possibility of Soul Borers is 3%..."


    Apparently, all curse spells needed to first lock down on the victim with spiritual energy, before they could establish the hidden spiritual tunnel that allowed the curse spells to reach the body. This method saved the time, as the curse spells no longer needed to fly through the air. Perhaps this was the main reason why all curse spells were so difficult to intercept or counter!


    Leon soon understood this fact. As soon as the Demon Alligator''s mind was interlinked with Leon''s, it instantly took a step back, dodging the curse by a split second. Leon used the Hunter as a recement for himself and let the cksso trap it.


    In next second, the dark halo in Dark Wood''s palm vanished after a sh. As soon as it disappeared, a clump of smoke bursted out from Hunter''s body, transforming into a ck skull that flew a half circle around its body, before finally prating into the Hunter''s body.


    Damn it, it had failed!


    That guy had summoned an Elementium Golem.


    Through his Spiritual Sense, Dark Wood instantly realized his curse spell had never actually hit an actual Spiritual entity. This led him to curse under his breath. Without hesitation, he raised his right arm, which looked like a ghost w, and began to draw in the air, preparing himself to cast his next spell.


    But, right at this moment, Leon''s attack had approached him.


    The Hunter mounted on top of Demon Alligator kept waving its arms, and threw out strong spears made from Earth Elementium onto Dark Wood. This caused his bone shields to violently tremble. Right after that, a Fire Arrow, which contained pure, high-concentrated Fire Elementium, broke through the air and pierced the bone shield.


    In the next second, the raging explosion of Fire Elementium had flooded the tiny region where Dark Wood was standing.


    "Eh..."


    At the same moment, the elite apprentices outside of the battlefield couldn''t help but exchange an astonished expression with each other. The strength of the attack and the attack pattern of magic spell didn''t look like something a beginner apprentice could do! The spell was casted quickly and had an offensive strength that was as high as 32 points. Were all these something a beginner apprentice could achieve?


    No sound could be hearding from the crowd, as they started to treat this half yful battle with a more serious attitude.


    Even those apprentices outside of the battlefield could sense something. Dark Wood, who was being attacked by Dirt Spears and Fire Arrows. had an even stronger feeling. Damn it! It was abined attack of Earth, Fire and Physical damage! The trembling bone shield, that was being burned by a raging me, started to show signs of copse.


    A gloomy expression emerged on Dark Wood''s face. Using his conscious, he quickly drove away the other bone shield and reced the one that was defending all the attacks. Meanwhile, clenching his jaw tightly, he took out a few chunks of ck, stinky, rotten meats. He conveniently tossed them beside his feet.


    In next moment, Leon drove the Demon Alligator and strode forward. He nned to use the massive body of the Demon Alligator to crush his opponent. Suddenly, a bizarre figure dashed out from the raging me and threw itself on the ground. It used a totally weird style of running and sprinting around Demon Alligator.


    It was a frightening corpse that stood two meters tall. It had a pale body, two heads, five arms and seven legs. The entire body looked like a monster that had been messily pieced up together using a few broken human bodies. It crouched on the ground and moved forward using all five arms and seven legs. This made it move in an unpredictable pattern. It swiftly dodged a few dirt spears that were aimed at its body and soon approached the Demon Alligator who wasing in its way.


    The heavy front legs of Demon Alligator pounded on the ground forcefully, causing the ground to keep violently shake. The misshapen corpse, who had just arrived in front of him, was affected by this immediately. It staggered and seemed like it could no longer stand firm.


    The Demon Alligator moved aggressively and opened up its huge mouth. It leaped forward and pulled the corpse into its mouth. With a powerful clench, the razor sharp fangs instantly crushed its target into meat paste.


    But, a muffled boom suddenly rung through the air. The corpse surprisingly exploded into a huge amount of ck blood, which stained the Demon Alligator''s head. After that, under the shocked gaze of Leon, the Earth Elementium that had molded with the Demon Alligator''s head copsed within a split second. Tons of dirt lost their bond with the Demon Alligator and sttered all over the ce.


    Damn it! What powerful corrosive ck blood. It could even corrode and neutralize Elementium!


    But obviously, the controlling crystal of Demon Alligator wasn''t located in its head. If it was, then, perhaps Leon''s trump card would''ve been destroyed in an instant.


    Although it lost its head, the Demon Alligator still moved forward vigorously. Strong Earth Elementium once again gathered in front of its body, revealing the outline of a new head.


    The self-healing ability of Demon Alligator was pretty convenient, as, as long as its body was still in touch with earth, it would be able to heal 10% of damage every minute. This was one of the biggest reasons why the Demon Alligator Hunter was so hard to defeat!


    ...


    2028 Words

 Chapter 64: Victory

    Just as Leon was feeling proud of Alligator''s strong recovery ability, he suddenly heard strange noises. One after another, frightening misshapen corpses suddenly leapt out from the mes, sprinting their way towards the Demon Alligator while letting out terrifying groans.


    Damn it! There were too many of them!


    Moving as nimbly as squirrels, eleven of the misshapen corpses swarmed up in a fan shaped formation.


    Without hesitation, Leon quickly activated his bracelet, which unleashed body armor made up entirely of thorny vines. It blinked with a bright Leon glow as it covered his entire body.


    What happened next was a bloody and savage close-range battle between the Demon Alligator Hunter and the group of misshapen corpses.


    Although the misshapen corpses appeared to be attacking Demon Alligator, anyone could tell that their actual target was Leon, who was sitting high up on its back. This tactic was the go-to for most apprentices who primarily used summons as weapons when attacking their opponents.


    Compared to the powerfulbat strength of a summon who was unafraid of death, the summoner himself had much less defence. Therefore, rather than waste a huge amount of energy trying to defeat the summon, it was easier and far more effective to just defeat the summoner. Thus, after he used his blood essence to create the eleven misshapen corpses and entangled Demon Alligator in the fight, Dark Wood stealthily moved far away to once again start casting the long-range curse spells that he was an expert in.


    While controlling Demon Alligator Hunter and trying to deal with the crazy attacks of the misshapen corpses, Leon also needed to focus his mind to defend against the mysterious darkssoes that Dark Wood kept attacking him with. He was suffering greatly!


    Many of the misshapen corpses in close range of the Demon Alligator were being killed, but the death of each corpse would result in arge explosion, which would destroy arge part of Demon Alligator''s body. After the third corpse exploded, the front of the Demon Alligator, which had looked so strong and mighty before, was in a disastrous state.


    He couldn''t let this continue!


    A trace of a smile appeared on Leon''s lips, then he quickly put something into his mouth and lightly stomped his feet. The Hunter, who was mounting in front of him and kept throwing dirt spears at the enemy, expanded its body and moved backwards, swallowing Leon''s body into its own.


    In the next second, like a giant whale, the massive Demon Alligator Hunter sank into the ground and disappeared without a trace. The eight remaining misshapen corpses immediately stormed forward, restlessly digging into the hardened ground, but failed to find anything.


    Damn...


    Instant uproar from the side of the battlefield.


    The damn kid could actually travel under the ground? This was going to be fun for Dark Wood!


    To be honest, when Dark Wood saw his opponent and the summoned golem disappear from his line of sight, he was also filled with questions and frustrations.


    Damn it, how was he going to fight this battle? If he couldn''t see his opponent, how was he going to lock down the target with his curse attacks?


    While he was looking for a solution, his spiritual senses suddenly discovered something under his feet, bringing a dramatic change to his expression. Without hesitation, he forcefully hit the ground with his staff.


    A huge dirt w suddenly stretched out from the ground beside Dark Wood. With tremendous force it pped onto Dark Wood and crushed him into a pile of meat paste. After that, the upper body of Demon Alligator Hunter unearthed itself.


    Although it was a sessful strike, Leon''s face on the Hunter didn''t show any sign of joy. Instead, he threw his gaze like two lighting beams into the far distance.


    He saw a misshapen corpse suddenly thrown itself onto the ground, violently twisting and struggling.


    In just a couple of seconds, Dark Wood had reced the misshapen corpse and was standing where it had once been.


    The Hunter''s expression changed slightly and it started to squeeze back into the ground, but it was toote.


    The pile of meat paste under the Demon Alligator''s giant w suddenly exploded, staining the exposed body of Demon Alligator Hunter with arge amount of a gray-colored substance. Hearing the sizzling sound of corrosion made Leon''s heart pound.


    Through the Hunter''s eyes, Leon viciously gazed at Dark Wood, who was standing up again. Without saying anything, he once again sank into the ground. The misshapen corpses who had fast been approaching once again missed their target.


    Fuck... staring at the emptied battlefield once again, except for the remaining seven misshapen corpses and the broken ground, there wasn''t any trace of that hateful kid. Dark Wood was furious.


    Under themand of Dark Wood, the seven misshapen corpses were stationed around his perimeter. With this, not only could he could instantly block that bastard from retreating the next time he tried to attack, the formation also allowed him the flexibility to shift himself to any of the corpses as needed.


    However, just as Dark Wood retracted his spiritual senses to the vicinity of his body, quietly observing every slight change under the ground, the ground under the feet of a corpse standing at a far distance suddenly started to boil. Countless dirt spikes poked up through the ground and turned the corpse into shish kabobs.


    Once again, the misshapen corpse exploded. But this time, the gray substance sshed onto the ground harmlessly. As the attack had beenunched from beneath the ground, the Demon Alligator was never exposed.


    Dark Wood, standing on the battlefield, together with the audience at the side, gasped in astonishment.


    Damn it, it was hard to tell the oue of today''s battle!


    In the next seven or eight minutes, Leon cunningly stoppedunching any attacks at Dark Wood. Instead, he kept moving around Dark Wood''s perimeter, finding opportunities to kill the remaining misshapen corpses. Clearly, he wanted to destroy all Dark Wood''s minions.


    If they were all ughtered by this kid, how was he going to shift himself to another corpse when he was again faced with danger?


    Left with no alternative, Dark Wood called all four remaining misshapen corpses to his side, having them surround him in a circle. With this, if Dark Wood was under attack, he could shift himself to another corpse, but he would still be inside the attack radius of his opponent, which significantly increased his risk!


    But under such circumstances, he had no choice but to take this risk. He was trying his best to lure that bastard from the ground, then he''d seek his winning chance, despite the great danger.


    At the thought of himself being forced into such a messy state by a Beginner Apprentice, a shivering ghost me instantly ignited within Dark Wood''s gloomy eyes. He wished he could instantly capture the bastard and torture him good.


    But too bad, you couldn''t always get what you wished for, as it was Dark Wood himself who was being tortured by this mere Beginner Apprentice.


    In the second half of the battle, the hateful bastard never showed his face, but instead kept attacking from under the ground using long-range magic spells. Although most of the magic spells were noticed by Dark Wood before they hit him, two misshapen corpses had been miserably killed by thebination of a Quagmire Spell and dirt spikes.


    The sorrow of getting attacked but failing to catch the enemy was perfectly expressed by Dark Wood.


    As he witnessed one corpse puppet after another, each meticulously made by him to possess the fighting strength of an Advanced Apprentice, be destroyed by the ''enemy,'' Dark Wood''s emotions moved from anger to frustration to sadness until he nearly burst into loud sobbing from Leon''s torture.


    When Hulk finally shook his head, sighed, and announced the winner, Dark Wood, who had remained standing through will alone, immediately fainted from anger.


    The crowd gazed at each other helplessly. Although they wished to say a few words tofort Dark Wood, no one seemed to know how to start.


    Without the ability to attack underground, no matter who encountered such an enemy, he wouldnd himself in serious trouble. This situation could only be med on Dark Wood''s bad luck, as he was picked by Hulk to fight with this freak who had brought him such a miserable ending.


    Wearing a gloomy expression, Hulk pulled Kevin in front of himself, asking with a ferociously, "I thought you said he doesn''t have any special abilities? How did we end up with this kind of result? Tell me honestly, if you are fighting with an opponent like this, can you defeat him?"


    "Ugh..." Kevin gulped, then continued, saying, "If it is not a fair match, and the venue is a dested wood, give me half day and I''ll be able to kill him in the dark. But if we were to fight in an emptied field like this, I... I wouldn''t have a chance of winning, because I can''t cause him any damage."


    Right at this moment, Leon carefully poked his upper body out from the ground. Once he determined that he had won, he squeezed out from the ground.


    After spending so long underground, all the outer wounds of the Demon Alligator had fully recovered and it looked exactly like it did before the fight began. The crowd felt wonder at the sight, but when they recalled the bets they had ced before the fight, no one could maintain a happy face.


    Looking at the young guy striding towards him, Hulk had no choice but to bite the bullet. With a loud voice, he asked, "Mensa, give me the number! I want to know how much we need to pay this guy?"


    Mensa wore ck clothes and had a noble appearance. Without hesitation, he loudly read out.


    "Mister Leon pledged nine magic crystals, two tier-3 magical items, one tier-4 magical item, one tier-1 magical item, and the magic notebooks of the Demon Vine Lady. Estimated total is 417 Magic Crystals. ording to ten to one odds, we need to pay him 4170 Magic Crystals. However,bined, we all only bet 3270 Magic Crystals, so..."


    "So we still owe this guy 900 Magic Crystals!"


    "Yes!"


    The crowd stared speechlessly at each other, before they couldn''t help it and moved their gazes to Kevin, who had brought this bastard here.


    In that instant, the generally calm Kevin had a forehead bathed in sweat.


    Leon, who stood beside him, was grinning from ear to ear as he quickly stepped out to ease the situation.


    "It''s good to have the love of all my Senior Apprentices. As you have given me the chance to prove myself, how dare I collect this debt from you! This amount is more than enough. I, Leon am not a greedy man!"


    Upon hearing Leon''s rather ttering speech, all the Advanced Apprentices and Pseudo-Mages shook their head and sighed. In fact, Dark Wood wasn''t weak. He could be considered as having middle tier strength within all the Advanced Apprentices in this training camp. But due tock of preparation, he was defeated by this foxy kid, and fainted on the spot. Everybody really was frustrated.


    "Hey, you crafty kid, don''t get carried away. The reason you had such an easy win is because your ability naturally oppressed Dark Wood. We''ll pay those Magic Crystals we owe you, but do you have the guts to fight again with us? A fight between you and me, what do you say?" The man who said this was the violent burly man who Leon had seen carrying a thunderous axe when he had arrived. Obviously, this man had taken the path of a Body-Refining Mage, and used Thunder Element magic spells as his supplement ability.


    Leon grinned, saying, "Why not?! But my golem is damaged from today''s battle. I need time to readjust and fix it. Why don''t we fight tomorrow?"


    Hearing this, the violent burly man became extremely happy. The eyes of the surrounding men also brightened. Clearly, they were tempted as well.


    With the time of one night, they believed they could help Mark find a way to defeat this guy. This hateful kid only had a special ability in summoning his golem, which allowed him to hide underground and attack his enemy. As long as they could find a way to stop this ability, how could a rubbish made from dirt be the match of Mark, the man known for a mighty strength? It was simply a silly dream!


    Perhaps imagining some scenes that could vent their anger, all of the apprentices couldn''t hold themselves back and grinned coldly.


    In that moment, a shivering breeze blew through the scene, making one''s hair stand on end.


    ....


    2145 Words

 Chapter 65: Trusting

    Finally, as the sky darkened, Leon safely returned to his residence in the Mage Tower.


    Upon entering the room, he immediately locked the door. Then, he carefully took out all of the good items in the pouch at his waist and lined them up on the wooden table in his room. Looking at his trophies, he excitedly rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. He felt excited and restless. He was beyond words.


    The ten small bottles on the left were Mind Concentrating Potions, which he had always dreamed of having. They were even the high quality products that were only internally avable to the elites of the training camp. They provided 20% better results than the potions found on the outside. Each bottle was sold for 200 magic crystals, so just these ten bottles would have cost Leon two thousand magic crystals. Thanks to today''s unexpected windfall, Leon didn''t have to spend a single crystal of his own to buy them.


    These Mind Concentrating Potions were more than enough to allow Leon to break through the barrier of Beginner Apprentice, and would immediately bring his Spirit to the level of peak Intermediate Apprentice. Whether he could easily enter the realm of Advanced Apprentice depended on Leon''s personal potential.


    His eyes lingered on the Mind Concentrating Potions for a long time before Leon reluctantly moved on to the next item.


    It was an azure magic crystal core. After Leon took it out from his waist pouch, he was finally able to see the tiny electric arcs lingering on its surface. It looked like the magical crystal possessed its own unique life force, as it was able to absorb the lightning energy hovering in the air. It produced a mystical realm that perfectly suited for Lightning Elementium.


    Judging from this, this was definitely a magical core taken from a Pseudo-Mage level Storm Giant.


    Based on their characteristics, Storm Giants should be categorized as Elemental beings. However, the only Storm Giant poption that existed in the Mage World had a rather strange bloodline. It was said that in the ancient era, a Great Mage once conducted some extremely risky bloodline experiments. He used some kind of magical method to merge his bloodline with a group of Wind Elementium. He intended to increase the size of his heir, who had the same bloodline.


    In the Mage Continent, those called Great Mages were all Mages of the third grade and above.


    It was worth mentioning that his experiment was a huge sess. He managed to create a species new to the World of Mages: the Storm Giants. They were powerful magical creatures who had the bloodline of an Mage and the body of an Elementium.


    Sadly, these Storm Giants experienced an identity crisis. Apparently, they preferred to be friends with their own kind, the Wind Elementium, who were rather simple and biddable. Therefore, a huge number of Storm Giants escaped the control of the Great Mage and gathered together with Wind Elementium found in the natural environment. In the end, they established a small Storm Giant Kingdom in the Emerald Hills at the center of the Mage Continent.


    Due to their special identity, and the fact that they possessed the double characteristics of both Mages and Wind Elementium, they were eventually able to summon countless Wind element creatures from the Element ne after constructing a huge Storm Altar. As a result, they became a powerful middle-sized n located at the center of the Mage Continent.


    It was likely that the Lightning crystal in Leon''s hand was a product from the Storm Kingdom.


    The Storm Kingdom and the Zhentarim Association had signed a magical contract.ording to the magical contract no ns within the central region of the Mage Continent were free to hunt Storm Giants with intention of obtaining their Elementium core. However, such magical contracts could never prevent the existence of the ck market and hunters. Privately, simr rare resources were still secretly traded by many parties.


    The Pseudo-Mage level Earth element core Leon obtainedst time might only cost 500 Magic Crystals to buy, however, this Lightning element core would cost Leon 1200 Magic Crystals. The reason was simple: it was rare.


    Perhaps in terms of purebat strength, an Earth element core would bring Leon more direct and powerful improvement. But since Leon wanted more diversifiedbat tactics, he felt it was better for him to have a Lightning element core. Since the y Golem brought Leon the ability to travel underground, how about a Lightning Golem? Maybe it would allow Leon to fly in the sky!


    To be honest, after he had taken a ride on Socrates Condor and soared freely through the sky, Leon had fallen in love with the feeling.


    But, in order to maximize the yield of this Lightning element core, Leon would need the Chip to perform tedious calctions and adjustments and, through the use of magical formations, uncover the true potential of this crystal. So he had no choice but to temporarily hoard it on the shelf and wait until the Chip had finished its calction. Only then could he consider how he was going to craft a new Lightning Golem for himself.


    As for the third item lying on the table, it had been traded for the Demon Vine Lady''s magic notebook. It was a powerful Fire element treasure produced from an underground magma volcano: a Fire Diamond. Sadly, a Fire Diamond was a magical item and not the magical core of a Fire Element creature. It was very difficult to use it to craft a Fire Element Golem.


    Although it couldn''t be used to craft a golem, a Fire Diamond was also a magical item Leon had been eagerly looking for. With this item now in his possession, he was one step closer to the staff of his dreams.


    By using a Fire Diamond as the focus gem for his magic staff, not only would it hasten the gathering speed of Fire Elementium, it could also bolster the strength of any Fire element spells Leon cast. Therefore, the benefits it brought were not any less than those a golem would have.


    Currently, Leon had found the focus gem and the mithril used to create the runes on the body of his future staff. The only thing left was to find a magic staff that suited Leon the most. In order to craft the magic staff of his dreams, Fire Dragon Wood was the most inferior option, Fire Coral was the second best, while the backbone of a Fire element demon beast was the perfect choice.


    But the problem was, such rare resources could only be found identally and not by searching for them. How was Leon going to find a backbone of Fire Element demon beast? Leon had been worrying and hesitating recently. He didn''t know if he should wait until he found the perfect material, or try to find some Fire Corals to meet his urgent need.


    Pondering on such a question would never lead to any real answer.


    Left with no choice and with a wry smile on his face, Leon ced all the items back into his storage waistband.


    Although he was eager to try out the effect of those Mind Concentrating Potions, he couldn''t do it now. He had an important mission to aplish tonight. The mission was directly rted to the other bet he faced tomorrow.


    So, after briefly admiring his war trophies, Leon rushed to the third floor of the Mage Tower. He plunged into the Alchemy Experiment Room, only returning to his residence the next morning with apletely burned out body and mind.


    Sadly, before he could get even two hours of sleep, someone came knocking on the wooden door of his residence.


    It was Kevin.


    It seemed like he wanted to keep a close eye on Leon, as if he thought that Leon was afraid and was in danger of running away from the fight.


    But when he saw Leon''s rxed face, he couldn''t stop himself and asked, "What were you doing yesterday night? Don''t tell me you totally forgot you have a very important battle today?"


    "Ugh... I was overexcited because of the sudden windfall yesterday, and was having a hard time sleeping." Leon simply made up a reason to exin the dark bags under his eyes.


    Kevin''s face showed that he obviously didn''t believe Leon. But out of curiosity, he asked the following question: "Are you confident about today''s battle? Let me tell you, in order to stop you, a kid who suddenly appeared and suppressed the head of those veterans, they spent the entire night working busily. Possibly, they''vee up with all kinds of solutions to deal with your Earth elemental golem. You... are you really confident about fighting Mark today?"


    "Do you want me to win or lose?"


    "That... Kid, to be honest, I see a good future ahead of you. I''ve never seen any apprentices with abilities simr to yours. If you put them to good use, you''ll be do really well in the Underground Cave. And that''s why I''m so eager to get you into the elite group! But... your debut yesterday was offensive and conspicuous. Boss Hulk only intended to let you put on a show of your ability and introduce you to the members of the elite group, but... you went straight in and defeated Dark Wood, a veteran member."


    "Was it a big deal?"


    "More than big! I''ve never seen the members of the elite group bound by amon hatred for the enemy. Because of you, they''ve all contributed their strategies and their weapons, and have brought out all of their methods of dealing with an enemy who can travel underground. So, you better be extra careful today. I''ve reminded Mark; as long as you admit defeat, he''ll stop attacking at once. He won''t leave you with any permanent damage!"


    "Master Kevin, do you trust me?"


    "What?"


    "No matter how much they''ve prepared for this battle, I''m still confident about today''s battle. So... if you do trust me, why don''t you ce your bet on me? What do you say?"


    Kevin was instantly silent. He stared at Leon, who was looking back at him seriously, and felt puzzled.


    Leon''s opponent was a unique, strong guy in the training camp: the Thunderous Axe Mark. Unlike Dark Wood, the guy didn''t have any significant weakness. After all, Dark Wood was a dark spell caster who spent his days with corpses. Once his curse spells and the army of monster corpses failed, he would have no more arrows left in his quiver. After all, Dark Wood himself was like a skeleton ¨C so weak that couldn''t even stand a gust of wind.


    But Thunderous Axe Mark was a totally different opponent. His mighty strength was more than enough to fight equally with Leon''s Demon Alligator, while his excellent Physique had brought him magic and a physical resistance that caused his opponents to despair. As long as he had ways to force Leon out from the ground, or had the ability to attack him underground, Leon''s y Golem wouldn''t even be able tost for three to five minutes.


    Under such circumstances, why was Leon still so confident?


    This huge mystery bugged Kevin for the entire journey. He was still pondering the answer even as both men stepped down from the condor and once again entered the training camp.


    Staring at the ocean of people, who were waiting at the side of the battlefield, Leon smiled and leaned over to speak into Kevin''s ears. He whispered, "Master, why are you so confused? You''re the one who brought me to this training camp yesterday, and that means you''ve also offended every single man in this ce. Why don''t you ce your bet on me today? Once you win, what can they do to you? Who will have all their money? Why are you still hesitating?"


    The distressed expression on Kevin''s face grew stronger.


    He really had boarded a sinking ship! Now, it would be difficult for him to disembark from this situation!


    ...


    2024 Words

 Chapter 66: Leon vs Mark

    When Leon stood once more in the middle of the battlefield, he was immediately overwhelmed by Mark''s imposing aura.


    Back when he was still on Earth in his previous life, being overwhelmed by a person''s imposing aura might just only be a metaphor. But in this world of highly advanced magic where even spirit and faith could be some kind of force, one can actually feel the intense spiritual pressure and the aura emanating from another person.


    Through the Chip''s feedback, Leon realized that his opponent had at least seventeen points in both Strength and Physique with a tiny bit lower amount of Spirit which was at least sixteen points.


    It was a powerful aura forged from an intrepid physique and powerful spirit. It made Leon have difficulties in movement making him feel as if he was standing right in the heart of a powerful storm from Mother Nature. He even felt a slight burning sensation of pain on his skin.


    Leon knitted his brows in a tight frown.


    Looks like he has to improve his Spirit as soon as possible, or else he would have to endure the intense suffocating pressure given off by advanced apprentice whenever he had to face one.


    This was all due to Leon''s rank being too low. If he had at least the overall strength of an intermediate apprentice, he would be capable of integrating his elemental energy and spirit to form a protective shield simr to that of an energy field. In that case, if he was to face an enemy stronger than him, he would not be like the way he is now who was simr to a man standing naked without any cloth.


    Thunder Axe Mark was a burly man who stood at 2.5 meters tall. He had broad shoulders and a muscr body. Although his axe was still strapped on his back and not in his hand, it still didn''t reduce the violent aura he was giving off.


    At the moment he saw Leon who seemed to have a poor physique, he wasn''t able to hold himself back and bursted out in a fit ofughter.


    "Kid, you''ve got guts! You already know you''re going to be tortured today but you stille out here and face me, hahaha... I like this!"


    Leon narrowed his eyes. While he was enduring the ufortable feeling brought by the gap between their ranks, he refuted vaguely.


    "It''s still too early to tell who will be the winner. I hope master Mark will be nice to meter!"


    "Haha... I wish I could. Despite the fact that these guys asked me to break both of your arms and legs and crush half of your bones, I, Mark, am rather fond of you. Good kid, I really didn''t expect you to be able to make Dark Wood, that living corpse, faint because of anger. Honestly, it was pretty enjoyable to watch that. Hehe, since I''m really happy today, I''ll just break both of your legs then. Take this suffering as the weing gift from our training camp!"


    "Ugh..." Although having both arms and legs being broken wasn''t an injury that couldn''t be healed in the first ce, one would still have to go through a painful healing process. So, upon listening to how Mark talk about this "painful" topic with a rather ''charitable'' tone, Leon simply rolled his eyes taking all of this as a fart.


    "Hey, are you guys ready? Once you''re done with calcting the bets, I''ll start the fight! How long do you want me to wait?" Mark shouted at the side of the battlefield as he rubbed his palms together. Obviously, Mark was a hot-tempered man.


    Meanwhile, it was a lively scene at the side of the battlefield.


    There were oceans of apprentices and pseudo-Mage surrounding Messa who was eagerly shouting out their bets.


    "One hundred and seventy magic crystals! I bet on Mark!"


    "Two hundred and thirty magic crystals! Me too, will bet on Mark!"


    "Ny magic crystals on Mark''s victory!"


    ...


    ...


    Arge illuminated stone b was erected at the side of the field, showing the bets on the fight. The number of magic crystals that had wagered on Mark was stacking up really fast, soon stopping at a total of 3680 magic crystals. On the other hand, below Leon''s name, it only showed merely 700 magic crystals.


    This actually included Leon''s own bet, otherwise, the bet would copse with everybody only betting on one side.


    Today''s odds weren''t as exaggerated as yesterday. After being carefully considered and agreed on by everyone, Hulk had taken charge and hosted the bet, the ratio he gave out was four to one. With the odds like this, if Leon was defeated by Mark, aside from the pain and wounds he will be receiving, he would also have to owe a hefty debt. In that case, he would have to sell himself out to the camp, working restlessly in order to pay back his debt!


    For those fighting maniacs of the training camp, being able to profit or not was just a small matter. But pushing the neer off the edge was the entertainment they were all looking for.


    However, while themotion was gradually subsiding and Hulk was about to announce the start of the battle, a deep and hoarse voice suddenly sounded through the scene.


    "Three hundred magic crystals, I bet on Leon!"


    Although the voice wasn''t that loud, it was like a cold breeze suddenly freezing the lively atmosphere. Everyone was stunned for a brief moment and only then did they remember to turn their heads and find out where the voice came from.


    Dark Wood?!


    It was Dark Wood!!!


    In that instant, everyone felt as if their world as they knew it, was suddenly turned upside down. This... how could this be possible? No one would find it strange even if everyone in the training camp had ced their bets on Leon, but it shouldn''t be Dark Wood! Didn''t he know they were actually helping him to vent out his resentment?


    Right when everybody still had their mouths wide open while gazing at each other, speechless, another voice came from the middle of the crowd.


    "I also bet on Leon, two hundred and seventy magic crystals!"


    Kevin! It was ckhand Kevin!


    Everyone inhaled sharply while showing all kinds of expressions. As the host for today, for the first time, Hulk felt today''s sunlight was rather offending to his eyes. The magic crystals piled up beside him didn''t look so loveable anymore. Although he never had the time to study the art of prophecy, he still had the feeling that today''s wager had gone beyond his control.


    He red at Dark Wood and Kevin then eagerly shouted with a loud voice.


    "The bet is decided and so I announce, the fight begins now!"


    Following the announcement of Hulk, both men standing inside the battlefield promptly moved.


    The burly man named Mark stretched out his arm, pulling out the giant axe from his back and then held it tightly with his giant palm. At the same time, cracking and popping sounds were hearding from his body as countless blue electric arcs lingered around him.


    The electric arcs created a powerful chain reaction, causing Leon who stood a hundred meters away, smell the putrid odor of air being burned by electricity.


    Even though he had great confidence in the Demon Alligator Hunter, Leon still did not dare to wait for Mark to gather enough energy for a power strike. He quickly stomped his right foot, rushing the Demon Alligator Hunter to sink into the ground with the fastest speed possible.


    Having his strength umted to the maximum, Mark threw his head back and let out a raging war cry, striding with steps that shook the earth while charging towards the Demon Alligator Hunter which was descending into the ground. He didn''t use too much of his strength on his feet but every step he took would leave behind a shallow crater full of cracks. Also, despite not charging at them with big steps, Mark still managed to arrive in front of Leon before the Demon Alligator Hunterpletely disappeared to the ground below.


    A strong gust of wind brushed past his face as the Demon Alligator''s bulky tail full of spikes and lumps swept by,nding right onto Mark''s axe that was covered with raging electric arcs.


    A loud boom rang out, immediately followed by dirt scattering in all directions. A mini lightning storm then suddenly exploded.


    Leon, who had his body hidden within the Demon Alligator Hunter, sank underground just in time, sessfully evading the shower of debris and the lightning storm. However, the crowd clearly saw that before the Demon Alligator was able topletely sink into the ground, arge portion of its long had already disappeared making it look really miserable.


    Concurrently, Mark crouched down and forcefully jumped up with both of his legs, borrowing the force from it and leaped high up in the sky. While his body was still in the air, he let out another raging cry. He used all of his strength and threw his axe down, aiming at the very spot Leon had disappeared to.


    Another earth-shaking explosion could be heard. Carrying with it a dazzling lightning storm, the axe forcefully struck the surface of the ground, shattering the ground and producing arge crater half a meter deep. The exploding lightning storm kept ring violently at the the bottom of the crater, burning all the dirt into pieces and shaping the sand into molten ss.


    It was such a vicious strike. Let alone resisting it directly, even the shockwave alone would be enough to kill a beginner apprentice.


    In the sensitive spiritual senses of the crowd, Leon''s life force had significantly dropped. In just an instant, he had already lost two-thirds of it.


    Fortunately, the earth had helped Leon block most of the damage, making him suffer only a fraction of the damage from the shockwave. And so, Mark''s thunder strike wasn''t able to defeat him within a few seconds. This made the crowd feel pity and shock then they all sighed.


    If Mark was able to move just a bit faster, or if only he could strike with an even stronger force, perhaps he had already killed Leon who was still in the shallow level under the ground.


    A beginner apprentice challenging an advanced apprentice? What a joke! If the strikended right on the target, Leon wouldn''t even be able to withstand a single strike from Mark. Maybe only a useless fool like Dark Wood would be defeated by a mere beginner apprentice!


    Enduring the gazes of either wonder, mocking, or disdain, Dark Wood hid his face under the shadow of his hood, showing only a pair of pale green ghastly mes dancing unclearly. No one knew what he was thinking about.


    Only Kevin''s expression changed following the situation of the fight.


    The vicious first strike of Mark nearly scared away Kevin''s soul. His bet of two hundred and seventy crystals was his hard-earned savings for two or three years which he had hoped to use to buy a nice, enchanted dagger. If his rash decision caused all of his savings to disappear, he would be crying out loud.


    What kind of trump card did that Leon have? If it was that Demon Alligator, once it shows up again, it would only be crushed into a pile of y by Mark''s formidable strength. Kid, oh kid, you better not cheat me, or else I''ll go and bother you every single day!


    At this time, Leon was hiding underneath the ground and spitting blood.


    The enemy''s powerful strike had given him serious injuries. If not because he was able to act just in time, hastily diving deep underground, maybe with just the first strike alone would force him out. Even so, the tremendous shockwave that he felt from the squeezing of the ground had him coughing up a few mouthfuls of blood, nearly making him unable to recover.


    While he was moving quickly in the darkness of the underground, Leon hid inside a small space created within the Demon Alligator Hunter''s body and hastily treated his injuries. After he was done with that, he had a ferocious expression on his face as he tossed out a new golem he had created from the strenuous effort of a whole night. He then drove the Demon Alligator Hunter to slowly ascend to the surface.


    Sure enough, Mark had been on guard against Leon''s sneak attack from underground. On his foot were a pair of strange leather boots that were able to unleash bizarre magical ripples, enabling him to turn the ground underneath his feet into a hard rock, effectively blocking all the earth element spells casted by the Demon Alligator Hunter.


    In the end, Mark simply sat down and crossed his legs while wearing a disdainful look and he shouted, "Kid, from now on, any attack of yoursing from under the ground is useless to me. If you wish to fight me, show yourself now! If you want to prolong this battle, I have no problem doing this with you. I don''t believe your golem will be able to let you hide underground for so long!


    Before he finished speaking, Mark abruptly stood up and pulled out his axe again.


    At a spot nearly a hundred meters away from him, the Demon Alligator Hunter slowly emerged to the surface. Leon stared at him coldly.


    "Good kid, so you do know what you should do. Today, let your master Mark teach you what a true battle is!"


    After saying that, Mark covered his body again with countless arcs of blue lightning. He wielded his axe and charged towards Leon while howling out loud.


    "Didn''t you want to see what my trump card is? Fine, I''ll show it to you now". Leon grinned. With both hands raised up, he shouted, "Show yourself, my raging fighter!"


    Following his summons, the ground on the battlefield crumbled.


    ...


    2351 Words

 Chapter 67: Golems and their capabilities

    At this moment, the entire battlefield copsed.


    In between the locations of Mark and Leon, arge portion of the ground suddenly crumbled and caved-in, revealing arge and terrifying pit. At the heart of this hole, one could see dirt tumbling violently while clouds of dust rose to the surface. A massive figure could be seen gradually emerging from the depths of the pit.


    Mark was forced to give up on his assault. A dignified expression was present on his face as he stared hard at the frightening figure that was slowlying into view as dust settled down and it revealed its features.


    The first thing he saw was a bizarre looking pair of fiery scarlet eyes, and after that he saw that its body was made up entirely of hard rocks. The triangle-shaped snake head which was molded from Adamantine Rock seemed to be indestructible, while a narrow seam can be found on its pointed snout. In fact, anyone blessed with a sharp vision would easily be able to tell that this gigantic snake, which was constructed entirely from rocks, even had a thin tongue and a pair of very sharp fangs.


    Beyond the snake head was a strange body made from countless rocks of all shapes and sizes stacking onto each other,yers andyers of this formed the intimidating body of this giant rock snake. Since only a part of this snake''s body showed up from the cover of the dust cloud, no one could get a full glimpse of it with most of its body still hiding underground.


    But from what Mark could tell from the body parts that were exposed, looking at it from the ground up to its head that was held high up in the air, he estimated it to be at least twelve meters tall. If its entire body was truly made up of those rocks with high metallic content that weremonly found underground, then with just its frightening weight along with its indestructible body would be enough for it to be the greatest nightmare of most of its enemies.


    This... was this terrifying Rock Snake one of that guy''s golems?


    Before he could dismiss his thoughts from his mind, the super Rock Snake had opened up its mouth wide, initiating a long-range attack named Gravel Spray at Mark. A vast amount of gravel and dirt was extracted from the end of its tail, channeling through a long winding tunnel inside its body and afterwards it shot out from its mouth, sshing Mark with a massive wall of dirt. From what they could tell, this Rock Snake didn''t bother filtering the things it absorbed from the ground. There were many dried branches, grass and nt rubbish mixed in the dirt that was used in this nasty attack, along with countless underground insects, rats, earthworms and other unknown creatures.


    Such a filthy attack made Mark feel stressed out.


    While letting out an angry roar, he gathered up all of the thunder energy he has and directed it in front of his chest, forming them into arge web of lightning big enough to protect his body. The spray of dirt full of filth that impacted on the finely and closely woven lightning web produced a hissing noise that resounded throughout the entire ce. A pungent odor of something burning lingered in the air afterwards.


    In the moment Mark was using all of his strength to hold back the Gravel Spray attack, the audience located at the sides of the battlefield suddenly let out shocked cries.


    "Careful..."


    "Quickly, put up your defenses..."


    ...


    Since Mark''s line of sight was blocked by a huge amount of dirt, he wasn''t able to see beyond the Gravel Spray. However, in a small time frame within a split second, his formidablebat instincts and abundant fighting experience allowed him to react quickly, raising his axe and cing it in front of his chest.


    Puff!


    A muffled explosion sounded out as the web of lightning scattered.


    The terrifying and sturdy triangle-shaped snake head pierced through the dirt wall breaking the lightning web into tiny sparks. It then opened itsrge ferocious mouth and forcefully bit into Mark''s battle axe.


    An earth-shattering explosion echoed out to the surroundings. The Rock Snake clenched its huge mouth, using the sharp fangs made from tiny pointy rocks to tightly clutch onto the thunder axe, all the while taking advantage of the powerful thrusting force to crazily knock Mark far into the distance.


    If it was another advanced apprentice and not Mark, this tremendous body m alone would be enough to break their bones and crush them into a meat paste. Fortunately, Mark was a rare apprentice Body-Refining Mage of this training camp, his overall strength second only to Hulk, who was a Pseudo-Mage. Therefore, instead of being turned into a human paste, he could be seen letting out continuous wild roars. His body being stimted by berserk strength resulted into cracking and popping sounds that could be hearding from his own bones, and his muscles started to expand and be more robust at an incredible rate. Countless thick snake-like blood vessels crazily twisted and crawled under his metallic muscles...


    The frantic Mark had one of his legs slightly bent down at the front while the other leg stretched out straight to support him from behind. His burly arm which had suddenly doubled in size held tightly on the axe. He had sessfully blocked the full force of the Rock Snake''s thrust.


    Although he had seeded in holding his ground, thend underneath his feet failed him.


    Following the violent thrust of the Rock Snake, Mark''s body kept being pushed backwards. His legs that were like pirs went through the hard ground, producing an increasing pile of dirt being umted behind him.


    When the violent strike of the Rock Snake finally had its strength depleted, Mark''s body had already been pushed back for more than twenty meters. The dirt that had piled up behind him became so tall it nearly drowned out his big burly body. The lower part of his body becamepletely submerged in dirt though.


    "You must have used up all your strength already, huh? Now it''s time for you to taste mine!"


    Mark suddenly raised his head up staring right in front of him at the frightening head of the snake which was still biting on his axe while making eerie sounds. He roared out loud as fury welled up within him.


    He forcefully knocked away the giant Rock Snake, and took advantage of the opportunity when its head drew back slightly. Mark suddenly jumped up with both feet while holding the axe with both hands, brutally chopping into the forehead of the Rock Snake.


    Just like before, another loud explosion exploded out which sounded like metal striking metal ringing through the air. The giant Rock Snake had a ring-shaped body with a circumference of two meters which was entirelyposed of Adamantine Rock that can be found underground. The snake was forced back by Mark''s rapid chopping attacks causing huge amounts of rock fragments, dirt and sand to fall from its body like a waterfall.


    Together with the audience, Leon''s face twitched after witnessing how a muscr giant of a mere three meters high kept striking down on the gigantic rock monster which was many more times bigger than Mark. If this Rock Snake was a living creature, all of its bones would have been broken by now. It was a rock monster though and obviously not a living organism. Thus, that amount of damage wasn''t enough to kill it.


    ordingly, under the long-distance control of Leon, the Rock Snake crazily twisted its body, coiling up into a dirt pir that towered up in the sky. While that was in action, it retracted its body back into the dust cloud then prepared for another vicious thrust.


    Mark, who had been able to attack it unceasingly before, wouldn''t just let this go. He roared wildly and formed a lightning storm over his body as a protective shield, bending down and then sprinting right into the dust cloud to continue the intense fight he had with the Rock Snake in a chaotic fashion.


    The massive dust cloud was stirred up and wasn''t restrained anymore.


    The air was full of dust that covered everything, blocking the vision of everyone. The chaotic and violent sh of Earth Elementium and Mark''s lightning storm produced disruptions in their surroundings and isted everything inside from the audience''s spiritual senses. No one was able to bypass those by-product barriers which made them unable to find out the actual situation in the heart of the battlefield.


    From time to time,rge chunks of rocks would shoot out from within the dust cloud and sudden explosions of thunderps could be heard as well. Judging from these, the audience could infer indirectly how chaotic and intense the fight must be inside.


    Meanwhile, Leon, who was riding on the Demon Alligator Hunter which was standing far from the center of the fight, had a more vivid and direct perception towards the situation inside the dust cloud,pared to the those other people. Under his skillful control, the rapid firing of Dirt Spears from the Demon Alligator Hunter and the Fire Arrows he casted towards the dust cloud would always inflict great damage to the enemy.


    The furious roars that continued to sound out from within were the biggest evidence of how effective his attacks were.


    It was such a remarkable battle which was like that of monsters fighting. It brought an indescribable sense of shock to the onlookers at the sides. Countless eyes of different colors filled with variety of expressions rested on Leon''s face. They had changed their view towards him a lot of times already, previously from disdain to looking down and disregard but now, they had been startled after they examined him to be a rather dignified figure.


    This was a fucking beginner apprentice!


    Even so, he could still engage Thunder Axe Mark in such a fierce battle!


    Although he wasn''t fighting directly in person, but a summon was still part of an apprentice Mage''s strength!


    They couldn''t help but try to imagine. If it wasn''t Mark, who had a strong physique and muscles and clearly a man with powerfulbat power that was fighting right now but them... Many elites among the people in the training camp showed painful and struggling expressions. Even though they didn''t want to admit this, but if they were the ones there instead of Mark, maybe they would be struck down on the ground by a mere beginner apprentice, unable to get up anymore.


    This mighty Rock Snake was just too strong!


    It''s overall strength was perhaps not weaker than that of an advanced apprentice of the path of Body-Refining Mage. If taken into consideration, the snake''s frightening rock armor and its fearless onught would probably make even those Pseudo-Mages in the camp hesitant to face this monstrosity!


    At the time when everybody still had their minds filled with troubled and distorted thoughts, a ground-shaking eruption red up through the air. Mark, who had been transformed into a muscr giant, was thrown out of the dust cloud and flew away like a cannon ball, mming into the ground with tremendous force.


    The crowd was shocked by this and hurriedly turned their eyes over to Mark. They instantly discovered countless frightening wounds covering the entirety of Mark''s body.


    Mark''s left arm was broken and twisted into an unnatural angle while his right arm still looked to be in a good shape, barely able to hold on his axe. The battle axe forged from multiple special alloys had be out of shape while its body was full of deep scratches and bite marks.


    Mark''s body also had the same type of scratches on his axe.


    When he tried to stand up on his feet while ferociouslyughing, blood gushed out from the countless wounds he had, making his entire body bathe in blood. A terrifying cut from the bottom of his left eye to his right chin nearly ripped his face into two, of which the exposed flesh turned into a shade of earthly yellow color. A clear sign of being contaminated by Earth Elementium.


    If Mark doesn''t try to remove this Earth Elementium, a wound like this wouldn''tpletely heal even with his astounding self-recovery brought by his high Physique.


    "Cough... good kid..." Mark stood still at the ce where hended and coughed up blood then said, "This fellow is really strong! If not because I made a mistake of having few of my helpful magical equipment exchanged for all of these rubbish, you wouldn''t have been the one that had the advantage today... cough..."


    The dust cloud dispersed, revealing the gigantic snake.


    The crowd''s eyes shrank.


    The Rock Snake''s condition wasn''t any better than Mark''s.


    The gigantic snake with the size of a normal human house was now left with only one-third of its original size. Debris kept falling apart from its skull which had been crushed by Mark. The surface of the entire snake''s body was covered fully with ck burn marks resulting from the violent lightning strikes. Many rocks on its body had melted and dripped down like hot wax.


    Right in the middle of the broken skull, behind the manyyers of Adamantine Rocks, an egg-shaped summoning core could be vaguely seen.


    Although the Rock Snake was pretty much in a very bad shape, that didn''t hinder or cause any problem to its movement, offensive power, and defensive ability.


    Some people blessed with keen perception even saw through the cracks of its body how huge amounts of Earth Elementium carried a lot of rocks and sand all around its interior restlessly fixing up all of the damages it sustained. Even the massive damage that was on the head of the snake could be seen closing up at an incredible pace.


    It only took fifteen minutes for this Golem of the earth element topletely fix all of its injuries.


    ...


    2354 Words

 Chapter 68: Food

    Looking at the ferocious Mark who was able to remain standing, Leon secretly felt respect for the man but that doesn''t mean he eased up his vignce on Mark.


    Clusters of earthly yellow smoke gathered at the severely broken parts of the Rock Snake. Using the Adamantine rocks it got from underground as materials, and the sticky Earth Elementium as the bonding agent, it only took a few seconds for the exposed summoning core to once again be concealed within.


    After itpleted its self-recovery, the frightening Rock Snake stood erect and coiled up its long tail made from rocks then thrusted itself to the enemy. The broken mouth opened up widely, revealing a pair of sharp fangs formed from pointy rocks, aiming right at Thunder Axe Mark who could barely stand straight.


    The distance of under thirty meters took only a split-second of time.


    But right before the Rock Snake''s ferocious mouth and its sharp fangs reach its target, a taller, burlier and more terrifying human than Mark appeared in front of him.


    He had the same human body, the same muscles and bones, but this tall man only briefly clenched his fist and lightly punched the snout of the Rock Snake who approached him with a tremendous force. The Rock Snake which had put up quite a fierce battle with Mark shattered instantly into tiny bits, sending fragments everywhere.


    It seemed as if there was an invisible air barrier around this tall man as nothing of the flying debris was able to get close to his body. He was standing right there at the heart of the explosion of dirt and debris but he was still firm just like Mount Tai. He still even had the strength to slowly retract his outstretched right fist that he then pointed at the depths of the dirt storm, performing a grabbing gesture.


    A light puffing sound was heard, as the summoning core that dropped down between the slits on the ground was transported by a powerful force and it fell right into the tall man''s palm.


    The tall man raised his right hand up, and carefully examined the eye-catching core through the light from the bright sunlight.


    What was once a brownish crystal clear surface of the core was carved fully with countless micro runes and arrays with each magical rune emanating strong Earth Elementium and glimmered, forming a three-dimensional micro magical array in front of his eyes.


    To be honest, he was able to clearly see every single rune there is that was carved with lines a few hundred times finer than threads of hair, and he could also roughly identify each individual magical runes. But when he pieced them all together, Hulk could only scratch his bald head as he couldn''t understand how these runes were able to project and shape the incorporeal Earth Elementium into the powerful and ferocious Elementium Golem.


    After he spent an ample amount of time but still failed toprehend the essence of the magical knowledge behind it, Hulk had no other choice but to secretly sigh for his ownck of talent concerning magical arrays. Meanwhile, Leon had led his Demon Alligator in front of Hulk, staring right at him anxiously.


    Appropriately tossing the summoning core back to Leon, Hulk wore an expression full of disdain as he said, "Look how panicked you are. Do you think I can break it just by staring at it? Alright, alright already! I''ll consider you the victor of today''s bout. I''ll even help Mark admit his defeat! Now you go and redeem your war trophy."


    Leon retrieved the summoning core in a flurry, and then immediately ced it in front of his eyes for a careful inspection. After it suffered violent impacts multiple times, Leon was worried the overpowering shockwave would damage the fragile magical arrays carved on the core.


    Fortunately, after having it carefully examined by the Chip, this summoning core which was able to summon a ferocious Rock Snake from underneath the ground, was still intact. This had eased Leon''s mind.


    As for Hulk''s unexpected interference, Leon did not dare sound any dissent.


    Although the chief of the training camp could easily stop the battle effortlessly, he deliberately used such a violent and savage method to destroy the rocky body of the Rock Snake. This was obviously Hulk''s way of giving a warning towards Leon.


    It looks like he had performed too well today, forcing the chief to use that kind of method to warn Leon not to overdo things. It was the ''gentlest'' method of cowing Leon into submission.


    Nheless, the strength of a Pseudo-Mage that Hulk showed truly shocked Leon. The pure power of his muscles and the mastery of such strength, Leon could totally sense something different between Hulk and the other apprentices.


    People had always said Pseudo-Mages were the ones closest to Mages, could this peculiarity be the origin of an Mage''s qualitative change from an apprentice Mage?


    Leon silently lowered his head and diligently remembered what he hadprehended into his heart so that he could take his time in analyzing it in the future.


    "It seems all of us here had really underestimated you!" Hulk said as he supported the wobbling Mark from the side. He continued, "Looks like you are quite reliant on Golems for most of your battle power. Indeed, this will allow you to gain a huge boost of your overall power. Alright, follow me. A talented man like you is needed in this camp. Let me see if I can find a suitable position for you!"


    After he finished saying that, Hulk carried Mark and turned, running towards arge wooden cabin that was quite far. Smiling wryly, Leon touched his nose and followed closely behind Hulk.


    Absolute silence was widespread among the onlookers that were on the side of the field, each and every one of them woreplicated expressions. It was clear that none of them was able to ept that kind of a surprising result. There were even a few advanced apprentices donning long faces, showing miserable looks that was as if their parents just passed away.


    When Hulk passed through the crowed, he suddenly stopped and turned to Dark Wood who also had aplicated expression.


    "Hey dead man, why did you bet on Leon?" he asked loudly.


    Dark Wood pulled down his hood and covered his skeleton-like face. A trembling voice came out from within his shadowed face.


    "If Mark won, wouldn''t that mean I''m useless? Isn''t this oue better? Now, who would dare to say I was defeated because I''m useless?"


    Hulk''s mouth hung open for a while which seemed as if he had something to say but failed to think of any.


    Damn it, although this guy''s answer was rather disparaging, it was still an honest answer. It made the chief of this training camp unable to find a suitable reason to vent his anger on this person.


    "How about you? Why did you bet on him?" Hulk turned to Kevin and asked.


    "This kid told me he was confident in this fight and since I''m really poor, I thought why not try my luck!" Kevin''s nswer was also straightforward and honest.


    "Ahhh..." Hulk was at a loss for words and finally gave up on his intention of venting his anger on someone. "You two lucky guys, why didn''t anyone tell me about this earlier? Hmph. Go and get your rewards now. Hey kid, you follow me, I''ll be treating you to a meal..."


    Hulk really meant what he said.


    Different from what wasmon formalities where the host would wee his guests and talk for a bit, a few burly men immediately came in while carrying heavy food boxes in their hands right after Hulk brought his guests in and made them sitfortably in front of a long wooden table.


    An exquisitely made silver tray was ced in front of Leon. It had some simple but elegant decorations and the words carved on it looked quite mysterious as well. But Leon wasn''t interested in them at all. Instead, he kept staring nkly at the thick roasted meat that was on top of the tray.


    It was a very huge piece of roasted meat weighing at least two kilograms. There were still traces of blood and smoke that could be seen from them. Arge ss was ced right beside the tray, the contents of it was some crimson, sticky liquid. Leon tried to sniff it and a pungent smell of blood invaded his nostrils.


    "Eat up!" Hulk said with a sinister and hideous smile, "I rarely treat someone to a meal, don''t tell me you''re not going to be giving me face!"


    The severely wounded Mark was supposed to find a quiet ce to treat his serious injuries, but strangely enough, he, too, had struggled for the long table. The bloody meat ribs that was ced in front of him weighed nearly ten kilograms, and the wine ss that came together with the meal was reced by arge copper basin.


    Leon then turned his head towards the host of this meal, Hulk. Right in front of Hulk was arge piece of medium rare animal rib and judging from its condition where it still had some blood, it seemed to be quite fresh as if it was just newly sliced from the body of somerge wild beasts.


    Meanwhile, inside his mind, the Chip gave enlightened him from his silent inquiry.


    Underground Fire Dragon!


    This was the ribing from an Underground Fire Dragon!


    The Underground Fire Dragon was a type of dragon who lived in theva region deep within the ground. It possessed a little bit of the bloodline of dragons but didn''t possess frightening abilities like those mega dragons. They also loved to eat sulfur and the Dragon Fruit, therefore they were also a kind of Fire Element demon beast.


    While Leon was still hesitating, Mark had already started to indulge in his huge meal. He had tossed away the huge silver cutlery and used his bare hands to tear apart the rib, gobbled it while ignoring its raw taste.


    Hulk shouldn''t use this to harm him!


    After he ordered the Chip to give the rib a thorough scan and found that there was no problem, Leon finally took the cutlery and tried to cut through his meal. He wasn''t really paying any attention to these utensils but when he grabbed the knife, he realized that this seemingly insignificant silver knife was unexpectedly a magical item. It held two magic effects of Pration and Sharpen. The silver fork he was holding on his other hand also had the magic effect of Pierce and Strengthen.


    Fuck, these were only cutlery used for cutting through the rib but the magic effects they had were so much better than those defensive magical items owned by most of the intermediate apprentices. Leon couldn''t help but marvel at the gap between different ranks of apprentices.


    Leon sighed and cut out a small piece of meat after considerable effort. He picked it up with the silver fork and ced it in his mouth.


    To be honest, for the very first time he tasted the meat, Leon nearly spat it all out. It tasted raw and bitter but Leon still tried his best and gave it a good chew until he felt his jaw be sore and reluctantly swallowed it into his stomach. When the meat had reached the inside of his stomach, a warm sensation then swiftly surged from his lower abdomen, causing his body to have a reaction towards this burning sensation.


    It was as if Leon''s body suddenly entered into a state of extreme hunger, a strong desire to consume food resonated from his entire body and mind, challenging his will.


    "What''s happening to me? Chip, activate dynamic body scan!"


    "Beep. Dynamic body scanning initiated... traces of Fire Element energy detected... host''s body is absorbing them in a high speed..."


    ordingly, a dynamic body attribute sheet was projected in Leon''s eyes. Both his Physique and Spirit started to increase slowly. Although the gain was only three to four digits after the decimal point, at least it was still gradually increasing.


    Leon''s eyes flickered.


    Tonic food?


    Could this be the tonic food of this world?!


    ...


    2059 Words

 Chapter 69: Full of energy

    The meat of Underground Fire Dragon tasted bitter and tough.


    Although the thing ced in front of Leon was technically considered cooked meat, he was still having a hard time ripping, chewing and swallowing it. He nced towards the other two men who were happily gobbling up their own meal. Leon couldn''t help but wonder whether these two had enhanced their teeth with a Piercing and Tearing spell. Without it, how could they actually manage to chew this meat, which was tougher than cow leather?


    Leon was eating very slowly, but resolutely.


    After switching part of his attention to his increasing Physique and Spirit, he became even more determined to finish this piece of meat. However, it seemed that he was the only one who could have done this. After all, not everybody was able to detect such tiny changes to their attributes.


    The second piece of meat was served right after he finished the first one. The total size of both pieces was at least three times bigger than his stomach. But he still swallowed them down through clenched teeth. At the end, he had even given up trying to taste the meat. He had to rely on his strong will to force them into his mouth and desperately swallow them into his stomach.


    As every single piece of shredded meat and every single chunk of meat cube fell into Leon''s stomach, he found that they were all gradually, yet constantly, emanating an Elementium aura that brought Leon joy. It was the taste of Fire Elementium!


    Normally, if Leon wanted to increase his Spirit, he would have had to rely on his daily four hours of meditation to slowly absorb the Fire elementium freely swimming in his Spiritual domain. Usually, this process would increase the maximum level of his Spirit. It was as if his Spirit was a small pond, and his daily rest would refill the pond to its maximum level while meditating would help him expand the pond''s boundary.


    Leon had previously thought that the only way one could expand the upper limit of their Spirit was through some specially concocted Spirit Potions. However, today''s ''delicacy'' had made him think differently. He now knew that, apart from meditation and Spirit Potions, there was another method which could slowly improve the quality of an Apprentice Mage''s constitution.


    Although consuming arge amount of these potions could quickly increase the upper limit of one''s Spirit, the increase would usually result in some side effects. This method would bring harm to the normal functions of other body attributes. However, the ''delicacy'' that he had just eaten came with no side effects. It would increase his Spirit slowly and would show the same results as meditation.


    Leon had been told before that the Mind Concentrating Potion, like the one he had just bought, would increase one''s Spirit at the expense of one''s Physique. Therefore, this potion had to be taken in moderation or else Leon would be like Dark Wood and turn into a living skeleton.


    While pondering about how he couldbine the delicacy and the Mind Concentrating Potion to yield the best result, a cube of meat suddenly got stuck in Leon''s throat. He couldn''t swallow it or cough it out, so he just picked up a ss of crimson liquid and gulped it down.


    As if a me had entered his mouth and was flowing into his stomach, Leon''s face suddenly turned purple. It seemed as if blood was about to burst from his face.


    This... this was the blood of Underground Fire Dragon!


    Fire Elementium kept emanating from the meat of Underground Fire Dragon and was absorbed and merged into his hungry body. With great effort, Leon managed to swallow thest piece of meat. He finally couldn''t hold up anymore andy his face on the dining table. His Spiritual conscious had be totally muddled and paralyzed because of the huge amount of Fire Elementium. He found himself being unable to think clearly.


    "Hehe, kid, this is the first truth I wanted to teach you." Before falling unconsciouspletely, Leon vaguely heard the loud voice of Hulk. "Only by knowing how to eat properly, can an Apprentice Mage, be a better fighter! Remember this!"


    Green didn''t remember a single thing that happened after that. The Fire Elementium exploded in his body like scorchingva melting its way to its destination. It was recklessly rushing through every single blood vessel and vein within his body. The overly-strong Fire Elementium had painted his skin fiery red and made his skin hot enough to burn one''s finger when touched. He was like a human shaped furnace that was on full power.


    Clearly, these Fire Elementium, that were full of strong bioactivity, were extremely suitable for human absorption. They were present in a huge amount and pounded through every single inch of his muscles, bones, tendons and blood. They continuously merging themselves into Leon''s body, bathing his entire body in a grand feast of Fire Elementium.


    Leon was drunk! He was drunk off Fire Elementium!


    ...


    When Leon finally woke up, seventeen hours had passed.


    The time was urate to the millisecond, as he had been informed by the Chip.


    When Leon awoke, he found that he was lying on a warm, cozy nket inside of a small single tent.


    As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt like he was going to explode.


    An unprecedented feeling of satisfaction from his bloodline flooded most of his conscious. Leon felt as if his entire body was trembling and moaning in enjoyment. He felt as if every single bone and muscle were cheering, eager to try out their new strength. His bloodline was fully satisfied for the first time ever. It kept urging him to fight and expel the steady flow of raging strength in his body.


    "Chip, what has happened to me? Why am I feeling this way?" Leon had always been a calm man who valued reason before everything else, so he was not ustomed to this unusual impulse.


    "Beep. Detected that the Host''s body attributes have all reached the upper limit... also detected arge amount of unabsorbed bioactive Elementium within the Host''s body... The abnormal feeling the Host ising from the stimtion of these bioactive Elementium... It is suggested that the Host performs fire spell practice at once so that the umted bioactive Elementium can be absorbed..."


    Damn, it was all because of the overly low endurance limit of his body. It seemed that he just couldn''t bear the excessive nourishment he gained from the delicacy!


    Leon instantly bolted up from the nket. He lightly clenched his fist and immediately felt explosive strength start to gather around his shoulder. For a moment, it made think that he had switched his path to one of a Body Refining Mage.


    He lifted the tent p and exited from it. He realized that he was still in the training camp and had just been thrown in a tent on the west side. It was opposite from the wooden cabin in the east. With his sensitive senses, he could tell that some of these tents were empty, while others were upied by men who were either meditating or sleeping soundly.


    It was the morning of the next day. Many elites in the training camp were conscientiously practicing their magic spells at the edge of therge training field. As Leon watched at the skilful and free way they practiced their instantaneous casting, he couldn''t help himself from starting to want to try out his spell too.


    As a matter of fact, instantaneous casting was an ability for matured spell casters.


    When an apprentice reached to a certain degree of mastery with a magic spell, they would try topress or even skip a part of the incantation, while still keeping the continuity of spell casting. The final goal of thisborious training was to be able to cast the spell instantaneously.


    Some powerful Mages didn''t even need to chant the dozens, or even hundreds, of words in a chant. Instead, a few short incantations were all they needed to say to instantaneously cast the spell.


    However,pressing a long chant into a short one required the spell caster to spend hours upon hours of restless practice. In addition, a secret magical spell legacy was required.


    That was why an Mage family was so important to an Apprentice Mage. Each Mage family would have their own magic spell legacy. Only an apprentice belonging to that Mage family would be able to enjoy the legacies and techniques that were handed down by generations of senior Mages. This would result in making their path smoother and easier.


    Or else, without the aid of such ancient knowledge, an apprentice would have to grope in the dark for everything he tried to achieve. With that, even an apprentice with extraordinary magical talent would still have to waste the precious time he had.


    Take Leon as an example. Currently, if he recited one-third of a magic spell, the spell would enter into an irreversible molding process. If this process was interrupted or he stopped casting midway, he would have to withstand a certain degree of bacsh. But, for those apprentices who had the legacy from their family, it was like they were cheating. They knew which part they had to stop, and they knew how to stop casting halfway while avoiding the bacsh.


    Just this alone wasn''t something that Leon could learn by himself. He wouldn''t be able to learn it even if he spent countless years practicing spell casting.


    Therefore, this was the advantage of having legacies as their knowledge.


    Those apprentices who had learned ''Free Cast'' could practice their magic spells randomly, and when the spell had almost activated, they would dispel it. They would be able to improve their mastery of the magic spell by repeatedly practicing in this way.


    After all, there was a limit to an Apprentice Mage''s Spirit. Without using instantaneous casting or free casting, they would find their Spirit depleted after casting a dozen magical spells. After that, they could only sleep in order to restore their Spirit. But, by using instantaneous casting, they could practice a hundred or even a thousand times every single day.


    Hence, the progress of an apprentice who had ess to a legacy and Leon, who seemed like a feral child, was vastly different.


    Right now Leon didn''t have the time to feel envious or jealous of these apprentices. He brought himself to a corner of the training field and found arge rock as his target. He started to repeatedly cast thetest solidified spell he had: ming Spear.


    Inparison to the quiet and calm free casting that was going on beside him, Leon''s spell casting practice was like a wild bombardment. Following his loud and clear reciting, he kept firing one ming Spear after the other. Things that looked like burning spears kept appearing in his hand and, while making a hissing noise, flew into therge rock that stood a hundred meters away. It exploded and filled the air with loud booms.


    The ming Spear''s swift and violent physical damage, along with its powerful explosion, instantly flooded therge rock target in a fierce and raging sea of me. The ear-piercing noise of explosion never stopped even for one second.


    If the situation was normal, Leon''s pathetic nine Spirit points would have been depleted after four ming Spears. But for some unknown reason, the violent and raging Fire element energy kept emerging from his body. It was so strong that he even felt like his Spirit was going to explode.


    Therefore, Leon had no choice but to keep firing ming Spears in order to release the tremendous pressure he felt on his Spirit. This resulted in the entire training camp being shocked by him!


    ...


    1985words

 Chapter 70: Magical Families

    Countless napping apprentices roared furiously as they jumped out of their tents, dark shadows under their eyes indicating their need for sleep, cursing their inconsiderate peer in loud voices. But when they saw the young man in front of arge rock target, they had no choice but to halt their actions and angrily return back to their tents.


    Soon, countless magical glows sprung up on the top of the tents. The sleepless apprentices had no choice but to use magic spells to shield themselves from the disturbance outside in order to return to their sweet dreams.


    After a full half hour, Leon was breathing heavily and his Spirit level was very low.


    Through his delicate senses, he could feel a steady stream of Fire element energy from the depths of his bone and flesh resupplying him with Spirit. This process was much slower than before, and finally at a rate that he could endure.


    "How is it? Do you feel better now?" A deep voice suddenly came from behind him.


    Leon looked over his shoulder and found Kevin standing there.


    "Do you know how many people in this training camp are jealous about the big feast you had yesterday?" His arms crossed, Kevin spoke with a smile on his face. "What you had yesterday was a grand feast of Underground Fire Dragon, which is something many people in this camp dream of having but never even have a chance of tasting. Being treated to a meal by Hulk is something that you should feel proud of, rather than return like a champion from the Underground World!"


    "I suppose that the meat is really expensive?" Leon asked, while scratching his head.


    "Expensive? Not really! In the market, you can buy 500 grams of fresh Underground Fire Dragon ribs with 100 magic crystals, and a ss of dragon blood only costs 200 magic crystals."


    Though Kevin said in a rather rxed manner, Leon felt like the man was actually talking through his tightly clenched jaw.


    Leon was no longer the same young and inexperienced rookie. He could now clearly understand the true value of magic crystals.


    For an apprentice like him, who hade here while carrying out the simple Underground World inspection mission, each trip to the Underground World would bring him a reward of five merit points and ten magic crystals. For an elite apprentice like Kevin, the reward for each mission was roughly ten merit points and 30 to 40 magic crystals.


    Taking away the basic expenses of purchasing materials and necessities, an elite apprentice with savings of 200-300 magic crystals was considered a rich man. Otherwise, after yesterday''s bet, why had there been so many elite apprentices clenching their teeth tightly and wishing they could devour him alive?


    To be in honest, after two bets, Leon had taken nearly all of the savings of every single elite apprentice in this training camp. If Hulk had not given out his order, perhaps right as Leon stepped out from this training camp, he would be greeted by countless apprentices waiting to knock him out and rob him!


    Even though he had won himself a huge sum of ''ill-gotten gains'', when Leon heard the actual price of Underground Fire Dragon, he still couldn''t control himself and his face twitching violently.


    After holding back for quite some time, Leon finally couldn''t contain himself and let out a raging roar into the sky.


    "If I had known that thing was so expensive, I would''ve... I would''ve.. definitely..."


    "Definitely not touched it at all?"


    "I would''ve definitely eaten more of them!"


    "..."


    After making fun for a bit, when both men looked at each other again, they actually felt closer.


    In fact, since the first day they had met, Leon had been in secret awe of these elite apprentices who had gone through life and death training. Though he had defeated two rather famous Advanced Apprentices, they were actually fighting publicly in an open field. If there hadn''t been a limitation because of the fighting ground or a restriction to the magic approach they could use, Leon, who was just a beginner apprentice, was still too weak.


    He was strong because of his Golems; he himself was just too weak.


    If he and Dark Wood had been in a thickly forested mountain, Dark Wood, who was an expert on curse spells, would have thousands of ways to drive Leon crazy. And if his opponent had been Kevin, Leon would have definitely died instantly.


    There was no way he could have hidden under the ground all day, trying to avoid the enemy''s attack. No matter what, he needed toe back to the surface to eat, drink, and sleep. When he rxed his vignce, the enemy would stealthily kill him.


    Therefore, though his fighting ability had gained eptance from most people, Leon knew himself. Maybe he really could pose a threat to most of the people in this training camp, but it would not be fatal, and that''s why the members of this training camp could ept him rather leniently.


    If Leon had really been deceived by the glory of his own victories and tried to interact with these people arrogantly, all he would end up with is endless hostility and hatred.


    For this very reason, when Kevin expressed his kindness, Leon immediately repaid that with ten times the enthusiasm.


    Though Kevin was much older than Leon, he was only about twenty-seven, and was still a young man. Hence, they weren''t too different from each other.


    After talking for some time, Kevin pulled out an old sack and gave it to Leon.


    "This is your portion after yesterday''s victory. It''s inconvenient to carry so many magic crystals, so I exchanged most of them into a magic crystal card. It can be used in exchange of magic crystals in all Mage stations belonging to the Zhentarim Association. This is much better than carrying a few thousand magic crystals and swaggering through the streets!"


    Leon was pleasantly delighted and expressed his gratitude fervently.


    "It is just a small matter, there is nothing to thank me for. In fact, I should be the one to say thanks to you! If not for you, yesterday I wouldn''t have been able to earn a small fortune. Haha, you didn''t see how jealous those guys were; it was such an enjoyable moment!"


    Leon rubbed his palms, but didn''t know how to continue this conversion. Although it was nice to be friends with Kevin, it seemed that Leon had offended many more guys in this camp!


    "Don''t worry, Hulk''s given his order. From now on, you''ll be part of my team. But maybe you didn''t know that, since when Hulk mentioned this, you had passed out and were being carried away from the wooden cabin." Kevin couldn''t help but let out a loudugh. Though he was teasing Leon, Leon could still hear an undertone of envy from Kevin''s words.


    "Brother Kevin, can you exin the responsibility and power of a camp apprentice?"


    "Haha, no problem! Come, let me bring you back to Mage Tower. I''ll tell you the actual situation of this training camp on our way back!"


    When Leon took his huge fortune and safely returned to his residence at Mage Tower, he finally had a better understanding of what a training camp was.


    The training camp, just as its name implied, was a training camp used to train elite apprentices. But, it was also a coboration used to maintain the interest of the small size Mage families.


    After all, though it was called the Underground Cave, along with the dark and deep Underground World, it also covered the Ker mountain range and a vast forest full of resources that spanned thirty thousand miles ofnd. It was also one of the richest regions throughout the entire Dagon region.


    Also, the Second Grade Mage who had been sent here by the Zhentarim Association had lived in seclusion inside of the Mage Tower and rarely showed himself in public. As long as it wasn''t a major incident, like the Fallen Mages that had attacked them on the surface, he never really interfered in anything regarding the Underground Cave and only focused his attention on his own magical experiments.


    asionally, he would secretly venture into the Underground World, but it was mostly to harvest the knowledge and resources required by his experiment. He rarely got involved in the battle between Mages from the surface and the Fallen Mages.


    Truly, all seventeen of the First Grade Mages who ran the Mage Tower of the Underground Cave were the decision makers in every single affair. And behind each of them was an Mage family who was significant in the Dagon region.


    Of course, the overall strength of these Mage families was insignificant in the eyes of the Zhentarim Association, as they were only considered small Mage families. But in the Dagon region, they were the local viins who controlled everything. Ordinary human nobles and merchants could only seek the protection from the Mage families; only then could they make their living, bringing in endless profit from the Ker mountain range.


    Herbs, woods, special nts, leather, the cores of demon beasts, mysterious demons... no matter what kind of material or resource, you could always find it here. Countless hunter groups, exploration teams that ventured between the steep mountains within the Ker mountain range, brought a steady supply of precious resources out and gave the lion''s share to the investor who had supported them.


    But these were low-grade resources. The real items that made the Mage families so filthily rich were the magical materials that came from the Underground World. Dark Grass, Phantom Mushroom, Nine-Eyes Stone ¨C these items that could tempt even official Mages were the main reason why the Mage families couldst for hundred or even thousands of years without decaying.


    No ordinary human had the ability to venture into the depths of the Underground World and harvest these resources. Only the mysterious existences who possessed all kind of special approaches, Apprentice Mages, had the ability to venture into the territory of underground creatures and bring back the rare and precious resources from specific regions.


    All seventeen stationed Mages represented the seventeen top Mage families in the Dagon region. As long as they still existed, no outsider could interfere in the interests of these Mage families. As official Mages, of course, they didn''t get themselves involved in suchborious yet time-consuming task. The junior apprentices from each family acted for them in order toplete this harvesting mission.


    In doing so, not only could they ensure the continuity of their family''s interest, they could also train the best juniors of their family. Eventually, the training camp was born.


    If all of the seventeen stationed Mages were the representatives of their respective Mage family, then all of the elite apprentices in this training camp were the hatchet men for their respective Mage family. Once something that would hurt the interests of their family happened, they would be the executioners who stood out to protect the interests and the face of their own family.


    Of course, if the exploration team who was sent out or invested in by a family discovered a rare demon beast or devil that they failed to capture, the apprentices stationed in the training camp would contribute their strength and provide the exploration team with the powerful support of magic spells.


    However, the most important activity for the elite apprentices stilly in the Underground Cave.


    Because that ce was the lifeline for the Mage families, a resource they would never give up.


    ...


    1941 Words

 Chapter 71: Level Up

    Since the existence of the Underground Cave was very important for all of the Mage families in the Dagon region, foreign elite apprentices such as Leon became their favorite target for recruitment.


    First, having some foreign recruits wouldn''t cause too much of an impact on their current interests. Without the support of an Mage family, the Apprentice Mages wouldn''t have the guts to offend the official Mages openly. So, the recruited elite apprentices could be their most capable hatchet men, but were unable to be one of theirpetitors.


    Second, the Underground World wasn''t a peaceful ce. The rare resources sought after by Mages from the surface were also the target for the ck bastards of the underground. Therefore, the start of every single underground expedition trip and harvesting trip was also the beginning of a chaotic battle between the two parties.


    Due to extensive exploration and development, all of the rare resources produced in the Underground World had been excavated and their locations marked down as resource sites. What time these resources were matured and what time they needed to be harvested, these things both parties knew very well. Therefore, whenever it was time to harvest, a deadly ughter would ur in the surroundings of these resource sites.


    Neither party would send out their official Mages in this chaotic battle, but restricted the battle to the level of Apprentice Mages. Only the winner of the battle had the right to enter the resource site and harvest the resources. As for the loser, either they escaped with wounds or they would have been killed in the battle.


    Like this, a bloody ughter had been ongoing for more than three hundred years in the Underground Cave, and it had be an unwritten edict in this ce. Using their strongest apprentices as their token, both parties would fight for the fixed resources every month. The winner took it all, while the loser got killed miserably. It was an arena where all Pseudo-Mages could put on a good show.


    Now, because of the uniqueness of Leon''s ability, he was chosen by the training camp under the lead of Hulk, and was fortunate enough to be a member together with the other elite apprentices. With this, he became busier, as apart from carrying out the apprentice mission organized by the Zhentarim Association every fifteen days, he also needed to join the underground patrol of the training camp intermittently.


    With this, Leon''s speed of obtaining merit point was definitely faster than all other ordinary apprentices.


    After gaining a basic understanding of the situation at the training camp, Leon left Kevin and returned to his residence.


    Having entered his room and properly locked the door, Leon made sure his surrounding was safe. Then he started to take out all of the magical and wondrous items from his body.


    Circlet of Nobility, Thorn Armor Bracelet, Hasten Boot, Screaming Branch, Gnome Goggle...


    When he was sure there weren''t any magic spells still affecting his body, he inwardly gave out an order.


    "Chip, run a scan on the current situation of my body..."


    "Beep. Mission epted. Commencing scanning of Host''s body..."


    After the slow yet meticulous spirit frequency spread across his body, Leon''stest stats were projected into his eyes.


    As he stared at the statistics, a smile emerged from Leon''s face.


    Compared to his previously frail body, all of Leon''s attributes were now on a new level. Physique was the attribute with the most outstanding improvement, as it had jumped up by two points. After all, just one month ago, Leon had only had three points in his Physique. Compared to the other Apprentice Mages, he was too frail to stand even a gust of wind.


    Though the other three attributes hadn''t increased by a big margin, they all had a significant improvement, and were no longer in the stagnant state like the past.


    After he browsed through his own attributes, Leon satfortably in the chair. He casually pulled out a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion from his storage waistband, held it in front of his eyes, and examined it silently.


    The light blue potion was wobbling within the tiny bottle and some tiny blue pellets could be vaguely seen swimming within the liquid. But as their aura was isted within the bottle, it was very difficult for the Chip to get an urate analysis of the ingredients contained in this potion.


    Leon gently pulled out the cork and a unique smell of the sea instantly came to his nose. Without hesitation, Leon threw his head back and gulped down the potion in one go.


    Just as the potion entered his mouth, a light blue mist suddenly sprayed out from his nostril and formed into a thumb-size piteous mermaid in front of his eyes. The tiny mermaid quickly withered and aged in the air, and when its incorporeal body had nearly vanished, a sharp and miserable shriek suddenly resounded throughout the entire room.


    The shriek didn''tst long, and the image of mermaid quickly vanished, followed by the dissolving of the blue mist. But the mermaid''s sharp cry had prated Leon''s mind with a grieving and pathos curse.


    "Chip, what just happened?"


    "Beep. Detecting the existence of ''Flesh Curse''... Preliminary estimation shows it is the potion''s negative side effect. By dispelling it, the effectiveness of the potion will be lower... Does Host want to use Spirit and dispel this Flesh Curse?"


    Leon sighed inwardly.


    Before, he had heard that the Mind Concentrating Potion had a strong negative side effect; looked like the rumor was real. In order to increase his Spirit, he had no choice but to endure the ravages of this Flesh Curse.


    "Negative. Just keep the dynamic scanning going!"


    "Command epted. The effect of the potion is starting..."


    On the attribute sheet projected in front of Leon''s eyes, the number representing his Spirit slowly started to rise. At the same time, his Physique also started to drop.


    8.43... 8.44... 8.47... 8.53... 8.62...


    4.98... 4.97... 4.95... 4.92...


    Fortunately, yesterday''s grand feast of Underground Fire Dragon meat had brought Leon plenty of vitality, which minimized much of the pain on his internal organs, though it still felt like being bitten by thousands of ants at the same time. Otherwise, even he himself couldn''t be sure if he would able to endure this painful process till the end.


    While enduring the heartbreaking paining from all over his body, he was only happy because of the ever increasing Spirit.


    8.98... 9.03... 9.08...


    Even in pain, Leon smiled as he witnessed his Spirit finally stepping over eight and sessfully bing nine.


    Finally, when his Spirit stopped at 9.27 and didn''t move again, Leon let out a muffled groan and gave out amand, "Chip, dispel the Flesh Curse!"


    "Command epted! Releasing Fire Elementium..."


    A warm burst of energy started to flow through his entire body and the aching and tingling sensation gradually subsided before disappearingpletely. Leon was more focused on the attributes that had changed:


    Ugh... this bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion had brought an increase of 0.85 to Leon''s Spirit. At the same time, his Physique had dropped by 0.77 and even his Strength had dropped by 0.05.


    Leon stood up and exercised his body. Though the feeling of emptiness brought by the reduction of his Physique was still there, it wasn''t as strong as he had expected. It seemed like the grand feast he had yesterday brought him some hidden benefits! Meanwhile, the increase of his Spirit brought Leon an improvement of his overall ability. Both the speed of his thought or the profoundness of his spirit senses had significant improvement.


    Tempted by the result, Leon hesitated for half a second before he took out another bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion, pulled out the cork, and gulped it down.


    Leon strenuously endured the huge negative effects of the potion: the same pain, the same Flesh Curse, the same anticipation. The only focus of his attention was the Spirit, which was constantly increasing.


    9.29... 9.33... 9.46... 9.52...


    ...


    Suddenly, the trifling tones of the Chip chimed out, "Warning, Host''s muscle damage has exceeded 17%."


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 19%."


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 21%."


    "Beep... warning! Muscle damage has exceeded 21%. Non-interference will result in Host entering a temporary state of decay. Does Host want to interfere?"


    Leon lightly clenched his jaw and replied with a deep voice. "Negative!"


    The original aching and tingling sensation had turned into a severe pain, like his heart were being sliced through, and beads of sweat started to roll down his forehead. On the chair, Leon twisted and struggled through the pain, relying on his strong will so that he wouldn''t pass out. If he passed out, he would lose control and the Flesh Curse would wreak havoc on his body before it dissolved itself. No doubt, that would bring even more damage to his Physique!


    So, even if it only spared him losing 0.01 Physique, Leon still tenaciously kept himself awake.


    9.87...


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 22%."


    9.93...


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 23%."


    9.99...


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 24%."


    10.03...


    "Muscle damage has exceeded 25%."


    Sensing that his Spirit had stopped moving, Leon finally shouted, "Dispel!"


    As the warm burst of energy once again flowed through his body, the severe pain subsided entirely.


    Leon ced both hands on the armrest of the chair and tried to push himself up, but he failed twice in a row. The severe pain numbed his body and stopped it from responding to his control.


    Just at that moment, thetest attributes refreshed in front of his eyes.


    It finally broke through ten!


    As of now, Leon was honored to be an Intermediate Apprentice.


    From a Beginner Apprentice, who only had eight Spirit, to an Intermediate Apprentice of ten Spirit, it had only taken Leon one and a half months, but he had spent six whole years in the past just to increase from six to eight Spirit. This was clear evidence of the huge difference between someone with sufficient resources and someone without.


    But in order to achieve what he had now, Leon had paid a huge price with his body.


    His Spirit had increased from 9.27 to 10.03, a small change from single digit to two digits, but his Physique had shrunk back to 3.17 from 4.21, a jaw-dropping reduction. Along with that was a 0.01 reduction in his Strength and a reduction of 0.08 in his Agility.


    The damage caused by the Mind Concentrating Potion increased progressively!


    ...


    1785 Words

 Chapter 72: Spirit 10

    To be honest, Leon was acting rather impulsive by consuming the Mind Concentrating Potion!


    ording to the process he had understood earlier, a time interval of at least three to four days was required between each intake of the potion. This was so that he could avoid the cumtion of damage. But, because he thought that he was a young, strong and growing man, he decided to take the second potion right after the first. After all, he didn''t have the patience to wait.


    The consequence brought about by his reckless decision was obvious.


    After the first potion, his Physique was only reduced by 0.85, but the second potion had brought it down by another 1.05. If Leon had taken the third potion, perhaps his Physique would''ve taken a nose dive of nearly two points.


    After all, the parameters calcted by the Chip were just the digitized representation of his body''s attributes. All four major body attributes weren''t isted but supported and influenced each other. For example, Spirit and Agility influenced the hitting uracy of long range attack and the frequency of attacks. Spirit and Strength together influenced reflex and explosive force. Meanwhile, Physique was the foundation for all attributes. It worked with other attributes and influenced a person''s amount of health, their physical and elemental resistance, evasion, and many other aspects.


    When Leon''s Physique dropped from 4.98 to 3.17, the reduction of two points not only lowered his health points, but also caused a decay to his entire life system.


    At this moment, Leon felt as if his entire body was empty.


    The feeling of emptiness and hunger brought by the quick decay of his Physique kept bugging him. It was a really ufortable feeling and made all his internal organs feel like they were being burnt by fire.


    As he was left with no other option, and temporary had no strength to stand up, Leon reached his hand to a small copper bell on his table and rung it.


    Following that, a unique soundless wave rippled through the air, and a wooden, human-like face suddenly protruded from the empty surface of the table.


    "Mister Leon, may I know what special service you need?" Surprisingly, the wooden face spoke.


    "Food! I need food right now! Now, immediately, right away!"


    "May I know what grade of food you need? We offer an ordinary set meal of nobility. The degree of luxury is guaranteed to be the ultimate enjoyment among human noble. Each set only costs one magic crystal. We also provide a magical energy set meal. All the ingredients are taken from intermediate to advanced level demon beasts found in the depth of Ker mountain range. Each set only cost five magic crystals."


    "Magical energy set meal. I want it right now!"


    "Understood! Your order has been epted, please ce the meal fee inside of my mouth!" Following what it said, the protruding face opened up its mouth.


    Leon took out five magic crystals from his waist pouch and ced them into the mouth of the human face. It was originally a solid wood carving, but now it had turned into a crack that led to a secret ce. It quickly swallowed the magic crystals.


    After the wooden human face swallowed the magic crystals, it suddenly expanded and transformed into a square wooden box. When the wooden box finally exploded into countless wooden fibers and retracted back into the table, a steaming hot rib ced on top of a silver tray was revealed in front of Leon.


    A set of exquisite cutleryy next to the meal. The meal consisted of an appetizing fried rib, garnished with red, blue and white vegetables along with some tasty sauce. It was paired with a ss of fragrant grape wine.


    As Leon wasn''t a picky man, he didn''t pay too much attention to his meals. However, he had to admit that for the Apprentice Mages who had been immersed in a boring routine, a meticulously prepared meal like this was considered a huge mentalpensation.


    Wasting no time on table manners, Leon savagely exterminated the fried rib like a hungry ghost rushing for his food. When the entire rib finally rested in his stomach, the burning hunger had finally subsided.


    "Chip, can you identify what this meat is?"


    "Beep. The possibility of Iron Rhinoceros is 87%, Berserk Beast is 10%, Gray Pocket Beast is 2%..."


    The Chip showed Leon a long list, but the possibility of thest seven to eight were so low that they could simply be ignored. Only the first few had the highest possibility.


    Leon moistened his hungry lips, threw his head back and gulped down the grape wine.


    He could clearly felt that the magical energy meal he had just now was far inferior to the Underground Fire Dragon meat he had yesterday. Also, the Iron Rhinoceros, who the meat had the highest possibility ofing from, should''ve just been an intermediate Earth element demon beast. The Elementium contained within the meat was totally unmatched with his elemental affinity. Although it could still bring him a huge amount of health points, it didn''t provide any benefit to his Fire element innate ability.


    It looked like if he wished to replenish both his health points and Fire element innate ability at the same time, he should choose meat from those Fire element demon beasts. The higher grade, the better.


    Therefore, urged by his hunger, Leon once again rung the copper bell.


    As expected, when Leon mentioned straight away that he wanted the Fire element demon beast as his meal, the wooden face immediately offered him a long list of delicacies.


    ming Tiger ¨C 15 Magic Crystals per 500 grams


    Fire Lizard ¨C 20 Magic Crystals per 500 grams


    Inferno Hound ¨C 25 Magic Crystals per 500 grams


    Fire Swallowing Sparrow ¨C 30 Magic Crystals per 500 grams


    ...


    Leon quietly listening with his eyes closed. From time to time, he would ask for more information. Soon, he made up his mind and picked a delicacy that suited him the most: Fried Heart of Inferno Hound.


    After paying 25 magic crystals, the wooden face quickly swallowed the dishes on the table and revealed another luxurious meal.


    This time it was not a rib but a fresh heart that was still pumping lightly. It seemed there was a fire source concealed within the fist-size heart. It was still raw and fresh when it appeared, but following an explosion of the fire source, a scorching hot me soared up to the roof before disappearing in an instant.


    When the enshrouding heat finally vanished into the air, a fresh and fragrant fried heart of Inferno Hound was revealed in front of Leon.


    Leon first used the table knife and poked a small hole on the surface of the heart, then suck all the warm blood inside of it in one go. When the warm and appetizing liquid flowed through down his throat and reached his stomach, a raging and explosive sensation made Leon so happy that he couldn''t help but close his eyes in enjoyment.


    Soon after wolfing down everything in his mouth, Leon sliced the heart of ming Hound into small equal sizes and tucked in one after another. Whenever a piece of heart exploded in his stomach and began to emanate a raging Fire element energy, Leon had the impulse to moan because of the pleasure feeling.


    The raging Fire element energy kept flushing throughout his entire body. Although it made him drenched in sweat, it was an extremely refreshing.


    After he finished two sets of ming Hound meals continuously, he finally managed to replenish part of his Physique, which had been reduced a lot. In addition, there was a slight increase to his Spirit.


    Strength ¨C 4.04, Agility ¨C 4.30, Physique ¨C 3.34, Spirit ¨C 10.07


    After the wooden face cleared up the leftover dishes on the table, Leon ced both palms on his big belly. He struggled his way to his bed, before starting his daily meditation routine.


    After experienced a targeted food tonic, today''s deep meditation had brought Leon''s Spirit the unprecedented increase of 0.11, which was an additional 0.03paring to the normal 0.08 increase. Judging from this alone, if he was able to increase the density of Fire element energy in his body or his surroundings, it would also increase the efficiency of his meditation.


    Leon ordered the Chip to record this finding, so he could use his free time to research for the best meditation form. After finishing with all these, Leon breathed out a long sigh of satisfaction and sunk into a deep slumber.


    ...


    It was a good sleep!


    After a long hour of sleep, when Leon finally woke up from his sweet dream, he found that his entire body was filled with a powerful yet inexhaustible strength.


    Of course, this was only a sensation of fullness after his Strength had reached the maximum level. After all, he only had 3.34 of Physique and 4.04 of Strength. For a Beginner Apprentice, numbers like this weren''t considered a shame, but if it was an Intermediate Apprentice, it was considered rather ''frail''.


    Even though an Intermediate Apprentice didn''t take the path of Body Refining, he should also make his Strength, Agility and Physique reach the minimum level of five. It was only a body quality like this that wouldn''t hinder their Spirit, cing themselves in an unbnced course of development. Of course, those like worm controller and Dark Wood were extreme examples and couldn''t be judged by this standard.


    For people like them, their bodies could no longer be judged by normal standards, as they had transformed intopletely different body constitutions. The bug''s body of worm controller clearly showed the miraculous signs of vitality and damage sharing, and he could be considered an undefeated cockroach.


    Meanwhile, although Dark Wood''s Physique was extremely low, he obviously possessed some unspeakable special abilities. At least, Leon''s Demon Alligator had attacked him multiple times with Paralyze Gaze during their battle, but it seemed like he wasn''t affected at all. Clearly, his strange body constitution had an immunity toward such spell.


    Leon briefly exercised his body. Right when he decided to pay a visit to the library in this ce, someone came knocking on his door.


    It was Bleia.


    When Bleia strode into his room with rather charming steps, her eyes were instantly filled with unconcealed puzzlement.


    "You... your Spirit has reached ten?"


    The strange feelinging from Leon''s body made Bleia think that there was something wrong with her senses, as it was obvious that the spiritual ripple could only be owned by an Intermediate Apprentice.


    "Yes, I just made a breakthrough yesterday. Oh, right. I suppose you''re here for the war trophies? Let me tell you some good news, I sessfully sold all those war trophies, and I got us these treasures!" While saying that, Leon took out a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion from his waist pouch.


    Bleia took over the potion and gave it a closer look. An expression of suddenprehension emerged on her face. She then gave it back to Leon.


    "You can keep this yourself! A low-grade potion like this has no effect for me, but it can still provide some benefits to you. Remember, don''t consume them continuously, and don''t forget to recuperate after having it. Or else, the condition of your body will be really bad!"


    Leon was startled.


    Although he did expect that Bleia wouldn''t care too much about this potion, but her indifferent attitude of giving it back still surprised him. After all, a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion was five merit points and five magic crystals in this Mage Tower. Anyone who went to the Underground World at least once would understand how valuable a merit point was.


    Therefore, Leon was left speechless.


    ...


    1981 Words

 Chapter 73: Underground World

    Unlike the eternal darkness, the Underground Cave was never a calm ce.


    Because most of the regions had only been vaguely surveyed, even the native underground species who had upied this domain for a long history, didn''t own apletely reliable map.


    The underground tunnels could stretch for miles; sometimes they expanded into massive caverns more than a thousand meters wide and sometimes they narrowed so even the Cave Dweller couldn''t squeeze through. The biggest cavern was like a miniature surface world: there were hills, valleys, an underground river, andkes. In this three-dimensional environment, most of the species could utilize the cavern ceiling and walls, using their innate ability or a magic spell to fly, hover, or even ride on some of the creatures who could walk on walls (like the giant spiders or some kinds of lizards) and travel freely in this domain.


    As the only city built in the Underground World by the exiled Mages, the location of Elysium City was top secret. The rock stratum, rich in metal, could easily iste any ill-intentioned probes from the outside world, and, together with the dark and deep caves scattered across the entire Underground World, the creatures of darkness hiding in the tunnels, Golems, and underground natives, made it so no outsider could distinguish the single passage that led to Elysium City from countless winding tunnels in the darkness without being led by an Elysium City resident.


    Some said the mighty Second Grade Fallen Mage of Elysium City had set up a massive formation of illusion outside of the city, and it was able to wipe out every single trace of Elysium City''s existence. With that, even if an enemy really did find his way to the area, he still wouldn''t be able to identify the exact location of the city, even if he left no stone unturned.


    Elysium City, Catsear Tavern.


    When the huge firestone hanging high up on the cavern ceiling started to go off, the tide of darkness flowed on.


    For the Fallen Mages who lived in the dark Underground World, there wasn''t a clear difference between day and night. Without using something to reference the time, their life would be muddled and it would be tough to arrange everything in a regr manner. Thus, having inherited some habits from the surface, the Fallen Mages with powerful abilities and a bagful of amazing tricks mined a huge number of firestones from the underground and used a magical array to make them light up ording to the time on the surface world.


    Thus, Elysium City finally attracted arge group of Apprentice Mages who had been driven into a corner and made them the city''s first batch of loyal residents.


    When the night screen was down, the streets and alleyways of Elysium City lit up with torches and bonfires and a dimmed oilmp hung on the door of Catsear Tavern.


    Pushing the dpidated and dirty door open, a long-faced Langdon came through the door. Having entered, the noisy and lively atmosphere immediately brought a frown to his face.


    It was only seven in the evening, but the tavern was fully packed with drunkards of all species. Basically, all of the famous underground species had representatives here. Of course, this didn''t include the lower ss species.


    Inferior species like Hooked Horrors and Petrified Lizards would definitely not have the status of an Elysium City resident. Instead, there were mostly demi-human or intelligent species, who looked human. For example, Lizardmen, Gnolls, Dwarves, and Ratmen.


    As he stared at a group ofrge-size rats walking upright in front of him, looking at their ugly hairy faces, Langdon''s mind filled with disgust. He was a genuine human being, after all.


    Of course, an ordinary human wouldn''t be able to survive in Elysium City, which was dominated by demons and monsters, but Langdon had no fear at all. He even ferociously kicked away a Ratman who got in his way. He could do this because he was an Apprentice Mage, a Pseudo-Mage.


    In Elysium City, aside from the Master Mages who rarely showed themselves in public, a Pseudo Fallen Mage like him was considered a supreme existence. Wherever he went, countless underground natives would give way to him in a rather ttering manner.


    His light blue apprentice robe was decorated with countless mysterious and undecipherable golden runes that blinked sometimes as he moved, giving him a magical and mysterious air. Combined with a handsome appearance and his cultural and elegant bearing, Langdon looked like a noble. But too bad, the once elegant face looked extremely gloomy right now.


    After he kicked away the Ratman who got in his way, and totally ignoring the squeaking protest, Langdon strode to the counter, forcefully pped the counter-top, and let out a raging roar.


    "Give me a bottle of ming Wine!"


    The noisy and lively tavern suddenly became dead silent.


    Old John, who was leisurely cleaning wine sses on the other side of the counter, rolled his eyes, murmured, and pulled out a bottle of wine from under the counter and slid it over the smooth counter top.


    Once the bottle was uncorked, the strong, spicy smell of wine immediately filled the air inside the packed tavern. Countless hairy faces poked their nose into the air and their shining saliva started to drip from their lips.


    Breathing heavily and with a pair of bloodshot eyes, Langdon, who rarely drank, threw his head back and ferociously gulped down a few mouthfuls of the hard liquor. The spicy liquor rushed into his stomach like raging mes and made it so he couldn''t hold it and burst out with a few dry, hoarse coughs.


    A ssh of liquor danced in the air.


    Most of the liquor he had drunk was coughed out.


    The Ratmen, who dressed in old cloth, mimicked humans, and walked upright, immediately flocked up,y down on the floor, and stick out their big wet tongues, savagely licking the liquor spilled on the stone floor. Though normally they behaved like humans, once they saw something that was good and cost nothing, they would immediately throw away their deceiving behavior and once again expose the true instinct as low-intelligence creatures.


    Elysium City was under strict governance: only intelligent creatures were allowed to be its residents, and they had to appear human. In order to get themselves status in the city, many Ratmen, Gnolls, Lizardmen had no choice but to dress in dirty cloth which they simply picked up from piles of rubbish, stand upright, and walk with strange and staggered steps, as if pretending they were some demi-human.


    In this mini city ruled by Fallen Mages, these creatures had no means or methods to earn their living. They ate the rubbish of the Mages. Of course, sometimes they would resort to dirty businesses like stealing from someone; only by that could they gain a better life.


    Looking at Ratmen punching and biting each other for his vomit, Langdon clenched his jaw tightly and wished he could kill them all with an Acid Pool spell.


    He was a distinguished Pseudo-Mage; how he had he ended up spending his days with a group of demons and monsters?! An unspeakable feeling of grief and hatred filled his mind with anger that couldn''t be vented. Langdon threw his head back and gulped the remaining ming wine in a swallow, casually tossed out a magic crystal, and staggered out from the tavern.


    "What happened to master Langdon? I think this is the first time we''ve seen him behave abnormally like this?" In a dark corner, two shadows whispered to each other.


    "What? You don''t know?" Another shadow said under its breath. "I heard that his partner is dead."


    "Demon Vine Lady?" The first shadow let out a shocked cry. "You said the Demon Vine Lady is dead?"


    "Quiet..." The first shadow looked around uneasily, realized no one was watching them, and then warned with a low voice, "You just came back from the west, that''s why you don''t know. The east region was rather lively in the past few days. I heard quite a few Pseudo-Mages were having a fierce fight there. They even copsed a few tunnel levels."


    "Just now you said the Demon Vine Lady was dead? Who killed her?"


    "Who else? Of course she was killed by those bastards from the surface. I hear those Mages on the surface had nothing else to do, so they sent a group of apprentices to our world to seize our resources. The Demon Vine Lady was killed by this group of rookies. Rumor says..." The shadow paused and looked around, lowered its voice, and continued, "Rumor says that she was killed by a Beginner Apprentice whose name is Leon! She..."


    Before the shadow could finish its words, a ground shaking boom drowned out its voice. The rock wall beside them had been punctured by a frightening fist and arge hole was left.


    A huge figure, over three meters tall, dashed through therge hole. With both hands, he forcefully pulled up the two shadows, who had been conversing secretly in the darkness.


    Light from the zing stove in the room shone onto these two shadows. They were Gnolls.


    "You damn inferior creatures, who gave you the audacity to secretly talk about the matters of me, Langdon? I hate hearing the name of Leon. Whoever dares mention it again, this will be an example!"


    After the angry roar of the huge figure, an azure ice energy started to gather within his palms. Within the time of a breath, the two Gnolls froze into two ice statues. Right after that, the huge figure used all his strength and threw both ice statues onto the ground, shattering them into tiny pieces and sshing throughout the entire floor of the tavern.


    "All of you damn dregs, hear my words and remember. Nobody mention that damn name again! Anyone fails to obey this, I, Langdon, will remind them with their own death!" Langdon, who had transformed into a frightening giant, roared out furiously.


    "Leon! You damn bastard, I''ll be waiting for you in the darkness of the underground..."


    ......


    Having no knowledge of what happened in the remote Underground World, Leon was extremely busy for a few days.


    He had finished reading all the books from the Swampy Tower. Only the long-drawn-out process of magical knowledge umtion and magic spell model analysis were left.


    For the first defensive magic spell he was going to possess, Leon poured in a hundred times the enthusiasm.


    Fire Shield, that was the first defensive magic spell he chose for himself. But, in order to truly master it, Leon first had to master four to five elementary subjects and a huge amount of magic spells. From the to the , and to ...


    Leon was required to master dozens of magic spells knowledge and techniques before he could learn Fire Shield. Though he was assisted by the Chip, it was still an extremely tough mission in order to thoroughly master them one by one.


    But ording to the calctions and estimations of the Chip, Leon was delighted to learn that he would be able to bag this Fire Shield magic spell before his next trip to the Underground World.


    This was a great news!


    ...


    1881 Words

 Chapter 74: Training

    After discovering that the food tonic could bring great benefits to an apprentice Mage''s body, the magical energy meal which he only eats once a day became an essential part of his daily life.


    After being inspired and guided by him, it didn''t take too long for Bleia to be a ve of this "delicacy" as well, apanying him in indulging in a frenzy eating spree. If not for having to carry out appropriate ''exercises'' after each meal to help in the digestion of bioactive element substance, Leon would surely change all of his regr meals into magical energy meals.


    For the following days, every morning was spent on studying for magic knowledge, be it rain or shine. Leon utilized fully the help of the Chip, instilling the huge amount of knowledge he learned into his brain, then saved them in a systematic manner.


    Noon time was the most important time of the day, being the time to enjoy the various delicacy avable to them. Both of them had already tried every single one of the magical energy meals that was provided by the Mage Tower, but chose to eat the one that suited them the most. Leon still preferred the Fried Heart of a ming Hound while Bleia enjoyed drinking the blood of a Wyvern.


    The insanely high daily meal expenditure of fifty magic crystals had caused their Physique to skyrocket. Currently, Leon would have daily increase of 0.3 to his Physique. As for Bleia, although she didn''t experience such an incredible development, she was still euphoric, showing a look of satisfaction and contentment.


    After they finished eating, it was finally time for appropriate "exercises" where Bleia would give Leon a good beating. Leon practically turned into a high quality human punching bag, brutally tortured by Bleia.


    Facing Bleia who had used her full speed from the get-go, Leon was forced to wear his Circlet of Nobility and only then can he barely make out her flickering figure. Whenever his palms holding scorching mes moved slower, he would be rewarded with five bloody shallow scratches on his body.


    For the first three days, Leon''s body would be full of wounds after every fight. His body which had just grown a bit sturdy looked like it had been used as a scratching post by more than a hundred catwomen at the same time, was full of crisscrossing scratch marks.


    Leon had a sorrowful discovery that, without the help from his Golems, fighting Bleia all alone was as if he was inviting torture. Bleia could even use the gentlest ''touch'' to reduce his health points to one, while his ming palms couldn''t even touch the corner of her dress.


    Initially, he thought of suddenly changing the direction of his mes to give Bleia a surprise attack, but the same technique had be useless the second time around when dealing with Bleia, who was an agility type assassin Mage. Without a suitable defensive magic spell, Leon would never be able to withstand Bleia''s attack just with the Burning Hand alone.


    As for the reason why he didn''t want to use Fire Arrow and ming Spear, the answer was too obvious. Even the Burning Hand, the type of magic spell that could be casted with just a thought, couldn''t intercept Bleia in such a close distance, how much more for the Fire Arrow and ming Spear which required three seconds of casting time.


    In order to save a little bit of his face, Leon was forced to break his personal vow, secretly ordering the Chip to perform a scan and save Bleia''s attack pattern and habits. After that, he asked the Chip to construct a mini battlefield spellcasting assist system. With the help of this system, the Chip could capture Bleia''s movements, using its incredible calction speed to derive possible positions she would appear, and also the possible spots she would attack.


    Later, Leon followed the calctions of the Chip and finally caught Bleia.


    Unfortunately, Leon''s temporary sess angered Bleia, and he received a continuous and brutal beating from a red figure who suddenly rampaged. Leon didn''t evenst for five seconds with his body fully bathed with blood.


    Leon couldn''t help but think Bleia was a lunatic who would be a crazy sex machine in bed, as she could control her attacks at a very precise level without the help of something like the High Precision Chip. This... this shows fully how perfect her control over her enemy''s life is, and her aggressiveness that can overwhelm the enemy with grief.


    The Mage Tower''s arena alsoes with various functions beyond an outsider''s imagination. Any apprentice Mage who fought inside it could choose between two modes: Training Match or Death Match.


    Under the training match mode, once an apprentice Mage had their health reduced to a dangerous level, any attack from their opponent would immediately trigger a defense mechanism of the arena, putting up a strong protective barrier that would protect the wounded apprentice inside. Meanwhile, the death match mode didn''te with any life-preserving defense mechanism.


    This was where Bleia''s remarkable control stand out. Every time they fought, she could make Leon be covered in blood all over with her ferocious attacks, while never triggering the automatic defense mechanism of the arena. This really frightened Leon!


    Therefore, every afternoon had be the hardships of Leon''s painful journey. The match would always end with him being covered in blood and being dragged out from the arena by Bleia. The only difference was how long he couldst.


    The first day, hested for seven minutes.


    The second day, hested for fifteen minutes.


    The third day, he initially had a chance tost for much longer but since he provoked Bleia, he was defeated close to five minutes.


    The fourth day, hested for half an hour. It was also the first time he and the Chip worked together wlessly.


    The fifth day, he managed tost for one full hour without being hurt at all because his Fire Shield had finally appeared.


    That''s right, it was really a surprise!


    Under the tremendous pressure from Bleia, the frightening Blood Queen, Leon actually managed to master all of the preliminary knowledge required for Fire Shield one day ahead of schedule, and he was also sessful in casting it before the match began.


    The Fire Shield was a shield-shaped defensive magic spell that wasposed entirely of Fire Elementium. When sessfully casted, it would automatically revolve around Leon''s body in a radius of one meter. The area the spell can defend covered 1.5 meters tall and 1 meter wide. Not only does it provide an excellent physical and magical defense, it also has the Reflect Damage effect during a melee battle.


    Bleia had once tried it. Using her super high agility, she came closer to Leon from the side but no matter how hard she tried, her razor sharp ws couldn''t break through the defense of Leon''s Fire Shield. The small Fire Shield actually had its own intelligent sensor capable of automatically moving by itself to the appropriate positions to block all attacks.


    So far, Bleia hadn''t master any closebat skills that had a name. Her offensive methods were primitive, mostly relying on her high agility, attacking the enemy with her strong body. If we were to talk about any special ability that was worth mentioning, it would be the the ability to infuse her blood element magic energy into her ws, making her every attack draw blood from her enemy that can also replenish herself.


    But the damage inflicted by that kind of offensive method would never be great. In fact, each strike would always inflict just nine to thirteen points of damage. Meanwhile, the defensive strength of the Fire Shield was thirty five points, making it obvious that it would take more than a single strike from Bleia''s attacks.


    That''s why when Leon mastered the Fire Shield, he was able to turn the tables of the battle to his favor.


    Originally, it was Leon who tried hard to defend, having his health reduced bit by bit from the raging attacks of Bleia. The situation would''ve been better if he didn''t try to counterattack since he couldst longer. But once he gave up on his defenses in order to have a chance to hit Bleia who moved swiftly like a ghost, he would be defeated by Bleia instantly, resulting to a miserable ending for himself.


    But now with the help of the Fire Shield, not only did Bleia fail to break through his defenses even after multiple tries, she also had her ws burned by the sudden explosions of mes from the Fire Shield. Her dress which didn''te with any defensive magic wasn''t spared from being burned causing it to have a fewrge scorched holes.


    Finally! He finally got the upper hand for once and this brought great joy to Leon.


    Whilefortable appreciating Bleia''s hot and seductive body, he was reciting the chant of Fire Arrow with a loud voice, manipting the explosive mes to chase after her. For the first time ever, he never had to worry about suddenly getting scratch marks appearing on his body.


    Leon''s rxed method of attack greatly angered Bleia. That''s why, after thirty seven seconds ofcency, he was once again bloodied all over after receiving the furious attacks of Bleia. Surprisingly, the defense mechanism triggered this time. A transparent protective barrier tightly covered around Leon''s body. Bleia was knocked away by it, showing her skin that had turned ck because of the me.


    Looking at the bloodshot eyes of Bleia who kept gazing at him savagely through the transparent barrier, Leon couldn''t help but sigh deeply.


    As always, Bleia would never let herself be outdone by someone else!


    With the current strength of Bleia''s melee attacks, there wasn''t any possibility she could pierce through the Fire Shield. It was at least correct ording to theory!


    But when Leon met Bleia, a girl with a tremendous desire to excel over others, even the theory calcted by the Chip had be unreliable.


    Driven by anger, Bleia actually withstood the fire element damage from the Fire Shield and didn''t even back off. She also withstood the double fireball attacks from Leon''s Burning Hands and used an attack that was beyond anyone''s imagination. Forcefully hitting thrice on the same spot of the Fire Shield and took advantage of the cumtive damage to sessfully break through Leon''s tough protective shell.


    What happened afterwards was a terrifying experience for Leon!


    The pain of having one''s flesh burned by elemental fire wasn''t something anybody could endure. Although Bleia could use her incredible regenerative ability and blood sucking to restore her health, there was no way she could avoid the pain from using those methods, and thus, she could only endure using her strong will.


    It was all due to her stubbornness, not wanting to let Leon suppress her in their daily practice. Even if it was just once, she refused to ept that. This mentality made her willing to endure such a tremendously painful torture, her firm and outrageous attitude had deeply moved Leon.


    Looking into his own heart, if he was in her position, he would definitely be unable to achieve this!


    Having to face this firm girl who was fierce towards her enemies but even more fierce towards herself, Leon could only continue to think about what it would be like to be hugged by and squeezed by a vampire pussy in a violent and crazy way.


    But at the same time, Leon secretly gave the Chip another research topic to work on.


    How to manipte the Fire Shield using his Spirit, so that he would be able to avoid the cumtive damage caused by the enemy''s multiple attacks on the same spot?


    Unfortunately, ever since the fifth day of their training, Bleia had stopped dragging Leon over to the arena. Contrary to her normal behavior, she immersed herself in the public library of the Mage Tower, spending every day and night reading through books, searching for the possible methods of breaking through Elementium magic shields.


    This made Leon''s heart fill with anxiety once more!


    ...


    2042 Words

 Chapter 75: Returning to the underground

    Once again Leon returned to the Underground World. He was no longer nervous like the first time, instead, he was filled with anticipation.


    For all the elite apprentices of training camp, every single progress they made on the path of maturity was made by stepping on the bones of those Fallen apprentices. Therefore, if Leon really wanted to rise up in rank as soon as possible, he needed to feed on the flesh and blood of his brethren who lived in the Underground World. This was the only way he could make himself stronger.


    After grouping up in the mission hall, the team of nine members once again set out on their dangerous Underground World journey.


    The idental death of Matthew and the severely wounded Leo had let the team to realize how dangerous the Underground World really was. Thus, while having a temporary rest at the front line camp, the team had an intense quarrel over how to aplish their mission.


    Currently, Leo was still burdened with injuries.


    Of course, those flesh wounds had long been recovered. But, some of the treacherous curses were deeply rooted inside his body. These had caused him to suffer badly. Nevertheless, after spending thest couple of days healing himself, he had finally dispelled all the curses. But still, it was tough for him to restore his severely damaged body to its peak in such a short period of time.


    This also meant that the team had one less Advanced Apprentice. In addition, currently, Pseudo-Mage Leo could only be considered as an Advanced Apprentice.


    The weakening of the team''s overall strength had shaken their courage. A few of the conservative members kept voicing their desire of finishing the mission as one whole team. Even though it would mean tripling or quadrupling the time to finish, it would no doubt be the safest approach.


    Presumably, those underground ck bastards wouldn''t have the courage to ambush a mission team consisting of three Pseudo-Mages, and five Advanced Apprentices.


    This suggestion was voiced by Isaac, and the majority of the Advanced Apprentices immediately agreed.


    The dancing light of the temporary bonfire shone onto the faces of each team member, leaving behind patches of shadows on their finely chiseled features. Everyone was hiding their facial expression behind the shadows, leaving Isaac alone expressing his opinion in an impassioned tone.


    "... We cannot take any more reduction in our overall strength again. If we lose another team member this time, our situation would be worst next time. So, wasting some extra time is necessary. It is only with that that we have a guarantee of finishing this mission properly! ..."


    "Agreed!"


    "I think Isaac is right!"


    "Agreed!"


    Three Advanced Apprentices, Sh, Leander and Bruce quickly approved the suggestion. Meanwhile, the only Advanced Apprentice who hadn''t voiced her mind was Bleia. She was standing soundlessly and motionlessly in the shadow of arge rock, where the light of bonfire could never reach.


    Hence, everybody couldn''t help but turn their nce to Sabrina, who had been acting as the team leader.


    Sabrina raised her head and looked around. As she rolled her eyeballs, mechanical noises could be heard.


    Compared tost time, it was rather obvious that some minor and strange transformations had urred to her. They could be traced to her head, which had gone through some mechanical magic spell modifications. However, no one seemed to be able to identify where the transformation was, and which part brought them the strange feeling. It was more of a subtle feeling they had!


    Sabrina retracted her nce. Just when she was about to announce something, a rather strange voice suddenly rang throughout the temporary camp.


    "If you wish to carry out the missions in a big group, go ahead. But Bleia and I will only carry out a single mission."


    The voice was clear and firm, but, when everyone turned their eyes to the source of it, they were all struck dumb. This was because the speaker was a burden they had never regarded as one of the team. It was Beginner Apprentice Leon!


    No, they could no longer address him as Beginner Apprentice Leon. It should now be Intermediate Apprentice Leon.


    In regard to Leon''s improvement, no one seemed to be bothered at all.


    In this gloomy and bizarre Underground World, even an Advanced Apprentice couldn''t keep himself safe when facing a dangerous situation. Let alone an Intermediate Apprentice who just broken through. Perhaps he couldn''t even escape the shock waveing from the battle between those stronger apprentices. That''s why the group had always excluded him from the discussion.


    Bleia, who hid in the darkness, still didn''t say anything. It was clear that she had tacitly approved Leon''s answer. No doubt, this had puzzled the rest of the team members.


    "Are you sure you know what you''re saying?" The deep, strange voice of Sabrina rung through the scene. Although what she had said didn''t sound menacing, but it was clearly apanied by a tyrannical aura.


    "Kid, keep your mouth shut and stand aside. This is no ce for you to talk. If you really wish to carry out the mission alone, why don''t you go to the deepest cave?" Isaac wasn''t as reserved as Sabrina and roared at Leon in a threatening manner.


    "Fine, we''ll go to the deepest cave!" Leon''s answer was simple and direct.


    "You... what did you just say?" A bewildered expression emerged on Isaac''s face.


    "I said, Bleia and I willplete the mission in the furthest cave. We''ll return to Mage Tower straightaway afterpleting the mission. You guys can take your time and slowly visit all the other four mission sites!"


    "You..."


    Now not only Isaac, but even the other two Pseudo-Mages had raised their heads. They once again carefully examined this Intermediate Apprentice who was shamelessly bragging. But, no matter how they probed with their senses, the spiritual ripple feedback from this young kid seemed pretty weak. It was totally not like the disguise of a random strong man.


    Was there something he could rely on, or was there something strange with that Bleia?


    Finding no answer from Leon, everyone couldn''t help but turn their nces towards Bleia, who was hiding in the shadows.


    ''Hmph. This bastard only know how to put up a show, using me as his cover every single time!''


    Deep inside her mind, Bleia was roaring furiously, but on the outside, she still looked calm and peaceful. Nevertheless, it was hard for the three Pseudo-Mages to see under her foggy, blood red aura, and was near-impossible for them to use her blood element magical energy to see her overall strength.


    "You agreed to his suggestion?" Although Sabrina was sitting on the floor, an aggressive aura began to emanate from her and began crushing towards Bleia.


    "Yes! Give us the mission object!"


    Bleia left the shadows and moved towards the Pseudo-Mage, Sabrina. She spread her dazzling, pale right palm outward.


    After remaining silent for a brief moment, a magical item, that looked like a magic wand, was tossed into Bleia''s palm.


    Bleia focused her mind and verified the genuineness of the item, before nodding her head satisfyingly. She put the item away, turned around, and walked towards the dark, winding tunnel in front of her.


    "Hold on! Take this as well."


    What Sabrina gave her this time was a crystal ball.


    Bleia once again focused her mind and verified it. But, upon realizing what it was, her beautiful face startled. She nodded her head at Sabrina with a meaning only both of them could understand.


    "Thanks! I owe you a favor." Saying nothing else after that, Bleia brought Leon and dissolved into the darkness in the far distance.


    As the left side of her face was covered by a silver mask, no significant expression could be found on the other side of her face. Despite this, a scorching hot glow was seen shooting out of the left eye that had been modified with a mechanical eyeball.


    "We should be moving now! There''s a long way ahead of us."


    After a long moment of silence, the deep voice of Sabrina once again rung throughout the scene.


    At the same moment, Leon and Bleia were traveling the Underground World in a total darkness.


    For the first time, the Demon Alligator Hunter actually swallowed both of them at the same time, before submerging itself into the total darkness found underground. Following the indication given by the magical item, it started traveling through the numerous dark caverns and tunnels.


    Fortunately, Bleia wasn''t someone with an oversized body. Instead, after holding her in his arms, Leon actually felt that Bleia was overly slim and soft. Nevertheless, the silky smooth feeling came from his touch, and the fragrance that filled the darkness brought him an amazing experience.


    What to do? The Hunter could only create a limited space inside of its body, thus both Leon and Bleia had no choice but to tightly hug each other.


    Perhaps their current posture might seem romantic and erotic to an outsider, but in fact, Leon was unable to take advantage of it. All ten of Bleia''s razor sharp nails were moving around his back. In addition to this, her tiny yet frightening fangs were ced against his neck. If Leon had any evil intentions, Bleia would probably move without thinking and definitely leave Leon with a profound memory permanently engraved in his mind!


    Perhaps, this was the personal code of conduct which Bleia had been implementing on herself: I can flirt with you, but, if you tried to move recklessly, I''ll leave you with a bone-deep memory!


    So, although their bodies were tightly pressed against each other, Leon had to clench his jaw tightly. He was scared that slightly losing control would bring about an undeserved catastrophe. But, thankfully, there were plenty of things that could distract his focus. Therefore, when he focused solely on the unique vision of the Demon Alligator Hunter, he was able to temporarily forget the awkward position he was in. In addition, he was able to devote himself to controlling the traveling direction of his Golem.


    The crystal ball, Sabrina had given Bleia before they left, stored the route she had verified in their previous trip. It also stored the underground creatures they might bump into and the distribution of demons.


    With the help of this clear three-dimensional map, along with the precise direction control from the Chip, the trip was uneventful. Most of the time the Demon Alligator Hunter would travel through underground holes, and, if there was a rock in-between, it would choose to travel through the dirt. It was only when they bumped into arge area of solid rock would they would consider taking a longer route.


    Therefore, the mission site that took Sabrina twenty-seven hours to arrivest time, only took Leon four hours this time.


    The Demon Alligator emerged from the ground within a small, dark and quiet cave. Leon scooped Bleia up in his arms and jumped down.


    They used the magic item once to verify the exact location of the mission site. They only set their minds at ease when they realized it was indeed only two hundred away from them. But, soon after that, both of them quickly returned to a vignt state.


    Those underground ck bastards knew countless strange and bizarre magic spells. Who knew if they had set up some traps around the mission site? If Leon''s trace was noticed by them, then his return trip would be ten to a hundred times more dangerous.


    But Leon was rather unperturbed by this.


    For today''s trip, besides from thepletion of thepulsory mission given by the Mage Tower, there was another more important mission he needed to aplish.


    The elite mission of training camp!


    Besides from fighting each other for rare underground resources, the elite Apprentice Mages would normally try to ambush and kill the opponent''s other teams.


    Within the deeper region of the underground, apart from rare resources, there were many other unique metals that were rarely found in the surface world. However, most of these mines and resource sites were controlled by Fallen Mages, with each site being heavily guarded by five to ten apprentice teams.


    Today, the elite apprentice mission Leon received was: ''Raid the mine pit number seven!''


    ...


    2057 Words

 Chapter 76: Blood Stone

    The mine number seven was a Blood Stone mine that was located deeper than the deepest mission site.


    The most abundant resource in that ce was a unique mineral called a ''Blood Stone''. By itself, a Blood Stone didn''t have much use, but it was frequently used as a catalyst in all kinds of magical experiments. The powdered form of Blood Stone was highly sought after in the ck market, since it purified and extracted magical medicine.


    However, apparently, the training camp wasn''t looking for Blood Stones. The ambush nned by Kevin''s team was actually for the gem that apanied Blood Stones: the Blood Ga. As a kind of gem, once Blood Gas were given to Master Jewelers, they were modified into all sorts of magical essories. The jewelers did everything possible to draw out the mysterious energy contained inside of the gem, which provided the magical essories with marvelous power.


    For example, the Resuscitate Earring which Leon had found previously was crafted from Deep Peridot, which was another kind of magical gem.


    Blood Stone, even if it was only the elementary Blood Stone that went through the initial extraction, would sell for 10 magic crystals per kilogram in the ck market. In order to be rich by trading it, the elite apprentices of the training camp would have to hire arge group of underground merchants. Only then could they carry them away.


    The apanying gem, Blood Ga, was only the size of an egg, but was sought after by swarms of merchants and Mage families, who were willing to purchase it at the price of 200 magic crystals per kilogram. So, after evaluating the profit, Hulk decided tounch an ambush to the mine number seven and set their goal as looting the Blood Ga supply, which had been stockpiled for nearly half a month, but not the overly heavy and cheap Blood Stone.


    In the past, the battle of the Underground World was more like a chess game.


    The resource sites and mines upied by both parties were almost fixed, and both parties had a clear understanding of each other''s overall strength. Therefore, it was like ''you brought your team and ambushed one of my resource sites today, tomorrow I''ll bring my men and ambush your team on their way back.'' The roles switched sides every time and both parties fought savagely in the dark underground tunnels, shedding blood like water.


    But, there was one rule both parties followed strictly; never once had they broken this rule. No matter how they fought, no one was allowed to maliciously destroy any resource site or mine!


    Strictly speaking, for both Mages from the surface and Fallen Mages, arge portion of their interest depended on the constant supply of these resources and minerals. Once somebody set an example by maliciously destroying the opponent''s resource site, it would also be hard to keep their own resource sites from being destroyed at the same time. Therefore, in order to avoid a total disaster, through the constant battles over more than few hundred years, both parties had developed a kind of unspoken rule.


    ''You can seize my resources. As long as your elite apprentices can defeat my defenders, then the resources are yours. But, you can never destroy the environment of the resource site!'' Once any malicious destruction of a resource site was found, the apprentice who did that would be hunt down by Mages from both sides.


    Hence, taking the opportunity of thest 200 meters, while proceeding with high vignce, Leon told Bleia everything he had learned so far regarding the situation of the Underground World. By pulling Bleia into Kevin''s team, he wanted to use this trip to the Underground World to make her one of the elite apprentices as soon as possible.


    But in order to aplish this, he had to let Bleia distinguish herself in this mission. From what he heard from Kevin, the training camp had started to get in touch with the other Pseudo-Mage of their team, Sabrina. As for the other team members, before they showed any outstanding performances, they were only on the observation list, as they still hadn''t attracted Hulk''s interest.


    After all, there were three Pseudo-Mages in their team!


    For now, Leon was considered one of the members of the training camp, while Sabrina was in the process of getting in. As for the other two Pseudo-Mages, Leo and Marcus, none of them had hit Hulk''s liking. Therefore, in order to get Bleia into the training camp, she had to show an outstanding personal performance on this ambush mission.


    To be honest, Leon didn''t need to encourage or instigate Bleia. After knowing that damn training camp had made Leon one of their members without her, Bleia was already in a state of tantrum. But for someone like her who had an uncertain temper, the angrier she was, the brighter her smile.


    Perhaps, only at the very moment she was hunting for prey would she show her true color!


    ...


    In a serene, deep underground cavern:


    The peace had just returned not long ago, but five strange figures of all shapes had once again intruded into the ce.


    The leading man was a tall, intrepid man. A pale blue ring of light made up of ice crystals hovered around his body. Wherever he walked, the wet air would freeze through the sudden drop of temperature and turn into ice crystals that fell to the ground.


    Clearly, he was the leader of the five man team. As he looked at the emptied underground cavern, the once silent atmosphere instantly filled with echoes of his angry roars.


    "Where are they? Someone told me they discovered some intruders here? So, tell me where are those damn intruders?"


    Judging from his deep, hoarse voice, he was the Pseudo-Mage Langdon.


    "Langdon, calm down. Since we promised to help you in your revenge, we won''t give up halfway. Something''s not right today, so we need to think," a ck robed man said.


    "That''s right! This is rather abnormal. Since we got the news, we''ve been waiting for them. No matter which route they take to this mission site, there is no way they could hide from our probe. But..." The other man in ck robe voiced out his doubt.


    "But they bizarrely bypassed our intercept. Gary, could he be the beginner apprentice you mentionedst time, the one who can freely travel in the ground?" The third ck robe man questioned calmly.


    Upon hearing what he said, Langdon''s body shook briefly and the temperature of the air dropped by a few more degrees. Right after that, Langdon''s cold roar rang through the cavern. "I can still sense the aura of Elementium in this ce, which means they just left. So long as we move faster, we might be able to intercept them. Philip, we''ll count on you now!"


    Philip was also a Pseudo-Mage. In fact, all the members of Langdon''s team were Pseudo-Mages.


    Being able to gather four Fallen Pseudo-Mages to help him in seeking revenge, Langdon was a man with extraordinary ability. But, to be more precise, these men were helping him because of the face of his master. That was why they willingly epted such a dangerous mission of revenge.


    Respected and feared by a group of Pseudo-Mages, obviously, his master was one of the few well-renowned Fallen Mages in Elysium City!


    Dark Light! This was the name known by every single being in Elysium City. As a mighty Fallen Mage, even in the Underground Cave region, Dark Light was an illustrious name. As his disciple, Langdon too was a man who had a strong calling power among the apprentices in Elysium City.


    Called out by him, though Philip was rather reluctant, he still stood up from the group.


    "Stand around me!" Philip instructed coolly. Then he lightly poked the staff in his hand into the hard rock under their feet.


    After the injection of a steady stream Earth element energy, the fist-size, earthy yellow crystal on top of the staff started to emanate a dazzling Elementium halo. Meanwhile, covered by this Elementium halo, a vague, mysterious looking magical array emerged on the floor underneath their feet.


    "Come closer to me, we''re going to be teleported soon!"


    After Philip''s reminder, the group quickly moved closer to him, cing themselves within the boundary of the mysterious magical array.


    "Prepare yourself! Don''t resist the Earth element teleportation energy. Let''s go!"


    Following a loud shout from Philip, a copious amount of Earth Elementium suddenly burst out from the mysterious array underneath their feet. The Earth Elementium was so dense it looked like a thick cloud of dust hovering around them. Soon, a bizarre earthy yellow ring of light flickered, the dust suddenly solidified, and the men turned into y statues in an instant.


    When the mysterious magical array disappeared, the five y statues shattered immediately, breaking into dirt debris that scattered across the floor. Not flesh nor bone could be found among the debris, and the five Pseudo-Mages hadpletely vanished from where they had been standing.


    ...


    Langdon had guessed wrongly by thinking Leon would rush back to the surface after hepleted his mission, which eventually led them in the wrong direction. They were now on their way to bumping into Sabrina and the other team members.


    Using Philip''s Stratum Teleportation magic, the five Fallen Pseudo-Mages went straight to the upper-level tunnels close to the surface. Leon and Bleia were hiding in a ce near the mine number seven, which was much deeper.


    The rest of Kevin''s team members hadn''t arrived, so working together, Leon and Bleia started to put their capabilities to use and investigate the situation surrounding the mine.


    Leon worked as transportation by using Demon Alligator Hunter''s ability to travel under the ground and send Bleia into the mine. Bleia transformed into a bloodsucking bat that flew without noise and surveyed the entire mine without alerting anybody. Surprisingly, Bleia, who flew around openly, even noted down every single tunnel, miner, and the position of every defending team of Fallen Apprentice Mages, and she stored the information into a crystal ball.


    When Kevin and the other five team members arrived at their secret rendezvous point, they were greeted by this extremely urate three-dimensional image of the mine.


    The miners were allprised of Ratmen, and there were more than two hundred of them within the entire mine number seven. Meanwhile, the defending force was made up of seventeen underground mercenaries and six Fallen Apprentice Mages. During the battle, the Ratmen would never get involved, so they only needed to consider the defending force in their n.


    After all, for the Ratmen, no matter who controlled the mine, would always obeymands. So long they were provided with sufficient food every day, they didn''t care who they served!


    Staring at the panoramic image of the mine pit provided by the two new recruits, Kevin couldn''t help but feel a chill run down his back.


    Leon''s ability was a total cheat. In the Underground World, so long as a ce wasn''t protected by any magical arrays, he would be able to infiltrate it in a way that was nearly impossible to guard against. Bleia''s ability of Bat Morphing made her able toe and go like a shadow, as no one could be on guard against a cold-blooded creature who could roam freely on the cavern ceiling. Through the infrared vision and life force sensing ability of the vampire, any arrangement of the enemy was transparent.


    With these two new recruits in a team, if the opponent didn''t have a way to guard against them, they could even find out what color underwear their opponent was wearing!


    ...


    1960 Words

 Chapter 77: Fallen mages

    Aside from the meager garrisoned force, Kevin was also concerned about the overall might of the Fallen Apprentice Mages.


    ording to their standard practice, out of six Fallen apprentices there would be at least two to three Pseudo-Mages, with the rest being Advanced Apprentices. However, today''s situation was a bit abnormal. Out of the six Fallen apprentices, there was only one Fallen Pseudo-Mage. This seriously puzzled Kevin.


    After all, the circumstances surrounding the Fallen apprentices waspletely different from the orthodox Mage Tower. The number of apprentices from the tower was basically a pyramid shape. In order to cultivate a Pseudo-Mage, it required at least five to ten advanced apprentices as backup. Advanced apprentices, on the other hand, also needed five to ten intermediate apprentices, and so on...


    The Mage Tower relied on a method of allocating more resources to those who showed more potential. When theybined this method with the vast amount of apprentices, it allowed them to cultivate elite apprentices out of the hundreds and thousands of apprentices. These elite apprentices possessed extraordinary potential and innate talent, and could be further trained and cultivated.


    However, for Fallen Mages who hid in the Underground World, the structure of their apprentices waspletely different.


    In the Fallen Mage camps, there were next to no Beginner or Intermediate Apprentices. In their eyes, they didn''t need trash like this, as they weren''t worth wasting resources on. All of their resources could instead be focused on those apprentices who had potential, resulting in a strong overall strength. Many were eliminated by thisw of the jungle, which was inherently cruel and savage. Therefore, the ratio of the Pseudo-Mages among the Fallen Apprentices was really high. Sometimes, they could even reach the ratio of one Pseudo-Mage per every Advanced Apprentice!


    This was also one of the things that brought the most headaches to those elite apprentices of training camp!


    When both parties came across each other, they could still put up a fight if the number of Pseudo-Mage was simr. But, once their Pseudo-Mages were outnumbered, then the battle would be a lopsided loss. After all, for any Advanced Apprentice from the surface, a Fallen Pseudo-Mage, who wasn''t tied up by an opponent at the same level, was like a fierce wolf. When facing this fierce wolf, the surface Advanced Apprentices found thay were like tame sheep. No matter how well the sheep equipped themselves, and even though they had twice the number of the fierce wolf, they still found themselves unable to resist when facing the fearless wolf.


    But surprisingly, out of six Fallen Apprentices in this mine today, only one of them was a Pseudo-Mage. This allocation was obviously lower than their normal standards. On the contrary, there were two Pseudo-Mages in Kevin''s team of six people, while the rest were all strong Advanced Apprentices.


    With their overall strength, it was more than enough to easily suppress the opponent!


    As for those seventeen underground mercenaries, besides a few who appeared to be strong and needed special attention, the rest could be simply ignored by these apprentices. If a battle between Apprentice Mages really erupted, no matter how many mercenaries there were, they would just end up as a bunch of suicidal corpses.


    ording to Leon''s assumption, when a battle like this happened, where one side had a clear upper hand, it would probably be a battle filled with ambushes, assassinations, and all sort of treacherous approaches. But when the battle truly erupted, he was dumbstruck.


    So, this was how a battle was carried out in the Underground World!


    Without concealing their suppressive force, Kevin brought five of his team, including Leon and Bleia, and quickly blocked off the mine. After that, they threw two deterring Elementium fireballs into the mine, causing all the defending forces of the enemy to be ejected from the mine pit.


    It was a natural cavern that was nearly the size of three football fields. It was the perfect battlefield for ughtering.


    It wasn''t tough to tell this ce was well used. The ce was cluttered with broken stgmites and stctites, and the cavern wall was marred with ck burn marks. In addition, the ground was stained with old patches of blood that had never been washed off.


    At either ends of the cavern, both groups hastily arranged themselves in their own respective formations. They faced each other with a distance of two hundred meters in between.


    Naturally, it was the group of underground mercenaries who stood before the Fallen Apprentices.


    Most of these mercenaries didn''t even wear aplete set of leather armor. They simply walked into the battlefield with their shabby cloth. Out of these seventeen mercenaries, three of them were Gnoll assassins, two were Lizardman Beastmasters, one was a Soul Hunter, and eleven were Werewolves.


    The only ones that required some extra attention were the three Gnoll assassins and the Soul Hunter. The rest of them were just used to attract the attention of the enemy. They were just flesh targets used to absorb the firepower.


    The Fallen Pseudo-Mage, who hid behind the formation, was a dark, skinny middle-aged man. When he saw two Pseudo-Mages from the surface standing on the enemy''s side, his expression turned gloomy and dark.


    ''Damn it... Damn it... Damn it! That bastard Philip! He''s the one who said there wouldn''t be any problems even if he was away for one or two days! If that was truly the case, then how did this strong team break through the upper tunnel interception and reach this depth? Philip, you bastard! If this garrison mission fails, you''ll be the one who shoulders all the responsibility!''


    Although inwardly he was furiously roaring, this Fallen Pseudo-Mage still remained calm on the outside. He began to give out battlemands.


    ...


    Different colors of Elementium shields sprung up on the bodies of these Apprentice Mages. There was a bright red Fire Shield, a Lightning Shield, that kept sputtering violently, a powdery dust that hovered around someone''s body, a set of freezing Ice Crystal armor, and a vibrant green armor of thorns...


    In just split second, all Apprentice Mages had covered their body with Elementium protection that came in all different colors, shapes, and effects.


    Of course, this was a luxury that belonged only to apprentices. Those mercenaries, who served as flesh shields, wouldn''t able to enjoy it at all.


    Unnoticed, three enemy Gnoll assassins had managed to vanish from where they were. Two Lizardman summoners were loudly reciting some hard to understand chants in theirnguage. They quickly summoned four Petrified Lizards, who had muscr bodies and tough skin. The eleven Werewolves fighters had their bodies covered with broken leather armor, a il or wooden club in one hand and a crude wooden shield in the other. They savagely yelled as they charged their way towards the enemy.


    Behind them, after the Fallen apprentices hadpleted their personal defensive spells, they quickly followed with another round of loud chants of magic spells. But this time, all of them were reciting magic that would unleash offensive magic spells.


    "Leon, you can handle those trash!" Although Kevin was an Advanced Apprentice specializing in meleebat, he, after giving Leon an order, immediately joined his peers and began countering the enemy by using long-range offensive magic spells.


    After Bleia had mutated into a vampire, it seemed that she had forgotten all the magic spells she had learned in the past. She now only owned some innate passive abilities from her own species. Therefore, when faced with such a situation, she simply dissolved into the surrounding darkness and disappeared without a trace.


    Numerous colorful offensive magic spells flew past each other in the midair of this spacious cavern. They intercepted and shed with each other, turning the scene into a glorious sea of Elementium. The raging and unregted Elementium exploded and swept across the center of the battlefield, flooding the group of Werewolves who were charging the enemy.


    Less than half of the eleven Werewolf fighters managed to survive this devastating explosion. Even the remaining five of them could be seen to have suffered different degrees of injuries. A shocked expression covered their faces. However, they were just too unlucky. Before they could regroup and initiate the next charge, a massive figure suddenly revealed itself in front of them.


    With the rapid firing of Dirt Spears and arge area of Spikes, all of them were sent to meet their maker in an instant. This was how fragile thesemon underground creatures were when facing a spell caster.


    Leon sat on his Demon Alligator and remained on the spot. He didn''t dive right into the enemy.


    The formation of the Fallen Apprentices on the opposite looked rigid and disciplined. If he recklessly charged into them, all it would take was a simultaneously-casted magic spell for him and his Demon Alligator to instantly shatter into pieces.


    Leon had learned something new today. It was no wonder Apprentice Mages used the formations, that even ordinary humans used, in their battles. The offensive strength of the Elementium spells was just too terrifying! Even though those Pseudo-Mages could act lofty and ughter a couple of Advanced Apprentices in a small scale battle, they couldn''t when they fought this kind of battle. No matter how conceited or unbridled they were, they didn''t have the courage to run into the enemy''s formation.


    The basic defensive strength of those Pseudo-Mages'' personal defensive magic spells mostly hovered between eighty to one hundred points. A strength like this could be easily broken with just a simultaneous firing of magic spells from three Advanced Apprentices. Therefore, before advancing into the realm of an official Mage, where their bodies could resist this simultaneous attack, none of them dared to take the risk.


    So, even though they had outnumbered the enemy in terms of their Pseudo-Mages, Kevin still opted for suppressivebat tactics. This was the safest approach and involved using the overwhelming advantage of their magical power to crush the enemy''s team.


    After two round of exchanges in magic spells, the gap between both side''s magical strength was evident. Although many of their magic spells were still being intercepted halfway, the number of magic spells thatnded in the enemy''s camp was clearly more than theirs.


    As they were flooded by waves of glorious magic spells, the team of Fallen Apprentices started to panic.


    Most of the defensive barriers surrounding the Fallen Apprentices'' body had faded. Some of them were even wounded. Contrary to them, Kevin''s team still maintained a neat formation. All their defenses were still intact and they looked rigid and imprable.


    Sitting high up on Demon Alligator, Leon ordered the Hunter to keep firing Dirt Spikes at those Petrified Lizards who were slowly crawling in his direction. As he ordered, he also followed Kevin''smand and contributed a ming Spear. It hit an enemy Advanced Apprentice and made him miserably scream.


    As he was sitting high up, he had a clear sight of the entire battlefield. Soon he noticed Bleia''s whereabout.


    At the edge of the battlefield, within a patch of dark shadow, a muffled snort suddenly exploded.


    Right after that, a vague image of a Gnoll assassin suddenly emerged from the darkness. It held clutched its throat and staggered a few steps forward, before finally copsing onto the ground. Blood kept bursting through its fingers, despite how hard he tried to stop it from leaving its body.


    Right when it was struggling to catch itsst breath, a few nging noises rang out from the darkness next to it. Soon, another Gnoll was forced out from the shadows. Both of its eyes were blinded and its body was fully covered with frightening scratch marks. Unwilling to admit defeat, it furiously swung its dagger into the air, while letting out wild roars. But, unfortunately, it could no longer see the enemy.


    When nearly all of the blood in its body was drained, it finally copsed while groaning under its breath.


    The continuous death of its two peers had frightened the third Gnoll. Thisst Gnoll suddenly revealed itself and turned around to flee into a far direction, with the fastest speed it could. But, before it could reach the distance of ten meters, a dazzling red light shed out. As it shed out, the Gnoll''s head flew up into the sky, and the headless body was left running. It managed to run a few steps more, before falling to the ground.


    The skinny and ugly body twitched unconsciously a few times, before lying motionlessly in the dark.


    ...


    2099 Words

 Chapter 78: Confrontation

    Beautiful, beautifully done! Vampires truly deserved to be known as the nobles of the dark night! They could even kill in such a graceful and elegant manner, making it full of artistic ir. Magnificent!


    Leon couldn''t help but mutter some praise under his breath. He then refocused his mind and threw out the ming Spear in his hand. This time, his target was an apprentice who had five skulls hovering around his body!


    The ming Spear that suddenly exploded destroyed two skulls of the target. It also managed to trigger the apprentice''s anger. He kept waving his pitch-ck staff at Leon, throwing curse spells one after the other at Leon. These spells were all invisible to the naked eye.


    After receiving the order from Leon, the Hunter took his position and blocked off all the curse spells. With the Hunter taking care of this, Leon focused his mind and keptunching attacks at the apprentice who appeared to be a necromancer.


    All kind of curse spells wereunched. There was Scavenger Bugs, Voodoo Skulls, Bone Spears, and even Unnerving Gazes. The magic spells this necromancer apprentice demonstrated had really widened Leon''s horizons. If not because of the fact that he had activated his Elementium Vision, he knew he wouldn''t be able to match this apprentice. He wouldn''t be able to even if he was given nine lives.


    Meanwhile, the only threat he brought to his enemy was his ming Spear and the Hunter''s Dirt Spear. Theck of long-range magic spells had made Leon realize something. Maybe he should find some time to develop a Golem which specialized in long-range attacks.


    Even though Leon''s overall strength was insufficient to break through the necromancer apprentice''s defense, the team members behind Leon could do that. After establishing an advantageous position in this battle, the reckless bombardment of magic spells had brought about tremendous pressure to those Fallen Apprentices.


    A few of these Fallen Apprentices started to slowly fall back, as they found it hard to withstand the massive suppressive force.


    This was also the basic pattern of the battle between both parties in the past.


    They started the battle by lining up in their formation. Both sides wouldunch long-range magic spell attacks, just like normal human soldiers did. They kept doing this until one side couldn''t withstand the attack and showed signs of defeat. Next would be a small scale of pursuit and annihtion. Small battles would normally ur between two to three Apprentice Mages anywhere in the surroundings.


    Finally, following the powerful sweep by two Pseudo-Mages from Kevin''s team, the team of Fallen Apprentices fell apart!


    Losing all their confidence in victory, the wounded Fallen Apprentices turned around and scurried into the surrounding underground tunnels. It wasn''t tough to tell they were all fleeing in a disorderly manner. Each of them just went their own way, with no one trying to cover their peers or trying to support each other.


    Also, all six Fallen Apprentices had actually fled in separate directions. They showed no signs of fleeing as a group.


    The distance between this ce and Elysium City was long. Perhaps they found their peers with ulterior motives much more frightening than the enemy chasing behind them!


    Kevin whistled, splitting eight members of his team into smaller teams. They started to fiercely pursue those fleeing Fallen Apprentices.


    Kevin and a Pseudo-Mage had set the enemy''s Pseudo-Mage as their target. The other Pseudo-Mage in their team remained solo, while the rest of the team members had split into a few smaller groups. They all started to chase the enemies'' butt into the darkness.


    Leon didn''t team up with anybody. He wore a ferocious smile as he drove the Demon Alligator into the tunnel. He began to chase down the same opponent he was fighting with just now.


    ...


    In the darkness of the tunnel, there was a perfect silence.


    Aaron once again activated the Hasten Ring on his right pinkie, desperately trying to make his fleeing speed faster.


    The rough terrain in the darkness was never an obstacle for him. It seemed his skinny body never ran out of stamina, supporting him in rushing through cave after cave.


    The underground passage was forever winding and twisting. It came in a veryplicated formation. In every single smaller cave or cavern, there were always countless narrow tunnels that could barely allow a person to squeeze through.


    Utilizing his knowledge of the surrounding terrain, Aaron had fled three miles in just ten minutes. He had travelled through dozens of tunnels and caverns.


    When the glow of the Hasten Spell was dismissed from his body, Aaron finally stopped. He leaned against arge solid cavern wall, panting for breath. His skinny chest was seen pumping rapidly, as he breathed like broken bellows.


    Although he was surrounded by silence, Aaron still had his hand tightly clenched around his pitch-ck staff.


    So long as any noise or movement happened around him, he would be able tounch the bone spear that was stored in the white crystal on top of the staff within half a second.


    After catching his breath for a few minutes, Aaron finally managed to regte his breathing. He listened for any sound that might be audible from the passage he had juste from, but he heard nothing abnormal.


    Could he be really so lucky as to not have an enemy following him?


    Aaron smiled coldly in self-mockery.


    After bing a necromancer apprentice, his luck had never been good. It was as if the Will of the Mage World hated him, turning him into a sad child abandoned by destiny.


    Although he didn''t sense any unusual activity, Aaron was still overwhelmed by anxiety. He felt like a ferocious monster was hiding somewhere in the dark, eyeing him greedily. It was only waiting for the perfect moment to devour him in one brutal bite.


    No way! He had to get out of here as quick as possible!


    Right when Aaron had made up his mind to leave, he realized the wet soil underneath his feet had turned into a slow moving acid pool. Both his legs had sunk into it without his knowledge.


    Damn it, it was an Acid Pool spell!


    Aaron forcefully patted his neck, making the bone ne on his neck flicker. He unleashed two skulls who hovered around his body. These skulls provided him with both offensive and defensive effects. When he was fleeing just now, in order to avoid attracting any attention, he had shut this personal defense mechanism down. This was why he was now caught in the trap by that enemy who hid in the dark.


    After he went through the tough battle previously, his defensive skulls were now at the lowest level of performance!


    As it was corroded by the strong negative energy, hissing noises was hearding from the acid pool underneath his feet. This helped Aaron to quickly free himself from it.


    Two muffled booms were hearding from the darkness not far away. A shadow that looked like a small hill started to march forward. The strong aura of Earth Elementium could be vividly identified from afar.


    Damn it! It was that bastard who rode on a y alligator!


    What a brave kid. He was only an Intermediate Apprentice, yet he dared to chase after an Advanced Fallen Apprentice!


    A hideous smile emerged on Aaron''s face. He opened his brownish, dirty mouth and sprayed out a huge clump of ck bugs. They turned into arge ck cloud in an instant and swarmed towards the location of thatrge shadow. After that, he quickly recited some magic spell chants with his hoarse and jarring voice. He revealed fist size skulls in his hand from time to time and promptly them at the enemy.


    These were the Voodoo Skulls that he had made himself. They would explode violently whening into contact with something. They would not only inflict massive physical damage to the enemy, they also carried a magical poison. This frightening magical poison was a type of mixed poison that could even melt down hard rocks.


    Yet, while he was waiting for the enemy''s miserable shriek, something happened. A ming spear, that suddenly lit up the dull cavern, appeared on the opposite side of the cavern. A handsome young man, surrounded by raging me, smiled at him. He carried the deadly ming spear in his hand.


    "No... please don''t kill me, we can talk..."


    Aaron''s face was covered with panic. He watched how the ming Spear shot towards him and nailed one of his defensive skulls into the wall. It exploded violently and flooded him with dazzling me and scorching heat.


    Three secondster, Aaron staggered out from the sea of mes. He looked extremely miserable right now! The thin skin and flesh of his were burned by the me and charred. Half of his remaining magical items were destroyed, and the white crystal socketed on top of his staff had shattered, releasing all the souls trapped by the Soul Spell.


    "Hmph. Kid, do you really think you can kill me like this? We''re not finished today. Wait until the next time we meet again, I''ll..." While cursing furiously, Aaron used his charred hand to slowly start digging into the ground. His pinkie started to emanate with a white glow.


    It was the glow of an Escaping Spell!


    This magic spell, which he had hidden inside of his pinkie, might have been hisst life-saving trick.


    In two more seconds, he would be able to escape from this ce. A ray of hope suddenly burst out from Aaron''s bleary eyes. But right at this moment, he suddenly felt the rock wall beside him move.


    When he turned around in astonishment, he was horrified to discover a pair of huge eyes gazing coldly at him. It had a huge triangle shape snake-like head, a wide, ferocious mouth, crisscrossing fangs, and a tongue that kept darting out. All of these were entirely made up of rock! Cold hard rock!


    When he finally realized this, the giant snake had opened its mouth and devoured him in one gulp.


    After a long time, peace finally returned to this cavern.


    Leon quietly stood at a corner of the cavern. He didn''t ride on the Demon Alligator. Just now, he had used the Demon Alligator Hunter to lure most of the enemy''s attack. While this was happening, he took the opportunity to break through the enemy''s defense with a sneak attack. However, the one who finished the enemy was his Giant Rock Snake, who made its first debut.


    A light vibration came from the dark. The Demon Alligator Hunter came to him with its body charred ck. Half of the Hunter''s body was melted down by the enemy''s attack. On the other side, the giant Rock Snake crawled on the rock wall and crawled towards him. It opened its mouth and spat out a broken body.


    Haha! He had pocketed the head of an Advanced Fallen Apprentice!


    But the corpse of a necromancer was also very frightening. Therefore, Leon didn''t do it himself. He waited until the Hunter fixed itself, before letting it search the enemy''s body for any possible loot. After that, he let Demon Alligator swallow the dead body into its stomach, before swaggering back to the previous battlefield.


    Some of his teammates had returned. Only a few of them had actuallye back with fruitful results. Most of them just returned empty-handed.


    What to do? The environment of the Underground World was perfect for fleeing. All they needed to do was cause a copse in a random ce. This was enough to cause the pursuer to fail. Also, all Fallen Apprentices were experts in staying alive. Thus, although it was easy to defeat them, it was far tougher to kill them.


    The Pseudo-Mage and Kevin had failed to capture the enemy''s Pseudo-Mage. However, the other Pseudo-Mage had managed to bring back an enemy''s head. All the remaining Advanced Apprentices harvested nothing. Therefore, when Leon''s Demon Alligator spat out an enemy''s corpse, everybody couldn''t help but look at him with different eyes.


    This was different from the battle in their training camp. Although Leon utilized an opportunity where everybody was unfamiliar with his abilities to ''luckily'' win two battles, this didn''t mean that he was really strong. But the appearance of this Fallen Advanced Apprentice''s corpse had caused the way these guys looked at him topletely change.


    This... this meant that he possessed enough strength to kill an Advanced Apprentice! This was a trait that everybody valued the most!


    ...


    2103 Words

 Chapter 79: Trap

    Right when everyone was praising Leon, a red figure shed by. Bleia had returned.


    Upon her arrival, she forcefully flung an ugly and haggard head in front of everyone.


    Although Kevin was just an Advanced Apprentice, he was able tomand two Pseudo-Mages. This showed that he was a man who possessed special abilities. However, today¡¯s situation had put him in a rather awkward situation.


    The elite apprentices, who were specifically trained by the training camp, had only managed to get one head. This was out of all six of them. However, both new recruits had brought back one each. This made Kevin, the elite leader, secretly remark about the new recruits¡¯ aggressiveness!


    Half of the six Fallen Apprentices who were guarding on this mine pit had been eliminated. This was a rare result and deserved praise. However, as they had spent more than an hour in battle, they didn¡¯t have much time left to plunder the resources in this mine.


    After all, this mine number seven was located deep in the Underground World. It was tough for them to protect it. Once reinforcement from Elysium City arrived, perhaps a new round of catch and kill would ur.


    In regards to the arrival of Kevin¡¯s team, those Ratman miners showed no sign of fear. Their queen even flung herself at the team for negotiation, suggesting that if any apprentice was willing to spend the night with her, she would exempt all of the mining fees, and even give them a small ¡¯treasure¡¯ that the Ratman tribe had saved for one whole year.


    But when they stared at the small and furry face of the Ratman queen and eyed her plump body and pair of big, saggy breasts, all these elite apprentices couldn¡¯t help but feel disgusted. When her bean-sized, flirting eyes rested on any apprentice¡¯s body, the apprentice would instantly feel a chill run down his back. They couldn¡¯t help but feel like vomiting.


    As the result, after Kevin paid a double price of five hundred magic crystals, they finally received twenty-six Blood Gas from the Ratman queen. Each of these Blood Gas was the size of a chicken egg. They had an estimated worth of about four thousand and eight hundred magic crystals. If they could bring them back smoothly, each member would be able to receive two to five hundred magic crystals.


    The amount they earned was directly proportionate to the contribution of the person. People like Leon, Bleia, and the other Pseudo-Mage, who had each brought back an enemy¡¯s head, would have their ie definitely be more than others.


    After Kevin and the other two Pseudo-Mages had a discussion, they quickly decided on a solution. Pseudo-Mage Grimm received three Blood Gas, Kevin two, Leon two, Bleia two, and the remaining three Advanced Apprentices received one each. As for the remaining twelve Blood Gas, they had to be submitted back to the training camp. Hulk would have the Turlock Merchant who supported him purchased all of them. The profit would then be equally split amongst the team members.


    As for the Blood Ga they received, they could settle it by themselves. Presumably, those filthy rich Mage families would definitely find them to discuss purchasing these precious treasure.


    Since they hadpleted the mission, it was now time to worry about how they would safely return to the surface.


    ording to their past experience, the return journey would be the most dangerous journey. Most of the casualties the mission team had suffered were from this period. Thus, whether they could stay alive to enjoy their hard-earned fortune was still a very cruel question!


    Should they traveled together in a big group and returned to their camp? It was a rather objectionable thought, as there was no doubt that they would be ambushed by the enemy. No matter if it was those treacherous underground devils or the Fallen Apprentices who had gotten wind of their arrival, all who would make their return journey would have to face risks and obstacles.


    Therefore, the best solution was to split up and return to the surface using their own means. If they failed to return, they could only me their ownck of strength. By doing it this way, it was no one¡¯s fault but your own!


    Hence, once they were done with sharing their loot, they wished each other luck and went their own ways. After all, there were plenty of passages that led to the surface. So long as they were not struck by bad luck, their chances of bumping into the enemy would be low.


    ...


    Once everybody dissolved into darkness, Bleia leaped onto the Demon Alligator. She gazed around with her bloodshot eyes and shouted impetuously, "We better get moving quickly! I keep feeling that there are some risks to this mission. It¡¯s as if someone is keeping an eye on us. We better be careful during our way back!"


    Leon¡¯s heart suddenly sank. He couldn¡¯t help and knitted his brows in a tight frown.


    In this era where sense topped everything else, Leon never dared to neglect any symptom of danger. Especially one from Bleia, who inherited her ability from a mutated bloodline of an ancient species. Her grasp of the Principle of ne was much more profound than his. If even she had a bad feeling about the mission, then it was almost determined that something bad going to happen.


    Leon once again carried Bleia in his arms and merged into the body of the Hunter. He controlled the massive body of the Demon Alligator and slowly sunk into the ground, disappearing without a trace.


    By utilizing the Earth element magic energy of the Demon Alligator Hunter, Leon gave the surrounding terrain a brief scan. But he didn¡¯t find anything suspicious. After eliminating the possibility that this mine number seven was a trap, Leon had no choice but to half skeptically drive his Demon Alligator Hunter towards home.


    If he followed how they came here, Leon would travel through the underground tunnel at a high speed. He would only travel in the ground once they bumped into terrain which required a long detour. With that, he could minimize the consumption of the Demon Alligator Hunter¡¯s Earth elemental magic energy.


    But since he was warned, he didn¡¯t mind wasting more magic energy. He chose to travel underground for the entire journey, stealthily ascending to the upperyer.


    As their journey back was full ofrge stretches of metal ore or solid rock, they were required to keep making detours. This made it so they couldn¡¯t travel at a high speed under the ground.


    Three hourster, they had traveled more than half of their journey. Leon finally rxed his mind a little bit.


    But, right when he drove the Demon Alligator Hunter through the soil between two huge rockyers, he felt as if the body of the Demon Alligator Hunter had just passed through a quiet water surface. The Earth element magic energy that ran through its entire body suddenly became berserk.


    It¡¯s a trap!


    He felt something amiss almost instantly. But, right after the Earth element magic energy started to rampage, the pressureing from the huge amount of soil around them suddenly became stronger.


    Leon¡¯s expression suddenly changed dramatically. He quickly drove the Demon Alligator and squeezed into the nearest underground tunnel.


    It was a dark, quiet and oppressive tunnel.


    The tunnel meandered gently into the darkness. It was as if it was the intestinal canal of an enormous monster and full of unknown danger.


    Most of the tunnel was excavated between the rockyers. Only a tiny portion was made up of wet and ck soil. But right at this moment, this patch of soil wall suddenly began to boil. With a loud boom, a massive object invaded this quiet tunnel. It came with arge amount of dirt that sttered around.


    Soon, two human shaped shadows dashed out from this massive object.


    "What¡¯s wrong? What happened to your Golem?" Bleia¡¯s urgent voice came through the darkness.


    "We¡¯re being ambushed! There is a special magic array in the region we passed through just now. It messed up the Demon Alligator¡¯s Earth element magical energy! We have to get out of here as soon as possible!"


    Bleia was stunned, her bloodshot eyes looked dazzling in this total darkness.


    "Which way should we go?"


    "..." Leon¡¯s eyes flickered under the cover of his goggles. He nced over to the ends of the dark and unpredictable tunnel. He couldn¡¯t make up his mind.


    "Hmph!" Bleia snorted coldly, saying, "Let me do this!"


    She suddenly stood up with her back straight. She faced one end of the tunnel, took a deep breath and let out a loud roar. Her voice was piercing and sonorous. Leon felt a buzz strike his brain before he lost his hearing totally.


    Following the strange sound wave that quickly rippled through the tunnel, Bleia stood quietly with her eyes closed. It was as if she was focusing her mind on listening to something.


    "The tunnel¡¯s length is three hundred and twenty-seven meters, heading upwards. There is a small cavern at the end of it, and inside of the cavern..." Bleia paused for a brief moment, before her voice suddenly turned shrill, "Two men! There are two mening our way at high speed!"


    Leon¡¯s eyes instantly turned fierce and aggressive.


    Two men? They were rushing their way here brazenly? Needless to say, they must be thinking that they got two easy targets. Even without meeting them face to face, Leon was sure that they must be the two Pseudo-Mages.


    Since the enemy was so well-prepared, it was highly possible that the few surrounding tunnels weren¡¯t safe either. Leon waved his hand and disintegrated the Demon Alligator Hunter. He picked up both summoning crystals from the dirt pile and turned around. He then sprinted towards the other end of the tunnel while dragging Bleia.


    The ground of the tunnel was always rough and wet. The uneven surface and small rocks that were scattered around made Leon, a guy who had less than five Agility, stumble along his way. One would be able to slip even when walking at a steady pace in a passage like this, let alone running at full speed.


    In fact, not only the ground was uneven, there were also obstacles that came from above.


    Numerous stgmites of all sizes hung down quietly from the roof. If someone was only looking at the ground, it was very easy for him to knock his head into one of these obstacles.


    Therefore, for the first half of their fleeing journey, it was Leon who dragged Bleia and ran at full speed. But before they reached a ten-meter distance, it became Bleia who carried Leon in her arms while running full speed.


    The wet and cold air brushed against his face. It entered his mouth, nose and reached his rapidly pumping lungs through his windpipe. It brought down Leon¡¯s body temperature, yet made his mind calm down. Under his low-light vision, the dark passage shed by in an incredible speed. One after the other, stgmites appeared right in front of Leon¡¯s eyes, however, before he could cry out, Bleia dodged them.


    Bleia had transformed into a ghost who traveled through the darkness. All it took was a brief step with her soft and agile feet to make both of them glide through the air at an amazing speed. Every single overhanging stgmite and every narrow passage was like a broad, smooth highway. She could always pass through noiselessly and agilely with just a gentle step of her feet.


    Perhaps Bleia had gotten used to such a high speed. However, for a rookie who only had less than five Agility, Leon¡¯s mind was filled with panic. This panic was stronger than the type one gets by riding on the craziest and riskiest roller coaster. If not for the wind pressure that filled his throat, he probably would¡¯ve vomited by now!


    Right when both of them were running through the dark underground at high speed, the tunnel in front suddenly contracted. It became so narrow that only one person could pass through. And, at the narrowest part of the tunnel, a lightning web suddenly appeared and stopped them from moving further.


    This lightning web covered the tunnel from the top to the bottom. Itpletely sealed up the entire passage. At the part where the lightning web connected with the cave wall, dazzling arcs of lightning could be seen dancing around violently.


    The popping noise of the electricity was clear and audible.


    It was a dead end!


    ...


    2109 Words


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 Chapter 80: Desire for revenge

    With just a brief moment of hesitation, the tunnel behind them started to fill up with a cloud of dust, a strange-looking magic array could be seen vaguely surfacing on the ground.


    Soon, two tall figures emerged from the magic array.


    It was a Teleportation magic spell, not underground travel!


    A blue light flickered in Leon''s eyes, and with just one look, he already identified the method that was used by the enemy.


    Even though they used a Teleportation magic spell, there were no traces of spatial ripples. But he could sense a strong Earth element magic energy instead. It was as if this Teleportation magic spell was driven by Earth element magic energy!


    But this was not the right time to give it a thorough analysis. Currently, they were being chased by someone at their backs, while there was an ambush in front, this was a nasty situation!


    "You''re Bleia, am I right?" One of the men that were behind them slowly walked forward, saying with a cold voice, "Excellent. So the two who murdered Grier are here. I''m going to pull your souls out from your bodies, imprison them in the Soul Trapping Corpse and let the both of you howl painfully for more than ten thousand years!"


    The one who talked was a noble youth, tall and handsome. His light blue robe shimmered with multi-colored runes in the dark, while the frightening energy of frost started to spread throughout the entire tunnel.


    "Grier? Who''s that?" Bleia was perplexed.


    "If the name Grier is unfamiliar to you, then how about Demon Vine Lady?" The handsome face of the noble youth started to contort, showing a ferocious expression.


    "Demon Vine Lady!"


    "Demon Vine Lady!"


    Both Leon and Bleia let out cries of shock at the same time. They couldn''t help but feel that their unexpected cmity wasn''t just an ident after all!


    So they actually bumped into an old enemy! Judging from his age, he was most probably thepanion of Demon Vine Lady. Things have now be interesting!


    "What''s that Soul Trapping Corpse he just mentioned?" Bleia wasn''t able to dispel her curiosity and whispered.


    "That''s an undead creature created using a living person. Before the enemy is dead, they will draw special magic arrays on the enemy''s body, so when the enemy is finally dead during the sacrifice ceremony, the soul would be trapped within the undead body, bing the eternal ve of the spellcaster." Leon quickly answered her question.


    With the help of the Chip, Leon was gifted with an extraordinary retentive memory, thus he was able to remember a lot of elementary knowledge and seldomly used topics of this magical world.


    The noble youth strolled forward, and supplemented Leon''s answer by saying, "What you said is just the lightest punishment. Once both of you be Soul Trapping Corpses, I''ll find a remote ce rarely visit by everybody. I will then bury the both of you deeply in the soil, and let you maintain your consciousness while painfully spending the next hundred years inplete darkness! Don''t worry, I''ll pay the both of you a visit from time to time, making sure your souls will stay forever intact, your memories stay clear, and your mind can''t be insane! Hahaha..."


    Ugh... Leon couldn''t help but feel a chill run down his back. He had underestimated the level of enemy''s evilness and madness!


    "Which way?" Taking advantage of the opportunity while the guy was stillughing wantonly, Bleia whispered to Leon.


    "In front!" Leon replied with a low voice, "There are two Pseudo-Mages behind us. But I only sensed one soul aura in front of us, that''s where we''re going!"


    "Alright!"


    Right after they ended their conversation, a raging me bursted out from Leon''s body, revealing a Fire Shield shrouded in scorching mes. Bleia spread her arms and clung onto Leon, pressing her body closely with his. Without any hesitation, they turned around and propelled themselves into the lightning web that kept producing buzzing noises of electricity.


    "Still trying to run away from me?"


    The blue-clothed noble youth roared furiously. His body suddenly expanded a few times bigger than it was, and he stretched out his thick hand full of wiry hair and forcefully grabbed towards his enemies.


    The giant hand of the blue-clothed noble youth missed his targets. However, his fingertip touched the lightning web, and was instantly turned ck by the noisy Paralyzing Lightning.


    Struck by the pain, the blue-clothed noble youth roared furiously again and retracted his giant hand. Within a split second, the giant hand which looked simr to a stone pir returned to its original shape. Only a trace of burn mark could be seen on his fingers which emitted ck smoke.


    "Damn it, Hegel, retract your lightning trap at once!" The blue-clothed noble youth roared out loudly, and obviously, the target of his roar wasn''t standing in front of him.


    Meanwhile, Bleia and Leon were about to throw themselves into the lightning web, and once they did, the violent and raging electricity immediately came surging through their bodies.


    Of course, the first target who bore the brunt of all these was the Fire Shield summoned by Leon.


    The violent electric arcs hit the Fire Shield producing countless dazzling sparks, the frightening electricity which had enough power to burn an ordinary human into charcoal caused the Fire Shield to keep making buzzing and crackling noise. The overly dense energy of electricity even gathered into some frightening blue smas, hovering at a distance less than a meter from Leon''s head, slowly moving toward its target.


    An ordinary Fire Shield only had thirty-five defensive strength, but as Leon''s element affinity was Fire, he was able to increase the defensive strength of his Fire Shield to fifty points. But this was still insufficient to protect them through their short journey of ten meters.


    10 meters!


    With Bleia''s extraordinary Agility, she could actually sh through this ten meters of distance within a blink of an eye. But right at this very moment, this short distance seemed so long and dangerous!


    The Fire Shield vanished into thin air before it couldst for half of the distance. The scorching smas which had been waiting around them immediately swarmed their target. It would only take half a second before Leon would be turned into a thread of smoke by them. Since Bleia''s Physique was higher than Leon''s, she actually had a higher chance to survive the second half of a lightning-filled passage.


    Everything happened within just a split second of time! Right when Leon''s body trembled violently, closing his eyes and waiting for his death toe, Bleia suddenly shouted out, unleashing a vast amount of blood from her body that instantly covered both of them.


    No matter how pure was these Blood element energy, they just couldn''t withstand such a violent and raging smas. Both of them were like the raw meat cing on top of a roasting pit, countless Blood element energy that hovering around them were instantly devoured by the ferocious smas. At the end, the thin Blood element energy could no longer provide them with a full protection. Unexpectedly, Bleia clenched her jaw, shifted most of the Blood element energy to Leon, allowing most of her body exposed to the electricity and smas.


    The frightening noise of flesh being burnt by electricity could be continuously heard at the scene. The exposed parts of Bleia''s body quickly turned into charcoal, before crumbling into ashes that flew in the air.


    On the other side of this narrow tunnel, a short midget was staring in bewilderment, a look of disbelief present on his face to what just happened in front of him.


    What happened inside of the lightning web was clearly seen by him. Although he had witnessed it personally, but he was still unable to believe what he saw.


    Someone really had the courage to run through his lightning death trap!


    This... how could this be possible?


    Whether he believed it or not, this just actually happened. And right in front of him, arge charred object dashed out of the lightning web, forcefully mming onto the ground.


    "Little kid, you''re pretty tough, huh! But this is better, as Langdon would owe me two big favorster!" Although the short midget looked skinny and ugly, he was surprisingly an actual human. When he saw the preys that brought themselves in front of him, he quickly leaned forward and tried to catch them using his hand.


    His palm could be seen being covered with a glove made up entirely from a denseyer of tame electricity.


    If any living being was touched by this Paralyzing Lightning, they would lose all their strength for fifteen minutes.


    An indistinct noise rang out in the air, as a crystal clear Elementium core fell on the ground.


    The midget became startled for a brief moment but decided to pick it up. But before he could get close to it, a dense cloud of Earth Elementium suddenly bubbled up and covered the core.


    "Eh, what is this thing?"


    The midget was struck with curiosity. At this time, Langdon''s loud roar could be heard through the lightning web and was heard by this midget.


    The midget hesitated, wondering if he should capture these two preys first or turned off the lightning web. A loud rumble suddenly came from the ce where the thick cloud of Earth Elementium appeared. And a massive monster suddenly squeezed its way out from under the ground, moving its huge and long body, thrusting it ferociously into the midget.


    Its body was made entirely of rocks, a rocky snake head, tongue, and fangs... this... this was clearly a Rock Snake!


    With just a flick, the midget suddenly vanished from where he previously stood, only to reveal himself again behind a huge rock some twenty meters away. Meanwhile, with the use of its rock-solid mouth full of sharp fangs, the frightening Rock Snake forcefully mmed on the ground where the midget once stood at just mere moments ago. In just an instant, a powerful quake spread throughout the entire tunnel, causing the rock bed to shift, causing huge amounts of rocks to fall from the ceiling.


    The Rock Snake pulled out its head from the piles of stones, and once again held its head up high. With not even a second had passed by, it''s earthy yellow eyes had already locked down on midget located not far away from it, and readied itself to violently thrust again to its target.


    Damn it! What exactly was this?


    Taken aback by the surprise attack, the midget stamp with rage and cursed. He quickly rubbed his palms and unleashed a raging lightning, striking onto the snake head who wasing fast in his way, trying his best in holding it back. The wantonly sshing electricity burned the snake head of Rock Snake, producing a thick cloud of smoke, while the skin made from tough rock had also starting to melt like hot wax.


    However, the Rock Snake''s strength was on it''s tough skin. It wasn''t bothered by these damages and still charging toward the enemy savagely.


    Left with no alternative, the midget once again used his Lightning Jump ability and brought himself to another spot.


    "Hegel, what the hell are you doing there? Quickly turn off the lightning trap!" On the other side of the tunnel, Langdon became even more impetuous when he heard the violent rumbles.


    After not receiving a response from his peer after a long time, his eyes turned bloodshot. Langdon turned around and asked furiously, "Philip, can you bring me over there?"


    Holding his staff firmly, Philip, who stood behind Langdon, focused his mind and sent out his senses. Soon, he shook his head, saying, "The changes of terrain are really intense on the other side. The aura of the rockyers aren''t stable. I can''t establish a stable stratum node!"


    Damn it...


    The angry Langdon couldn''t wait any longer. He let out a furious shout and once again transformed into a giant three meters tall. A crystal clear blue armor was seen forming outside of his body. After that, he crazily shot himself into the lightning web.


    The raging electricity kept wreaking havoc on his body, while the blue smas restlessly destroying his ice armor. However, he used his hands and protected his eyes and face. In addition, with the help of the copious Ice energy that kept bursting out from his body, he managed to withstand the attack of the lightning. He then strode out from the lightning web.


    Revealed in front of his eyes was a broken tunnel with many parts copsed. The original cavern was no longer there. Only broken ruins were left after the intense battle. An enormous rock snake was seen lying on the ground, motionless. Thick and pungent dark smoke was seen lingering around the over thirty meters long body. The position of the snake head was now reced by a pool of flowing magma, while a crystal clear, earthy yellow core shed a few times, before finally dimming downpletely.


    The midget was squatting beside the snake head. It seemed as if he was examining something.


    "Where are the enemies I asked you to intercept? Where are the two bastards!?" Langdon, who had transformed into a blue giant, roared crazily.


    "Aren''t they there?" The midget turned around and pointed to a spot. "Eh? Where did they go?"


    The midget had finally realized that both charred humans had vanished without a trace!


    ...


    2259 Words

 Chapter 81: Blood for bleia

    Within the soil, the Demon Alligator Hunter was traveling at high speed.


    After they went past the lightning trap, the unusual interference affecting the Earth Elementium had disappeared.


    In order to save their life, Leon had no choice but to give up his Rock Snake. He had ordered it to trap the super frightening Thunder element Pseudo-Mage, while he secretly summoned the Demon Alligator Hunter. He then brought Bleia and fled for their life.


    Currently, Bleia couldn''t be referred to as a human. She seemed to be more like dark charcoal just pulled out from the fire.


    All of her skin was charred. Countless ashes would peel off with just a slight touch. Once the charred ashes had peeled off, her steaming hot, half-baked flesh was exposed. Apparently, the high heat brought by the raging electricity had killed most of Bleia''s bones and flesh.


    If it was any other ordinary human, a severe injury like would have long since killed the person!


    However, Bleia had proved herself as a Bloodline apprentice who had gone through a mutation. Her vampire bloodline had gifted her with an amazing ability. As long as her heart core wasn''t destroyed, her soul would be maintained intact. Within her charred and cooked body, a weak soul aura could still be sensed.


    "Chip, scan Bleia''s current condition. Provide me with the most reliable treatment!" Although Leon''s heart was trembling, his voice was still calm and cold.


    "Beep, scanningmence... Warning! Warning! The survival rate of the target is less than 7%. The core consciousness has shown signs of damage... Warning! Warning! Target''s life aura is deteriorating. If this is not treated then the heart core will start to break down..."


    "Don''t tell me all this crap! Just give me the best solution!" Leon interrupted impatiently.


    "Blood, a huge amount of blood... The target has the body constitution of a mutated vampire. As long as the target is provided with sufficient blood, it will survive. Even if the entire body is disintegrated, as long the target''s core consciousness touches fresh blood, they would be able to rise once again!"


    "Blood?"


    Leon shook his head, cursing inwardly at his own stupidity. Bleia was a vampire, what else could save her apart from blood?


    "Change our course immediately. Find me a region where there are abundant underground creatures. Quick!"


    A couple of minutester, at a colony of green-skinned Goblins, the giant body of Demon Alligator Hunter suddenly emerged from the ground.


    Green-skinned Goblins were a subspecies of demi-humans and had the average height of one meter. Their green skin was as tough as cow leather, and they had a pair of donkey-like big ears. Their diet consisted of everything and anything. To be specific, in this Underground World, apart from rock and dirt, they could eat almost everything.


    But, as their individual strength was extremely weak, they had the habit of living in groups.


    In this Underground World, these Goblins were at the bottom of the food chain. However, they were widely distributed and had thergest poption out of everything. Their biggest characteristic was their ability to eat anything. They also had an incredible rate of reproduction.


    Normally, such weak creatures wouldn''t be able to survive in this harsh environment. Despite this, they could be found in every region of the Underground World. The reason was actually rather simple.


    Food was a rare resource in Underground World, and it was extremely tough to find a stable source of food. Therefore, these Goblins were bred like livestock by the other underground creatures. When theycked food to survive, they woulde to a colony of Goblins and eat one or two in order to cure their hunger.


    To be honest, the meat of these Goblins was tough and bitter. It also came with a stinking smell that was hard to get rid of. Therefore, unless the hunger really drove them nuts, no underground creature would be willing to torture their stomach like that.


    Perhaps, this was the main reason why Goblins never went extinct.


    But today, this colony of Goblins had been struck with a great misfortune!


    Within a narrow cave, over one hundred Goblins were gathered in their camp cooking some ''delicacies''. The shabby condition of this camp looked absolutely hopeless. Besides from the crushed rocks scattered around the ce, the only other things present were countless piles of dirt. Even though there was a tent found in this ce, it was just a dirty cloth. It was supported by a wooden stick, and no one could tell its original color.


    This was a tent that even the homeless guys in the human society wouldn''t step into. But it was, in fact, the home of the Goblin who had the most prestigious status: the n chief!


    It was dinner time for these Goblins. Goblins, who had gone out hunting, had returned to their base. They chattered on their way and threw their spoils (which were things like wall lizards and other small insects) into therge stone pot in the middle of the camp. The fire was burning brightly under the stock pot. The color of the liquid inside of the pot looked green and muddy. In addition, countless strange objects were seen floating inside of this nasty liquid.


    There were bones of unknown origin, strange-colored chunks of meat from unknown creatures, sharp teeth of demon beasts, small bugs that were struggling and crying violently and pale white eyeballs that looked really frightening...


    A few Goblins were standing on a tform, holding a wooden stick in their hands. These goblins kept stirring the bottom of the stone pot, bringing up many unknown objects from it. This was a pot of meat filled with poison and harmful ingredients, however, to these goblins, it was the most sought after ''delicacy'' of the day.


    Countless Goblins held a stone bowl in their hands and gathered around the bonfire. There were pushing each other and trying to fight for the forefront position while waiting for the arrival of their n chief. As the chief of Goblins, it was natural that he held the right of enjoying this ''delicacy'' first.


    Therefore, right in the middle of this noisy scene, the Demon Alligator Hunter made its debut.


    Leon carried Bleia in his arms and squeezed out from Demon Alligator. He coldly gazed at this ugly scene, saying with a low voice, "Kill them all!"


    After saying that, he ignored everything and walked away.


    After finding a rather clean ce, Leon gently ced Bleia on the ground.


    Just this gentle movement alone had made countless pieces of ashes fall off from Bleia''s charred body.


    Leon pulled out a dagger from his waist, poking it into Bleia''s chest without hesitation. He cut away her half-baked flesh while paying no attention to the steaming heat. Leon pushed aside her flesh, exposing the dying ''heart'' within her chest.


    This was Bleia''s heart and was also where her core conscious stayed.


    As long as her core conscious was still intact, even if her body was badly mutted, she could still regenerate through the method of rising from the blood.


    After exposing Bleia''s heart, Leon cut his wrist without the slightest hesitation. As soon as his blood dripped onto the withered heart, a small amount of vitality was instantly brought to it. The once pale and earthy yellow flesh instantly turned red. Tiny blood vessels started to regrow like tree branches from the flesh, stretching out crazily.


    Soon, these blood vessels formed into a thinyer of blood film and covered the entire heart. They kept stretching outward, following the dripping of Leon''s blood, and moved to all the other parts of her body like some strange-looking tentacles.


    With incredible speed, Bleia''s heart soon restored its original look.


    The blood was still dripping. Whenever each drop of blood hit her heart, it would be absorbed instantly. Finally, following a light pumping sound, Bleia''s heart had once again resumed its pumping motion.


    "Blood, I need more blood..."


    Bleia''s charred lips moved, exposing the dark and red flesh inside her mouth.The hungry moaning of Bleia could be hearding from her throat.


    His blood was far from enough!


    "Why is it taking so long!?" Leon roared with a deep voice.


    Meanwhile, the Goblin camp was in a state of chaos. Blood was being spilt everywhere.


    Using its Quake spell, the Demon Alligator had copsed the entrance to this cave and was moving its massive body around. It was using the Spike spell to ughter these green-skinned creatures. The Hunter had separated itself from Demon Alligator and strode to Leon. It was carrying a long dirt spear in its hand, which had two Goblins hanging off the tip of it.


    The Hunter waved its hand. It revealed a half a meter deep hole in the ground. It then it ripped apart the Goblin''s body and threw it into the edge of the hole. Following that, a huge amount of blue blood sprayed out from the broken body of Goblins. The bottom of the hole started to turn wet and muddy.


    The Demon Alligator handled the task of ughtering, while the Hunter worked on draining blood from the Goblins. Within just a few minutes, the hole was fully filled with blue colored blood. Meanwhile, arge pile of dead bodies was seen at the edge of the hole. It was made up of all sorts of strange-looking Goblin corpses.


    Leon carefully ced Bleia''s body into the blood pool. Soon, her body waspletely covered, and the pool of blood started to boil violently.


    The level of blood pool was lowering fast.


    "Hurry! I need more blood!"


    Urged by Leon, more Goblins were thrown to the edge of the pool. The blue colored blood flew over the ground like water. The blood that was being injected into the pool was just enough to support the consumption of Bleia''s resurrection.


    Fifteen minutester, the sound of water sshing rung throughout the hole. A naked and perfectly-curved female body flew out from the blood pool and started hovering in the sky.


    An obvious look of confusion appeared on Bleia''s face, who was just raised from the dead. She suddenly opened up her greenish eyes, looking around in a confused manner. Her fair and silky smooth skin radiated with a brilliant glow. Her sexy body looked tender charming, seductive and delicious, all at the same time!


    She blinked her eyes and spent a few moments trying to recall her memories. Soon, Bleia had remembered everything.


    "You... You''re Leon? I... I''m Bleia!"


    Within just three seconds, the same Bleia had returned.


    "Damn it, how can you use such dirty blood to resurrect me!? Bastard! Don''t you know I hate the blood of low-grade creatures the most?" Before Leon coulde forth and greet her, Bleia sniffed and immediately began screaming andining.


    Ugh... fine, Leon had no choice but to admit that he had too little understanding regarding the Vampire. He found that thebination of both vampire and woman made for the most frighteningbination under the heavens. It made it a mysterious creature that was extremely hard to predict!


    "Wee back! Thank you!" With utmost sincerity, Leon stepped up and bowed. His words carried two meanings, and the actual meanings could only be understood by the both of them.


    If it were not for Bleia protecting the fragile Leon in the previous battle, Bleia would have been able to go through the lightning trap by herself easily. However, she chose to use everything she had to protect Leon. This caused her to gain the most severe injury she had ever had. It was so serious that even her core consciousness was nearly broken.


    Leon wasn''t a cold man whose heart made from stone. He was truly touched by Bleia''s action. But, as an Apprentice Mage who had to maintain their calm and merciless behaviour at all times, he preferred to hide his true emotions deep in his heart. He would only bring them out when they were alone and lonely.


    ...


    2016 Words

 Chapter 82: Snorlax

    Regarding Leon''s gratefulness, Bleia expressed her disdain.


    Bleia lightly snorted, then the remaining pool of blood entwined her body fully, transforming into an exquisite red dress.


    Leon called back his Demon Alligator and decided to rush back to Mage Tower but Bleia, who had just recovered suddenly turned her head and stared at a random direction with her emerald green eyes.


    "Wait, what is that thing?"


    Leon was startled for a moment. He followed Bleia''s line of sight and his nce moved over. He saw a yellowish green rock with a circumference of 1 meter, ced right in the center of camp.


    Ugh... a rock?


    Leon''s eyes scanned the surrounding area. Aside from the small and shattered ones that scattered across the entire camp, there wasn''t anyrge rocks that could be found. But now, arge rock suddenly appeared beside the only broken tent in this camp. It was rather strange and and abrupt.


    Previously, Leon had all of his focus on saving Bleia therefore he didn''t really bother paying attention to anything that was present in this ce. But since what they noticed is clearly abnormal, he quickly activated his Elementium Vision.


    Under the observation of the Elementium Vision which allowed him to see through every Elementium, the handsome face of Leon twitched a few times for reasons known only to him.


    Damn, this isn''t a rock, but it''s a...


    After his careless mistake of being deceived by the enemy, Leon angrily snapped his finger andmanded the Demon Alligator Hunter to stride towards the ''rock''.


    The ''rock'' clearly knew it''s trick was already exposed, that''s why before the dirt spear of the Hunter impaled it, this ''rock'' instantly disintegrated. Actually, it wasn''t disintegrated, but just a Goblin, slightly over one meter tall, putting away its cape, revealing its true form.


    "Spare my life, oh great one! Mighty master Mage, please spare my life! Please forgive this Snox! This Snox is willing to be your ve! Just please, don''t kill Snox!"


    Upon revealing its true self, the Goblin quickly threw itself onto the ground and kowtowed again and again, begging for his life while miserably howling to no end.


    "Ugh... wait!" Leon stopped the Hunter, and said, "You know how to speak in humannguage? A low-grade creature such as goblin possesses intelligence?"


    "Master, Snox is no ordinary goblin! Snox is the smartest goblin in the world, Snox can serve you tea and meals, prepare your sleep bed, and Snox can even guard the door for you. Snox is the most capable creature!" Realizing this young ''malefic'' person showing interests on it, the goblin quickly promoted itself.


    "What was the trick you used just now? If not because of my sharp vision, I would have been deceived by you."


    "That''s one of the tricks I secretly learned, abination of a camouge spell and a partial transformation spell, they are nothing much, really."


    "You know how to cast magic spells?" Leon''s face was stered with astonishment, "Moreover, you know two magic spells!"


    "A-Actually, I-I know three magic spells!" The goblin who called itself Snox stammered.


    "Three? What''s the third spell you know?" Leon felt the world as he knew it, had turned upside down.


    Even a mere goblin could master three magic spells, but he... up until now, he seemed to have only mastered four, no, the ming Spear was just a variance of Fire Arrow. Therefore, strictly speaking, he only mastered three magic spells!


    Not knowing theplicated thoughts this young apprentice had on his head, Snox said under its breath with an embarrassed tone, "I... I also know I-Invisibility."


    Leon waspletely speechless!


    A goblin, which was regarded by the entire Mage world as the weakest demon beast, could actually possess its very own intelligence, and even master three magic spells. What were all these spells? Invisibility, Camouge, Partial Transformation... these skills made it an expert in stealth. If not because Leon had the Elementium Vision, and Bleia had the ability to sense life aura, perhaps this little guy with the name of Snox would really be able to avoid today''s unexpected cmity!


    Leon cupped his hand under his chin, and contemted.


    At the time when he was still pondering what should he do to this strange goblin, Snox became frightened by Leon''s serious expression and quickly waved its hands around and exposed a bigger secret.


    "Your mightyness, you don''t want to kill Snox! Snox knows a secret treasure of a master Mage. Snox can bring you there!"


    If there was still anything that could move Leon today, what Snox said just now was definitely the one.


    Leon''s pupils contracted, and he clenched his jaw tightly and said the following words with a cold voice, "Looks like you are an escaped magical ve from an Mage Tower. Tell me, which Mage Tower did youe from?"


    Leon finally understood. How could a wild goblin suddenly be blessed with basic intelligence? Even if it did have it, from where could it get in touch with the mysterious and profound magical knowledge it possessed? Therefore, putting all those clues together, Leon came to the conclusion that this must be a magical ve who identally escaped from its Mage Tower that belonged to an unknown official Mage.


    Snox hesitated for a few moments. Its tiny eyeballs could be seen moving around, but seeing the razor sharp dirt spear of the Hunter pressing against its shoulder, it realized there wasn''t any possibility of escape from this situation.


    Probably thinking that it didn''t have any chance of surviving if it didn''t tell the truth, Snox bowed his head down in sorrow and said out a name.


    "Elysium City! Master Mage Pridka!"


    "Mage Pridka from Elysium City? This name sounds unfamiliar! Leon, have you heard it before?" Bleia asked, perplexed.


    Leon had a cold face, squeezing out shivering words from his tightly clenched teeth.


    "Bleia, you really should pay more visits to the library. Understanding our enemy is essential to protect oneself."


    "Is this Pridka really famous?"


    "Of course. Because Mage Pridka is a Second Grade Mage!" Leon spewed out thest few words with great force.


    Hearing this, Bleia immediately drew in a sharp cold breath.


    Although Bleia behaved willfully and unscrupulously in normal times, but there was still a limit to her unbridled personality. When faced with an official Mage, she wouldn''t be as reckless as how she used to be, but instead, she would offer her respect wholeheartedly. Because she knew how frightening the existences known as an Mage are. They could easily kill her with just a wave of a single hand.


    As for a Second Grade Mage, perhaps that would be a frightening existence even an official Mage would tremble with fear upon meeting!


    Bleia and Leon exchanged nces, and understood each other''s thought with just a look.


    They have to make this Snox fall under their control!


    This was a goblin who once served a Second Grade Mage! Any magical knowledge or special information dug out from its mouth would be enough to bring great benefits to both of them. As for the secret treasure of the Mage mentioned by Snox, they simply forgot about it and never bothered again to ask any further.


    They weren''t idiots! Could a frightening Second Grade Mage really tell a mere goblin about the whereabouts of their treasure? This was a joke to an intelligent and experienced mighty Mage! Maybe this Snox had taken those magical experiment wastes the Mage casually threw away as treasure!


    With his mind filled with endless spections, Leon held Bleia in a princess carry and climbed up to the Demon Alligator, also bringing along the goblin whose name was Snox. They, once again, submerged into the ground.


    ...


    Within the broken-down tunnel.


    Three figures of varying heights could be seen squatting in front of the remains of the Rock Snake, silently examining what''s left of it in front of their eyes. The broken core that had lost all its light and Elementium was now held in Pseudo-Mage Philip''s hand, as he gave it a thorough observation.


    "How is it? Did you find anything?" The short Pseudo-Mage, Hegel, yawned and asked impatiently, "You have spent thest half an hour just looking at it, just tell me what''s so unusual about it?"


    "This is an Elementium core taken from a Pseudo-Mage level Earth Giant!" After pondering for a long time, Philip finally voiced out his findings with a deep voice.


    "Garbage! Anyone can tell that easily. If that''s the only thing you can tell, why do we still need you, an expert in Earth element, to give us your insights about this thing." Hegel rudely said.


    Meanwhile, Langdon was standing quietly on the side. His eyes were filled with a frosty glow. It''s obvious he still hadn''t gotten rid of the anger caused by letting his enemies escape.


    "There''s a total of fourteen special rune arrays engraved on it, most of them are magical arrays used to absorb and store Earth element energy, while the rest have the purpose of Elementium Grant Life, Elementium Summoning, Mind Control Imprint System, and Elementium Tempering. Through a unique method, all these independent arrays are interconnected, transforming into a brand new three-dimensional magical array! This is the reason why this Rock Snake possessed such an incredible strength, able to trap a Pseudo-Mage which enabled their escape."


    Hearing the mocking words of the guy, Hegel was lit with the mes of anger.


    "Damn it, can you really me me? You told me to stop an Advanced Apprentice and a Beginner Apprentice from leaving this ce, but you never told me that guy owned arge beast like this! Hey Philip, with your amazing magical knowledge, do you know any Beginner Apprentice who can control a Pseudo-Mage level Golem? Do you think this is logical?"


    "Hmph. He''s an Intermediate Apprentice now!"


    "Alright, alright! Even if he''s an Intermediate Apprentice, don''t you think this situation is rather abnormal?"


    "This is nothing abnormal. If he can find a master Alchemist, drew out enough power from the core and utilized it, the amount of Spirit he will need in order to control it would be greatly reduced. It isn''t something unbelievable for a Beginner Apprentice to control a Pseudo-Mage level Golem. It''s just that with his Spirit, it''s very difficult to fully unleash thebat strength of the Golem!"


    After listening to the conversation of the two, Langdon finally spoke.


    "If these Golems were crafted by that Leon himself?"


    Philip was stunned for a brief moment, but shook his head before saying, "Then he must be a genius alchemist of this generation! If not, then I can''t think of any other method that can utilize an Elementium core up to such an incredible level."


    "As for the answer, we will know the next time we meet him again. No matter what, he still has toe back to the Underground World. And at that time, we''ll know all the answers we want after capturing him." Hegel said with a carefree manner, "Oh right, Langdon. Since I followed you for this mission, Mine No. Seven that I was supposed to guard had been robbed by those bastards from the surface. I''m afraid you will have to rpense for the losses! Also, if we are questioned by master Mage Puner, I hope you can calm down his anger!"


    Upon hearing what Hegel said, the handsome face of Langdon had twisted once again.


    The temperature of the cave dropped down by a few degrees!


    ...


    1925 Words

 Chapter 83: Guilty?

    Half a dayter, Leon and Bleia finally returned to the Mage Tower.


    Upon their arrival, they were notified that theirpulsory task force had lost another member, Sh, while the rest of the team were all wounded. The team suffered a great losses.


    What caused all of this was four Fallen Pseudo-Mage who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    After they were ambushed, Sabrina and the other two Pseudo-Mages fought against three of the enemies, but the remaining Fallen Pseudo-Mage put up a fierce fight with Sh, causing them to be at a disadvantage. Because of that, Sh and the other three had to flee in desperation. Sh was killed during their escape by her enemy.


    Before those Fallen Pseudo-Mages attacked them, they were told that they were here to seek revenge from Leon and Bleia. Therefore, after they managed to escape to the surface, the team members who were still suffering from the shock had pushed all the me to the both of them. A few Advanced Apprentices even kept asking them to be responsible for Sh''s death, wanting the duo to bear all of the responsibility for their failure inpleting their mission.


    Thus, when Mage Angus, who came to receive the mission item, arrived at the main hall, Isaac started to jump up and down furiously.


    "Master Mage, it''s all because of them... they insisted on leaving the team, which eventually attracted the revenge of four Fallen Pseudo-Mages, that is the reason why we failed in this mission. You have to punish them!"


    Leander and Bruce were also yelling out loudly, filled with righteous rage.


    As for the other two male Pseudo-Mages in the team, both of them were having long faces while not saying a single word. Even though they didn''t try to pin the responsibility to others, in their minds, they were still filled with dissatisfaction towards Leon and Bleia. Due to the difference between their levels, they were defeated in a fair fight with those underground Fallen Pseudo-Mages, and returned with bodies full of wounds.


    The only team member who was able to return unscathed was Sabrina.


    "Hahaha..." Mage Angus responded with a cold sneer then said, "Stop ying your childish tricks in front of me. I''ve seen too many internal discords between team members all these years, I have no time for your petty thoughts and plots. What I really care is, what have you brought back to the Mage Tower?"


    Everyone''s heads turned to Sabrina at the same time.


    Wearing an indifferent expression, Sabrina stretched her hand out and handed over four mission items. Out of all four of them, only one mission item was lit.


    "You onlypleted one mission? Where''s the other mission item?" Mage Angus''s expression turned cold in an instant.


    "It''s with me!" Bleia took a step forward and extended her palm.


    A brightly lit mission item was revealed in front of everyone.


    "Out of five missions, you onlypleted two. ording to our agreemen, you''re spared from the punishment of failing the mission. But you can also forget about the rewards."


    When they realized that they were spared from the punishment, some of the Advanced Apprentices of the team rxed their expressions. But what Mage Angus said afterwards came as a shock to them.


    "Also, I want to announce an internal decision of the Mage Tower Council. Considering that Leon and Bleia showed outstanding performances in the elite mission of the training camp, the council had decided to transfer them into the training camp. From now onwards, they don''t have to participate in any morepulsory missions."


    Although Mage Angus said it with a deep and hoarse voice, it sounded like a sudden thunder p in the ears of all team members, greatly stupefying every one of them.


    "This... how can this be?" Seized by terror, Isaac yelled out loudly, "Master, this is unreasonable! Our team is left with only eight members, if you transfer two of them away, how are we going toplete the remaining missions? We want to protest..."


    Before he could finish his words, a ck chain suddenly shot out from the void, tightly tying Isaac up in a bundle.


    "What? Is there anyone else who dares to challenge the authority of the Mage Tower Council? Kid, let me tell you, no matter what, don''t challenge the authority and dignity of an Mage. This is a lesson for you, next time, I will not be as nice today and won''t spare you as easily!"


    Following Mage Angus''s stern warning, the ck chain suddenly turned red, transforming into a long chain of scorching hot metal, burning Isaac''s skin and flesh making them produce hissing noises. When Angus''s voice turned louder, the chain started to tighten, digging deep into Isaac''s flesh, causing his bones to produce cracking noises as well.


    It was as if Isaac''s magic resistance had suddenly disappeared, making him unable to withstand the fire chain punishment from Mage Angus. After letting out a few miserable shrieks, Isaac fainted as a result of severe pain.


    With a snap of a finger, the fire chain vanished out of thin air, just like how it appeared.


    Mage Angus then moved his dazzling eyes across everybody''s faces. When he did that, every team member felt a sharp pain in their eyes, and couldn''t help and lower their heads.


    "This is just a small punishment to all of you. Your purpose here is to train yourself andplete missions assigned to you, not ming each other and putting up a stupid show of internal discord! If you''recking in strength in order to crush those ck bastards, then be smarter, use your strategies and unite to defeat the enemy toplete your task. You don''t have enough manpower? Then go to the main hall in the first floor and get some new recruits! See for yourself if any fools are willing to be hired by you!"


    After a rare long-winded speech, Angus turned his eyes to Leon.


    "Kid, I heard you''re really good in hiding your ability! Haha, looks like you know how being lowkey is important in keeping your life safe. But sometimes, burying your strength too deep isn''t good as well. A strong man should show his bearing and dignity. If you showed your ability earlier, perhaps all the members of this team are now your minions, and the girls would''ve been your exclusive sleeping buddies, isn''t that more meaningful thanying low all by yourself? Come, show me your loot this time!"


    Ugh... Looks like Mage Angus was also a restless guy when he was still an apprentice.


    While helplesslyining inwardly, Leon and Bleia took out their war trophies from their underground trip. Two people brought back two heads of Fallen apprentices, and both were at the level of Advanced Apprentices.


    An unsightly expression surfaced upon the faces of the others who were watching quietly beside them. Only Mage Angusughed out loud in satisfaction.


    "Not bad, not bad at all! You only visited Underground World twice, yet you brought back two heads already. Indeed, you possess the magical ability that is suited perfectly to the Underground Cave. Kid, you have a bright future, I have confidence in you! Now tell me, what kind of reward do you want to exchange for these heads?"


    The near death experiences of this trip had filled Leon''s mind with great anger. A Pseudo-Mage level Rock Snake he just crafted had been destroyed by the enemy. This, without a doubt, deeply angered him!


    "Elementium core with life aura, it''s better if it''s of the Earth element, and it should also be at Pseudo-Mage level." Leon gritted his teeth and decided not to hide his talent in crafting golems. After all, he had already exposed the Rock Snake previously. So long as someone paid enough attention to him, that alone was more than enough for them to make some assumption.


    If he stillid low like how he did previously, perhaps he wouldn''t be as lucky on his next trip to the Underground World.


    "Hahaha... two heads, you can exchange them with two Pseudo-Mage level Earth element cores, here you go..." Angus grabbed the two heads, and casually tucked them into a bowl-sized spatial crack that suddenly opened up in front of him. He then pulled out two Earth element cores shing brightly and tossed them over to Leon. After doing all that, he turned around and left.


    The host was now gone, leaving behind the group who were gazing at each other awkwardly.


    Leon nodded his head to Sabrina, pulled Bleia away, and returned to his very own residence.


    Theirst journey had made Leon and Bleia realize their weakness. Therefore, for the following days, both of them started to get busy on their own, trying all they could in order to supplement their weaknesses.


    What Leon could do now was feed himself with the best food, strengthen the foundation of his constitution, and consume a bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion every three to five days so that he can restlessly increase his Spirit. As for the two Pseudo-Mage level Earth element cores, they had long ago turned into two brand new Rock Snake Golems.


    Bleia on the other hand, felt theck of power behind her attacks and the vulnerability of her resistance. Thus, she spent a huge amount of magic crystals to purchased a pair of ''Cruel ws'', using it to improve her offensive power.


    This pair of Cruel ws was a set of melee finger-cot magical items. The effect attached on the left hand was tearing, while the right hand gave her attacks the effect of bleeding. They were considerably a perfect match to Bleia''s current abilities. In the middle of a fight, Bleia could inject her Blood element energy into these finger-cots, giving them a +2 effect of sharpness.


    Besides that, Bleia was also wringing her brain out concerning her magic resistance.


    It would take a long time for her to train to increase her magic resistance, that''s why Bleia purchased some small decorative items that could bring her additional magic resistances. If she had an Electric Resistant Ne which could bring her +2 in electricity resistance, she wouldn''t be burned into a big piece of charcoal when she forcefully prated through the lightning web in the Underground World.


    Leon had given all his magic crystal cards to Bleia, therefore Bleia, who had her desire of spending unleashedpletely, used this fortune and brought back a lot of magic resistance jewelries and magic potions. While Bleia was crazily spending Leon''s magic crystals, Leon was having a ''passionate and friendly'' conversation with the Snox in his room.


    Snox still looked like a green-skinned goblin. The only change it had was a magical cor on its neck, which a few runes could vaguely be seen on top of the cor. It was a special magical item used specifically for imprisoning those demi-humans who refuse to obey its master''smand.


    A ring of runes was engraved on the inner side of the cor. Three tiny needles that poked into the wearer''s neck were present, slowly drawing the magic energy of the wearer in keeping the cor''s normal functionality. Any action that causes any damage to the cor would immediately trigger a powerful lightning attack. The same effect applies to the wearer if it moved too far away from its master.


    The only way to remove this cor was for the caster to recite a magic spell ording to a specific order.


    Therefore, after putting the cor on Snox upon their return, Leon finally had his mind rx.


    It was clear that this extremely intelligent goblin named Snox had long gotten used to the life of being a ve, and for that reason, it didn''t show any resistance to what Leon had done to it.


    ...


    1978 Words

 Chapter 84: Pridka

    This was an extremely clever little guy who knew how to understand people''s thoughts.


    Upon entering Leon''s room, it quickly carried out its duty. Taking care of the room''s cleanliness, organizing books on the table, wiping off ink stains, washing the quill pen and cleaning the remains of magical experiments, and even helping Leon take off his thick and heavy traveler robe...


    In short, all the tasks that a magical ve could do, it hadpleted them within a very short period of time after it came into the room. After that, it stood politely beside the table, awaiting Leon''smand.


    Carrying a smile in his eyes and watching how Snoxpleted all these tasks, Leon finally gave out his order in a rather cold manner.


    "Tell me about that Mage Pridka!"


    The goblin''s body trembled slightly, raising its head and taking a peek at the young apprentice who stood opposite to it, but its gaze was caught by Leon''s cold and calm nce. This made it shudder, quickly lowering its eyes and began to speak in a stuttered manner.


    The story was more or less as what Leon had been expecting. This green-skinned goblin who had the name of Snox was indeed a very lucky escaped ve.


    In order to tell the whole story, it had to start from fifteen years ago.


    To put it simply, that Second Grade Mage Pridka wanted to carry out some kind of soul experiment, so he captured arge group of underground creatures to serve as his magic spell experiment subjects. Like most of the magic spell experiments, this soul experiment was extremely dangerous and difficult to control, thus most of his test subjects eventually died painfully, while only this green-skinned goblin survived.


    With regards to the soul experiment, Snox didn''t have many memories, and most were notplete. But through its brief description, Leon suspected that Second Grade Mage Pridka was trying to perform a soul transfer experiment.


    As soul transfer was the only lead to immortality, it was a magic topic that must be researched privately by most of the Mages who wished for immortality.


    As for the Mage''s treasure mentioned by Snox, it was just one of the manyboratories Mage Pridka built in the Underground World. Since Snox identally awakened its intelligence during the soul experiment and managed to survive, in order to better observe any changes to its soul, Mage Pridka promoted it to be his personal ve. And out of curiosity, he taught it some magical knowledge.


    So, that was when Snox learned all three magic spells it knew.


    Despite only having the most basic intelligence, Snox was actually smart in its own unique way. The reason why it chose these three spells was so that it could escape from the Mage! Even though it didn''t have a brilliant brain and vast knowledge like an Mage, but it also knew as a test subject, sooner orter it would have to be cut open on an operating table.


    Since the day its intelligence awakened, it had been preparing for its grand escape.


    After listening to Snox''s story, Leon couldn''t help and specte how this goblin must be a very lucky creature that was blessed by the Will of Mage World. After it served the Mage for eleven years, it finally found an opportunity for its great escape.


    It happened five years ago during an Underground World clean up mission. The Zhentarim Association sent arge group of Mages and ambushed Elysium City. Mage Pridka was forced to bring most of the Fallen Mages and moved to a deeper ce underground, while Snox was abandoned in theboratory.


    ording to normal circumstances, Snox would disappear together with the self-destruction of Elysium City. But surprisingly, this lucky fellow was able to escape before the city was destroyed. And so, not knowing anybody, Snox had once again be a wild creature that roamed the Underground World.


    As for its situation after that, it was rather easy to guess.


    Despite the fact that Snox mastered a few peculiar magic spells that didn''t have much fighting ability, it was not something that could be easily captured by ordinary underground creatures. After wandering in the wild for some time, through its peculiar abilities, Snox actually gathered arge group of goblins and established a camp in the shallow region of Underground World, bing the leader of a goblin colony.


    After he listened to Snox story, Leon sighed emotionally inside of his heart. This was simply a motivational story of this strange world. But too bad, no marvelous or extraordinary story could move him now. Leon snapped his finger angrily, causing the tiny needles that poked into Snox''s neck to inject a powerful electricity into its body.


    In next moment, dark smoke started to billow out from Snox''s body, as it fell to the ground, its body twitching.


    "Hmph, your story is indeed motivational, and is pleasant to hear. But tell me, what benefits can I get after putting all that effort to save you? Do you think I just want to listen to your fucking fantasy story?" The enraged Leon kept roaring at Snox, showing a look that seemed as if he was about to rip this goblin into pieces.


    "Mas... master... I.. I can... I can give you a magic spellboratory of a Second Grade Mage!" Snox proved itself to be a tough creature who had both thick skin and strong guts, even though it was facing a threat to its life, its eyes and mouth twitching due to the electricity, it was still able to smoothly say its life-saving statement.


    "Where''s thatboratory?"


    "In Elysium City!"


    "Fuck! Damn you, goblin! Do you think a surface apprentice like me can freely enter Elysium City, the ce where all Fallen Magese together in crowds? Do you want to taste electricity again?"


    "Master, I was referring to the ruins of the old Elysium City, not the current one!" Greatly terrified by Leon, Snox nearly used up all of its strength in yelling out this sentence.


    "Oh? Give me more details!"


    "I didn''t really understand what the exact scenario was, but all I know is one thing, Elysium City had been destroyed three times before. Whenever the surface Mages came to the Underground Cave, the Elysium City would be destroyed. After that, those Fallen Mages will find another location and rebuild a brand new city. The Elysium City I mentioned to you just now is the ruins of the previous Elysium City after it was destroyed in thest war. The current Elysium City is built after that."


    "After it went through a massive self-destruction, would there still be anything left?" Leon pretentiously said in a disdainful manner.


    "Master, master! Theboratory built by Mage Pridka was protected by the strongest magical arrays. Although it''s impossible for it to remainpletely intact, but I''m sure there will be some leftover resources. The resources that can be found there are left by a Second Grade Mage, though it might just be in a small quantity, but it''s still worth the risk!"


    Leon quieted down.


    "Chip, analyze the truthfulness of what Snox said."


    "Beep. Data analysispleted... Preliminary results show what it said is true... The reference data included: ''The Chronicles of Underground Cave'', ''The Secrets of Underground Creatures'', ''Bibliography of Fallen Mages''... Note: When the creature mentioned theboratory in the ruins, an abnormal spiritual ripple was detected. The analysis shows there is something it needs in that ce..."


    "Hmph, it can also be the chance for it to once again escape from the hands of someone else!" Leon had this thought in his mind.


    Of course, all these were secrets that was hidden within Leon''s mind. Externally, he had his face covered with a bright smile and raised Snox from the ground, vowing solemnly that, so long as it could bring Leon to theboratory, he would set it free and reward it with a huge sum of magic crystals.


    In order to win over the heart of this new minion, Leon spent a big sum of his fortune and ordered the daily noble meal set for it. Therefore, while Leon was happily enjoying his magical energy meal set, Snox was also squatting at a corner of the room, devouring the delicacies like a wolf.


    After both of them came to an aLeonent, Snox had also mitted'' itself to be Leon''s servant. After it was promoted, the first thing Leon did was threw it into the bathroom and gave it a thorough wash.


    In the Underground World, all resources were rare and precious, and these goblins had no habit of washing themselves regrly. That''s why Leon wasn''t able to stand the stinking smell that continuously emitted from its body. In order to get rid of this pungent smell, Leon had purposely purchased a bottle of deodorant, using it to thoroughly wash Snox from top to bottom.


    Afterwards, when Snox stood in front of Leon, it actually looked cute and adorable like those green-skinned cartoons in Leon''s previous life.


    "Alright, now show me all of your abilities!"


    "Master, which one do you want to look at first?"


    "Show me your Camouge Spell!"


    Snox pulled out a small old wooden stick from its waist, then quietly recited some magic spells, and afterwards used the stick to point at its own body. Following the radiant glow of magical rays, the skin color of Snox turned exactly like the color of the floor. When it lied down on its stomach at a corner of the room, one could easily overlook its existence.


    "How about the Partial Transformation spell?"


    Hearing what Leon said, Snox made its ears stand erect as they slowly twisted and transformed into a withered flower. Although it wasn''t wless, but it still looked like the real thing. It wasn''t easy to tell the difference with just one look.


    "Good!" Leon nodded his head, and then said, "Invisibility?"


    Snox shook its body, dismissing all abnormal transformations present. Following a murmur of an invocation, its wooden stick flickered as its body suddenly turned incorporeal. Five secondster, it simply vanished into thin air.


    Leon turned his head over and gave it a careful observation. If he didn''t have his Elementium Vision and if Snox could move more nimbly, the result of this Invisibility spell would be pretty good.


    "Take a few steps!"


    A row of marks of water suddenly appeared on the floor. Snox took a bath previously, and that''s the water that remained on its body.


    Tracing its movement, Leon could vaguely see an abnormal reflection of light. But when it stopped, the abnormality instantly disappeared.


    "Here, hold this book!" Leon directly grabbed a book and gave it to Snox.


    Initially, the book floated all alone in midair, making it look really bizarre. But after five seconds passed by, it started to turn intangible and finally vanished without a trace.


    "Oh? You can also hold foreign objects and make them invisible as well! Are there any limitations to such foreign objects?" Leon asked curiously.


    "Firstly, it can''t be a living object. Secondly, its size cannot be bigger than one fifth of my body size." Snox''s answers didn''t go beyond Leon''s expectation. A magic spell with such excellent results alwayse with very strict restrictions.


    Leon hesitated for a moment, and then finally decided to give up the idea of learning this Invisibility spell.


    ...


    1908 Words

 Chapter 85: Flame Body

    The most orthodox path that was directly in front of Leon was doubtlessly furthering his research on the magic spell knowledge rted to his elemental affinity ¨C Fire. Understanding this knowledge could help him when he breaks through the threshold of an Mage in the future. Meanwhile, the ability to craft golems, which currently was the greatest help to him, was considered unorthodox, as it deviated from the right path he chose.


    The rtionship between them was like the rtion between ''Dao'' and ''Technique'' in his previous life.


    The ''Dao'' was the path of development he chose for himself and was also the ultimate goal he would spend the rest of his life with in restless exploration. While ''Technique'' was merely the tricks used in order to achieve some smaller goals, it was just an auxiliary method.


    Although Leon only mastered a handful of fire element magic spells at this point of time, and their power wasn''t sufficient to deal with the current enemies he had to face, but that was still Leon''s ''Dao''. In order to avoid any deviation happening in his future Mage path, Leon had to spend a huge amount of time immersing himself in studying them, trying his best in mastering the characteristics and rules of the Fire element. Only by doing so, could he get hold of his very own ''Dao''.


    As for the Golem, for a short period of time, maybe it could allow Leon to rise above his peers, bringing him limitless glory with its formidable power. But after all, something like this was just a trick, it did not conform to his ''Dao''. Therefore, he could use it to his heart''s content or use it to seize the resources he needed, but if he really wanted to be an Mage in future, he couldn''t ck in his research of Fire element magic spells.


    For most people, it was tough to have both the Dao and Technique in their path, thus they could only choose one. But for Leon, there wasn''t any problem at all. After all, he had the help of the Chip. The most time-consuming task in magic spells research was the umtion and analysis of data, which he could leave for the Chip to handle. What he just needed to do was wait for the final essence of knowledge derived by the Chip, and merge them into his own path of magic.


    Therefore, the difference between the Dao and Technique wasn''t that obvious when ites to Leon.


    Leon''s Spirit had reached the level of an Intermediate Apprentice, which allowed him to have six solidified magic spell models in his Spiritual Domain. Currently, he already had four solidified magic spells: The Burning Hand, Fire Arrow, ming Spear, and Fire Shield.


    Therefore, it became difficult to decide which way he should go in researching Fire element magic spell. Currently, Leon took fancy to two magic spells, me Body and Molten Ball.


    me Body allowed Leon''s body to house more Fire Elementium, while it would greatly improve his Fire element resistance, it was also the only path which leads him to the advance magic ¨C Fire Elementium Modification. But in order to master this spell, besides from the continuous research of Fire element magic, he also needs to learn the knowledge of anatomy and its variation.


    Molten Ball, as the name implied, was a magic spell that merged a huge amount of Fire Elementium and Earth Elementium together, forming into a huge fireball of one meter in diameter. It could inflict Earth element damage to the enemy during its flight, and had the effect of knockback. And once it was detonated by the spell caster, it could also inflict a massive Fire element damage. Thus, it was an AoE, dual element damage magic spell.


    But in order to master it, Leon also needs to have some understanding of the Earth element.


    If only taking the offensive aspect of a magic spell into consideration, no doubt Molten Ball was the most appropriate choice. Leon had already mastered the Burning Hand, which was a close-ranged magic spell, while he had Fire Arrow and ming Spear that covered his long-ranged offensive ability. Unfortunately, both of them were magic spells that only attack a single target, that''s why he really need an AoE spell to supplement hiscking offensive strength.


    But considering his future, if Leon really wanted to have some achievements in the path of a Fire element Mage, he would need to have both Focused Wizardry and Elementium Body sooner orter. Thus,ying a proper foundation now could bring him greater help in the future.


    With just a slight hesitation, Leon made up his mind and chose the me Body.


    If it was any other Apprentice Mage, when faced with a simr situation, aside from considering their future, they also had to take their current situation into consideration. me Body could bring an improvement to his Fire element affinity and also a rapid increase of his Fire resistance, but it didn''t bring any notable help to magic battles between apprentices.


    Once an apprentice is killed in battle by an enemy of the same rank, there would be no future left to consider. That''s why even though the right path of magic was clearly in front of them, in order to survive in the endless battles many apprentices were forced to give up on their future, choosing to maximize their battle power.


    But this wasn''t a problem for Leon at all.


    Because of the Chip, crafting Golems which seemed profound and difficult to master to others was a piece of cake for Leon. So, with the protection of his Golem army, he could totally ignore the threat brought by his enemies, while optimizing his path of magic as much as he like.


    Since he had made up his mind in learning me Body, Leon had to pay a visit to the library of Mage Tower, and purchase some books for elementary knowledge of anatomy and variation. Fortunately, this type of knowledge were only the elementary subjects for Necromancer, so long he had enough magic crystal, he would be able to purchase them. If it involved the more profound and advance knowledge of Spiritual Mutation and Spiritual Elementium, perhaps Leon would have to pay a visit to those official Mage, and only then could he gather the relevant knowledge he needs.


    Throughout this hectic process, Snox had been reverently holding all magic spell books its master purchased, following behind Leon like a loyal servant. Though some Apprentice Mage who passed by were greatly puzzled by the presence of this green-skinned goblin in the Mage Tower, but when they saw the glittering cor worn on Snox''s neck, they immediately understood its status.


    For the sake of offsetting their magic spell weakness, some apprentices would gather and enve some demon beasts or demons. But most of them were creatures with powerfulbat ability such as the Nightsaber Leopard, Rock Tortoise, ming Tiger, Socrates Condor, etc. It was rare for someone to have a green-skinned goblin as his servant.


    As Snox had been the servant of a Second Grade Mage, clearly it had the experience in facing such situations. Thus, not only did it not look nervous, instead, it immediately put itself into the position of a loyal servant. It even went as far as helping Leon negotiate the price with the vendor, and find pleasure in it.


    After having experienced a simr situation a few times, Leon was surprised to find out that not only does Snox have a good grasp of the market prices, it also had a very good eloquence, both abilities could absolutely make it into an outstanding profiteering merchant.


    Since the discovery, Leon simply delegated his authority to Snox. Whenever he had anything he needs, he would just give Snox a list of items and his magic crystal card, asking it to be fully in charge of the purchase. After that, Leon would shut himself in his room, spending all of his time in studying the magic knowledge transferred to him by the Chip.


    Also, in order to improve its enthusiasm, Leon even had an aLeonent with Snox, he would pay all the items he needed ording to the market price, and any discount Snox obtained after the negotiation with the merchant would be its personal reward.


    With this reward scheme, Snox who never owned anything personal had instantly turned crazy, transforming itself into the greatest profiteering merchant in this Mage Tower. Everyday, it would spend all of its time befriending with a group of Beginner Apprentices.


    Surprisingly, Snox did have its own unique ideas and innate talents with regards to the price fluctuations in the market. Buying at a low price and selling at a high price, hoarding and profiteering, jacking up prices... all theseplicatedmercial approaches only a human could master, it had learned them within just a few days, using them to thrive in its own business.


    Soon, all of the Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices in the first level of Mage Tower were aware of this goblin merchant whose name was Snox, and it even carried an array of unique items that can hardly be found by ordinary people. Consequently, it had further set off its mysterious and strange background.


    What to do? Both underground guys killed by Leon and Bleia were Advanced Fallen Mage, thus their equipment and magic items weren''t something ordinary Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices would normally see. So when Leon gave all these items to Snox and asked it to settle them itself, it became even more confident in running its business.


    Yes, after Snox became well-known in the apprentice market located on the first floor, it had bought itself a full set of costume using the magic crystals it earned. An exquisite, luxurious magical robe, a full set of glittering magical equipment, though they were mostly equipment of low quality primarily used by Beginner Apprentices, but having a full set of this costume could still dazzle the eyes of the general public.


    Together with a finely made magic wand and a magic cape that trailed behind its body. Whenever it appeared in the apprentice market, it would always attract waves of greetings.


    The reason why so many Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices became its fans was because of the Third and Fourth Grade magical items it took out asionally. As these were all premium wares that no ordinary apprentice could easily find.


    During the course of running its business, it was naturally greeted by a few market enforcers that came aggressively and asked Snox to pay taxes. But when Snox hinted at them the name of its master, the guy named Ryan had no other choice but to go away in dejection. Obviously, through the family that supported him, that Ryan learned the glorious story of Leon in the training camp. That''s why so long as Snox don''t push things too far, Ryan wouldn''t find fault with it as he didn''t want to let the family behind him offend an elite apprentice who was rising fast like a rocket.


    But there was no way ordinary apprentices could have known this. Instead, Ryan''s unusual behavior further attracted the curiosity of the public, making them continue finding out who master behind Snox was. But no one seemed to know the answer.


    Consequently, a rumor suddenly spread secretly between apprentices, that this Snox might be the servant of an official Mage. Hence, encouraged by these strange rumors, Snox''s business became extremely prosperous!


    Leon, who knew nothing about all of these, was currently shutting himself in his room, seriously working out on his future path.


    Since he had decided to study me Body first, thus in the short run, there wouldn''t be any notable improvements to hisbat strength. If he wanted to maintain his advantage in the Underground Cave, he has to fully dig out thebat potential of his golems.


    Serving as his ride, Demon Alligator Hunter''s excellent ability to travel beneath the soil had let Leon established hispetitive advantage. But theck of offensive ability was still its weakness. It was more than enough to deal with an Intermediate Apprentice, but when ites to an Advanced Apprentice, its ability falls short. And if were to face a Pseudo-Mage, the overly loose body structure made it unable withstand even just a single blow.


    Now, the arrival of the Rock Snake had made up for the weakness of having insufficient offensive power. A Pseudo-Mage level Rock Snake alone might not be enough to fight with an agile Pseudo-Mage, but how about two Rock Snakes? Or maybe three?


    With a great determination and effort, it only took Leon three days to turn two new Pseudo-Mage level Earth element cores into two brand new Rock Snakes. With the protection from both of them, if he were to face with the very same Fallen Pseudo-Mage from the previous encounter, he wouldn''t be beaten into such a sorry state likest time, which nearly cost him his life in the Underground World.


    ...

 Chapter 86: Goblin Dreams

    After a period of research, Leon had roughly discovered some new techniques in using his Golems.


    The Demon Alligator Hunter was an Advanced Apprentice level Golem; using it would upy two points of his Spirit. Such upancy wouldst as long as the Golem is still in use. Meanwhile, the Pseudo-Mage level Rock Snake would upy three points of his Spirit. This also meant that if Leon go all out in battle, with his eleven points of Spirit (Circlet of Nobility gave him +1 in Spirit), he could only maintain one Demon Alligator Hunter and two Rock Snakes in the battlefield.


    After all, he still needed to conserve some Spirit in order to cast necessary magic spells.


    This was the best result after extensive calctions of the Chip and the advantage brought by the unique magical arrays, which had greatly reduced the Spirit requirement of the golems. If it was some other magical golem that was ordinarily made, with Leon''s current Spirit, he would only be able to maintain a single Rock Snake for his battles.


    One of the main reason for such situations is often caused by the unique characteristics of a Golem.


    Golems and thosemonly seen Titans were different.


    Titans were human-liked creations with a fixed body created using huge amounts of rare resources. Because they have massive builds, there''s plenty of space on their bodies allowing the creator to draw all kinds of magical runes and special magic arrays. Naturally, a creation produced with this method had the Spirit requirement for its user reduced to the minimum level.


    In most cases, during a battle, the user only needed to give the Titan the simplestmands which it will follow unless otherwise ordered, and then the user could relinquish his control afterwards.


    But Golems were different. Before they were summoned, they didn''t have a fixed body, its manifestation was simr to magical summoning, with the only difference of having a Golem recing the random outworld creature that would have been summoned. This was the reason why a Golem would consume Leon''s Spirit when it was in use.


    Also, a Golem doesn''t have a massive body that could let its creator freely put his talent in magical arrays to use. In order to carve a sufficient amount of control-type magical arrays and energy system in the chicken egg-sized Elementium core, it was simply an extremely strict challenge to the skill of the Golem creator.


    To be honest, with the help of the Chip, Leon being capable of creating powerful Rock Snake Golems was already a jaw-dropping achievement.


    Comparing thebat strength of both creations, the Titan, which possessed a unique body was no doubt stronger than a Golem who was summoned temporarily. But since the beginning, Leon could only create Golems but not a Titan, the main reason was... Titans upied a huge amount of space, and it was not convenient to carry around.


    Take the cheapest y Titan as an example. A y Titan which wasn''t equipped with any magical equipment already weigh three hundred kilograms, standing at 2.4 meters tall. A giant like this was indeed powerful, but how was Leon going to bring it into a battlefield?


    Even in nonbat mode, a big guy like this was near impossible to pack and carry around. Also, its massive weight would mean a consumption of a lot of magic energy, thus, depending on the Titan''s ability to absorb the magical Elementium in the air wasn''t dependable as it wasn''t enough to supply its need inbat.


    Therefore, a Titan which possessed a fixed body was more likely to be used as a guardian for an Mage Tower or some important magical equipment. During normal times, they would be hidden in a secret spatial void, motionless. Making their magical energy consumption be at the lowest level. Whenever they were needed for a battle, the preset alert mechanism would then activate them, and then churn them out from the void in order to repulse the enemy or annihte the intruder.


    To achieve all these, it required the support of a massive energy storage inside of an Mage Tower.


    With all these characteristics, it has been decided that Leon could only fight with the help of Golems. After all, bringing an egg size core everywhere he went was so much easier and conceble than bringing along a Titan which could shake the earth with every step it takes.


    As a result, in order to maximize the help of the Golems, while Leon continued to improve the fighting potential of his Golems, he''s also trying his best in increasing his Spirit. After all, his Spirit was directly rted to the number of Golems he could use in his future battles.


    That''s why, on the fourth day after his safe return to the Mage Tower, and after his Physique increased to 3.82, he consumed another bottle of Mind Concentrating Potion. This time, it added 0.7 to Leon''s Spirit, slightly lower than the previous increase of 0.75.


    By continuously consuming the same type of magic potion, the result it yielded the next time would be lesser, until it had no more effect to its consumer. This was a normal phenomenon that had been thoroughly researched by Mages, and no one could do anything about it.


    The reason behind this phenomenon was because of the body''s natural resistance to drugs. After consuming the same type of magical potion for a long period of time, the residue of the drug that was hard to remove would umte in the body, reducing the magical effect of the same drug. Though this was a progressive process, but it did exist.


    So, after consuming the Mind Concentrating Potion, Leon''s body attributes were as below.


    Compared tost time, Leon''s Spirit had gained an increase of 1.07. 0.70 was gained through the Mind Concentrating Potion, while 0.37 was earned through the magical energy meal set and his daily meditation. Based on a rough calction, if this 1.07 of increment was exchanged into magic crystals, it would cost around 350-400 magic crystals.


    This numerical figure had made Leon believe that a sessful Apprentice Mage was indeed fostered by a huge amount of magic crystals.


    ...


    It was noon time. After finishing a tiring business deal in the morning, the most sessful goblin merchant in the Mage Tower could be seen walking at a brisk pace toward its own room.


    Ever since it earned its first barrels of gold from Leon, Snox had rented a room beside its master''s residence as its own cozy home. Every day, it was only to report the daily result to its master at the evening, then it could spend the rest of the day at its leisure.


    Having a good night''s sleep, counting the money until its hands cramp.


    To be honest, a pleasant life like this was the perfect lifestyle it had always dreamed of. However, this dream was never realized when it was following the Second Grade Mage, it also never came true when it was still roaming in the Underground World, but instead, its dream was actually realized after it became the follower of an Apprentice Mage.


    For that reason, for the past few days, it had be totally insane, spending all its day bustling around.


    During daytime, it would spend all of its time in the apprentice market, using its eloquence and innate talent to earn a steady stream of magic crystals. At the evening, after enjoying its meal, it would dwell inside of its simple room, counting all the magic crystals it earned during daytime over and over again. In fact, every night it was sleeping in the middle of all the magic crystals it earned.


    But the smart Snox also knew one thing, it was that mysterious master behind it that gave it all these. Without the financial support and total delegation of this mysterious master, it was just a green-skinned goblin that was looked down by all Apprentice Mages. It wouldn''t even have the right to yell in the middle of these apprentices.


    Despite spending all day and surrounding Snox with honeyed words, it could still see that deep inside of the Beginner Apprentices'' eyes, there was still a hint of disdain that cannot be hidden by them. What they respected was not Snox, but the mysterious master was behind it.


    Despite having extraordinary talent, without a powerful master as the clever goblin''s backup, the only ending for it would be being pushed onto the ground, having its face branded with the mark of a ve, then thrown into the dark and wet dungeon, feeding on the leftover food of humans, yet carrying out tedious andborious jobs.


    Snox was aware of all these, because before it was chosen as the test subject by the master Mage, that was the life it went through!


    Compared to that, although its current master wasn''t as powerful as the previous one, but after indulging in such a lifestyle, it had never even thought of escape anymore. Most of the time, it even kept hoping that a lifestyle like this couldst forever!


    Filling its mind with endless fantasies, it used the rune talisman tied around its waist and a magical password to open up the door of its room. But upon entering, it was immediately stopped by a strong smell of blood.


    In just one morning, its room had transformed into a bloody and frightening ughter house. Meanwhile, its lovely yet mysterious master was seen standing in front of a bloody autopsy table, seriously examining a strange body that had been dissectedpletely.


    He was seen holding a dissecting knife, wearing a pair of deerskin gloves fully stained with blood, and a long white robe that was covered in blood as well. It wasn''t hard to tell that he was busy working on an autopsy experiment.


    It looked like its master was a rookie in the biological autopsy.


    Even though Snox never personally dissected any creature, but it had spent a long time in theboratory of a Second Grade Mage. Influenced by what it saw during that period of time, Snox actually possessed a richer knowledge in autopsy than Leon. If it was a necromancer apprentice, he would never make an autopsy experience into such a bloody scene.


    Which part to cut, how to avoid the blood vessels of the creature, all these were the basic skills of a necromancer apprentice, thus it was impossible to drag himself into such a messy state. Therefore, Snox was sure that it must be the first time its master carried out such an autopsy experiment.


    As the loyal servant of its master, how could it just sit back and ignore the awkward situation its master was facing right now?


    Moving over a small stool, Snox climbed up on it and started to passionately give advice and suggestions to its master, it wasn''t even afraid of being dirty and personally helped out to move the body of Lizardman so that its master could dissect the creature on a better position.


    Surprisingly, Snox actually turned into a tutor who possessed an excellent magical knowledge, wittingly or unwittingly starting to guide Leon on his first ever autopsy experience. Of course, because of the patience of the teacher, and the devoutness of the learner, none of them actually felt anything wrong with their current roles.


    Therefore, with the ''assistance'' of Snox, Leon smoothlypleted his first autopsy exercise.


    It was right until Leon satisfyingly removed his deerskin glove, throwing them together with his long white robe into a dustbin beside the autopsy table, did Snox suddenly realize its ''rude'' behavior. It quickly rush off the small wooden stool, squatting down beside the stool and waited for the punishment of its master.


    "You''ve done great today. It looks like you learned quite a lot of things from that Second Grade Mage. I''ll have you as my assistant in my future autopsy exercises." Leon gave Snox a warm smile, and then continued saying, "Get up! Do you really think I''ll punish you for something that you never did wrong, just because of my pride? Alright, clean up the ce, it''s time for lunch!"


    Conveniently tossing away the rubbish in his hand, Leon turned around and returned to his own room, leaving behind Snox who had a nk expression.


    Looking over its shoulder at the bloody ''ughter house'', it sniffed the pungent smell of blood and after thinking for some time, Snox finally understood why its master didn''t want to put this autopsy station in his own room.


    He must be afraid the smell would affect his appetite!


    This was a really special master. Snox murmured inwardly.


    ...


    2124 Words

 Chapter 87: A Fire Lords Scepter!

    The Underground World had been in turmoil recently.


    This was the message that Kevin had specifically brought when he had paid Leon a visit.


    Of course, Kevin hadn''t visited him just to inform him of this message, but to also bring along the chief officer of Lothar Merchant who had been stationed in this ce. The purpose for their visit was to purchase those Blood Gas that had been awarded to Leon and Bleia in mine number seven.


    Having spent some time identifying them, Leon determined that these Blood Gas were rather special magical materials. Those that were mainly used in crafting some types of unique magical items, however, they were of no help to the Golem that he needed now. Perhaps because of this, Leon briskly gave all six Blood Gas that he and Bleia had owned to the Lothar Merchant and let them handle the sale.


    As for the fee, Leon had not asked for magic crystals, but instead had requested them to exchange all the profits into Pseudo-Mage level Elementium cores. In response to his request, the chief officer had agreed with a smile all over his face.


    Since Leon had been willing to give away his Blood Ga, the chief officer was able toplete his half-yearly target. Additionally, since Leon didn''t ept the magic crystals and was willing to exchange them for Elementium cores with Lothar Merchant, the chief officer was able toplete two transactions in one go! How could he not be happy?


    The reason why Leon had acted so briskly earlier was because he had found out that this Lothar Merchant was supported by the Mage Angus whom he had been dealing with this entire time and that both Kevin and Mage Angus had belonged to the same family ¨C the Byron family.


    Due to these two reasons, Leon had agreed to the request of this chief officer without any hesitation, as it would also serve as a friendly gesture towards the Mage Angus.


    To reciprocate Leon''s friendly gesture, before leaving with satisfaction, Kevin showed a warmer attitude to their friendship. Secretly, he told Leon that if there was anything in the future that Leon wasn''t able to solve by himself, Leon could definitely pay a visit to Mage Angus. Regardless of whether it was the purchase of knowledge or exchange of resources, Mage Angus would be sure to give him the best discount!


    In less than half a day, the Pseudo-Mage level Elementium cores that Leon had requested were delivered to him. There was a total of four Elementium cores, one of the Earth element, two of the Water element and one of the Wind element. In addition to the cores, he also received map of the entire Underground World which clearly marked every detail that had been discovered so far. However, this map could only be used as a reference, because it was very tough to perfectly line it up with the actual terrain and one needed to consider the changes in terrain.


    Leon had finally understood that the only thing that could help him establish thepetitive advantage in future battles was arge quantity of Golems. There were many benefits that the Golems brought: they were convenient and fast, easy to hide, and could be owned inrge quantities. If the conditions permitted, Leon even wished that he could build an army of Golems that would obey his every singlemand.


    If anyone so much as looked at him the wrong, he wouldn''t need to take care of them himself. With just with a signal from his eyes, a swarm of Golems would flood the enemy in an instant.


    Of course, such fantasy could only be realized in the distant future. As for now, however, he could only continue carefully crafting his team of Golems.


    Yes, Leon had already had a tentative idea ¨C using a variety of Golems andbining different tactics to effectively use the fullbat force for each type of Golem. Since he had spent most of his time in the Underground World recently, he preferred to craft more Earth element Golems. However, considering the potential changes to the future battlefields he would encounter, he would have to prepare in advance.


    The Water and Wind element Golems were in preparation for his future.


    Especially a Wind element Golem, owning one of them meant that Leon would had a free flying demon pet, thus he would no longer have to worry about traveling long distances anymore.


    After the Chip had scanned those Elementium cores, Leon ordered it to start drafting the most suitable design for the Golems. Once this hadmenced in an orderly fashion, Leon took the crystal ball and quietly gave the data and records stored inside a thorough study.


    Within the dark screen, he could only see bright dots on the uppermostyer. Even though it was just the uppermostyer, it had still beenpletely formed by numerous winding and twisting tunnels, cracks, secret passages, valleys, and water channels. Countless caves and caverns were marked in between making them look like the dazzling stars in the night sky. While there were innumerable passages that connected all locations, most of them were impassable by normal human beings.


    On this map, the spaces where one was only allowed to stay temporarily were marked in green, while the passable passages were marked with tiny blue lines. In between those dense andplicated arrays of blue and green were countless glowing red dots. These were the rough distribution of the currently known underground creatures, colonies and demons.


    Of course, in this three-dimensional map of the uppermostyer of Underground Cave, Leon wasn''t find any information rted to the ruin of Elysium City.


    For this reason, Leon called upon Snox and asked it to point to the exact location of that Mage treasure. After spending half a day seriously studying the map, Snox finally pointed to a region. Leon didn''t see any indication of a city in that region. Instead, he saw arge patch of red that represented danger.


    In the Underground World, there were many regions filled with dangers that made no outsider want to step into them. Usually, either those regions had a harsh natural environment that no apprentice would be able to endure or they housed some extremely dangerous demons. No matter the reason, they were all dangerous regions that all Apprentice Mages had to handle with extreme care.


    Looking at the dazzling red glow on the map, Leon couldn''t help but start to hesitate.


    Judging from the brightness of the color, the region was a dead zone where even Pseudo-Mages would be faced with danger. Hence, when Snox pointed at it without the slightest hesitation, it seemed rather logical that it was the right ce.


    Since the ancient era, Mages liked to build all sorts ofboratories in their own residence. From Snox''s description, Leon could tell that this Second Grade Mage had been an expert in biological modification. However, once hisboratory was abandoned, there was a very high chance that those mutants, golems and the magical energy that had been stored in theboratory could irreversibly contaminate that particr region.


    It would have been fine if those mutants or modified creatures had died, but if a powerful fellow was lucky enough to have survived, those Apprentice Mages who went to explore the region would be facing a frightening monster simr to an Mage. Though Snox imed it knew the magical password for some of theboratories, the potential risk still held Leon back.


    While Leon was hesitating, a message from Snox boosted his confidence to take the risk.


    A Fire Lord''s Scepter!


    There was actually a Fire Lord''s Scepter in a secret chamber of that Second Grade Mage!


    For others, this Fire Lord''s Scepter was merely a powerful magical item that could summon three Pseudo-Mage level Fire Spirits every day. But for Leon, it had an inexplicably special use.


    With Leon''s elemental affinity of Fire, he could totally use this scepter to construct a Teleportation Gate to get to Fire Elementium ne. By doing so, he would have an endless supply of Fire element cores. And once his overall strength reached a powerful stage, he could even try to upy a territory in the Fire Elementium ne and be a true Fire Lord himself.


    Putting aside everything else, just take those Elementium cores that Leon had been gathering. Perhaps most of them weren''t even produced in his own ne, but were harvested from those other Elementium nes.


    The entire multiverse was boundless and deep. It waspletely filled with elemental energies that came in all forms, which would eventuallypose into a vast ocean of energy. Meanwhile, different nes were like inds ¨C isted from each other and floating in this vast ocean of energy.


    Each ne was apletely different world of its own ¨C from earth, mountains, rivers to oceans, sky and living beings, nothing wascking. But, when each ne was born, they were mixed with an imbnced Elementium energies, thus making each ne show a totally different and unique characteristic.


    The ne where the world of Mage resided was a major one that was extremely suitable for the survival of living things. However, when the control of the ne fell into the hands of Mage who rose abruptly, the characteristics of the ne had changed as well and deviated towards the chaotic yet powerful energy of magic.


    And as for the Elementium nes mentioned just now, when they were born, they resided in a region where a single Elementium gathered. Hence, when these nes had matured, they became a ne with a single Elementium.


    In an ordinary material ne, the distribution of Elementium matters would be nearly bnced. Earth Elementium gathered together forming mountains, hills, ins and different terrains. Water Elementium gathered together to form into streams,kes, and ocean. Wind Elementium brought clouds, rains, thunder and lightning to material nes, while Fire Elementium broughtva, volcanoes, and life.


    Due to the collection of these Elementiums, it gave birth to numerous perfect material worlds that flourish and became the breeding ground for all living things.


    Elementium nes, on the other hand, weren''t like these worlds.


    Take the Fire Elementium ne that attracted Leon the most. Although there were mountains, hills, oceans andkes, the basic Elementium that constructed them all were Fire Elementium. Inside of that ne, the mountain, the ocean, even the sky was on fire.


    Of course, a world like this was not suitable for the survival of normal living things, but it actually gave birth to Fire element creatures that used Fire element energy as their source of life: Fire Spirits, Fire Giants, Lava Hounds, Fire Deities, Fire Hawks, Magma Core Giants, Fire Demons, Fire Element Elders, Fire Lords, Fire Kings... It was a world ruled by Fire element creatures and simr to the human world, they also had a well-structured ruling hierarchy, based on the overall strength of each individual.


    If Leon really wished to have a great achievement in the Fire element, then sooner orter, he would have to visit the Fire Elementium ne.


    The World of Mage was, after all, a major ne in itself. As invading and upying was an Mage''s second nature, an Mage loved to search for new material nes in the vast ocean of stars. Once they found one, they would invade them straightaway, pulling them onto the bandwagon of nes that kept expanding at a rapid rate.


    Even with the cruel and ruthless characteristic of Mages, though they had long found the coordinates of these Elementium nes, not even one Mage ever dreamt of conquering an Elementium ne and making it into an auxiliary ne of the Mage World. The reason was that all these Elementium nes were frightening major nes. Just judging from their overall strength alone, if the Mage World really connected these Elementium nes, perhaps the happiest party would be those unambitious Elementium creatures.


    At that point in time, perhaps it would not be not the Mages who would happily carve up the massive resources of Elementium nes, but the countless Elementium creatures who would swarm into the Mage World and turn this ce into a brand new Elementium ne.


    Therefore, in the rules of the Mage World, all Mages held a very careful attitude when managing the Teleportation Gate that connected to any major ne. Because even the slightest mismanage could have devastating consequences!


    ...


    2083 Words

 Chapter 88: Looking for

    Although it was impossible to verify in the meantime if the treasure of the Mage that was mentioned by Snox was real, it was still totally worth it to take some risks just for it.


    After all, for Leon who was giving his all in bing an official Mage, an item which a Second Grade Mage turned his nose up might be a priceless treasure that he couldn''t even buy with a hefty price. Therefore, after roughly determining the location of that ruined Elysium City, Leon started nning on how he could go there and find out the actual situation on site.


    Judging from the location disyed on the map, it was located in the innermost area of the shallowyers in the Underground Cave. The distance between it and the surface was just seventeen miles as the crow flies, but it was deep within core area with abundant underground creatures. ording to the data on the map, there existed a fewrge colonies of underground creatures that could be found at the surrounding area of the suspected site, including many powerful underground creatures which wandered around in the Underground World.


    (DragonFly: As the crow flies means the shortest path between two points in a map, disregarding the vagaries of intervening terrain)


    If he really wanted to explore the area,cking a proper preparation wouldn''t be anything different from putting himself on a silver te and cing in front of those evil and cruel creatures!


    For the past few days, Bleia was quite busy in strengthening and improving her overall strength, and had been running her feet off all day. When Leon finally found an opportunity to tell her about his n, unlike her usual impulsive temper, she didn''t jump on board and agree to Leon''s idea. Instead, with a very calm manner, she told Leon that she had found herself a way to improve herbat strength, and was currently busy working on it, thus she couldn''t join him in this mission.


    Therefore, Leon naturally handed over the control of Snox to Bleia, asking her to keep an eye on this cunning little guy, while he focused all of his attention on preparing the resources he needed for the Underground World expedition.


    When he finally had everything ready, Leon paid a visit to Kevin, informing him that he was going to find some Dark Grasses in the Underground World, using it as an excuse to sneak into the Underground Cave.


    ...


    Honestly saying, the Underground Cave wasn''t a ce suitable for travel and sightseeing.


    For any surface creature who were still mentally sound that stepped into the Underground Cave for the first time, the biggest change in behavior they showed was an extremely oppressive emotion. Whenever they thought of the possibility that there were thousands of tons of dirt and rocks above their head which might copse and flood them at any moment, no creature could remain calm as they usually do in the surface. Meanwhile, in the Underground Cave, any irrational behavior would have the possibility to expose one''s whereabout, which in turn would attract a swarm of predators.


    For the sake of this trip, Leon had gone all out. Besides from the Demon Alligator Hunter he was riding with, he also had three Pseudo-Mage level Rock Snakes ced in his waist pouch. If he really bumped into some enemies that he need to fight, he would risk his life and unleashed all three Rock Snakes at once. With that, he didn''t believe there would still be any enemy that could stop him from fleeing with his life intact.


    As for the two Water element cores and two Wind element cores, Leon was still in the process of refining the design for their magical arrays. He estimated that he would have some results after the end of this trip to the Underground World.


    Upon entering the boundary of Underground Cave, Leon immediately summoned the Demon Alligator Hunter and sunk into the soil, following the direction shown on the map and kept venturing deeper into the ground. Every time after he traveled for some distances, Leon would always drive Demon Alligator Hunter to squeeze out into a random dark tunnel, making sure he was still on the right course.


    Using such method, in just slightly over three hours, Leon had already reached the depth of about ten miles under the ground. But the deeper he went, the slower the speed he could travel underground.


    Huge chunks of metal ores,rge stretches of rock formations, all these had be the obstacles that Leon couldn''t prate through while he was traveling in the soil. Inside the soil where no light was present, Leon''s spiritual sense could, at most, cover a distance of nearly twenty meters. Trying to find a path that led straight to his destination under such circumstances was no doubt extremely difficult.


    Therefore, after running into rock walls several times, Leon had no choice but leave the soil and enter into a random tunnel. What to do? When traveling in a totally unfamiliar region like this, using the ready-made tunnels that were excavated by the underground creatures was so much more easier than poking his nose randomly in the pitch-ck sea of soil.


    Inside the dark and wet tunnel, Leon took out his crystal ball, and used it to once again confirm his current position. After that, he continued his journey following the path of a tunnel descending into a path of darkness.


    Sitting high up on the t back of the Demon Alligator, Leon could be seen wearing a thick and sturdy traveler robe, with the Circlet of Nobility mounted on his forehead, while his eyes were hidden behind a pair of strange looking Gnome Goggles. Through the night vision of the goggles and his Elementium Vision that could see through all Elementium, the tunnel had turned into a totally different and bizarre world inside of Leon''s eyes.


    The background color of his entire field of view was green, and even though everything seemed dark, he could still have a very clear vision on every single object. Within his field of view, everything that had the Elementium aura would glow with their own unique Elementium color, even though they were hiding behind a big stgmite, or stuck inside some rock cracks. Physically, they might have an excellent disguise, but there was no way they could hide their colorful glows from Leon''s eyes.


    ording to the brightness of their glow that was represented in the Elementium Vision, Leon could easily estimate their strengths even from a very far distance.


    Those weaker creatures would be handled by Demon Alligator Hunter. With just a few dirt spears, their concealed bodies would be instantly impaled. When their warm blood burst out of their broken bodies, thest trace of their life aura would soon vanish from Leon''s vision. If they bump into stronger creatures, Leon would summon his Rock Snakes, using their extremely strong body to crushed their enemies into meat paste.


    That''s why along their journey, those underground predators that were scattered around had finally met their yers. Before they could wait for their prey to get closer, every single one of them would be killed at the ce where they were hiding for an ambush.


    Although these solo predators were rtively easy to handle, but the underground colonies which gathered in arge group around the passage Leon must pass through were much tougher to deal with. For example, the Tunnel of Gnolls, the Nest of Lizardmen, even Leon wouldn''t dare to provoke them easily. Or else, if theye out in full force, even though he could still defeat them, he would have alerted all the monsters who lived in this region.


    Yet, without Leon''s knowledge, when he stealthily passed through the Tunnel of Gnolls, right at a dark and wet shadowy corner where he just went passed, a skinny body suddenly stood up from the ground.


    This was an old Gnoll who had one foot in the grave already. There wasn''t much muscle that could be found on its skinny body, and an antique looking ck dagger was hanging down on its waist, while its old body could barely stand straight. But when it narrowed its murky yet cold eyes and looked into the direction where Leon disappeared, an awe-inspiring aura of a strength gradually emanated from its body, nearly freezing air in the surroundings.


    "Leader, that human has headed towards the direction of the ruins!" A dark figure suddenly emerged from the shadows.


    "Let him be! He is just merely an Intermediate Apprentice, there is nothing much he can do there." Two tiny mes could be seen igniting within the bloodshot eyes of the old leader of Gnolls. "Further down is the territory of the Lizardmen. Using their advantage in numbers, these damnable fellows kept us from getting close to the ruins. We''ll let this small bug in, perhaps he could cause some troubles for them!"


    "I understand! Your subordinate will make the necessary arrangements now, I''ll let our brothers at the sentry post to let him pass." The dark figure bowed, and soon dissolved into the darkness again.


    Leon was still slowly moving further down in the darkness. For some unknown reasons, he kept feeling a chill on his back, as if a shivering breeze was able to prate through his thick coat and entered his body, which caused him to tremble slightly.


    Damn it, where did this bad omene from?


    Never once in his life did Leon wished something very much. He wished he knew some magical knowledge about predictions and whatnot. Even if he just knew the tiniest bit of it, he would be able to briefly predict which direction the danger wasing from. That would allow him to make some preparations beforehand.


    Leon even secretly took out the Screaming Branch and examined it a few times but he didn''t find anything unusual on it. This meant the danger was on its way, but the target wasn''t necessarily him. Could the dangere from inside the ruins?


    While he was pondering quietly, Leon put up an even more rapid scan at his surroundings that was hidden in darkness.


    By right, with the see through ability of his Elementium Vision, no Elementium user could get near him without alerting him. But in this Underground World, besides from those frightening demons, what kind of creature could pose a threat to his life?


    Leon''s brain was spun at high speed as he kept pondering about his situation. Various data of powerful underground creatures that was stored in the Chip shed through his mind one after another. Suddenly, a few creatures aroused Leon''s vignce.


    Gnoll Hunter... Lizardman Assassin...


    It seems that this region is part of their territories. As these two bizarre underground creatures weren''t ssified as demons, that also meant there wasn''t any Elementium energy present in their bodies. However, in the list of dangerous underground creatures of Underground Cave, their names were still listed at the top. This meant even without relying on the power of Elementium, they still possessed enough fighting ability that could make just about anyone tremble in fear.


    Leon''s heart became heavy.


    With regards to these creatures who became excellent fighters just by using their intrepid bodies, it was very difficult for the Elementium Vision to detect them, while night vision fared even worse. Perhaps even Bleia''s infrared vision would not be of too much use here. So, how could he detect these bizarre and nasty fellows?


    When Leon was panicking, the Chip finally came out with useful information.


    The ability of Full Matching Field of View!


    This was a method of using spiritual sense that only Leon could achieve.


    For every short distance he traveled, Leon could always make a backup of the terrain feedbacking from his night vision and Elementium Vision. After that, using the incredible Field of View Matching ability of the Chip, he could find out the slightest difference in two terrain images that were captured in different times.


    If there was really a cold-blooded assassin hiding around Leon, so long as it moved along with him, there would be a slight difference in the shadow where it was hiding. Nobody could detect such difference with just their naked eyes, but nothing could escape from the Full Matching Field of View provided by the Chip.


    So long as he discover them, the threat they posed to him would be reduced by at least 80%.


    At that time, it would not be them who can create trouble from the dark, but instead, Leon would be able to give their arrogance a fierce punishment!


    ...


    2116 Words

 Chapter 89: Lizardmen vs Demon Alligator

    The darkness was filled with twisted shadows, stgmites, stctites and rocks of all shapes and forms that upied nearly every part of one''s vision. Inside the spacious and quiet cavern, even the slightest of noise would ripple through the winding tunnel and reach a very far distance.


    From high up on the back of the Demon Alligator, a grim blue light could be seen flicking through Leon''s eyes.


    Though he had been surrounded byplete silence, Leon''s mind was filled with a streak of warning tones. It seemed that arge group of enemies were approaching!


    An indistinct crackling sound rang through the air, as the fiery red Fire Shield made its dazzling appearance and started to hover around Leon''s body. The Chip was busy calcting in Leon''s mind and matching countless real-time images with each other. Numerous tiny differences that no naked eye could ever detect were found by the Chip''s incredible ability and projected onto Leon''s retina one after another.


    Leon turned his head towards a hanging stctite on his left. He saw a shadow there that seemed thicker than before. Following a gentle stomp of his feet, the Hunter who was mounted in front of him raised its hand into the air and formed a razor sharp, earthy yellow dirt spear in its grip.


    With a twist of its body, the Hunter threw out the dirt spear in its hand using all its force. The spear instantly turned into a yellow bolt of lightning and nailed into the shadow in an instant.


    From Leon''s field of view, he hadn''t noticed anything at that spot, neither any reaction of Elementium nor any life aura. However, following the piercing of the dirt spear, he heard a muffled sound of flesh being pierced through, immediately followed by a shrill cry that rang out through the once dead silence.


    Amotion broke out through the darkness, as a human-like figure with tiny dark green scalespletely covering its body suddenly showed up. The dirt spear had pierced through its chest and nailed it onto the stctite.


    Warm blood was dripping down from the tip of the dirt spear. The human-like figure started to struggle restlessly. However, the more it struggled, the bigger the wound formed by the piercing of the dirt spear became and the fiercer the blood burst out.


    Pop!


    A second dirt spear sliced through the air, piercing through its head straightaway.


    The movement of the figure came to aplete halt instantly. It was now hanging on the stctite motionless, leaving behind only the crystal clear sound of blood dripping down in this quiet cavern.


    In the next moment, Leon raised his head and looked up at the ceiling of the darkened cave.


    The height from the ground to the ceiling was over tens of meters long. Due to theck of light, even with him vision, Leon could only see a vague image. However, following the Hunter''s throwing of two dirt spears, another skinny, yet robust figure was seen falling down from the ceiling.


    The two dirt spears had pierced through its right chest and left leg, but hadn''t been able to im its life. However, as it was lying on the hard cold ground painfully giving its dying kicks, the gigantic foot of Demon Alligator suddenly appeared in its line of sight.


    A muffled boom broke out through the silence, followed by the sound of a watermelon being crushed was heard in the cavern.


    Leisurely and slowly, the Demon Alligator continued its movement and strode away. Once its leg left the ground, the ce where the human-like creature had been lying was instead reced by a pile of crushed meat, making it impossible to identify its original shape, species or even gender.


    A sharp whistle suddenly echoed in the darkness.


    When the whistle resounded throughout the entire cavern, from the far-reaching darkness, countless shadows approached him at high speeds. Judging from the size of the group, perhaps there were more than hundreds of them.


    Twangs of bowstring burst out through the darkness, as noises of sharp object piercing through the air rang out from all directions. The arrows sliced through the air and were targeted at Leon who was covered by a raging me all over his body.


    Aww! So they were going for a gang fight!


    Leon dared not underestimate his enemy. Without any hesitation, he dispelled the Fire Shield that was hovering around his body and then merged himself with the gigantic body of Demon Alligator ¨C it looked as if he was sinking into a muddy swamp.


    Right when Leon had disappeared, countless sharp arrows instantly struck at the back of Demon Alligator where he had been previously standing. All the arrowheads were flickering with a greenish glow; clearly, the arrowheads had some unknown poisons applied onto them.


    Like the Demon Alligator, the Hunter''s body had also been stuck by multiple arrows, however it showed no concern at all. With both hands continuously grabbing into the air over its head, it kept forming one dirt spear after another. Each spear had a length of one and a half meter. Without stopping its movements, it fired these dirt spears into those Lizardmen who had shown themselves in the far distance.


    Some of the spears were dodged by the Lizardman hunter and assassin, some shattered after hitting the stgmites that blocked their path, and some hit right on target, eliminating the enemy in the total darkness.


    It was worth mentioning that the bodies of the Lizardman were overly delicate and slender. In order not detract from the agility and speed of their movement, their body hadn''t evolved with thick and dense hard scales like some of those huge size demons. Instead, they were givenyers of tiny, light, dark-green scales, whose function was only to prevent the leaking of their body temperature.


    This evolution had given them with the incredible ability to move stealthily in the darkness of the Underground Cave, but it also made their defense so weak that they couldn''t even withstand a single blow. Regardless of which part of their body had been pierced through by the cup-sized dirt spear, it would instantly be a frightening injury. Their delicate bodies just weren''t able to withstand an attack like this.


    As they were facing of against an Elementium Golem, made entirely of y, the poison arrows they usually used couldn''t bring them their desired effect. Left with no other option, these Lizardman hunters were forced to pull out their short daggers and run through the rock walls and stgmites to leap onto the giant Demon Alligator that kept pushing its way forward.


    At this moment, their weakness ¨C theck of a magically enhanced weapon ¨C had be clear.


    Though the weapon produced from the unique underground metal was extremely sharp, most of them were overly thin and short. A weapon like this could never break through the y armor of Demon Alligator. Numerous Lizardmen surrounded the Demon Alligator and kept attacking it, using their dagger to shed off countless dirt chunks from its y armor. However, within seconds, following the sh of an earthy yellow light ring, the y armor had once again been restored to its original condition.


    They weren''t to defeat Demon Alligator, but Demon Alligator could easily kill them off.


    Though the attack frequency of Demon Alligator was rather slow, every time it cast an AoE Spikes spell, it would always im the lives of three to five Lizardmen. The Demon Alligator was like a massive tank that kept moving forwards, while the Lizardmen were like a group of ignorant natives who carried bamboo sticks in their hand and bamboo arrows on their back. The gap between their strengths was simply huge. Thus, the massive casualties caused by this gap was reasonable.


    Finally, after more than half of the Lizardmen were either wounded or killed, a shrill whistle once again echoed out in the far distance from the darkness.


    Following a few deep and hoarse roars, the Lizardmen began to retreat.


    After peace had once again returned to the surroundings of the Demon Alligator, from under the covering of its thick coat, Leon finally emerged. He hesitated for a brief moment and decided not to drive Demon Alligator to pursue after the Lizardmen.


    Apparently, all of the underground poptions had a very strong sense of territory. Perhaps it was because he hade too close to their habitat, that caused the Lizardmen to orchestrate their violent attack. Having suffered such a huge loss, it looked like these Lizardmen had returned to their nest to focus on defense.


    However, right when Leon drove Demon Alligator to continued his journey, he, due to his sensitive hearing, heard the miserable shrieks of Lizardmening from the far distance. It seemed as if a new round of battle had erupted in the darkness.


    Nevertheless, Leon showed no interest in this. He just stood up on Demon Alligator''s back, threw a few nces over into the far distance, before continuing his journey.


    Amidst a pitch-ck shadow, the old Gnoll leader was hiding behind a rock pir, looking at Leon as he strode away into the far distance. His skinny, gray, furry face showed an unconcealed expression of shock.


    Behind him, one after another, the vigorous Gnolls ran through the dark and rugged cavern as if they were on a t surface, before leaping fiercely onto the group of defeated Lizardmen. Both parties were chasing and ughtering each other within the darkness filled with countless rock pirs and stctites. The muffled sounds of daggers slicing through throats kept ringing in the air.


    If this ambush mission had been carried out smoothly, maybe they would have at most been able to chase away that damn Lizardmen tribe from this region. At that point in time, all the profits found in the ruins would have belonged to the Gnolls.


    However, Gray Ear''s mind was still felt with scruples in regards to that surface apprentice who had suddenly intruded onto the inner area of the ruin.


    It waved its hand and a minion of the same species emerged from the shadows behind him.


    "Go and inform Cracked Tooth in Elysium City to pass a message to his master Fallen Mage that someone is trying to enter the ruins. Tell him that the tribe of Gray Ear had failed to stop the enemy and that we''ve suffered a huge loss, while the Lizardmen tribe of Dark Scale had been totally wiped out by the enemy!" From within the darkness, a shivering gleam flickered in the bloodshot eyes of that old Gnoll, with its pale white fangs looking extremely frightening.


    "Understand. Your subordinate will carry out your order now!"


    After slightly bending its body and bowing, the dark figure turned around and dissolved into the vast darkness.


    ...


    The further inside he went, the stronger the worry in Leon''s mind became.


    Front and back, left and right, even above his head and under his feet, the metal contained within the soil was getting denser and denser, while the exposed soil was bing lesser and lesser. This also meant that if he encountered a frightening enemy in this area, it would be tougher for him to escape like how he usually did.


    For him, this was bad news that he really didn''t want to hear.


    But Leon had to admit, this was the perfect region to build a city.


    In order to build a city once and for all in the Underground World, in addition to taking into ount living resources, mineral resources and water source in the surrounding area, the most important factor to consider was the stability and toughness of the geological structure. It was really rare to find a region like this in the Underground World, which was surrounded by countless metal ores andrge stretches of stable rock stratum.


    Being able to find metal ores meant that the ce would had a constant supply of resources which could attract the wandering merchants. The existence of a water source meant the ce could support more lives. However, none of these areparable to a stable ''sky''. No one wished to be crushed into meat paste by millions of tons of rock and sand during his sleep!


    Thus, when Snox had pointed out that this area was where the ruins of the previous Elysium City were, judging by just the terrain alone, it made perfect sense.


    Leon had passed through several habitats of different underground creatures. Perhaps as a result of the Lizardman''s defeat, all these underground creatures gathered in the far away darkness, but no one recklesslyunched an attack.


    Under this intense threatening situation, the Demon Alligator had finally reached the end of its long and tiresome journey.


    When Leon passed through a huge arched door riding the Demon Alligator, the space in front of him suddenly expanded, revealing a gigantic cavern filled with bizarre and fantastical colors in front of his eyes.


    ...


    2162 Words

 Chapter 90 Forest

    A Forest!


    There was a forest in this Underground World!


    When Leon first saw this flourishing green forest, he felt dumbfounded.


    His first reaction was to use a spell to check whether it was actually real. The result assured Leon and confirmed that what he saw wasn''t caused by any illusion, but was instead an actual, genuine space within this Underground World.


    Leon stood at the cavern entrance and scanned the boundless and dense forest. He instinctively sensed a strange and twisted smell lingering in the air. He was standing on the dividing line. Taking a step back would bring him to a hard rockyer that was painted with darkness and a weak glow of metal; while taking a step forward would let him be greeted by greenish grass that touched his ankle, and tall trees and dense vines that tightly barricaded the passage. In addition to this, there were also rose and fruit bushes.


    Vaguely, through the greenery, Leon could even see the shadows of small, tiny animals that were sprinting through the forest. In the far distance, within the depths of the forest, tree branches and leaves were swaying up and down, and the howls of monkey and roars of tigers echoed across the ce. This resulted in an extremely vigorous atmosphere in the forest.


    However, behind this flourishing scene, a strange energy aura could be sensed. This aura made Leon''s heart tremble.


    After three seconds, Leon hade to a conclusion. This ce must be the ruins of the previous Elysium City that was mentioned by Snox. After the Mage Tower was destroyed, a huge amount of magical energy leaked. This frightening leakage was the direct cause of what was presented in front of Leon''s eyes.


    Every Mage Tower had an Elementium Pool built within it. It served as the source of energy for all their magical equipment. But once the Mage Tower was destroyed, the leakage of these energies would cause a tremendous and irreversible contamination to the surrounding environment. The abnormal energy level in this region was so strong that it had even caused the birth of this mutated forest.


    Yes, this was a mutated forest. However, but not those virgin forests which could be found everywhere on the surface world.


    When infected by such a strong energy, any nt or creature would vite the naturalw, and grow at an incredible speed, before mutating into a totally different species. Therefore, although the forest looked normal on the outside, it was just a disguise.


    This ce had be the paradise for demons!


    Leon took off the thick and sweltering traveler''s cloak from his body and wiped the sweat off his face. He took out his water bag and replenished his body with some water. After that, while sitting high up on the back of Demon Alligator, he slowly and carefully continued his journey by entering the forest.


    From the first step into this forest, anything around him could no longer be trusted.


    In fact, this seemingly blooming, evergreen demonized forest was far more fearful than the dark underground tunnel. There were far more menaces that lurked everywhere. Yet, Leon had no idea what kind of demons were waiting for him inside of this forest. However, since he hade this far, no matter what was hiding in this ce, he still needed to give it a try!


    It was worth to mention, that, with the support of three Pseudo-Mage level Rock Snake Golems, Leon''s heart had be bolder.


    No doubt, walking in a forest that never been explored before was really tough.


    The ground was choked with weeds and wildflowers. Shrubs could be seen everywhere, roses and vines climbed wantonly and some of therge tree branches stretched many meters long! All of these nts grew disorderly, tightly knitted into each other. These nts filled up every single gap between the tall and old trees. Without the Demon Alligator, it would be difficult for Leon to move even a single step in this forest.


    But now, relying on the gigantic body and powerful muscle strength of the Demon Alligator, Leon was like someone who just had joined a demolishing team: crushing and ripping everything in his way. This resulted in a smooth and t path being made in this densely grown forest.


    With every step the Demon Alligator took, wildflowers, weeds, shrubs, and bushes would turn into powder. As long as a tall and old tree got in the way of the Demon Alligator, it would be knocked down and crushed. Old trees were falling down, vines began to break off and colorful leaves flew in the air.


    However, countless bizarre scenes were hiding behind this seemingly normal situation.


    Whenever the huge feet of the Demon Alligator crushed a patch green grass, countless indistinct and strange noises could be hearding from underneath its feet. They sounded like the cries of a baby, yet also resembled the shrill howls of bizarre demons. It was rather unsettling and forced people to cover their ears.


    When the Demon Alligator raised its feet again, Leon could see dozens of emerald green sprouts in the disc-shaped hole that was made. All the other weeds and wildflowers were crushed into a pile of greenish liquid, yet they were the only thing that survived. Not only did they survive, they even coiled up their green sprouts, like a living creature, and began to change into mouths full of sharp teeth. They began to tightly cling to the Demon Alligator''s feet and started biting like crazy.


    Under their insane attack, pieces of dirt kept falling off the Demon Alligator''s feet. In addition, its feet had started to suffer some damage.


    Meanwhile, right in front of Demon Alligator, some towering old trees were seen arduously pulling out their roots. They slowly ran away from the path the Demon Alligator would taketer. However, there were still some fearless mutated nts who valiantlyunched attacks at the Demon Alligator.


    These mutated nts strongly resembled a sunflower. The only difference was the middle of the petals. At the end of the thin stalk, where the bright yellow petals were blossoming, a woman''s face could be seen mounted right at the center. Their method of attack was rather primitive, as they kept spraying out venom from their tiny mouths. This venom was not only acidic, but was smelly and sticky as well.


    Many overhanging vines started to twist crazily. A frighteningrge mouth suddenly broke out from the end of these vines. It was full of countless tiny teeth that look frightening and sharp. If any creature passed by them, it might only take a single leap to bite off the creature''s head.


    A disgusted expression emerged on Leon''s young face.


    This forest was just like a gigantic beast in disguise. Once the Demon Alligator intruded, it instantly triggered all the snakes hiding in the bushes. If someone without sufficient strength came here by ident, they would probably find it difficult to keep even their corpse intact!


    Imagine this: without the Demon Alligator, those mutated sprouts, that hid between the ordinary grass, would cut through the soles of one''s feet. They would then squeeze into the body of the creature and begin to feast on the delicious flesh. Those old trees, who could walk freely, were most probably the Dryads who existed in the legend. Once an ordinary creature was entangled by their roots, their only ending would be suffering through the pain of having their flesh devoured by these frightening trees.


    As for those terrifying nts and snakes in disguise, they were just thepanions of the Dryads. Although their individual strength wasn''t worth mentioning, there were a lot of them. It would be rather troublesome if Leon was caught by them.


    Leon slightly tilted his head upward and pointed with his finger. Beside him, a long vine, that hung from a tall and old tree, was nearly touching him. However, with this point of a finger, a me suddenly broke out and coiled up the vine. Within the towering and scorching me, the vine kept twisting and struggling violently, while its ferocious mouth started letting out a strange hissing sound that made one frown.


    But it was too bad. No matter how crazily it struggled, it just couldn''t escape the fate of being annihted. The scorching me soon devoured its body, transforming it into ashes that fell from the sky.


    Perhaps realizing this intruder was tough to handle, indistinct whispering noises could be hearding from the depths of the forest. With great effort, countless mutated nts started to flee from the area around the Demon Alligator.


    After efficiently frightening these demonized nts, who had no idea of their limits, the Demon Alligator slowly and leisurely continued its journey into the depths of the forest.


    After they continued for a short distance, Leon looked over his shoulder. The path they came from had once again been blocked off by those strange nts. It looked like these demonized nts were not willing to let their food slip away. They still wished to feast on Leon''s corpse.


    The next wave wasing from the demons who lived in the demonized forest.


    The species who were affected by the environment the most were creatures of the forest. When they absorbed the Elementium energies that lingered in the air, they would evolve into frightening demon beasts who possessed the ability to use Elementium. However, demons and demon beasts were different. Demons weren''t the result of natural evolution. They were more like monsters created by the abnormal contamination in the environment.


    Their species wereplicating and confusing and their abilities were wild and mystifying. So far, no Mage could m their chest and brag that they understood every single demonic species. So to speak, in every unexplored virgin forest, there was a possibility of finding some new demon species.


    And usually,pared to demon beasts, they were much more frightening and bizarre!


    The first wave of attackers that dashed out from the depths of the forest was a pack of mutated wolves.


    The bodies were asrge as an adult cow and was dark red and bizarre looking. Most of their hair had fallen off, exposing countless lumps and dark spots. Even more strange was the fact that all of them had two heads. These heads were gruesome and frightening. They had pale white fangs and gigantic mouths. Green slime kept dripping down from the edges of their mouths, and a strange glow could be found at the end of its throat.


    Their movements were vigorous and agile, while their burly body could bepared to tigers and lions. When they leaped out from the forest in arge pack, howls that sent chills down one''s back immediately rung throughout the entire sky.


    Continue your journey on empire


    A chain of half-transparent Wind des and a rain of snake-shape lightning instantly flooded the huge body of the Demon Alligator.


    Some of these double-headed wolves were prowling the outer perimeter. They kept casting spell after spell at the Demon Alligator. Some would howl and dash to the side of the Demon Alligator and use their half-inch long, sharp nails and their glowing fangs to crazily attack the y armor of the Demon Alligator.


    Leon''s face turned slightly pale.


    With just one round of attacks, arge portion of the Demon Alligator''s y armor had broken. If it were not for the protection of the Hunter, Leon would probably have had to face enemy''s attack directly.


    The individual overall strength of these double-headed wolves wasn''t too strong. They were, at the most, at the level of Intermediate Apprentices. But when more than a hundred giant wolves came together in a massive army, even the Demon Alligator Hunter, who had the overall strength of an Advanced Apprentice, would find it hard to defend against this frightening enemy!


    Leon gritted his teeth, pulled out an Elementium core and gently tossed to the ground.


    When it touched the ground, a Rock Snake, that was more frightening than the Demon Alligator, squeezed out from underneath the soil.


    The robust body of the Rock Snake was formed entirely from rocks. The internal diameter alone was slightly over two meters. When a massive object like this jumped into the pack of wolves, it signified the start of a reign of terror.


    Although the elemental and physical attacks of the double-headed wolf could shatter the Demon Alligator''s defense, they just couldn''t move or bite off anything from the rock solid body of Rock Snake. Thus, the battle between them was more like a one-sided ughter, with the wolf pack having the miserable fate of beingpletely wiped out!


    ...


    2116 Words

 Chapter 91 Fairy

    Right at the heart of the forest, the ruins of an Mage Tower could be seen, the previous majestic building has now turned into a huge pile of rock fragments and debris.


    The once seven floors tall Mage Tower was now left with only the bottom three floors intact, and the copsed brick fragments had buried all of its entrances. Meanwhile,rge wild vines and flower bushes had littered all over the ruins, nketing the entire ce under a dense green foliage.


    Even so, wisps of light green smoke still rose continuously from under the debris, and the demonized nts present here in this area had be so much thicker and stronger than those outside.


    The muffled sound of footsteps came from the end of the street. Afterwards, a giant alligator appeared and strode forward, the green vines that nketed the streets and the roof of houses could be seen retracting, revealing the traces of human activity in the past in front of the intruder.


    Following the noise of copsing houses, an even morerger and stronger Rock Snake broke through these dpidated houses and slithered away all over the ce. Various things left a mark on its body, there were corrosive traces due to the green acid, burn marks caused by lightning strike, scars that was cut by Wind des, charred marks left by a fire burn... all these traces could still be evidently seen by one''s eyes, and they were the proof of how tedious and frightening the five miles journey was in the forest!


    If not because the Chip learned the elementary knowledge of Golem creation prior to this excursion, and enhanced the core of the Earth element Golem with a tempering magic array, thereby making the Earth Elementium dense enough to form hard solid rocks, just with Demon Alligator Hunter alone would be impossible for Leon to fight his way out, eventually arriving safely in the heart of this area where the ruins of the Mage Tower was situated.


    Behind their backs, the continuous roars of demons could still be heard from the forest. But strangely enough, as if they were frightened by the ferocious ughter of Rock Snake, none of them dared to step into the innermost area of the ruins where Leon and his Golems are.


    Leon furrowed his brows, a gloomy expression surfacing upon his handsome face.


    Those were the type of demons which aren''t afraid of death. They would never allow any outsidere to this ce and disrupt the source of magic energy which could give them a tremendous benefit. So the reason they dared not to pursue further was not that they were fearing at Leon''s group, but...


    Leon turned his head over and sent his nces towards the ruins nketed inyers of demonized nts and his heart suddenly started to feel heavy.


    Could there be several stronger demons hiding in the ruins, which is why those fellows at the outer perimeter dared not to intrude in this territory? Even though it was just a spection, but deep within Leon''s mind, he had a hunch that this was the most logical reason!


    Looking at the wisps of light green smoke, Leon suddenly had an idea.


    Although the Mage Tower looked like it was thoroughly destroyed, but part of its Elementium Pool still hadn''tpletely lost its functionality. Many years had already passed but it was still working properly tenaciously. It''s a pity though that the Elementium energy gathered by it couldn''t be stored properly, that''s why they dispersed in the surrounding area, causing a tremendous transformation.


    "Go, dig out that ce for me!"


    With Leon''s order, the Rock Snake moved its massive body and darted into the copsed tower.


    Suddenly, an explosive sound burst out of nowhere, followed by a green beam piercing through the air and forcefully nailing the Rock Snake''s in the forehead. The sudden explosion of green energy quickly corroded away a fist-sized hole at the point of contact. Furiously, the Rock Snake let out a loud hiss, retreating to where it was with an incredible speed and coiled up its body.


    Leon was briefly ovee with panic. Tracing back the faded trail left in the air by the green arrow, he quickly found the attacker.


    It was a beautiful girl with a pair of translucent wings of light on her back. She had a perfectly curved body, a short dark green hair, and a small face with two emerald eyes. She was naked, with only her important body parts covered with brilliant rose branches and green vines, barely hiding her seductive figure.


    Right at this moment, she was hovering above the copsed Mage Tower, a magical bow engraved with strange patterns held in her hands, she was staring angrily directly at Leon.


    Leon slowly gulped his saliva.


    An extremely strong green Elementium glow had flooded his Elementium Vision. If not because he had reduced the brightness of it, perhaps he wouldn''t be able to stare right at this extremely beautiful yet frightening demon.


    "Chip, can you detect the source species and overall strength level of this creature?"


    "Beep. Gathering energy aura..."


    "Analysis of the data is as follows:"


    "Source species of the demon: Fairy ¨C 70%, Flower Spirit ¨C 17%, Forest Genie ¨C 9%..."


    "Overall strength level: Mage level."


    "Elementium spectrum: nt Element."


    "Scan results of magical item: Green Magical Bow. Able to unleash Elementium arrows that inflicts 30-40 points of damage. Attack Method: Single target. Also able to unleash Elementium Arrow Rain which inflicts 8-10 points of damage. Attack method: Area of Effect (30-50 meters)."


    "Scan of magical item: Armor of Rose. Seven mysterious flower branches were found growing on it. Each is capable of defending 60 points of physical damage and 40 points of elemental damage. When the damage is beyond the defending limit of the mysterious flower branch, it will be destroyed and vanish. Only when all of the flower branches disappear will the creature suffer the external attacks itself. Note: When mysterious flower branches are destroyed, a new flower branch will regrow every five minutes. Note again: Fire Elementium and Negative energy can inflict double the damage to the creature."


    When the data flowed into Leon''s mind like a waterfall, he finally couldn''t hold it in and drew in a few sharp cold breaths.


    This was extremely frightening; this was a formidable demon who had reached the level of an Mage! Also, judging from her powerful aura, perhaps even among all other demons in the area, she could be considered the most supreme existence.


    Especially when Leon found out the powerful AoE offensive ability that the magical item in her hand had, his mind was immediately filled with a raging storm, making him feel like abandoning this mission.


    Different from the magical items crafted by Apprentice Mages, the magical items that grew together with demons were the most frightening weapons. When an Apprentice Mage crafts a magical item, he would be constrained by theck of materials and resources, thus it was impossible to use all ingredients that suited their innate elemental affinity. As a result, the final product would have limited power and doesn''t possess the characteristics of continued growth.


    As for the magical items used by demons, most of them were produced using part of the demon''s body and some rare resources. Not only were they powerful, they could also keep growing stronger following the improvement of the demon''s overall strength.


    Thus, it was pretty obvious which was a better weapon whenparing them together!


    Right when Leon was still hesitating, the powerful ''Fairy'' hovering in the sky suddenly spoke.


    "Hehehe... What a surprise, after so long, there''s still an Apprentice Mage who dares to seek his doom here! Little guy, could your master have forgotten to tell you there are some ces you just can''t simply visit? But it''s toote to regret now. Be nice and surrender your flesh and soul, it has been a long time since I tasted the delicious flesh of humans... hehehe..." Upon speaking, it immediately revealed a mouth full of sharp fangs, exposing the true nature of a frightening demon.


    Damn, although it had an appearance of a beautiful woman, but it actually had a masculine and hoarse male voice. Within a split-second of time, thest bit of liking Leon had for it had vanished into thin air.


    However, before Leon could give out a response, the Fairy with indistinguishable gender had already pulled back the bowstring with its right hand, gathering the surrounding green nt element energies onto the string in an incredibly fast speed. In the next moment, more than thousands of glowing green Elementium arrows had rushed towards Leon like a raging storm.


    Not even three seconds had passed by, the Fire Shield that came out from Leon''s body and the y armor outside of the Demon Alligator''s body already shattered from the spine-chilling attack. If not because the Rock Snake darted back to where Leon was standing and used itsrge and strong body to block in front of Leon, perhaps just this attack alone would bore through thousands of holes on Leon''s body.


    But even so, a glowing arrow still pierced through Leon''s shoulder. There were even some faint green energies attached to the finger sized wound, corroding his flesh and producing hissing sounds, making his forehead covered in sweat because of the severe pain.


    Leon endured severe pain and produced scorching hot mes from his fingertip, poking it in his wound. The strong Fire Elementium quickly neutralized the green energies that was left behind on the wound. After that, with his jaw tightly clenched, Leon pulled out bottles upon bottles of magical potions and medicinal paste, pouring them directly on his wound.


    The dizziness caused by the loss of blood, the feeling of weakness brought by the corrosion of green energy, the severe paining from the burn he himself inflicted, and the tingling sensation brought by the regeneration of his flesh as the result of magical medicines... all kinds of strange sensations mixed together, restlessly attacking Leon''s mind. Experience more tales on empire


    Not daring to hide his true power anymore, Leon crazily tossed out the other two Elementium cores. Following a frightening loud boom that shook the earth, two brand new Rock Snakes squeezed out from the ground.


    Currently, Leon had 11.19 Spirit. Together with the +1 enhancement brought by the Circlet of Nobility, he had a total of slightly more than 12 Spirit points. Meanwhile, summoning a Rock Snake would consume 3 Spirit points, while the Demon Alligator Hunter would take 2 Spirit points. With the total Spirit he had now, he was barely able to support his troops.


    The Demon Alligator Hunter was carrying Leon and slowly retreated, while three gigantic Rock Snakes crazily rushed into the enemy, using their strong bodies and incredible physical damage to fight with the frightening Fairy.


    As if the sky was falling and the earth was opening up, the entire ce was shaking violently!


    As usual, the Rock Snakes fought savagely and brutally!


    Their wicked attacks had made the ruins of the city deteriorate in a speed faster than normal.


    But even so, three powerful Rock Snake Golems were still not enough to ovee the terrifying ability of the Fairy. No matter if it was the glowing arrows that attack a single target or the AoE Arrow Rain, they always inflicted heavy damage to the bodies of the Rock Snakes.


    And it was clear that the Fairy was a demon possessing great agility. While pping its wings, it was flying in between the three Rock Snakes with an incredible speed. No matter how they tried to bite or m their foe using their bodies, they always failed to touch even slightest trace left behind by the Fairy. The only attack that could inflict a huge amount of damage to it was the AoE Sand Spray.


    Nevertheless, with the blossoming of beautiful roses on the Fairy body, a mass of green light continued to emerge around its body, helping it to block all of the physical and element damage it was supposed to receive.


    Also, this Fairy had a pretty strong melee ability. Whether it be punching or a palm strike, its tiny hands covered in ayer of greenish halo could always shatter the solid rock armor covering the Rock Snakes'' bodies easily, as if those rocks were made from tofu.


    Therefore, under the suppression of such an imbncebat power, soon all three Rock Snakes had their bodies fully covered in scars, while you could see through the countless holes in their bodies!


    ...


    2102 Words

 Chapter 92 Strategies

    This was the first situation Leon was forced to throw away everything and flee by something other than Fallen Apprentices; a frightening Mage level Fairy had forced him scurry out of the demonized forest.


    Obviously, that frightening Fairy was a demon who was very territorial, so it just gave up the pursuit after Leon left the demonized forest. With that, Leon was fortunate enough to keep all three Rock Snakes of his, and hadn''t suffered any unrecoverable losses.


    Looking over his shoulder into the dense forest, Leon''s eyes couldn''t help but twitch. With a deep voice, hemanded the Chip, "Chip, create a mission file for Transvestite Fairy, find out the feasibility of defeating or killing it!"


    "Beep. Mission epted... Mission File Name: Transvestite Fairy... Drafting feasible solution..."


    "Predicted offensive strategies to inflict substantial damage to Transvestite Fairy include:


    Curse Magic Spell;


    Group Attacks;


    3: Activate Project Lightning Giant;


    Destroy the True Form of the Fairy."


    Leon wrinkled his brows, then whispered, "Exin the practicality of these strategies."


    "Beep. First strategy, Curse magic spell. The target, Transvestite Fairy, is still a life form, curse magic spells can partially reduce its fighting ability. With that, Rock Snakes would have more time to break through its personal defense protecting its body.


    Second strategy, attack in a group. With the current fighting strength of the team, it is insufficient to defeat the Mage level Transvestite Fairy. In order to defeat it, it is necessary to have team members, who have strong overall strength, fighting it with each individual''s strength. The predictedbat mode is as follows...


    Third strategy, activate Project Lightning Giant. In order to stop the Transvestite Fairy from dodging Rock Snake''s attack with its incredible speed, it is necessary to have team members pin it down from close range. The members with whom this is possible include: Bloody Queen Bleia and Lightning Giant. If we choose Bloody Queen Bleia, based on the pre-battle evaluation, her mortality rate is more than 89%. Suggest Lightning Giant as the first choice.


    Fourth strategy, destroy the frue form of the Fairy. The Transvestite Fairy that appeared this time was just a parasite form. Its true form hadn''t shown up. Based on the biological characteristics of such demons, so long as the true form of the Fairy is found, with the support energy cut off, the fighting ability of the Fairy will decrease significantly."


    Leon closed his eyes and listened carefully, and kept throwing out questions after he thought about it.


    "With regards to the project Lighting Giant you mentioned, what stage are we at now? How long does it take toplete?"


    "Beep. The design of Lightning Giant has beenpleted. We currentlyck the necessary magical materials to craft it."


    "What else do we need?"


    "Five Advanced Apprentice level Wind element cores!"


    "After being sessfully crafted, what will be the overall strength of Lightning Giant?"


    "Based on all the Apprentice Mage levels we know so far, uponpletion, the Lightning Giant will possess the basic overall strength of a Pseudo-Mage."


    "How about inparison to Hulk?"


    "ording to results derived from basic statistics, out of one hundred matches between thepleted form of Lightning Giant and Hulk, Lightning Giant would be defeated and killed in seventy-three matches, defeated and severely damaged in eleven matches, and end in a draw in sixteen matches. Based on preliminary estimates, theplete form of Lighting Giant can only use guerri tactics. Only by keeping an appropriate offensive distance with Hulk and attacking with lightning in between will the possibility to inflict sufficient damage to the enemy exist."


    "That means it totally can''t defeat a top level Pseudo-Mage!" Leon muttered to himself, then quietly recalled the short moment when Hulk struck.


    Though the battle was very short, but with the Chip''s function of image saving and reying, Leon could still clearly and directly felt the frightening fighting strength Hulk showed. Extremely tough muscles and their brutal aggressive strength had given Hulk unapproachable power.


    With just one strike, he had broken Rock Snake''s base defense like it was nothing, and transferred extremely violent and powerful force into the inner body of Rock Snake. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to shatter Rock Snake''s body with just one punch and capture the summoning core straightaway.


    To be honest, after the Chip had scanned the Transvestite Fairy today, though its overall strength was Mage level, if it was to fight against Hulk, Leon wasn''t sure if the Fairy could still keep its dominating fighting style.


    If he had someone who was as strong as Hulk and could stand in front as the shield, and pulled together another four to five Pseudo-Mages who specialized in long-range magic spells, then the percentage of winning this battle would be around 20-30%. Of course, if Leon included all of his three Rock Snake Golems, the percentage would straightaway climb up to 50-60%.


    Therefore, the key to the battle was how to inflict sufficient damage to the Transvestite Fairy effectively and in a timely manner. Otherwise, if he just fought with his three Rock Snakes, the enemy would be able to rip them into pieces easily.


    It wasn''t that he couldn''t get the help from Hulk, but if he did that, maybe he would have to give away most of the profits he found to someone else. ording to Snox, there were several magical treasures that Leon was determined to get. Therefore, after giving the idea some thought, Leon decided to rely on his own strength for this mission.


    Since he couldn''t get the help from Hulk, he would have to find something else to substitute for Hulk''s position.


    The Lightning Giant project was a summoning core enhancement project that had been tailored to the Storm Giant core he obtained previously.


    For a simple Elementium core, due to its size, there was a limitation to the magical arrays that could be amodated. It was impossible to add more powerful magical arrays on it without restriction. Therefore, currently, all the Golems that Leon crafted using Pseudo-Mage level cores were rather weak. Though they were enough to bully lower ranked opponents, once they were to face a simrly ranked opponent, the fighting strength they put out was just not satisfactory.


    In light of this, after being prompted by Leon, the Chip started enhancing the procedure of Golem crafting by trying to split the magical arrays that were all crafted on one single core to multiple cores. At a point in time, one core would serve as the bearer of the Golem''s conscious, while, using the method of energy sharing and magical arrays distribution, the rest of the cores would serve as the key nodes that constructed a brand new type of Golem.


    With this method, Leon would be able to maximize the limited space on each core by fitting more enhancement magical arrays onto each one of them, and eventually produce an even more powerful Elementium Golem.


    Of course, in this way, it was impossible to summon aplete Golem with an individual core. A Pseudo-Mage level core of a Storm Giant plus six Advanced Apprentice level Wind element cores; each of them would bear part of the functions, and would use the method of consolidated cores and three-dimensional magical arrays to construct the Lightning Giant.


    However, though this project had been worked on for half a month, the Chip was busy calcting the distribution and connection between the primary core and node cores, so it hadn''te out with a specific design solution. But since the Chip had included this project in the strategy today, it meant the calctions hadpleted, and the design solution of the Lighting Giant was done.


    This ce was, after all, not rest stop. Thus, after having a short break, Leon quickly resumed his return journey. While he was leaving, some ignorant Gnolls actually tried to intercept him, which made Leon, who was filled with pent-up anger, explode. Hemanded all three Rock Snakes to crush their nest straightaway.


    Faced with three near invincible super monsters, the arrows, daggers, and short spears of the Gnolls were useless. If not for the fact that Leon had no desire to continue fighting, with a single charge, this renowned Gnoll tribe of Gray Ear would have lost thirty percent of their members.


    Hence, when the two Pseudo-Mages sent by Elysium City, Langdon and Philip, arrived hurriedlyter, all they saw was dead Gnolls and the Lizardman tribe who had beenpletely wiped out. Leon was long gone.


    With a gloomy expression, Langdon listened to the bloody story told by the leader of the Gnolls. He didn''t pay any attention to the story''s fishy details, but instead, focused all of his attention on the other side of the demonized forest.


    There many strange rumors were told in the Elysium City in regards to that ce. Even his master, Mage Dark Light, once warned him not to simply try to seek the treasures inside of the ruin, as if there were some secrets hiding in it. As a result, he only had a superficial knowledge about the demonized forest, as he hadn''t spent any time trying to understand or explore it.


    Impatiently, Langdon interrupted the weepyint of the Gnoll leader, and asked with a cold voice, "Have you entered this demonized forest before? Is there anything inside of it?"


    He was not an idiot.


    In regards to thepletely wiped out Lizardman tribe, many of their adult fighters had been killed by element damage caused by a throwing type of attack, which made Langdon think of the y Golem of that bastard. But the rest of them had been killed by sharp weapons at close range. Also, he didn''t believe that kid from the surface would have the patience to venture deep into the nest of Lizardmen, ughtering every single woman and juvenile of the tribe.


    This ce was the best habitable area closest to the demonized forest. For the underground creatures, having control of the magical materials harvested from that ce would bring them tremendous benefit. Thus, it was understandable what kind of role the Gnoll had in wiping out the entire tribe of Lizardmen.


    But Langdon wasn''t interested in being the judge on this. He only wanted to find out why that bastard had been in the demonized forest.


    Could that guy intruded on this ce by ident? Or, did hee here with a purpose and was searching for something?


    Having these questions in mind, Langdon invited Philip to explore the demonized forest. Therefore, the two Fallen Pseudo-Mages who thought they were strong enough simply walked into the demonized forest. But, not even half an hourter, both men were forced to run out from the forest in a sorry state.


    Their bodies were full of bloody holes, pierced through by the element arrows. Infected by bizarre and nasty energy, the blood dripping out from the wound had turned green. While they were fleeing, many lower grade demons had taken the opportunity to attack them as well, leaving more scars and wounds on their body.


    After Philip left a Teleportation mark at the edge of the forest, both men rushed back to Elysium City.


    Obviously, they had found some clues in the demonized forest. Judging from what they had found, they believed that the bastard must have gone straight to the ruins of the Mage Tower located in the depth of the forest. And since that guy had such a clear and precise target, clearly he wouldn''t abandon what he was looking for just because the ce was guarded by a frightening Mage level demon.


    So, both men arrived at the conclusion that the kid must have temporarily withdrawn after learning of the difficulties, and would return once he got more help.


    That was why Philip had left a Teleportation mark behind. With that, they would be able tounch a surprise attack once Leon returned to the forest. If they were able to intercept them on their way back, with an advantage in the number of Fallen Apprentices and that frightening demon who lived in the demonized forest, it was highly possible they could destroy every single person in the surface team in one clean sweep.


    Even in the bloody battle history of Elysium City, that stretched more than hundred years, a result like this was extremely rare!


    ...


    2065 Words

 Chapter 93 Lightning Giant

    After smoothly returning from the Underground World, Leon busied himself once again.


    However, different from his usual, currently he was busily working towards a goal and was well-directed.


    After he returned, the first thing he did was pay a visit to the Lothar Merchant. By the time he left them, he had five Advanced Apprentice level Wind element cores in his waist pouch. Nevertheless, a big purchase like this would mean a sharp decrease in Leon''s stash of crystal cores.


    In the blink of an eye, he had spent more than half of the over 3000 magic crystals he had won from the bet previously. Currently, Leon''s magic crystal savings had dropped below 800. Considering that he and Bleia had be ravenous beasts who had to have the daily magical energy meal set, he had to save the remaining magic crystals to support their daily consumption. Therefore, earning a lot of magic crystals in a short period of time had presently be a pressing matter.


    After he returned from the Underground World, the trio who had temporarily formed a treasure hunting alliance gathered together and had a meeting. When Leon briefed the team about the situation he had seen in the ruined Mage Tower, both Bleia and Snox were stupefied.


    An Mage level demon!


    This... was this something their small team could ever handle?


    Although Bleia had a high opinion of herself, in the end, she was just an Advanced Apprentice Vampire. If she were to fight that frightening Fairy, she would be instantly killed by it. As for Leon, so far he was still just an Intermediate Apprentice, even though, under the double tonics of the magical energy meal set and the Ming Concentrating potion, his Spirit was rising quickly every day. If they really were to fight an Mage level demon, not only could he not provide any help, it was possible that even the shock wave of the battle would cause him deadly injury!


    As for the mighty Goblin merchant Snox, though its unconventional ability of invisibility and ability to stay concealed was pretty amazing, they could not fight. Therefore, besides what little bit of help the memories that reside in its brain could provide, there was nothing it could do to help.


    Noticing the frightened expression on both his teammates'' faces, Leon let out an understanding smile. He then soberly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages between themselves and the enemy. Following his lead, both his teammates gradually overcame their fear towards the Mage level monster, and started to seriously and carefully n out how to defeat the frightening Fairy.


    First of all, the three of them were sure of one thing. If they allowed that Fairy to keep its overall strength at Mage level, nning this treasure hunting mission was no different than nning their own death. Therefore, they had to find ways to weaken the overall strength of that frightening Fairy.


    There were two possible ways to do so. First was using curse magic spells, and secondly, targeting the true form of the Fairy.


    Leon could find a way to purchase some curse magic wands or one-time use magic spell scrolls. But they didn''t know if the inferior products produced by Apprentice Mages could prate the magic resistance of the Fairy. So, they couldn''t ce too much hope on this.


    While they were discussing the issue, Leon secretly hinted that he could get in touch with Mage Angus, and maybe he could obtain some Mage level magic spell scrolls from him. But in order to trade with an official Mage, Leon had to produce something that could attract his interest.


    Therefore, Leon had to figure out this new problem!


    As for the true form of the Fairy, Leon''s predicted (actually it was the Chip''s prediction) that there was a high chance it was hiding close to the broken Elementium Pool. At this point, Snox finally came into y. Its familiarity with the Mage Tower let it quickly draw out the inner structure of the ce, and it was able to precisely point out the location of the Elementium Pool.


    ording to its description, the Elementium Pool was located in the second underground floor beneath the ruins of Mage Tower. In order to get there, they had to go through numerous magical secret doors and arrays. Though it was highly possible that most of these mechanisms had stopped working, if there were still a couple of them still functioning, it would cause immense problems for Bleia''s infiltration. So, upon Leon''s request, Snox had to follow Bleia when she snuck into the ruins of Mage Tower.


    In regards to this, Leon showed an unprecedented firm attitude. Left with no room to argue, Snox fearfully agreed.


    In order to achieve the above two things, Leon needed to have the overall strength to fight or pin down the Fairy. Being able to do so would heavily rely on the nearpleted Lightning Giant. Only when the Lightning Giant had the expected strength would Bleia and Snox have more confidence in this treasure hunting mission!


    With that in mind, in the following days, Leon, Bleia, and Snox became really busy. Leon lived night and day in the Alchemy Laboratory, crafting his new Golem, while Bleia would go out early and came back at dusk, covered in scars and wounds. Even with the extraordinary regeneration of Vampires, she still had so many scars. This showed how incredibly dangerous her training was, that it had gone beyond what even her body could endure.


    Snox, who dreamed of bing the greatest Goblin merchant, was rarely seen in the public hall on the first floor of Mage Tower. Instead, it was wearing old and torn thief equipment, and spent all of its time in the Magic Spell Practice Room, practicing its stealth. As for its original glittering magical equipment, it had no choice but to lock it away in a wooden chest while crying.


    During this period, Leon and Bleia managed to find some time to participate in an Underground World ambush mission organized by the training camp. However, after the miserable defeatst time, the Fallen Apprentices had strengthened the defending forces in all of their resource sites. This caused the team, led by Kevin, to get entangled in a bitter battle.


    In this tough war, when two of the Pseudo-Mages from Kevin''s team became locked inbat with the Fallen Pseudo-Mages, Leon was forced to send out Rock Snakes in order to defend against the bombardmenting from an extra Fallen Pseudo-Mage.


    In the situation where the number of their Pseudo-Mages was outnumbered by the opponent, and the overall strength of their Advanced Apprentices wasn''t too strongpared to the enemy, for the sake of avoiding an ambush by the enemy''s reinforcements, Kevin had no choice but to abandon the mission.


    Even with such an ending, all of the team members had a calm attitude. In their usual battles with the Underground World enemy, a result like this was perfectly normal. With regards to Leon''s performance in the battle, no one seemed to have any opinion. With the overall strength of an Intermediate Apprentice, he was able to withstand bombardment from a Fallen Pseudo-Mage for more than fifteen minutes. A result like this could simply shut anyone''s mouth.


    It was because his firm standing that Kevin''s team hadn''t been defeated from a shortage of Pseudo-Mages. Otherwise, once their team had been scattered by the attack, among all of the Advanced Apprentices, who dared say he could escape from the enemy''s pursuit? As a matter of fact, it wasn''t rare for many ambitious and genius apprentices to get themselves killed in the dark and quiet underground tunnel.


    Every year, there were always more than a couple of Advanced Apprentices who died quietly in some random dark corner of the Underground Cave. Even an incident as big as the death of Pseudo-Mage wasn''t rare news. In fact, the root cause of the destruction of the previous Elysium City by the surface Mages was because a surface team consisting of six people bumped into a Fallen Mage while they were patrolling in the Underground World.


    No one knew what exactly happened, because all of the two Pseudo-Mages and four Advanced Apprentices were killed silently in the Underground World. With reinforcements sent by the Zhentarim Association, the raging surface Mages stormed into the Underground World and forcefully destroyed the stronghold of the enemy ¨C Elysium City.


    But too bad, the Second Grade Mage of the enemy, Mage Pridka, had self-detonated the Mage Tower, taken some of Fallen Mages, and escaped from Elysium City, which allowed them to escape from the catastrophe. Consequently, within just a few years, a new Elysium City had been built up once again.


    The more understanding they had about this history, the more alert the elite apprentices were for a major scale conflict. Once either side pushed too far, it was highly possible that it would attract a strong reaction from the other side.


    In the unique environment of the Underground Cave, no matter how talented or how strong an Apprentice Mage, once they provoked their opponent''s Mage, the inevitable result would be death. Therefore, after bringing back three Fallen Pseudo-Mages'' heads in their previous mission, Kevin''s team had anticipated danger in every sound. Thus, theirtest mission''s defeat had instead let both Pseudo-Mages in the team breathe out a long sigh of relief.


    As a passing traveler in the Underground Cave, Leon wouldn''t spend too much of his time in this ce, so he didn''t really understand the petty thoughts behind their action. The only reason he didn''t fight with everything he had was simply that his Spirit and Physique were in a weak state.


    A few days ago, Leon had consumed another bottle of the Mind Concentrating potion, which only brought an increment of 0.51 to his Spirit. In rtion to that, his Physique had dropped below 3. As a result, the Chip had revised his body''s status from healthy to weak.


    Under the circumstances, Leon had to temporarily stop consuming the Mind Concentrating potion and focus on tuning his body. With the vigorous vitality of a fifteen year old youth and the strengthening effect from the Spirit to his muscles, the normal level of his Physique should be between 4 ¨C 5.


    But this was amon failing for all apprentices who took the path of Elementium, as they usually only focused on cultivation and training their Spirit, either they were meditating or studying magical knowledge, spending long hours copying magical books, and exposing themselves to dangerous magical materials which could harm their body in the long-term. These unhealthy habits led all the Elementium apprentices to have the same unhealthy appearance. They always looked skinny and sick.


    If they were able to advance and be official Mages, they would have plenty of time and countless methods of finding some miraculous items that could remedy the weakness of their body. But for now, they could only clench their jaw tightly and endure with a strong mind. They kept damaging their body in exchange for every little bit of increase in their Spirit.


    The failure of the mission didn''t affect Leon. Upon his return from the Underground World, he immediately rushed back into the Alchemy Laboratory. He spent most of his time in there, meticulously and carefully crafting his number one Golem ¨C the Lightning Giant.


    Finally, after torturously working for dozens of days, Leon waved his hand and killed the magical me on on the Alchemy Station, brought the primary core that he used as the bearer of the Golem''s conscious in front of his face, narrowed his eyes, and gave it a thorough look over.


    Right at this very moment, he finally breathed out a long sigh of relief, because...


    The Lightning Giant was born!


    ....


    1974 Words

 Chapter 94 Does anyone want Bleia?

    This was a magnificent piece of art that would subvert the knowledge of all the Magical Automaton Crafters!


    The dazzling primary core looked nearly transparent under the bright light. On its irregr surface, countless magical micro runes that looked like tiny spider webs were engraved following the shape of the core, making them look like natural blood veins of the core. Following the rippling of the surrounding Elementium energy, tiny golden electric arcs started to appear, moving around on its clean and sparkling surface.


    For every rotation these electric arcs made, more roaming electric Elementium were absorbed in from the surrounding environment and the bigger these golden electric arcs grew, interlocking with each other. Finally, the crackling and dazzling lightning storm started to roll up around the primary core. Though the aura didn''t carry a strong force, anyone would be frightened by the concentrated aura emanating from it.


    Leon held the primary core with two fingers. The more he looked at it, the more he liked this core. Meanwhile, a vast amount of pride flooded his mind.


    This primary core was the key to constructing the Lightning Giant. For the sake of leaving more space for both tempering and strengthening arrays, the energy storing and energy forming magical arrays had been shifted to the other five Wind element cores. Even so, when the primary core was exposed in the air, those roaming Lightning energies still couldn''t be controlled and were absorbed, leading to the strange scene that was happening now.


    Leon clenched his right palm and conveniently dispersed the disorderly lightning energy. Then, he ced his right hand which was holding the primary core in front of his forehead, quietly connecting his mind with the Mind Control Imprint System on the core. From the entire primary core, it could be said that this Mind Control Imprint System was the most important part, as this was the magical array that Leon would use to take control of the future Lightning Giant.


    Leon''s Spirit energy smoothly prated into the Mind Control Imprint System, resonating with the tiny thread of Spirit energy that he ced there while crafting the core. Once he had finally finished with this action which was simr to ''consecration'', the Mind Control Imprint System on the primary core had officially been activated. From this point onwards, no one would be able to seize the control of it from Leon.


    Of course, this was apulsory process for all privately owned Golem. On the other hand, for those Titans or other automatons crafted by a Magical Automaton Crafter, as the person who controlled them frequently changed, most of them had their Mind Control Imprint Systems reced with Rune Controls. The Automaton Crafter would then craft the Controlling Rune into something that was easier to transfer and carry around ¨C for example, a que or talisman. Then, they would sell them to the public, so that, anyone who held the Controlling Rune in their hand would be able to givemands to the Titan or Automaton.


    As a result, a Titan''s ''loyalty'' was far less than that of a Golem''s!


    Right when the fully satisfied Leon had arrived at the entrance of his room, he bumped into Bleia who had also returned looking worn out. Though covered by her red dress, the frightening scars and wounds on her body could still be clearly seen; even her pretty face was covered with crisscrossing wounds.


    "You... what happened to you?" Leon had been busy working on his Golems in the past few days. Thus, he just hadn''t had time to pay close attention to Bleia''s every move, which was why he was so shocked seeing her condition.


    "Hmph. These are just some small wounds, that bastard is suffering from injuries worse than mine! If not for the fact that it could help me master magicalbat skill, I would have long turned him into dried meat!" Bleia waved her hand fiercely, cursing through her tightly clenched teeth. Though she sounded like she had had the advantage, as Leon was very familiar with her character, he was sure that Bleia must have been defeated by someone in a match.


    "Bleia, since you always seem to visit the Ker mountain range recently, perhaps you could find me an appropriate training opponent? Preferably a Pseudo-Mage level opponent and more importantly, someone who can keep a secret!" Leon said hesitatingly.


    "You''ve sessfully crafted the Lightning Golem?" Bleia''s eyes flickered.


    "Yes! But I haven''t run a field test yet, to test its overall strength..."


    "Excellent. Let''s go, you can also help me get revenge!"


    Bleia had been suffering a lot recently, as her mind was consumed by the mes of revenge. Nevertheless, she had never had the idea of bringing a group of men and fight the enemy as a gang. So, after suddenly hearing Leon''s request, she simply gave up all intentions of healing herself in her room and instead, turned around and dragged Leon out of the Mage Tower.


    Completely ignoring the strange ncesing from the surrounding Apprentice Mages, Bleia immediately transformed into a giant blood-sucking bat upon rushing out of the Mage Tower. She, then, grabbed on Leon''s shoulder and soared into the sky.


    It waste in the afternoon, the dusky sky could seen filled with thest orange rays for the day. The Ker mountain range in the far distance looked like a sleeping giant, as it stood in the darkness and in the far end of the sky.


    Bleia was flying deep into the mountain range.


    After Bleia had sucked Lucy''s blood, her Strength and Physique had experienced a significant improvement. Back in the days, it was ratherborious for her to carry Leon while flying and she could only fly nearly at the altitude of treetops. But now, while restlessly pping her leather wings, she was actually able to carry Leon up to the altitude of nearly hundred meters in the air, and was able to fly forward like a sharp arrow piercing through the air.


    The wet and cold night breeze fiercely pped Leon''s face, the strong wind pressure forcing him to narrow his eyes and making it difficult to maintain his normal vision. Left with no other alternative, he once again put on the Gnome Goggles and only had he felt much better.


    With the help of low-light vision from the goggles, he looked downwards at the earth and saw that at the edge of the dusky forest, there were long lines formed by countless torches rushing towards the Mage Tower.


    These were probably the expedition teams that ventured deep into the mountain range every day, hunting demon beasts and harvesting magical herbs.


    While Leon was pondering, Bleia had carried him and streaked through the night sky at an incredible speed, passing over those expedition teams.


    The sky had yet to turnpletely dark and obviously, some expedition teams had discovered the abnormality in the sky. Following their shouts, a few of their leaders had also tilted their head up and looked into the sky. But, before they could spot the tiny ck dot, it dissolved into the dusky night sky as Bleia and Leon squeezed into the depths of the forests of the mountain.


    The distance between Bleia''s destination and the Mage Tower as the crow flies was about seventy miles. If they had traveled by foot through the forests, it would have taken them more than half day to reach their destination. However, when it came to Bleia, it had just been a forty-five minute journey.


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    Their destination was a small hill that connected to a huge mountain range. When Bleia and Leon approached the hill, she slowed down and started to descend. On top of this small hill, there was a t and emptied field the size of two football fields. Though there were some wild bushes and weeds growing on top of the field, they were scattered around and one could tell with just one look that this ce must have gone through a great amount of torture.


    Casually throwing Leon onto a patch of grass, the blood sucking bat exploded into a clump of blood mist and transformed into the red dressed Bleia within a blink of an eye.


    "Toril, you bastard! Show yourself quickly! I, the red-dressed Bleia, am back for revenge again!" Upon being restored to her human form, Bleia stood there with her hands on her hips and let out a furious roar. Her shrill voice kept echoing through the dusky mountain forest. Indistinctly, the reverberation of her voice could be hearding from a far distance.


    What was she doing?


    At this moment, Leon''s mind was fully bewildered and he found it funny to see Bleia acting like that.


    He had long heard that Bleia had been searching everywhere for an appropriate opponent to train her meleebat skills with. However, no matter how pressing the matter was, she wouldn''t havee to a remote and dested mountain forest like this to try and search for the right candidate! In this ce, besides those wild animals and demon beasts in the forest, what else could she find? Could she had been training with a demon beast?


    Having his mind filled with endless fantasies, Leon shook his head and let out a wry smile. Right as he was about to ask Bleia to stop making fun of him, a deep sigh rang out, followed by a robust and burly body squeezing itself out from the forest and revealing itself on this small hill.


    Dark clouds hovered in the sky, while the silver moon jumped out from behind these clouds, pouring its bright light onto the body of this figure.


    This was a strong man with a perfectly fitted and well-bnced body. He had a pair of dark green eyes, a somber face, and was wearing a full set of green armor on his body. With just one look, one could tell he must be a strong man who focused on melee fighting.


    The guy came out with a warmth smile on his face, clearly, intending to have a good talk with Bleia. However, when he realized that Bleia wasn''t the only person on this hill, his expression immediately turned cold. He threw his nce over at Leon from a far distance and remained silent, looking like he was pondering over something.


    "Toril, I have told you before, if you want me to be your woman, you have to truly defeat me! I''ve found you an opponent today. As long as you can defeat him, I''ll agree to your request! What do you say? This isn''t too strict of a condition, right? Don''t tell me that you''re scared of an Intermediate Apprentice?" With her hands on her hips, Bleia mored in high spirits, totally ignoring Leon who had an expression showing that he didn''t know whether to cry or tough.


    Since when had Bleia had an admirer? Judging from the look of that guy, he should also be an Apprentice Mage, but Leon had no idea why this guy wanted to live in this wilderness. As for his overall strength level...


    Leon couldn''t help but furrow his brows.


    The wave of this guy''s spirit was rather strange, but from the information feedback from the Chip, he was verified as a genuine Pseudo-Mage.


    As Leon stared straight at this guy and kept examining him, the green armor guy was also silently giving Leon an examining look.


    "You kept telling me that you already have a boyfriend, could he be that little guy who can''t even stand a gust of wind? The wave of his Spirit is so messy and heterogeneous, I supposed they were forcefully increased using some kind of medicinal potions, huh? I don''t see anything how this weakling could be worth your love. Can he endure your enchanting kiss? With his weak and frail body, how many kisses can he even withstand..." The more the guy spoke, the angrier he became. By the end of his rant, he could barely control his anger.


    A, so this guy was his rival in love! Bah! This was absurd, what was this nonsense about a rival in love? At most, he and Bleia had a little bit of dubious rtionship; they couldn''t even be considered a pair of lovers. So, where had him being a rival in love came from?


    Wearing a strange smile on his face, Leon stared at this green armor guy. But, before he could tease the guy, an unbelievable, miraculous transformation started to happen on this guy.


    His body started to expand slowly, pushing the loose armor on his body causing it to produce cracking noise. Countless dark hairs squeezed out from underneath his skin, while his face started to twist and protrude. Two razor sharp fangs had poked out from his lips. The most attracting part was his eyes, as the two dark green glows became brighter and brighter. By the end, they had even be brighter than the silver moon in the sky, making Leon feel a tremendous pressure.


    Within just five seconds, the green armor guy had transformed into a giant raging ape with an extremely masculine body that stood more than four meters tall.


    ...


    2209 Words

 Chapter 95 Fight

    Bloodline Transformation?


    He was a Pseudo-Mage who had taken the path of a Bloodline Mage!


    It would have been a lie if he said that he wasn''t nervous at this moment. After all, in the eyes of all apprentices, the overall strength of a Bloodline Apprentice was considered the strongest among all other simrly ranked apprentices.


    Take the guy in front of him as an example! ording to the records of history, the Giant Raging Ape was a powerful Grade Five demon beast. This also meant that as long as this guy kept purifying the bloodline of Giant Raging Ape in his body, then he would have the potential to be a Fifth Grade Mage.


    If he really was fortunate enough to reach Grade Five Mage, perhaps he would have to worry about his future development. But as for now, he could enjoy the tremendous benefits that were brought to him by the bloodline body transformation. The intrepid physique, strong strength, tall and masculine body, and a fighting style that would that let him fight continuously, only stopping once he was killed, without any fear of death...


    Stimted by the bloodline of the Giant Raging Ape, the consciousness of the green armor guy had be rather disordered and confused. He kept mming into his chest with both of his huge hands, while letting out a series of furious roars at Leon.


    Alright, perhaps this was the only weakness that was brought upon by the path of the Bloodlines. The person could rather easily be immersed into a restless state by his bloodline, causing him to lose the proper sense and calm sober mind. Of course, there was some bloodline fanatics that didn''t regard this as a weakness. In their minds, the raging inner state could further stimte their desire for a fight and would allow them to unleash an even more powerfulbative strength. Whenpared to that, losing a little bit of sense didn''t mean anything!


    "Don''t you need to prepare yourself? Be careful, once this guy transforms, he will attack anyone he sees!" Bleia chuckled and left the hill, while saying, "I am looking forward to your great performance!"


    Leon raised his head upwards to look at the Giant Raging Ape who stood tall in front of him and shook his head, letting out a wry smile on his face. Finally, he took out a small leather pouch from his waist and tossed it onto the ground. Once it hit the ground, the neck of the pouch opened up, as a dazzling magical glow shot out from inside the pouch.


    Five crystal clear Advanced Apprentice level Wind element cores flew out from inside the pouch and gradually hovered in midair. When they revealed themselves in the air, shrill sounds of wind suddenly rung through the air on this small hill. Drawn in by a mysterious force, a huge amount of Wind Elementiums started to swarm into the hovering Elementium cores crazily, surrounding them as they started to revolve around the cores while continuing to produce shrill noises.


    Wind was invisible.


    And Wind Elementiums couldn''t be seen with naked eyes as well.


    But when such a massive amount of Wind Elementiums gathered together, a green vortex had be visible to the naked eye.


    These Wind Elementiums came at an incredible speed, causing the night sky to be sliced into thousands of tiny threads. Soon, with the five Wind element cores as the center, the gathered Wind Elementium formed into a human-like body with four limbs.


    A green body, green hands, and green legs.


    When the body of this green giant was sessfully formed, a new element core flew out from inside the pouch and threw itself into the broad chest of the giant. In next second, a green head struggled out from the top of this burly giant. Nevertheless, it didn''t have a vivid facial appearance ¨C no eyes, no ears, no mouth, and no nose.


    If the previous five Advanced Apprentice level Wind element cores had been used to construct the body, then this Pseudo-Mage level Wind element core was used to support the entire body, as the bone of this green giant.


    But, this was not yet the end.


    A mini sun gradually rose up from the pouch.


    The Elementium let out a dazzling glow, while the lightning barrier let out crackling noises. When thisst priBleia core merged into the body of this green giant, it brought about an incredible and mystical transformation to the Golem.


    The giant which had looked rather lifeless previously, in this moment, had be alive!


    It had a massive body that stood five meters tall and brilliant green skin, covered by ayer of golden armor. Though its limbs didn''t look as slim and agile as a human''s, it had arms, palms and fingers. Even so, when the two mini golden suns on its face lit up, a magical shield entirely constructed by static electricity emerged on its giant left hand, while a dazzling lightning spear had appeared on its right palm.


    Counting the Wind Vortex Shield and Lightning Armor outside of this giant''s body, the personal defense mechanism of this Golem could make anyone''s jaw drop.


    The Lightning element was in fact, a branch of the Wind element. Thus, there weren''t any obstacles stopping the both of them from merging with each other. The five Wind element cores that scattered across the body and limbs of the giant kept drawing Wind Elementium to the body. Besides using some to form the physical Wind body, all the other Wind Elementiums had been used by the primary core to strengthen and temper. The core turned them into lightning energy to supply the bottomless energy demanded by the Lightning Giant.


    On one side was the Giant Raging Ape who stood four-meter-tall and on the other side was the Lighting Giant who stood five meters tall. Two massive objects stood facing each other with a distance of nearly forty meters in between.


    Though the green armor guy who had transformed into the Giant Raging Ape had appeared to be savage, when it came to facing a formidable opponent whom he had no idea of the true overall strength of, he showed a rather dignified and good control of himself. Nevertheless, the tremendous pressure that the Lightning Giant brought to him had also further stimted him and made him even more maniacally. White gas could be seen spraying out from his nostrils, as he kept mming the ground with both giant arms and making loud noises.


    Finally, unable to contain the near boiling fighting spirit in his body, the Giant Raging Ape let out a furious roar that echoed throughout the forest and moved its gigantic body, charging towards the opponent while roaring violently.


    Leon kept backing away from the battlefield. While he was doing so, he continued staring at the Giant Raging Ape, with his eyes flickering with bright blue light. Rows of numbers were pouring down in front of his eyes, flooding his vision with a vast amount of data.


    Soon, most of the irrelevant data had been removed, leaving behind only the data that was provided by the Chip after having scanned the Giant Raging Ape.


    "Target: Toril. Gender: Male. Mage path: Bloodline. Body attributes: Strength ¨C 20 (+2), Physique ¨C 20 (+2), Agility ¨C 11, Spirit ¨C 17(-3)"


    Upon reading Toril''s body statistics, Leon was struck with awe inspiring envy.


    20 points of Strength! A Strength like that could probably defeat every single demon beast who was well-known for its Strength in this Ker mountain range!


    20 points of Physique! With such Physique, even if this Toril didn''t wear any armor, just the strength of his muscle alone, he could defend himself from all themon weapons used by normal humans in this world. Thosemon weapons that don''t possess any supernatural force could no longer inflict any damage on him.


    Leon even spected that with 20 points of Physique, even if there was really someone who could chop off one of Toril''s arms, he would probably be able to regrow it in just a few days, because it seemed as though all creatures who had their Physique reach the level 20 would possess the passive ability to regrow their limbs.


    Analyzing the data provided by the Chip, the normal body attributes for Toril should be: Strength ¨C 18, Physique ¨C 18, Agility ¨C 11, Spirit ¨C 20. Once he hadpleted his bloodline body transform, then his Strength and Physique would be boosted to 20, however, it was surprising that his Spirit had dropped to 17.


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    Perhaps, this was one of the weaknesses of the bloodline of Giant Raging Ape!


    Though it seemed as if Leon had spent a long time in thinking all this, in reality, it had all happened within a split second.


    While Leon was backing off, the Lighting Giant chose to charge at the Giant Raging Ape.


    With a wave of its hand, the Lightning Spear held in the right hand of this Lightning Golem had disappeared, flying out with a speed that no naked eye could detect and nailed into the broad chest of the Giant Raging Ape. The spear suddenly exploded and the mini Lighting Storm instantly flooded the body of the Giant Raging Ape.


    From the projection of Leon''s vision, the basic strength of this mini Lightning Storm was 21 points.


    However, a lightning damage of this level was insufficient to stop a powerful magical creature who had both its Strength and Physique reach level 20. Through the body transformation, Toril was temporarily given the intrepid body and magic resistance of the Giant Raging Ape. Besides bringing him intense pain, these crackling electric arcs would never be able to halt his movements.


    A loud boom rung in the air, as the massive body of the giant ape pierced through the Lightning Storm, spread out itsrge palm and forcefully waved toward the Lightning Giant. Compared to the savage and brutal manner of a giant ape, though Lightning Giant had a bigger body, its movements were rather nimble.


    With just a slight dodging movement, the Lightning Giant avoided therge palm of the Giant Raging Ape and reappeared behind its opponent within the blink of an eye. It then shook its right arm and unleashed a lightning whip that coiled around the Giant Raging Ape''s waist. Through the lightning whip, streaks of brutal and violent high voltage electricity instantly transmitted over to every single corner of the giant ape''s body, causing it to continuously let out a furious roar into the sky. Soon, the smell of burning flesh emitted from the point of contact.


    The failure in executing its first strike and the severe paining from its body both greatly agitated the Giant Ape, causing it to be even more maniacal. It stretched out its hand, grabbed the long whip on its waist and with just some light force from its hand, it simply shattered the whip into pieces. Having freed itself from the trap, the Giant Ape turned around and punched out both fists at the same time that came crushing towards the Lighting Giant, while producing two loud booms that pierced through the air.


    Though it had a double the defense from the Wind Vortex Shield and the Lightning Shield that carried in its left hand, under the heavy blow of the extreme raging force of the Giant Ape, the outer defense of the Lightning Giant was shattered in an instant.


    A loud boom rang through the air.


    The Lightning Giant sailed through the air and drew out a pale green trail in the sky, flying away nearly hundred meters before it could stabilize its body once again. At this very moment, the end of its left arm had disappeared, while a huge dent could be seen on the chest part of its golden armor.


    Leon, who had back off to the edge of the forest in the far distance, knitted his brows with a tight frown.


    Compared to the bloodline transformation which possessed a physical body, the body of Lightning Giant formed by pure Wind Elementium was rather fragile. Therefore, during the a melee battle with a big guy like this whose body emphasized Strength and muscles, obviously it was at a disadvantage.


    But because of the twoyer defenses, the iron fists of Giant Raging Ape couldn''t prate the basic defense of the Lightning Giant, or else, it would have been too troublesome for it to recover.


    Within a few blinks of an eye, followed by the golden shes on the huge dent on the Lightning Giant''s chest, it was once again restored to its original shape.


    And right at this moment, the raging and furious Giant Ape had once again charged towards it with tremendous momentum.


    "Don''t fight it in such a close range, keep a distance of thirty to fifty meters and attack it with lightning!"


    From the far distance, Leon transmitted his thoughts to the primary core of the Lightning Giant.


    ...


    2166 Words

 Chapter 96 A little blood

    Within the spacious field shrouded in darkness and silence, two giants were fighting each other restlessly; it was a fantasy that had never appeared in Leon''s memory before.


    But today, in this mysterious and bizarre outworld, such a fantasy had be reality.


    Like a bulldozer that never got tired, the Giant Raging Ape forcefully leveled the forest surrounding this small hill; even the ground waspletely filled with deep footprints and cracks, making the ground look like spider webs.


    Meanwhile, the Lightning Giant with a green body and golden armor was like a nimble spirit. It kept dashing around the perimeter of this giant ape, luring its opponent intounching attack after attack, while continuously throwing Lightning Spears and Wind des at the giant ape.


    As the battle progressed, the data gathered by Green''s eyes had be more vivid and direct. Though the Lightning Giant was personally crafted by him, throughout the entire process, he was working like a human spirit energy projector, as he knew nearly nothing about all the theories and knowledge in crafting it. Therefore, with regards to the fighting abilities and body attributes of the Lightning Giant, the Chip had only given him a vague estimation. Inparison, the data he had gathered in the battlefield, which was much more direct and detail.


    The Lightning Giant with the overall strength of peak Pseudo-Mage, had thebined element characteristic of both Lightning and Wind. Body attributes: Strength ¨C 12, Physique ¨C 18, Agility ¨C 18, Spirit ¨C 20. Skills: Wind Vortex (Passive), Thunder Armor (Passive), Lightning Shield (Active), Lightning Spear (Active), Lightning Whip (Active), Wind de (Active), Thunder Storm (Active), Chain Lightning (Active), Lightning Jump (Active).


    It was a long-range Golem focused on agility. Though it was rather weak in Strength and Physique, its dazzling array of offensive skills made up for these weaknesses, making it the strongest Elementium Golem that Leon owned currently.


    Also, its overall strength had not disappointed Leon''s expectations. In the second half of the battle, relying on its nimble movement, the Lightning Giant kept moving around the giant ape and attacked it by throwing Lightning Spears and Winds des. No matter how the Giant Raging Ape leapt at it furiously, there was no way it could catch up to the Lightning Giant.


    Nevertheless, after failing to catch up with the enemy several times, the Giant Raging Ape quickly showed its frightening innatebat ability, as it started to attack using ''Soul Crunching Roar'' and ''Rock Throwing''. The former attack consisted of a raging roar that instantly stunned the surrounding enemies, causing the enemies to be struck into a soulless state for three to five seconds. Of course, this skill could also instantly kill those ordinary humans who had no magical protection. This skill covered an area of fifty meters.


    The second skill allowed the Giant Raging Ape to form an irregr shaped rock with a diameter of two meters between its palms and then throw it at the enemy. The rock was enchanted with a raging force, which could easily smash into the gigantic body of the Lightning Giant.


    Though the Giant Raging Ape only possessed a few bloodline abilities, they were all perfectly matched with its incredible Physique and Strength. Once any enemy was struck by its Soul Crunching Roar, as a result of the brief moment of soullessness, the enemy wouldn''t be able to escape from the brutal melee attack from this Giant Ape.


    But too bad, such kind of offensive Spirit skill was useless against an Elementium Golem.


    Therefore, the Giant Raging Ape could only futilely chase behind the Lightning Giant. Although the Giant Ape continued leaping and charging forward, knocking down countless trees in its stead like a crazy monkey, it still failed to even touch the shadow of the enemy.


    Right when Leon thought that he could win today''s battle with such a method, the Giant Raging Ape transformed from the green armored man, Toril, who suddenly ditched the tough to catch Lightning Giant, roaring furiously and leaping into Leon''s direction.


    Leon silently sighed.


    Not any idiot could be an Apprentice Mage. This guy had just been unable to control his anger because of the enticement from the Lightning Giant and his mind was further disturbed by the force of bloodline. Now, having yielded no results for such a long time, Toril''s consciousness had once again obtained control of the Giant Raging Ape''s body. Thus, he had given up chasing behind the Lightning Giant like an idiot and switched his target to Leon, the mastermind behind all this.


    As long as he could defeat Leon, the bastard who kept escaping him would vanish into thin air. Even if his attack couldn''t reach Leon, at least he could lure that bastard to Leon''s side and with that, he could finally put his raging force into use.


    With such a simple thought in his mind, the Giant Raging Ape''s eyes turned bloodshot, as he mmed into the ground with both hands and jumped towards Leon.


    Leon was easily able to tell the petty thoughts his opponent had in his mind.


    Indeed, the Lightning Giant had an excellent fighting ability, but it also had a deadly weakness ¨C the person who controlled it was too weak! Thus, Leon was the weak link that anyone could use to defeat the Lightning Giant!


    Relying on the Lightning Giant to block off the assault was no doubt the worst decision. With the melee offensive ability of the Giant Raging Ape, perhaps it would only take it a few dozen of seconds to smash the Lightning Giantpletely, which would eventually damage to the Elementium cores hiding inside of its body.


    Leon checked his own body attributes, the summon of Lightning Giant had consumed seven Spirit points, which left him with less than six. Staring at the Giant Raging Ape who had lept at him with tremendous momentum and feeling the violent shakes on the ground, Leon once again tossed out a crystal clear Elementium core.


    "Show yourself, my Rock Snake!"


    Following Leon''s loud roar, a wide, bottomless trench suddenly broke out in the ground in front of him and a frightening giant snake made up entirely of rock slithered out from the cracks.


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    The ce where the Rock Snake hade out from was right in the charging path of the Giant Raging Ape. With a coiling movement from its massive body, the Rock Snake climbed up and entangled itself with the Giant Raging Ape''s body.


    In next second, the frightening scene of ''King Kong'' fighting a giant snake unveiled in front of Leon''s eyes. Too bad, the violence and savageness brought him no interest in watching this cool battle unfold at a close distance. Instead, he crazily fled from the center of the frightening battle.


    Sand flew into clouds, pebbles swept along the ground, debris of grass flew in the air and huge clouds of dust dispersed quickly in all directions, while countless rock fragments shot out from the battlefield like bullets and smashed into the surrounding forest.


    When the dust cloud had settled down a little bit, Leon finally stopped running further away. The green glow on the his Quicken Boots gradually faded away, as he had ran to a ce half a mile away from the battlefield.


    Throwing a nce over his shoulder and staring into the shaking battlefield, Leon saw that the Lightning Giant was hovering in midair and had lifted both arms in the air. Over its tall body, a funnel shape, slow revolving Thunder Storm was forming at an incredible speed, while the tail of the Thunder Storm was pointing directly at the Giant Raging Ape who had been violently fighting on the battlefield.


    Though it was in the middle of a violent battle, the Giant Raging Ape had quickly noticed the abnormality over its head. With great efforts, it tried to move away from the location the Thunder Storm had locked down on. However, the Rock Snake, who had had its body nearly broken into pieces by the Giant Ape''s earlier attack, had tightly tangled with the giant ape''s feet. No matter how the giant ape tried to attack it, it showed no signs of letting go.


    Soon, after over twenty seconds of brewing, the Thunder Storm had been finallypleted.


    A sudden streak of huge lightning strike sliced the dark night sky into two and filled the entire ce with undying shes of radiance.


    The raging, violent, and scorching hot electricity wantonly slithered around the body of Giant Raging Ape and Rock Snake. The tremendous lightning energy instantly broke through the crimson colored life barrier outside of the Giant Raging Ape''s body and had prated straight away into its huge body.


    In next second, the raging energy exploded inside of the Giant Raging Ape''s body and burst a huge bloody hole in its broad back. Blood sprayed out like a waterfall, but before it could touch the ground, it had been simply evaporated by the violent lightning energy that was wreaking havoc in the air.


    It was a brutal attack, one the Giant Raging Ape couldn''t withstand even with its tough Physique.


    Under the uninterrupted attack from the Thunder Storm, it threw its head back and let out a furious roar into the sky. The Giant Raging Ape finally fell down to the ground and the masculine body starting to shrink slowly until the original look of the green armor guy was revealed.


    "Quick, quick... ask your Golem to gather some of his blood for me!" Not knowing when, Bleia suddenly appeared beside Leon. She looked at the scene where the dust had finally settled, actually showing a more joyful expression than Leon.


    Ugh...


    Leon turned around and looked at Bleia whose face had turned red from excitement and finally realized that he had been used by her. Nevertheless, an ending like this was not bad either ¨C she got the blood she had wanted and Leon had obtained the most satisfying data from the battle. It was a win-win situation! Perhaps, the only one who suffered from all this was that Pseudo-Mage Toril who had possessed a powerful bloodline!


    Leon totally had no intention of killing Toril.


    This ce was within the coverage of Mage Tower''s power. Since Toril was able to have his secluded cultivation here, he must have had some kind of connection with those Mages in the Mage Tower. It was a little bit over to severely wound this guy for no reason. However, if Leon had taken the opportunity to kill him, perhaps before Leon could even return to the Mage Tower, he would be greeted by someone on his way back.


    Secretly giving out his order to the Lightning Giant, Leon turned around and dragged Bleia before running from the scene.


    He had very sensitive senses. While two monsters were fighting, he had detected seven to eight indistinct, yet powerful Spirit waves hiding around the battlefield. Out of all these Spirit waves, one had actually belonged to someone whom Leon was rather familiar with ¨C Mage Angus.


    Hence, the Lighting Giant hovering in the air waved its arm and dispersed the Thunder Storm, before transforming into a dazzling lighting streak and following Leon. As for the Rock Snake who had been left behind on the battlefield, after struggling and freeing itself from the fainted green armor guy, it dragged its broken body and slithered through the grass and also chasing Leon and left this ce.


    Without anyone''s knowledge, before the Rock Snake left, it had secretly swallowed a mouthful of dirt underneath the body of the guy, dirt which was mixed with a huge amount of his blood.


    When peace had once again returned to the ce, two dark figures suddenly emerged beside the green armor guy.


    Leaning forward and giving the guy a look, one of the dark shadows shook his head, sighing.


    "Toril is a junior from your n. So, are you going to let that kid leave just like that?"


    Another dark shadow was seen hiding behind a dense ck cloud, only showing two bizarre looking mes in his eyes. With a cold voice, he said, "Hmph, if not for the fact that Angus had stopped me, do you think anyone can leave this ce alive even after bullying a member of the Wharton family?"


    "Angus? Oh right! It is his turn on duty at the Mage Tower now. Could this kid be a new junior from his family?" The first dark figure asked wonderingly. "Why would he just let his junior to cause trouble freely like this? Don''t tell me he is not afraid of stirring up a war between Mage families?"


    "Hmph, that kid is not from his family. I think he was sent by the Zhentarim Association. He is just a little guy who is training here."


    "Eh, there is such a good seed among the neers? Once I finish with my magical experiment, I''ll thoroughly examine him."


    After a short conversation, both men nodded their heads and departed.


    The first dark figure quickly dissolved into the forest, while the other leaned down to pick up Toril into his arms. Following the spread of the dark cloud, they too vanished into thin air.


    Atst, the forest had truly be quiet, leaving behind only the messy battlefield, which quietly showed the miserable experience it had just went through!


    ...


    2228 Words

 Chapter 97 Contract

    Though their minds were filled with worries, the return journey back to the Mage Tower had gone rather smoothly.


    After Leon used a secret magic word to disperse the huge Wind Elementium body of Lightning Giant, within the blink of an eye, the massive monster simply turned back into seven crystal clear, dazzling magical cores.


    Before Leon could put them all away, Bleia had leapt forward and ced them in her palms, giving them a good fondle and careful examination, while showing a look of great affection. After some time, as if just looking at them wasn''t enough to express her love, Bleia actually brought the primary core to her face and kept stroking it gently, quietly feeling the slight tingling sensations caused by the tiny electricity sparks on her face.


    Ugh... looking at this scene, Leon couldn''t help but feel helpless, as some ck lines appeared on his forehead.


    Come on, though these cores looked beautiful and glittery like some pure and magnificent objects, they were actually a fighting Golem that killed without blinking its eyes! After Bleia had witnessed the savage and brutal performance of the Golem, she actually showed great attachment to it. This... Leon couldn''t help but sigh with mixed emotions, telling himself that most of the people who took the path of an Mage were those who had some sort of weird mentalities.


    Suppressing theints he had in his mind, Leon finally took back his number one Golem from Bleia''s hand. At the same time, he tossed a blood-colored crystal over to her. With Rock Snake''s ability to control Earth Elementium, it wasn''t too big an issue to filter out blood mixed with the dirt. His only hope was that after losing such a huge amount of blood, Toril wouldn''t have his overall strength drop too much, or else, for no reason, Leon would have to face another deadlier enemy in future.


    Even after such a violent battle, all the summoning cores of Lightning Giant were still intact, but the summoning core of Rock Snake had suffered a lot of damage, which was the result of getting an Advanced Apprentice level Rock Snake to risk its life to pin down a formidable Bloodline Pseudo-Mage. After Leon dispersed the Golem''s body, only then had he realized that the Elementium on this summoning core was in a state of disorder and the magical energy was leaking uncontrobly. It simply looked as if it couldn''t be used anymore.


    Leon took some time and examined it thoroughly. When the Chip finally confirmed this summoning core could no longer be repaired, he had no choice but to put it away regretfully.


    And after tidying up themselves at the edge of the mountain range, both of them finally returned to the Mage Tower stealthily. However, as they were about to step into the main entrance of the Mage Tower, the two rock ghost statues ced on either side of the entrance suddenly moved.


    Following a creaking noise produced by their movements, the rock ghost statue on the left, while maintaining their standing position on top of the tall rock tform, leaned forward andboriously moved its rock eyes to stare into Leon''s face.


    "Hey, little guy, the enforcer, Master Angus asked you to pay him a visit at his residence."


    After saying that, it retracted its body and once again resumed its original leaping posture ¨C motionless and noiseless.


    Leon was suddenly startled.


    During his stay in this ce, he had passed by this entrance many times and every time he would see this pair of rock ghost statues guarding the entrance. But, he never thought they were actually automatons. Not only that, they were... Mage level automatons.


    It looked like this seemingly defenseless public Mage Tower wasn''t as fragile as he had initially thought!


    Therefore, the journey that followed was a terrifying one that made his hair stand on end. Wherever Leon and Bleia seemed to go, no matter if it was those lifeless statues or the shepherdess in the oil painting that hung on the corridor wall, they all had be alive and continuously repeated the same words.


    "Quickly pay a visit to Mage Angus!"


    With regards to these repeating messages, if both of them still had no clue that they were being watched by Mage Angus, then they really were idiots. But this also struck fear into their minds, because they weren''t able to tell what kind of method Mage Angus was using to watch them.


    Hence, immersed in the oppressive atmosphere, both of them soon arrived at Mage Angus''s residence which was located on the fifth floor of the Mage Tower.


    Mage Angus met with them in hisboratory.


    Compared to their imagination, this ce didn''t look as frightening, ghastly and filled with blood a they as they had fantasized. It was a clean and tidy privateboratory of an official Mage; the entire ce was brightly lit and looked rather like an advancedboratory. However, from the many jars that were ced around theboratory, Leon could sense a dazzling red glow. From the living and kicking tiny creatures to the magical organs, all of them emanated a strong aura of energy.


    And clearly, Mage Angus was in the middle of concocting some kind of special potion, as the table in front of him was fully covered with small bottles and test tubes of different shapes. When the both of them have arrived at theboratory, Angus was seen gently shaking a test tube in his hand, and from time to time, he would bring it in front of his eyes to give it a careful examination.


    A mysterious, azure potion was contained in the test tube. Every time Angus shook the test tube, there would be countless tiny bubbles bursting out from the azure potion, and transforming into all sorts of marine creatures. Sometimes it was a mermaid riding on a seahorse, sometimes it was a magical Narwhal flipping its tail and swimming around or sometimes it was a swarm of Silver Swordfish leaping and chasing each other around... In short, whenever he shook the test tube, they would transform into another creature, giving it a touch of bizarreness and mystery.


    Bleia always had little resistance to something as peculiar as this, but since they were in theboratory of an official Mage, she just couldn''t act as recklessly as she usually did. Thus, she could only throw her question to Leon using the movement of her lips. Perhaps Bleia''s rank was way beyond that of Leon''s, but in terms of magical knowledge and their application in real life, Leon could defeat her easily.


    The blood of a deep sea mermaid!


    Likewise, Leon replied her question moving just his lips. Only the blood of those deep sea mermaids who lived in the deepest area of the ocean could have such a unique illusive effect. That''s right, what they saw just now was not real, but just the illusionary force ignited by the shaking of the azure colored blood. Experience new tales on empire


    After a long time, Mage Angus finally put down the test tube in his hand and turned around to stare at both his visitors.


    "Moments ago, the leader of Wharton family lodged aint. He thinks your reckless behavior has seriously damaged the honor of their family and asked me to hand you over to them. So, tell me, should I listen to his request?"


    Bleia frowned, as she had no idea how to answer this question. She tilted her head and threw her gaze over to Leon and hinted at him to answer the question.


    Leon smiled and bowed deeply, saying, "Your respectful Master Angus, to my knowledge, the leader of Wharton family is just an ordinary human! How can a mere mortal with no special status give you an order? If they really wanted me and Bleia to atone for our mistakes with our life, then the Master Mage behind the family will definitely give out his order personally."


    Mage Angus narrowed his eyes, staring at the duo with a tilted nce.


    Vampire + Golem Controller!


    And that too, they were an Advanced Apprentice level Vampire and Intermediate Apprentice level Golem Controller!


    But there was one thing surprised him ¨C this team was actually headed by the Intermediate Apprentice who was much weaker!


    Could it be because of the excellent potential of Golem Controller put out by this kid or was there another reason? Or else, why else would that little girl, who was an Advanced Apprentice level Vampire, be willing to give up her authority between them?


    After all, not one of the apprentices who took upon the path of Mage had a kind heart. Instead, their mind waspletely filled with arrogance and pride. They were just a group of self-centering people with wild ambitions. It would be absurd if they had willingly treated weaker peers with modesty and an amiable attitude.


    As the result, when any Mage had the need to team up with someone else, the team would usually be headed by the strongest amongst them, while the rest of the team members obeyed all hismands. This situation was even more obvious amongst the Apprentice Mages. Therefore, Angus showed great interest in the duo in front of him.


    "Kid, being a good talker is useless. The man you provoked this time was Toril, the member of Wharton family who has the highest chance of bing an official Mage. I heard that because of your willful action, the time for that guy to be an official Mage was pushed back by three years! Hahaha... now all the members of Wharton family are showering in mes of anger and they are searching for you two everywhere. Perhaps, once you two leave this ce, there will be arge group of people waiting for you outside, wanting to capture you and exchange you for a reward!" A treacherous smile emerged on Mage Angus''s face.


    Leon''s heart began to race, as he felt helpless about their current situation.


    If that Wharton family was really as aggressive as Mage Angus described, perhaps before both of them could even enter the Mage Tower, they would have already been captured. Since Mage Angus said it like that, based on the strong implication of a warning in his words, perhaps he was just intimidating them and forcing them into a trap. Facing the intimidation of an official Mage, what options did these two little Apprentice Mages have?


    "Your respectful Master Angus, Bleia and I are just two mere Apprentice Mages, naturally, we''re willing to follow anything you say. I wonder is there anything we can offer you our services for?"


    Seeing as Leon had behaved as he had expected, Mage Angus let out a satisfied smile.


    "Show me your Golem!"


    Without saying another word, Leon presented the summoning cores respectfully with both hands.


    Using his fingers, he pinched each core a few times and gave them all an examining nce; the smile on Angus''s face grew stronger.


    "It looks like they were all personally crafted by you!"


    "Yes!"


    "If you''re given with three years, can you be an official Mage?" Mage Angus suddenly changed the topic.


    "Ah..." Leon was dumbstruck and didn''t know what to say. Even Bleia couldn''t control herself, as her eyes went wide.


    "There is nothing to feel surprised about! Because I can only protect you for three years. If that Toril bes an official Mage before you, then I have no reason to stop him from seeking his revenge. As for theintsing from his family, they won''t affect me at all. After all, you defeated him in a fair match. If a defeat like that causes the family to jump onto their feet, then the Wharton family will have lost all facepletely. But..."


    "Bleia and I are willing to pay any price in exchange for your protection, is there anything we can do for you?"


    "Hahaha... talking to a smart kid like you really saves me a lot of trouble. Here, this is a magical contract, I want both of you to sign your name on it! Don''t worry, with your current overall strength, I don''t need anything from you. Once you''ve signed the contract, it also means you have signed a contract with my family, the Byron family. With that, I can use the name of the Byron family and provide you with three years of protection and spare you from the retaliation and harassment of the Wharton family."


    "What do I need to do in exchange for the protection?"


    "You need to be an official Mage in three years. After that, you have to represent the Byron family and participate in apetition. Apetition that only Titan Controllers, Golem Controllers and Automaton Controllers can participate in."


    ....


    2138 Words

 Chapter 98 Competition

    "You mean, the minimum requirement to join thispetition is being an official Mage? Could it be... could it be..." Leon spoke hesitatingly, as he recalled some relevant content from the vast information about the Mage World he had stored in his mind.


    "That''s right. Thepetition I want you to participate in is the Advancement Competition of Profound Mages, which will be held in the Sky City in five years. As long as you can help us, the Byron family maintain our selling rights in the Sky City, when everything is over, our family will also reward you with a great gift."


    "I see what you mean now, what you need is a promise. As long as I can promise you that I''ll be an official Mage within three years and represent the Byron family to participate in thatpetition, you''ll provide us with three years of protection. This is a deal where both of us benefit and fulfills the usual practices of fair deals between Mages. Hence, I ept the deal!"


    "Hehe, excellent! Remember, you will only have three years. Once that Toril bes an official Mage, the agreement between us will be voided. After all, no one is willing to had a fall out with a Bloodline Mage who is a good fighter."


    "I understand. I''ll definitely be an official Mage before he does!" Leon pledged with sincerity and seriousness.


    Looking at Leon''s seemingly sincere expression, Mage Angus waved his hand, and a clump of gray smoke instantly exploded in front of Leon, before condensing into a magical contract within a split second.


    Leon took a step forward and seriously and detailedly read the magical contract multiple times. After making sure there weren''t any wording or style traps, he carefully inked his magical mark.


    Under normal situations, when a spell caster signed a contract, they disliked leaving behind their soul mark. Though that provided a higher binding effect, it made it rather easy for an outsider to obtain his soul aura. Therefore, in order to deal with such situations, Mages had created the magical mark. It was a special mark formed with the individual''s unique Spirit wave and the energy of their element.


    With that, not only did they not have to worry about someone obtaining their aura and using it against him, it was also impossible to fake by someone else. That was why it had be epted by all spell casters.


    The magical seal Leon that designed for himself was a tightly clenched fist, covered in mes and soared up into the sky.


    The mes surrounding the iron fist represented his element affinity of Fire, while the iron fist represented strength. His magical seal also represented the wild ambitious that starting to burgeoning deep inside Leon''s heart.


    After putting away the contract, Mage Angus tossed over a chest badge that represented the Byron family over to Leon.


    "By wearing this, as long as you''re in Dagon Region, no one will take the initiative to provoke you. Alright, you can leave now!"


    Uponpleting the deal, Mage Angus simply turned Leon and Bleia away from hisboratory. For him, this was just one of the backup ns he had prepared for his family. While there were countless other measures he had prepared, it hadn''t reached the level where he needed to handle it solemnly.


    Hence, before that little guy became an official Mage, everything was just casual preparation!


    After Leon and Bleia left Angus''s residence with great respect, they were shocked to find that more than twenty elite apprentices had gathered outside of Angus'' residence. They had split into two groups and were confronting each other. When Leon made his appearance, the leaders of both groups immediately rested their eyes on his face.


    When their eyes gazed over the badge pinned on Leon''s chest, the leaders of both fractions had their expressions change at the same time. One gnashed his teeth angrily, while the other''s face was covered with a bright smile; he even took the initiative to hug Leon''s shoulder.


    "So? Now you have seen it for yourself." A gloating expression could be clearly seen on Kevin''s face. "Leon is part of the Byron family now. Stop wasting your time here and leave. Why are you still standing around here?"


    Leon roughly remembered that he had seen the leader of the other group in the training camp before. It seemed like his name was Hamill and he was also a Pseudo-Mage. But judging from his unconcealed Spirit wave, obviously, his overall strength was so much weakerpared to Toril.


    "Leon... very good..." With a ferocious manner, Hamill threatened, "You''re smart, kid, knowing to hide under the protection of Master Angus. Or else, I, Hamill would have definitely let you known the serious consequences of provoking the Wharton family."


    Leon let out a somber smile.


    "The reason I joined Byron family is because of the care from Mage Angus, as he didn''t want me to be defeated by the crafty plot of a shameless person. However, for someone like you, a coward who only knows how to show his aggressiveness with his mouth, I''ll never be afraid!"


    "You..."


    "Since you have the desire to seek revenge for that Toril, why don''t we find a chance tomorrow and have a fair fight? As long as you can defeat me in a fair match, I''m willing to give up the protection from Master Angus. So, do you have the guts to ept my challenge?"


    "You..."


    "Arrogant...!"


    "This is absurd...!"


    For the moment, all those elite apprentices who followed behind Hamill couldn''t control their anger anymore. Each of them kept scolding and yelling out with a loud voice. Though Hamill was also letting out furious shouts, his eyes flickered and his face looked gloomy. Obviously, he didn''t have the courage to ept Leon''s challenge.


    Leonughed scornfully.


    "Same goes to all of you. For those who want to seek revenge for Toril, I''m open for a fair bet with anyone. As long as you cane out with a satisfying stake, I''ll fight with you right away. So, is anyone willing to have a fair match with me?!"


    Leon asked with a severe countenance and a harsh voice. As he red at this group of guys who appeared to be tough outwardly, but actually were timid inside, an indistinct bright light could be seen flickering in his eyes. Even Kevin, who was standing closest to him, was secretly shocked by the aggressiveness emanating from Leon''s eyes.


    Though the group had been here to capture the wild kid who had offended the dignity of Wharton family, when they stared into the aggressive nces of their target, those who kept yelling angrily just now actually had shut their mouth. Some even turned their head sideways to avoid being directly gazed at by Leon.


    At that moment, tens of Advanced Apprentices and Pseudo-Mages were stuck in an awkward situation, brought on by Leon who was just an Intermediate Apprentice.


    Though they knew by losing their face like this, they would definitely be punished by their family when they returned, no one was willing to stand up and fight this mad guy who was in high spirits.


    Now, they were losing their face as a group, which allowed them to still have room to turn the situation around when they returned. But, if anyone epted the challenge in a moment of madness, the problem they faced would not only be losing their face anymore. It was very likely that they might also have their reputation crushed, which was something they had been building restlessly for the past seven to eight years, and eventually be theughing stock of everyone.


    If their opponent was someone else, they wouldn''t have behaved so cowardly, but this kid in front of them was too strange. He... he actually defeated Toril, who was about to hold his advancement ceremony, also... also they heard he had done that in a fair one-to-one fight.


    When Toril was severely wounded and thrown to the ground, the official Mage sent by Wharton family and stationed in the Underground Cave was right at the spot, but it hadn''t been convenient for him to capture this rascal personally. If this Leon had the courage to directly offended the dignity of an official Mage, no one would stop a Master Mage from killing him personally.


    But... but the problem was, this kid actually beaten Toril toa in a fair match. If the Master Mage struck at that point in time, other families would have definitely beenughing at him, teasing him for not having any other sessors in his family, as they even needed an official Mage to handle something as petty as dealing with an Intermediate Apprentice.


    Therefore, after weighing and considering the situation, this group hade here together to question Leon and capture him in the name of their family. However, since this guy was now part of the Byron family, it was impossible for them to give him a serious beating without any forethought. But... in order to capture him with a one versus one fight, none of this guys had the confidence.


    Depressed, extremely depressed! Indignation, an indescribable indignation!


    Tens of elite apprentices from Wharton family had their face turned livid with rage. It was as if their bodies were attacked by hundreds of thousands of ants; it was an extremely awkward situation for them.


    "Let''s go, we''ll settle this score with him in future!" Realizing that the situation was going out of his control, Hamill furiously waved his hand and took all his men and quickly left the scene.


    Watching how the group of elite apprentices hade in a threatening and ready to fight manner, but eventually left sheepishly, the members of the Byron family remained at the scene and kept exchanging nces with each other speechlessly. They were all veterans of the training camp. Although because of thepetition, both families didn''t have a concord rtionship, actually, both groups were pretty familiar with each other. If their positions were reversed in this situation, perhaps their performance wouldn''t have been better than those from Wharton family.


    It was not because they were ipetent, but because this rascal had strange abilities!


    Since Kevin was experienced in such scenes, he pushed Leon and brought him out from the ce. Continue your adventure at empire


    "Brother, since you have be a part of us, then as your brother, I''ll not regard you as an outsider anymore. Don''t worry, in Dagon region, as long as you show the badge of the Byron family, no one will give you any trouble. If someone does, tell me and I''ll bring our men to annihte him!"


    A big smile was immediately brought to Leon''s face and he expressed his gratitude to Kevin.


    Kevin was not bragging, what he had said was actually real.


    ording to the Chronicle of Mage Families, there were more than twenty Mage Families with the proper name who could be found in this Dagon region. Among these families, the Byron family, which Kevin was working for, could easily be ranked among the top three of all Mage families in this region. Also, the Byron and Mises family had supported a small human kingdom which had upied a huge area of fertilend in the central area of the Dagon region.


    Therefore, the promise of providing him protection within the entire Dagon region wasn''t a lie at all.


    In fact, not only the entire Dagon region, this kind of situation wasmon throughout the entire Zhentarim territory. In this world ruled by Mages, the noble or even imperial families of human were just tools and servants who helped Mage families manage ordinary mortals. If any of them offended the Mage family who supported them, even if he was a king of a human kingdom, he would have to step down from his throne or even die of ''sickness''.


    For Kevin, as the nephew of Mage Angus, if he paid a visit to a human kingdom, he would be weed with the most luxurious, grandest reception and treatment. As long as he nodded his head slightly, even if he wanted some princesses to serve him on his bed, those kings would personally send them to his bed with a bright smile on their faces.


    This was in fact, the most realistic yet cruel reality of the current Mage World!


    ...


    2072 Words

 Chapter 99 Invasion

    Right from the start, the Underground Cave was a ce where one was apt to get into trouble.


    Though no one had purposefully spread the news, early next morning, nearly the entire Mage Tower was startled by a frightening news that had spread like the gue.


    In a fair one-on-one match, an individual who had recently broken through to Intermediate Apprentice Mage had defeated Toril, the member of the Wharton family who had the highest chance of bing an official Mage in the shortest amount of time. When the news was freshly heard, countless Apprentice Mages simply sniffed at it to show their contempt.


    In the World of Mage, even within the same grade, but just different by one or two minor tiers, let alone the gap between two major grades, there would be a jaw-dropping difference between their overall strength. Some busybodies actually performed a statistical study before. In a normal battle, a Pseudo-Mage could easily defend himself from the joint attack of two to three Advanced Apprentices and could just as easily defend himself against the joint attack from a double digit number of Intermediate Apprentices.


    Therefore, when they heard the news for the first time, most of the people just treated it as a lousy lie used by an enemy of the Wharton family to bring shame to them. But as time went by, the ''lie'' had grown hotter and hotter, so much so that many guys who were well-known among the elite apprentices vowed solemnly that it was real.


    As the result, a massive storm broke out in the circle of Apprentice Mages within the Mage Tower of Underground Cave!


    Countless Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Apprentices ran around, spreading the news, while inquiring about the genuine version of that ''rumor''. Soon, all the rumors gathered through the grapevine had pointed to a name that everybody was unfamiliar with ¨C Leon. Hence, more news about Leon was dug out.


    For example, when Leon had arrived at the Underground Cave, he had just been a Beginner Apprentice. Also, during his first trip to the Underground World, he had killed the frightening Demon Vine Lady and gotten himself the first head of a Fallen Apprentice. Not only that, when he was invited to join the training camp, he actually had defeated two elite Advanced Apprentices...


    When the series of outstanding results were pieced together, every single apprentice who heard about it was struck with astonishment.


    This... how could this be possible?


    Everyone was very familiar with the overall strength of an apprentice who had just be an Intermediate Apprentice. During this stage, their overall strength was in a rather awkward situation, as usually they had only mastered two to three offensive magic spells. Some with a stronger overall strength would master a defensive magic spell in advance, while those ordinary Intermediate Apprentices would have to fight nakedly for a long period of time before they mastered the first defensive magic spell in their life.


    Comparing an overall strength like this to an Advanced Apprentice who been thoroughly tempered or even those Pseudo-Mages who had nearly reached the pinnacle of apprenticeship, it was like the difference between a five to six year old toddler and a youth who had nearly be an adult. Most of the time, a gap in overall strength like this could never be covered up by skillful techniques or experience.


    But they soon learned that, it was highly possible that this man of marvel, Leon, was a Golem Controller who had extraordinary talent. He was able to overstep the constraints of his level and control many powerful magical Golems. After this news was spread, it immediately made the few rare Golem controllers within the apprentice circle feel proud of themselves; they even walked and talked with a higher spirit aspared to before.


    However, none of them knew at this moment when they were discussing about this miraculous Golem Controller with much warmth, Leon, whose face would have blushed because of the discussion, had brought Bleia and Snox and ventured deep into the Underground Cave. They followed the path he found on his previous trip and stealthily traveled towards the ruins of the Mage Tower.


    To be honest, with regards to this treasure hunting trip, though Leon had prepared numerous ns and strategies in his mind, when his opponent was an Mage level demon, it was unknown whether these ns and strategies would work as they were designed to.


    Riding on the back of the Demon Alligator Hunter, the trio had a meeting and repeatedly cross-checked each other''s tasks. In order to defeat the Transvestite Fairy, not only Leon had to face a tremendous amount of pressure, he even arranged an extremely important task for both Bleia and Snox toplete.


    As the main force for the war, Leon''s existence was used to attract attention. Only by luring the frightening Fairy away from the entrance of the ruin could Bleia and Snox have the chance to sneak into the ce and search for the true form of the Fairy.


    And only by finding a way to cut off the spiritual connection between the Fairy and its true form would Leon have the possibility of defeating it face-to-face. Or else, if he had to fight aplete Fairy, even if Leon sacrificed all of his Golems, he might not be able to obtain any advantage.


    Perhaps the previous lesson was overly painful as all the Gnolls that had been prowling at the outer perimeter of the ruin had actually disappeared. This really surprised Leon who had nned to make a clean wipe of the outer perimeter first.


    When Demon Alligator Hunter once again arrived in front of the demonized forest, both Bleia and Snox had their jaws dropped in amazement. They wouldn''t be so surprised if what they saw was on the surface world. However, when they were at nearly twenty miles underneath the surface, yet were still able to see such a wild profusion of vegetation. This really astounded both of them who had got used to the deste and lonely environment of the Underground World!


    "Let''s move, and don''t forget about your task. Once that Fairy leaves the ce, both of you need to act fast, because I can''t stand against it for a long time!" Before they separated, Leon couldn''t help but urge once again.


    A sweet smile emerged on Bleia''s pretty face. Her slim body leapt into the air and within a split second, she had transformed into a fist-sized red bat and flew into the forest.


    Leon didn''t have too many worries for Bleia. Both her overall strength of an Advance Apprentice Vampire and her new ability, Natural Charm were the biggest guarantees for her survival. Especially thetter, in a chaotic demonized forest such as this, as long as she didn''t actively attack the enemy, ordinary demonized creatures and nts wouldn''t attack her actively either.


    In fact, the ability of Natural Charm could actually ignore the species, genders, factions, and some other factors, and directly influence the subconscious mind of any intelligent creature. Thus, it could simply be regarded as the best innate ability for treasure hunting in the wilderness. Allegedly, the advancement requirement for this very unique ss actually needed the ability of Natural Charm as a foundation.


    The current Snox was seen wearing a torn and tattered leather armor, while having a perfectly matching old cloak flinging behind its back. Also, the short wooden stick that it always carried around was found in its hand.


    "Master, rest assure, I''ll try my best toplete the task!" Snox bowed respectfully before jumping off from the Demon Alligator. It moved its short legs and strode into the depths of the forest.


    Though the demonized forest was a ce filled with dangers, for a goblin who had mastered Invisibility and Camouge, those low ranked demons could never threaten its life. Also, with Bleia protecting it in the dark, even if some demons had discovered Snox, they would be ''lucky'' enough to have gotten themselves killed.


    When both peers disappeared, only then had Leon dispersed the Demon Alligator Hunter and freed up two Spirit points used to summon it. For the uing battle, he needed his most powerfulbative force, thus every single Spirit point was extremely precious and couldn''t afford to waste any of them.


    After adjusting and calmed down his Spirit, without any hesitation, Leon summoned the Lightning Giant and a Rock Snake. It took seven Spirit points to maintain the existence of the Lightning Giant, while Rock Snake upies three Spirit points. Currently, Leon''s Spirit had reached 13.25 (including the +1 effect from the Circlet of Nobility), if he was pushed to his limit, he could summon another Rock Snake or a Water Elemental. Explore more stories with empire


    This was the strongest battle group Leon could achieve after pushing himself to the limit.


    Nevertheless, considering the surrounding environment in this ce wasn''t suitable to let out histest golem, the Water Elemental, to unleash its strongestbative strength, Leon preferred the former option.


    Upon the appearance of the Lightning Giant, deep and muffled thunderps immediately echoed throughout this spacious underground space. With its entire body covered by a crackling lightning storm, the Lightning Giant opened up its dazzling eyes and hovered in the air over ten meters from the group. It took the lead and charged into the demonized forest.


    Leon gritted his teeth and briefly organized the equipment on his body, before following behind the Lightning Giant without another nce backwards. Meanwhile, the massive Rock Snake was slowly slithering behind Leon, keeping its high vignce towards any possible attacks that mighte from his back.


    A man and two monsters were slowly walking in the demonized forest.


    Leon didn''t need to waste his time or effort cleaning any of those troublesome vines or bushes on their way, as the Lightning Giant''s tall body shed through any nts that got too close to it, turning them into a pile of ashes by the sudden strike of the thunderstorm. Even those little animals hiding in the dense woods couldn''t escape from it! As long as their life aura was detected by the Lightning Giant, they would be greeted by a lightning strike.


    With the peak Pseudo-Mage level overall strength of the Lightning Giant, even those Iron Rhinoceros who were known for their strong vitality couldn''t withstand the lightning strike it casually unleashed, let alone those small demons who only had with their strange abilities and the ability to hide!


    Completely advancing while crushing everything in their path!


    Wherever they passed, everything would be turned into ashes, even the ground was filled with burned cracks caused by the lightning strikes!


    Though the demons wished to protect the magical source which brought them endless power, when thergest pack of violent wolves were totally wiped out by the Lightning Giant, these demons had finally be scared and started to crazily flee from the messenger from hell who could bring death upon all of them.


    At the same time, right in front of the copsed Mage Tower where Leon had visitedst time, the seductive body of Fairy was seen gradually emerging from thin air.


    It was overlooking the rocking dark cloud that had formed above the forest. From time to time, a dazzling lightning strike would struck out from it, following by a series of muffled thunderps. Though it couldn''t see the numbers of the enemy from here, but judging from the power of this summoned thunder cloud, the Fairy had furrowed its brows slightly, as if trying to make a tough decision.


    Looking at the direction where the thunder cloud was headed, it seemed its destination was right where the Fairy was.


    If these intruders were allowed to bring those mes of war to this ce, perhaps they would cause an inestimable damage to the life source hidden underground. Finally, a firm expression emerged on the beautiful and delicate face of the Fairy. With its hand making a grabbing movement in the air, the magical bow that it had owned since the day it had been born appeared in its grip.


    Following a whisper from the Fairy, the demonized nts around the ruins started to grow crazily and soon a dense green foliage had totally covered up the secret entrance to the ruin.


    After finishing all these, the Fairly shouted angrily, flipping its near transparent wings, before leaping towards the enemy with tremendous speed.


    ...


    2078 Words

 Chapter 100 Pow

    The Fairy had an incredible flying speed. It actually intercepted Leon and his golems in the middle of the demonized jungle.


    "It''s you again? You don''t know the difference between life and death! This time, don''t even think about leaving this ce alive!"


    Looking at the rather familiar face of Leon, two Spirit mes of anger immediately shot out from the Fairy''s eyes. Even though there were nearly a hundred meters of distance between them, the intense Spiritual pressure still cause Leon''s heart to tremble violently. He struggled to maintain a calm mentality.


    Damn it! As expected, he couldn''t handle an Mage level demon at his current level of strength!


    Leon kept backing off. It was only when the Rock Snake coiled its body around Leon and protected him inside its coils that he could calm his panicked mind down and regain his thoughts.


    ''Lightning Giant, engage it. Don''t let it have any opportunity to attack me!'' Leon transmitted his order through a hidden Spiritual channel.


    Almost straight away, the Lightning Giant ced its palms together and unleashed a huge lightning strike that had the diameter of a washbowl. It flew straight at the Fairy, who was hovering in the air.


    Obviously, the Fairy was very confident in its Rose Armor, since it actually didn''t speed up and dodge the attack. Instead, it pushed through the raging Elementium Lightning and ferociously leapt onto the Lightning Giant, who was in the middle of attracting lightning.


    While it did so, numerous rose stalks burst out from its body and started twisting and interlocking with each other. The stalks formed an exquisite looking rose armor that protected its body within. After that, it braved the sshing electric arcs, stretched out one of its hand, and forcefully pierced toward the target''s chest.


    The Fairy had extraordinarybat instinct, which allowed it to clearly identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Lightning Giant.


    When fighting an Elementium Golem like this, reducing its strength slowly was definitely not the best method. Though doing so would allow the Fairy to suffer less attacks, it would also drag the battle into an unpredictable and tough to control fight of attrition. Therefore, it had to kill the Lightning Giant using the least amount of time possible, even if that would consume some of its defensive strength. This was, in fact, the best method of preventing the enemy from controlling the pace of the battle.


    In the face of the enemy''s solo onrush, the Lightning Giant showed no emotion at all. A sudden thunderp emanated from its body, and immediately, the Lightning Chain unleashed from its palms became thicker. Also, half a second before the sparkling arm of the Fairy drilled a hole through its chest, the electricity surrounded the Lightning Giant''s body shed, and it suddenly vanished from the scene.


    Lightning Jump!


    Though it had ''jump'' in the name, the actual result was no different than a short distance teleportation.


    A loud thunderp was heard from hundred meters away. With its body shrouded in violent electricity, the Lightning Giant reappeared where the noise had originated. There wasn''t any dy or hesitation. Right as it reappeared, a brand new Lightning Chain streaked across the hundred-meter distance and struck the Fairy''s delicate body.


    It was worth mentioning, among all of the Elementium magic spells, Lightning element magic spells held the top position in speed. It had nearly reached the stage of reaching the enemy with just a thought. Only those who had Agility at level 20 could dodge an attack with such incredible speed.


    A joyful expression emerged on Leon''s face.


    But, before the smile could fully bloom on his face, Leon couldn''t help but show a bitter expression.


    Indeed, with the overall strength of the Lightning Giant, it was more than enough to deal with the frightening Fairy. But, it was also because of the extraordinary overall strength of the Lightning Giant, that it had clearly portrayed the weakness of its master, Leon. Thus, when the frightening Fairy couldn''t find any loophole on the Lightning Giant, perhaps it would switch its attention to...


    While Leon was pondering silently, as expected, after quickly exchanging a few rounds of attack with the Lightning Giant, the Fairy suddenly halted, slowly turned its head, and looked over at Leon.


    Damn it, damn it, damn it...


    Without saying another word, Leon simply turned around, taking the Rock Snake, and fled into the distance.


    ...


    While the thunder cloud hovered over the demonized forest and the loud boom of lightning strikes echoed throughout the entire cavern, at the edge of the forest closest to the cavern entrance, a dense clump of Earth Elementium suddenly sprayed out from underground. It quickly formed into a ring-shaped magical array with a three meter diameter.


    A massive gray dust cloud burst out from the magical array. Soon, five incorporeal, strange looking human figures formed.


    Following a muffled boom, a light yellow ring made of Earth Elementium shed and the dust pir hovering in the air suddenly exploded, revealing five Fallen Pseudo-Mages, who had arrived via teleportation.


    Langdon, Philip, Hegel, and the other two Fallen Pseudo-Mages whose names were unknown.


    All five men were swaying, but, relying on their powerful Spirit, they quickly dispelled the Earth Elementium which had invaded into their body and once again calmed their minds.


    Though Stratum Teleportation provided greater speedpared to running on their feet, they experienced a short period of dizziness after each teleportation. Thus, it was totally unsuitable to use in a sudden ambush, but instead, a supplementary method when traveling long distances.


    When the group of men finally got rid of the dizziness caused by the teleportation, they started ncing over to the forest not far away. They were immediately attracted by the deafening noise of the violent thunderps.


    Clearly, that ce had turned into a frightening killing field!


    Standing straight and tall, Langdon looked over at the thunder cloud in the far distance. His gaze followed two vague figures who were flying at top speed and attacking each other under the thunder cloud. A strangely satisfied emotion surged up in his mind.


    Damn kid, let me see where can you run this time! No matter how many people you brought here, I want all of you to die in this demonized forest!


    "Let''s go! It is about time for us to make our debut!" With a hideous smile, Langdon took the lead and walked into the forest. Behind him, the remaining four Fallen Pseudo-Mages exchanged nces with each other, said nothing, and followed his footsteps. Enjoy new tales from empire


    ...


    While thunderous rumbling was heard in the distance, a red bat was pping its wings and approaching the entrance of the ruin.


    Upon sensing the life aura that came from the body of the red bat, a long thin vine suddenly shot out from the dense bushes that tightly nketed the entire ruin. It coiled towards the red bat, who was flying at low altitude but with incredible speed.


    Bleia let out a loud shout. Her body instantly transformed back to human form, and she used her pair of razor sharp ws to swing fiercely in the air. Within the time of a few blinks, the demon vine''s tentacle was sliced into countless pieces.


    It was like she had stirred up a nest of hos! In the next second, countless vines shot out from the foliage, forming into a dense green forest, crazily piercing and coiling towards Bleia.


    A hideous expression came on to Bleia''s face. She then turned into crimson lightning, savagely streaking into the heart of the green forest. She kept swinging her razor sharp ws. Each strike cut through a thick vine, causing sticky green liquid to spray out from the broken vine.


    As Bleia was restlessly fighting with the vine forest, a bizarre demon vine poked out from a huge green leaf, pointing its end right at Bleia from a distance. The end of the demon vine spread out like a flower and revealed a strange eyeball that looked steadily at Bleia. No matter how she twisted and turned, she just couldn''t escape from the eyeball''s vision.


    While fighting in another battlefield in the far distance, the Fairy recieved the projected image of Bleia restlessly ughtering the demon vine, causing it to slow down its movements slightly.


    For other people, such a slow down was nearly impossible to detect, but in the eyes of the Lightning Giant, it was distinct and clear. A crackling lightning spear instantly hit the flower armor of the Fairy.


    The sudden mini lightning storm flooded the Fairy and fully tested the magic resistance of the Rose Armor.


    So far, though the Lightning Giant had fought with the Fairy for such a long time, it still hadn''t broken through the defense of the Rose Armor. It was like those flower stalks could regrow forever. Whenever one was burned off, soon another would regrow.


    Though the Lightning Giant had tried its best, it still hadn''t inflicted any actual damage. At most, it only managed to destroy some of the Fairy''s defensive magical equipment.


    The new enemy in the distance distracted the Fairy''s mind, making it let out a furious roar and want to leave the battlefield. Therefore, the Lighting Giant, who had been fighting with guerri tactics, immediately charged forward, pushing through the violent arrow showers of the Fairy, and entangled them together.


    Meanwhile, at the ruins of Mage Tower, because of Bleia''s daring and savage attack, the ground was fully filled with countless twisting and struggling broken demon vines. When the number of demon vines was reduced to a certain level, a concealed dark hole was revealed.


    While the demon vine forest and Bleia were fighting with all they had, a gray rock that no one noticed was seen moving toward the hole, one step at a time.


    Carefully dodging the demon vines that rolled all over the ground, trying its best to avoid being stained by the green liquid, Snox kept scanning for danger around its body through the opening of its cloak. Then, moving one step at a time, it slowly approached the entrance to the ruin.


    Bleia knew what it was doing, and was working hard to attract all the attacks of the demon vines to one side, allowing the goblin, Snox, to infiltrate the heart of the enemy using its camouge skill.


    Finally, after journeying over numerous obstacles, Snox arrived at the hole.


    Hesitating for a few seconds, Snox touched the magical cor strapped around its neck. Sensing the magical contract that was taking effect in its body, it finally made up its mind toplete the task given by its master.


    What to do? Before they hade, in order to ensure the sess of the mission, Leon had purposely paid a visit to Mage Angus and purchased a magical servant contract from him.


    The magical servant contract was currently taking effect on Snox. Once it thought or behaved in a way that betrayed its master, that young man could sense it. And at that point in time, all he needed to do was recite some secret magic words, then the magical cor strapped on Snox''s neck would instantly crush its head.


    Therefore, if Snox wished to live on, it would have toplete its task, ording to the order of its master!


    Throwing away all of the unnecessary fantasies in its mind, Snox gently shook off the magical camouge from its body. Then it waved the short wooden stick and cast an Invisibility spell on itself. Finally, it dashed into the hole without looking back.


    Just as Snox dashed into the hole, at the far distance, a few of the main characters of the event were instantly struck with a vague feeling. All of them sent a nce over to the location of the ruin''s entrance at the same time.


    ...


    1977 Words

 Chapter 101 Magic demons

    Within just five minutes, the Lightning Giant had been hurt by an unprecedented torture.


    Though it had the overall strength to crush the strongest Pseudo-Mage, its weakness was as vivid as its strength ¨C its defense was overly weak!


    The Wind Vortex surrounding its body could deflect an enemy''s attack using its powerful airflow, while the Lightning Shield and golden armor also effectively reduced the strength of an enemy''s attack. With these threeyers of magical defense, the Lightning Giant could audaciouslyunch attacks at the enemy and dodge the enemy attacks with its lightning speed without too much worry.


    Due to the Lightning Giant''s Lightning Jump ability, not many enemies were able to catch up to its movements.


    But when using to intercept the enemy, especially the Fairy who had a stronger overall strength than the Lightning Giant, its'' fatal weakness of rather a fragile individual defense and theck of a solid body had been revealed. Within the period of five minutes, the magical defense outside of its body had been broken through seven times, while multiple parts of its tall, mighty and cloud-like body had been ripped apart by the Fairy.


    If Leon had not sent the Rock Snake as reinforcement in time, the Lighting Giant probably would have been forced to abandon a part of its body in order to protect the two most critical cores inside of its body.


    Nevertheless, the Transvestite Fairy was, after all, an Mage level demon. Thus, any offensive magic spell or physical attack casually unleashed by it would always cause frightening damage to the Rock Snake or Lightning Giant. Since the Rock Snake had a body made of a thick and dense underground sedimentary rock, even if faced a Pseudo-Mage opponent, as long as it didn''t let the opponent hit the same spot multiple times, it did not have to worry about its rocky body being broken by the enemy.


    But when facing against the Mage level Fairy, the rocky body had not been tempered and the magical defense was overly fragile. Struck by the rain of greenish arrows, the entire body of the Rock Snake looked like it was soaking in a highly concentrated acid, as its surface corroded with countless holes of all sizes. And due theck of Earth Elementium, the bonding agent on many parts of its body, the rocks on those parts had started to fall off its body.


    The entire body of the snake had be three sizes ''skinnier''.


    As the offensive strength of the Light Arrow Shower had exceeded the self-regenerating speed of the Rock Snake, thus, it was only a matter of time before the Rock Snake disintegratedpletely.


    But in this tough battle, Rock Snake was not the main force. It was only responsible for assisting and supporting the attacks and defenses of the Lightning Giant. Thus, just the shock wave from the battle of those two mighty monsters had nearly made it break down. From this, one could easily imagine how tremendous the pressure the Lightning Giant was enduring right now.


    The once dense and solid green body was filled with holes now, the cloud-like Wind Elementium that had been torn and ripped into shreds were lingering around its body. These Wind Elementiums were originally part of the Lightning Giant''s body, but they had turned green as the result of being corroded by the mutated energy of the Fairy and thus could no longer be recalled to use again.


    The golden armor had also fallen apart, as threads of lightning energy continued to dissipate into the air ¨C a clear sign that the Lightning Giant''s ability to restrict its own energy had been reduced to the lowest level.


    However, the beautiful Fairy, who had the upper hand and was in an advantageous position in the battlefield, actually looked restless and feverish. In fact, many times it had been able to push the Rock Snake to a corner. With just another round of fierce attack, it would have been able to pierce through the triangle-shaped head of the Rock Snake and crush the crystal core hiding inside its skull. Instead, it behaved like it was rushing for a very important date. As whenever there was a chance, it would turn around and try to leave the ce, wasting the best opportunity to kill one of its enemies.


    Therefore, relying on just the alternating cover fire, while being desperately held down by the Rock Snake and Lightning Giant, the Fairy continued to retreat while counter attacking. However, it just wasn''t able to get rid of these two super glues even after spending fifteen minutes.


    Explore hidden tales at empire


    Yet, right at this moment, the five Fallen Pseudo-Mages from Elysium City had suddenly appeared at the edge of the battlefield.


    No doubt, for both parties in battle, their arrival was a massive storm.


    The Fairy was struck by a sudden sense of danger. It had felt with its own strength, it was probable that it wouldn''t be able to chase these group of enemies out of here today. Meanwhile, Leon''s heart started to race as he was hiding outside of the battlefield. He realized there was a huge loophole in his n and thus, it looked like there was going to be a long day ahead.


    Upon stepping into the battlefield, the faces of all five Fallen Pseudo-Mages showed a horrified expression.


    Previously, when they had sensed the uproarious battle happening in the demonized forest from a far distance, they thought that Leon had invited a whole group of surface Apprentice Mages to jointly attack the Mage level Fairy. Who knew that when they came to the scene and took a look, it was actually... just Leon''s Golem team that was fighting against the frightening Fairy. The discovery had no doubt made them more fearful of this strange kid, who appeared to only possess the overall strength of an Intermediate Apprentice.


    There was absolutely no way they could allow someone like this to continue to grow!


    Facing the five Fallen Pseudo-Mages who hade in a very threatening manner, Leon waved his hand and called the Rock Snake and Lightning Giant back, before turning around and starting to flee.


    The miserable looking Rock Snake caught up to Leon, opened its giant mouth and swallowed him, before simply diving into the ground and disappearing without a trace. At the same time, enshrouded by crackling and dazzling electricity, the Lightning Giant vanished from the scene, and in next second, suddenly reappeared at the far end of one''s line of sight. But before they could catch up with it, the muffled sound of thunderp rang out once again and the Lightning Giant had disappeared again without a trace.


    Freed from the tangles of the Lightning Giant, the frightening Fairypletely ignored these few neers, pped its wings and rushed back to the entrance to the ruins.


    When it finally returned to the ruins, the Fairy found that the entire demon vine forest was in shambles.


    Scattered, broken branches of demon vines and stinky, sticky green acid decorated this ce and making it look like a miserable battlefield. Yet, the culprit behind this, the red-dressed Bleia had long disappeared from the scene.


    The Fairy let out a furious roar, retracted its wings and dived into the dark entrance.


    Originally, there hadn''t been any passage under the ground.


    When the self-destructing magical array of the Mage Tower had been activated, by a series of explosions, most of the magical equipment in this ce had been turned into broken gravel and debris that scattered everywhere, burying everything under the copsed rocks and sand. However, a Human-face Flower that originally nted in the magical garden had been fortunate enough to survive the explosion.


    After sensing the huge amount of green nt element energy leaking out from deep underground, the Human-face Flower hadmenced the tireless journey of digging. Supported by its wild hunger for the nt element energy, it had actually bored through the dense and solid heap of rubbles as far as dozens of meters underground, before setting its root into a surviving broken Elementium Pool inside of the Mage Tower.


    Dominated by and by absorbing the mutated energy, the Human-face flower was able to step over numerous thresholds that ordinary demons could hardly ovee and eventually became the first frightening demon in this demonized forest to possess the overall strength of an Mage.


    Although its overall strength had skyrocketed, it had been stillcking in intelligence and magical knowledge. As a matter of fact, this was the weakness of all wild demons. Even though by using the method of seizing resources, they were also able to be formidable existences that couldpete with human Mages, because theycked the legacy of a magic spell, it was tough for them to fight against a human Mage of the same grade.


    And, once they exposed themselves, often times they became prey hunted by human Mages. Where had all the rare materials in the Mage Worlde from? They actually came from these wild demons who had never gotten eptance from human Mages.


    Of course, there existed some foreign species Mage that were epted by humans.


    ording to Leon''s knowledge, in the World of Mage, the number of marine species Mages was nearly equal to the number of human Mages. Apart from that, there was also some foreign species who possessed strange innate abilities who were also epted by the World of Mage and be part of the poption of official Mages.


    Take this frightening Fairy as an example. If there was a human Mage family who was willing to ept it and taught it some of the customs and knowledge of the Mage World, then it would have had the possibility of being epted by human Mages. Unfortunately, in this uncivilized and dark Underground Cave, it could only mix with a bunch of low-grade demons who had low intelligence and had onlye to evolve by ughtering, which caused it to fear contact with any humans.


    Driven by its fear, this demonized forest dweller had developed the xenophobia and aggressiveness toward any outsider. Those underground races who had lived in the surrounding areas of the demonized forest kepting here to harvest some of the materials that Mages wanted, had further intensified its feelings of confrontation and conflict.


    In the eyes of humans, this demonized forest was like a magical treasure vault containing numerous magical materials. Yet, in the eyes of the Fairy and all other demons in this forest, the humans and underground creatures were the fresh food that could satiate their hunger.


    As a result as this hostile rtionship, any foreign species who intruded into the demonized forest would immediately attract a violent response from the demons.


    Flying down the dark and narrow tunnel in top speed, the Fairy''s mind waspletely filled with anger. It wished to charge into the ce and ughter everything in sight and cruelly kill every single enemy who dared to intrude on its territory.


    But before that, it had to guarantee the safety of the source of its power.


    It had personally excavated the dark and deep tunnel; it was a winding tunnel that twisted and turned in all directions and its diameter was just enough to allow the Fairy''s slim body to travel through. The entire stretch of tunnel was filled with countless openings, most of them led to some crafty trap or a dead end. There was only one path that would lead to its nest directly.


    Though most of the upper floors of the Mage Tower had copsed, in the first and second underground floors, there were still some magical equipment that were preserved in good shape. Aftering out of the dark tunnel, one woulde upon a broken corridor which had originally belonged to the first underground floor. Most of the stone rooms and magical secret rooms on both sides of the tunnel had been broken through by force. Looking through the broken stone doors, it was evident that there was nothing left inside.


    Originally, this ce had been used as a storage warehouse for the Mage Tower, thus there were many spare resources. However, throughout the years, they were all breached by the Fairy and it had looted everything stored inside.


    The Fairy hadn''t stopped here and had continued to rush through the corridor, following the spiral stone stair located at the end of the passage and leaping towards the second underground floor, where its true form was located.


    However, without its detections, right inside of an emptied stone room, in a dark corner where no light could reach, a pair of crimson eyes had suddenly opened.


    ...


    2115 Words

 Chapter 102 Alchemy Bomb

    The second underground floor, which served as the energy room for Mage Tower, was a huge and spacious space.


    The copse of the above-ground buildings had caused an immeasurable amount of damage to this floor. Out of the five Elementium Pools, four of them had beenpletely destroyed by the devastating explosion. Thest Elementium Pool had suffered some damage as well, as the supposedly bnced magical elementium contained within had skewed. It now contained primarily nt Elementium.


    Every Elementium Pool was a huge pool. The pool wall waspletely engraved with countless magic spell runes and magical lines. The energy gathering array at the bottom of the pool constantly absorbed magical Elementium from the surrounding space and filled the huge pool.


    Four of the Elementium Pools had copsed and broken down. The debris and rock fragments that had fallen from above had fully filled the pool, and the remaining magical arrays had stopped giving out the glow which meant the magical energy was functioning. The surviving Elementium Pool was functioning, but one could see a huge crack in the pool wall.


    Elementium water was leaking out from the crack and was diffusing into the surrounding air.


    Clearly, the dissipating magical energy was mainly nt element energy, for an indescribably pleasant scent of vegetation had filled the entire underground floor.


    Right in the middle of the remaining Elementium Pool, there was a huge, ancient looking tree that filled every inch of the pool with its sprawling roots. Its trunk took five men to encircle. On top of the ancient tree was a huge room made up of pink flower petals, and inside was a warm and sweet little bed made of fragrant and soft flower pistils. All of it emanated a luscious scent that could make anyone drunk.


    Although it looked like a tall and ancient tree, in fact, it was not a real tree, but the true form of the Fairy, who was originally a tiny and delicate Human-faced Flower. Because it had absorbed a huge amount of nt element magical Elementium, it had grown explosively into its current form.


    Honestly speaking, from its current looks, perhaps even the most knowledgeable Mage would have a tough time identifying its original species. After all, it was extremely rare to see a demon who had solely upied an Elementium Pool!


    After it had rushed to the underground floor, upon realizing nothing had happened to its true form, which upied almost 1/5 of the underground space, the Fairy finally breathed out a sigh of relief. But when itmunicated with its true form''s sleeping consciousness, it suddenly let out a shrill roar.


    It had a jarring and sharp voice, abination of male and female, that was noisy and unpleasant to the ears.


    "You damn bastard, get out here! What have you done to my true form?"


    After the Fairy waved its slim arm, countless green acid arrows shot out instantly, targeting a seemingly insignificant rock at the corner of a far away wall.


    "Don''t hit me, don''t hit me! I''ming out now!" A panic-stricken cry was heard, and then the short and green body of Snox rolled out from where the incorporeal rock had been.


    The powerful acid arrows pierced through the rock, which was actually camouge from the gray cloak, and right into the wall behind it. A hissing sound betrayed the presence of the corrosive acid as arge patch of the wall simply melted like hot wax, exposing the magical runes and lines that were engraved on the wall''s insides.


    Taken aback by the power of the acid arrows, Snox kept jumping up and down while swinging the short wooden stick in its hand. With a loud voice, it threatened, "Stop attacking me, or else I''ll detonate the alchemy bomb I ced inside the Elementium Pool!"


    "Alchemy bomb?!" Worried, the Fairy immediately stopped its movement.


    The events of the past half day were quickly transmitted to it from its true form. After the damn goblin had intruded, it had spent a long time searching for all of the hidden ces. Then it climbed into the Elementium Pool and tossed in quite a few strange cylindrical scroll-like objects into the pool. Not only that, the fellow had also stuck many of the cylinders into different parts of the true form''s body.


    The Fairy opened its soft and fair hand, and the root of its true form pushed up a cylinder and ced it onto the Fairy''s palm.


    What was this object?


    Curiously, the Fairy flipped it around in its palm and spent some time looking at it, but it just couldn''t figure out the exact function of the cylinder. There weren''t any identifiable magical patterns engraved on top of it, and there weren''t any Elementium crystals that could be used as a source of energy. How could something like this cause any damage to it?


    Just as the Fairy''s face showed perplexity and it decided to capture the goblin, Snox raised the short wooden stick high and let out a stern shout, "Explode!"


    In next moment, under the Fairy''s disbelieving gaze, the cylinder in its hand exploded.


    A huge fireball instantly swallowed the upper body of the Fairy. The raging airwave blew away all of the debris and rock fragments around it, shooting them out in all directions, and a mini mushroom dust cloud bloomed. When the dust gradually settled down and the fireball slowly disappeared, the smoky ck body of the Fairy finally was revealed.


    However, after a bright green ring of light shed, the fair and beautiful face of the Fairy had returned and it didn''t seem to be hurt by the explosion.


    Clenching its jaw tightly in anger, the Fairy crushed the remaining half of the iron tube in its palm. It decided to straightaway kill the damn goblin who dared to provoke the almighty.


    But, before it could charge towards its target, Snox suddenly pointed its short stick in the direction of the Elementium Pool. "Don''t move! If you move a little bit, I''ll detonate the alchemy bomb ced in that ce!"


    Coming from Snox, it was a rather weak threat, but it caused the Fairy to change its expression instantly.


    The power of the previous explosion wasn''t really strong ¨C trying to use it to kill a formidable Mage level demon was no different than an ant, ludicrously ignorant of its own weakness, trying to topple a huge tree. But it was strong enough to destroy the Elementium Pool.


    The Elementium Pool had been damaged into a very fragile state. With one wrong touch, it could be destroyed. Even the Fairy''s true form had to be careful when growing in it. It was afraid that it might burst the pool wall and destroy the energy source which had brought it the power it now had.


    It wouldn''t take many of those alchemy bombs. Just one or two would be sufficient to inflict massive and irreversible damage to the Elementium Pool. If that really happened, the Fairy''s ability to continue growing strong would disappear. The Fairy cried out in terror but didn''t dare move anymore.


    "Can you please not destroy my home?" Its eyes damp with tears, the Fairy begged in a soft voice. "I''m willing to pay any price."


    The Fairy spoke with an affectedly sweet voice. Together with its ethereal beauty, it could easily make any male creature in the world desire to indulge in its delicate appearance.


    Perhaps living together with a Fairy like this was not a bad choice. It would no longer be the green-skinned goblin who was looked down by everybody, but a...


    Before the perfect lifestyle in Snox''s imaginationpletely unfolded, Leon''s cold snort suddenly rang out in its mind. Snox shuddered, recalling the magical cor strapped around its neck and the magical ve contract binding it.


    "Ugly, don''t think that you can seduce the great Snox. If you don''t obey me, I''ll detonate all of the alchemy bombs at the same time!" After being warned by its master, Snox, angry from embarrassment, jumped up from the ground and waved its fist angrily at the Fairy.


    Oh dear, in front of Snox was an Mage level demon Fairy! Normally, a frightening demon like this could vanish Snox with a single finger. But now, this demon could only swallow the insults and humiliation silently and tter Snox in a hundred and one ways. The indescribably pleasant feelinging from the situation was more enjoyable than having ten goblin girls giving it a massage.


    Any other time, if an insignificant green-skinned goblin-like this one was served as food to the Fairy, it wouldin about the stinking and sour meat which was tough to chew. But now, with the goblin''s dominating position in the situation, it actually kept yelling and shouting at the Fairy.


    The Fairy''s face turned red from anger, then it gradually turned pale green, and eventually became as dark as the bottom of a used pot.


    However, as it was a demon by nature, it didn''t care about the virtue and dignity that normal human held so dear. In an instant, it had brought up a smiling face and said, "Since your honorable self has risked your life and intruded into this ce, I supposed you''re looking for the treasures buried deep under the ruin, huh? I''ve saved the trouble for your honorable self, because I have cleaned up that ce, and found some pretty good treasures. Here!"


    Following the sweet chuckle of the Fairy, the tall and thick trunk of the Human-faced Flower, which looked like an ancient tree, suddenly trembled slightly, and the exotic little bed ced in the flower petal room split open, revealing a pile of magical gems and magic spell materials.


    Damn it, no wonder all of the treasure vaults and secret rooms along the way were empty. The Fairy had transferred them here!


    When Snox''s eyes came to rest on the splendid gems, gold coins, mithril, diamonds, and crystal essence, it could no longer move its nce away. Deep in its mind, countless greedy voices were hysterically howling.


    Mine... mine... they are all mine!


    The deafening howl of its soul deeply shook Snox''s mind, causing it to sink into a state of ecstasy. It never noticed the bright flicker that shed in the Fairy''s eyes.


    "Die now, you damn goblin!" As it roared out the words furiously, the voice of the Fairy suddenly changed from a delicate female voice to a hoarse and masculine male voice.


    As the Fairy suddenly turned hostile, countless thick and strong roots shot out from the rubble around Snox, crazily piercing toward it from all directions.


    With such a sudden change, Snox was caught unprepared and didn''t even have time to respond. It could only helplessly stare at countless roots, with their end shining brightly like metal, piercing toward its body.


    The sound of objects slicing through the air was heard from around its body. The strong wind caused by the razor sharp roots swept across its body and face, causing pain like someone was slicing it with a knife. Snox closed its eyes and waited for death, but it suddenly felt itself flying through the air, dashing and darting in between the crisscrossing web woven by the roots, dodging every single attack by a matter of inches.


    Snox turned around, only to see the beautiful face of its female master. Bleia was right by its side, holding on to its body and dashing through the root forest. But she was having a tough time dodging all of the attacks!


    "You fool, hurry up and tell it to stop the attack!" Noticing that the stupid goblin still hadn''t realized the situation, Bleia wished she could just throw it right into the root forest.


    "Oh." Finally, Snox awakened, turned its face, and pointed its finger at the huge tree sitting far away from where they were.


    A loud boom echoed through the air. A fireball erupted from the center of the huge Human-faced Flower''s trunk. A bowl-sized amount of skin was broken by the explosion, causing sticky green liquid to spray out like a water fountain.


    "Are you going to stop? If not, I''ll detonate them all in a row!" Snox shouted out in a loud voice.


    Furious, the Fairy finally stopped all of its attacks.


    ...


    2059 Words

 Chapter 103 Treasures

    An absolutely stagnant atmosphere reigned in the ce.


    After its true form had gotten hurt, the Fairy continued roaring out raging curses. Its jarring and delicate feminine voice ovepped with a hoarse and deep masculine one, causing nearly no one to understand what had been it roaring about.


    Finally, after venting the pent-up anger in its chest, the Fairy who had a slender and delicate female outlook pped its transparent wings and hovered midair in the second underground floor, firing its question furiously.


    "You damn intruders, why did you invade my home? Tell me your purpose!"


    "Your honorable, we''re just a group of people who came here for treasure hunting. As long as we can find the treasures we are looking for here, we have no intention of bing your enemy!" After Bleia dropped it on safe ground, Snox eagerlymenced a negotiation.


    Although it was not an expert in fighting, when it came tomercial negotiation, Snox actually possessed some excellent talents which in no way matched its status and position.


    In regards to Snox''s hateful ttering appearance and guileful words, Bleia showed a disgusted manner and she felt disdain for the negotiation. Thus, she simply handed the whole negotiation to Snox, while maintaining a high vignce for any possible sudden attacking from the Fairy.


    All negotiations needed a trump card!


    There was absolutely no need for a negotiation with an imbnce strength to be carried out.


    If not for the protection from Bleia, the Fairy would have just need a quick sudden attack and it would be able topletely wipe out the body and soul of this disgusting goblin merchant, sparing itself from stiflingly and depressingly negotiating with the goblin.


    To be honest, not many of those materials, resources, and treasures looted from the ruins of Mage Tower were suitable for its use. The reason the Fairy had gathered them together was purely for the purpose of appreciating them, with the intention of using them to decorate its flower room. Even if it gave out all of them to these intruders, it wouldn''t have felt too much pity either. However, the depressing emotion of being robbed by some lower ss creatures just kept bugging it.


    During normal times, it had always regarded itself as the master of this demonized forest. Countless demonized nts and creatures in the entire demonized forest had to obey all itsmand. Those who could tter it in a good way would be able to upy a piece ofnd closer to the ruins, while those wild and stubborn demons could only live at the outer perimeter and absorb the rarefied demon energy that had been filtered multiple times by others.


    When it was in a good mood, it would leak out slightly more Elementium aura. And just with this tiny bit of bestowment, it could always make the demons in the forest struck with extreme joy and shed tears of gratitude. When it had a bad mood, it would upy all the demon energy, causing all the demons outside of the ruins to scratch their ears and cheeks in anxiety, immersing themselves in a restless state and start killing each other.


    Just with an approach like this, throughout the entire demonized forest, it had been worthy of the title of the strongest existence, the king whom all the demons had to tter!


    But today, the ''king'' was forced to control its temper and negotiate with a low and degrading green-skinned goblin and the topic of their discussion was actually how much of its collections it had to give up to fill the seemingly bottomless greed of the opponent.


    Right when both parties were restlessly tussling with each other, the lower level of these ruins suddenly shook violently, as huge amounts of stone bs immediately fell off from the shaky ceiling, bringing dust clouds into the air, impairing their vision.


    "Damn it... damn it..." The anger of the Fairy was approaching the boiling point. "There is another group of bastards wreaking havoc above, I..."


    It wanted to rush out and drive away that group of invaders, but it also felt worried about leaving behind these two time bombs in its home. Therefore, it became even more fidgety and restless.


    As a feral demon, it didn''t have sufficient magical knowledge to repair the broken Elementium Pool. Once thest Elementium Pool had totally broken down because of the fighting by those invaders, then the hope for it to continue growing stronger would bepletely cut off.


    Right as it was hesitating, another ground-shaking quake came from above, causing the rock wall of this second underground floor to burst with a massive crack.


    "You group of damn bastards... Once I go up, I''ll catch you and kill you with the cruelest of torture..." After letting out a furious roar, the Fairy waved its hand, and the huge flower room wriggled, sending out dozens of vines which moved flexibly like human fingers, cupping arge pile of secret treasures and throwing them in front of both the outsiders.


    "Take these with you and get the hell out of here now! Next time, if you dare to intrude this ce again, I''ll kill you even if that means I''ll have to lose this nest! Leave behind that magical wand and scram!" Losing its patience, the Fairy started to chase away its guests.


    "You asked us to hand over the controlling magic wand now? Aren''t you asking us to get ourselves killed here? Who knows if you will even keep your promise!" It looked like Snox was pushing all the way through to be a bad guy. Since it was a one-time deal, it did not care about the impression the Fairy had of it.


    "Take these things and give me the controlling magic wand once you leave this territory, hurry up!" The Fairy was so angry that even its beautiful face had started to twist.


    Snox was indeed a talented goblin, as it ced its hand on its body and actually pulled out a huge bag full of patches and ced all the dazzling magical gems, precious diamonds, magical materials, and some peculiarly shaped magical items into it.


    Snox in burdensome manner carried the big bag on its back, while urging Bleia to leave this ce quickly.


    Under the hostile gaze of the Fairy, Bleia transformed into a huge bloodsucking bat and grabbed onto Snox, before flying out from the second underground floor. Once they left the ce, the Fairy immediately waved its hands, and the crisscrossing demon vines and rose stalks instantly upied all the empty space of the ce.


    Meanwhile, it was seen pping its wings and followed closely behind the two outsiders, flying towards the upper level of the ruins.


    For every short distance it had traveled, the Fairy would cast a spell, using the dense flower stalks and vines to seal off the path leading to the lower ground. From now on, it would never underestimate these lower ss creatures who had a weak overall strength, but possessed quick wits and a crafty mind.


    One after another, when the three of them flew out from the entrance of the ruins, they were shocked to find out that the demonized forest had turned into a tattered battlefield of ughter. It looked like before driving away all the intruders, the Fairy had no intention of returning to its nest.


    The Fairy gently pulled the string of the magic bow in its hand and unleashed more than hundred green light arrows, instantly destroying the temporary tunnel that led to the lower ground.


    "Once you give me the magic wand, you can leave this ce immediately. I still need to settle the score with those few bastards for destroying my territory!" Frost starting to condense on the Fairy''s beautiful face, as it spoke with an extremely cold voice.


    Snox and Bleia exchanged a nce,municating soundlessly.


    Eventually, Snox carefully pulled out the magic wand, lightly tossing it over to the Fairy.


    "One more thing, that Intermediate Apprentice who can control the Lightning Giant is my master. As long as you can help us defeat those few Fallen Apprentices, we promise to never step into your territory in future!"


    The Fairy snorted and took the magic wand and sensed it briefly. Once it had sensed there was some magical connection between the wand and a ce at the lower ground, it set its mind at rest and tucked the magic wand into its rose armor.


    "Leave here now. If I ever see you again, you''ll be sorry!" After leaving behind a threatening word, the Fairy suddenly transformed into a trail of green light and rushed towards the battlefield not too far away.


    Meanwhile, Leon was currently experiencing a rapid feeling of despair.


    What kind of a feeling was brought by suffering from the bombardment and being chased by five Fallen Apprentices? Leon was feeling that very deeply right now.


    Both the legs of the Lightning Giant had disappeared. The two crystal cores hiding inside that were used to gather Wind element energy had been destroyed. The disorderly and messy Wind Elementium that was gathering underneath the lower body of the giant could barely keep the shape of a wind vortex. The tattered and torn golden armor was falling off from its broken body, exposing the Wind element core that had been hiding inside of the mist form green body.


    After having itsbative strength greatly reduced, the Lightning Giant dared not meet the attacksing from five Fallen Apprentices head on. Instead, it kept flying and shing in the sky, dodging the magic spell attacks that came in session.


    However, its condition was considered good. The Rock Snake where Leon was hiding inside, was dragging its half broken body and kept digging into the soil, but it wouldn''t take long before it was forced out from underground by that hateful Philip. And when it showed itself, it was the moment when all five Fallen Apprentices wouldunch a massive attack.


    The violent quake the Fairy sensed in the lower ground was the result of thebined raging attacks of five Fallen Apprentices.


    Meanwhile, there was another thing that looked as tattered and torn as the Rock Snake ¨C the most innocent demonized forest!


    Clearly, the Fallen Pseudo-Mage, Langdon, had taken the path of a Bloodline Apprentice and the magical bloodline he had chosen was the Frost Giant.


    When he went all out and revealed its magical transformation, Leon could clearly feel the surging energy of frost emanating from his tall and burly body.


    After the transformation, the Frost Giant stood over four meters tall. It had light blue skin and countless icicles hanging on the Frost Armor on his muscr body. Every movement of his brought forth a freezing breeze that sent chills down one''s spines. The Snow Storm spell covered arge area and the Ice Spear that he threw also had brought tremendous damage to thisnd. Whenever a magic spell was cast, the ground was always filled with broken and fallen ancient trees and demons, frozen in transparent ice crystals.


    Obviously, the other Fallen Pseudo-Mages weren''t fighting with all they could like how Langdon fought, but even so, the powerful Elementium magic spells still brought about frightening damage to the Rock Snake where Leon was hiding.


    Nevertheless, the person who had threatened Leon the most was that Philip.


    By now, Leon could be sure that he must have been the mysterious guy who had forced him out from the soilst time.


    He was a Pseudo-Mage level Earth element expert. Though he seldom directly attacked at Leon, he could always use the Earth element ability he had mastered to iste the deep connection between the Rock Snake and Earth Elementium. As the result, after traveling for a short distance in the soil, the Rock Snake would be forced out to the surface by the Earth Elementium that squeezed it from all directions.


    If previously, the Earth Elementium was like an ocean that the Rock Snake could travel through freely, now, this ocean had actually be solidified, preventing it from traveling through it freely.


    The lower half body of the Rock Snake had been broken off by that Thunder element Pseudo-Mage, Hegel. He had used a lightning chain and trapped the Rock Snake, then all five of themunched abined attack and broke it. If not for the fact that Leon had summoned another Rock Snake on time that attracted their firepower, perhaps he would have long died in the besiegement of the five Fallen Pseudo-Mages.


    Nevertheless, as he was persisting through the extremely painful experience, a message came from Bleia through the magical seal, which had finally let him breathe out a sigh of relief.


    The Fairy had returned!


    ...


    2135 Words

 Chapter 104 Brutal

    When the frightening Fairy had arrived with its chest filled with anger, all five Fallen Apprentices wereunching a violent bombardment at the Rock Snake who had just been squeezed out from the ground.


    Ice des and snow swords that covered arge area, an unbroken lightning chain, a volcano that shook the earth and sky, and shadow arrows that blotted out the sky and thend...


    It was true that these raging magic spells had caused tremendous damage to the Rock Snake inside which Leon had been hiding, but they had also took this demonized forest into an abyss of misery. Looking around, one-third of the demonized forest had been leveled by the raging magic spells. Hovering high up in the sky, when the Fairy saw this scene of devastation, it could no longer control the mes of anger that were boiling in its heart.


    Since he had received the message from Bleia, Leon would rather scurry around dodging the enemies'' attacks, rather than simplyunching a counter-attack recklessly. Even the Lighting Giant who was seen flickering frequently in the sky had put away all the magic spells that covered arge area. Instead, it was just using the lightning strike which only attacked a single target and barely dealt with the attacksing from the enemy.


    Therefore, when the Fairy had arrived at the scene, the first thing it saw were five Fallen Pseudo-Mages in the middle of brazenlyunching full-blown attacks, which was turning the entire forest upside down with their bombardment.


    The Fairy shouted out loud as it moved with the speed of lightning. It chose Philip, who was standing at the tail of the group, as its first target and initiated a deadly attack.


    In the previous battle, all the other guys were responsible for attacking, while this Philip was responsible for forcing Leon out from underground. Thus, in contrast, he was standing at a rather far behind the others, causing him to encounter the frightening Fairy who had justunched an attack out of anger.


    How frightful was an Mage level demon who attacked with all its power? One would have a rough idea just by looking at this strike.


    The bowstring of the magical bow held in its hand was instantly pulled to its maximum length. The powerful nt element magical energy that made one''s heart tremble had quickly gathered around the fingertip of the Fairy, condensing into a small bright green arrow. Aghast with horror, when Philip turned his head around, the bowstring was released and the arrow left the string like a lightning, nailing into his chest in an instant.


    A stone armor had been quickly formed, but was instantly shattered by the arrow beam upon contact. If Philip had not tried his best to stop and instead had moved a little bit to a side, perhaps this arrow would have pierced through his heart.


    But even so, the frightening arrow beam which pierced through his right shoulder had also blown half of his body away. Under the corrosion from the green energy that suddenly exploded, the flesh on the right side of his body started to melt. His bones were destroyed, exposing most of his vital internal organs in the air, which were also making a hissing noise as the result of being corroded by the mutated energy.


    With just one move, Philip who had been taken by surprise was seriously injured and dying!


    Only now had the remaining four men turned their heads around furious and shocked. But right at this moment, the Fairy''s devastating arrow showers had approached them. It came towards them with incredible momentum and tremendous force causing the four men to instantly sink into a situation of restless defending and counter-attacking.


    Philip was first beaten until he was half dead by the full power attack of the Fairy, then he was plunged into an abyss of misery as a result of the shower of frightening arrows. Suffering from double the injuries, Philip dared not to hesitate anymore. He immediately detonated the long magical staff in his hand, causing a huge clump of earthy yellow dust in the shape of a cloud to rise up from the ground. When the dust cloud was quickly dispersed by the shower of arrows, his trace was nowhere to be found at the scene.


    Struck with the feeling of anger and astonishment, the remaining four Fallen Pseudo-Mages dared not hesitate as well. Almost instantly, they disyed all their incredible skills and vigorously threw out the fiercest magic spells they knew onto the delicate body of the Fairy.


    Ice st!


    Electric Jail!


    Shadow Invasion!


    Fire st!


    Four distinctly different Pseudo-Mage level magic spells, the most powerful single target magic spells they could cast, were thrown at the Fairy. Actually, they knew other major scale magic spells, but when fighting with a demon leader who had incredible speed, it was still these magic spells that focuses the attack on a single target that would yield the maximum results.


    It was worth to mention that although a wild demon like the Fairy had an Mage level body constitution, it didn''t actually possess the true ability of an Mage. Although the body constitution of human Mages was weaker than demons, relying on the magic spell legacies that had been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years and their umtion of knowledge, they could unleash those terrifying magic spells that were many times stronger than their ''frail'' body.


    Hence, despite these Fallen Pseudo-Mages being one grade lower than the Fairy, their offensive magic spells weren''t as weak as one might expect.


    Four raging magic spells that represented their strongestbative ability were crazily wreaking havoc on the Fairy''s body. Green rings of light continuously flickered and exploded on top of the rose armor which was protecting the body of the Fairy. One after the other, rose stalks that stretched out from the armor vanished as a result of the attack from the magic spells, but they still dedicatedly protected the Fairy''s body.


    In some area, the raging magic spells broke through the defense of the rose armor, causing the violent Elementium to explode on the Fairy''s body. For the first time since the battle hadmenced, the Fairy had blood spilling out from its mouth, as it had been truly hurt this time.


    The Fairy became berserk, flipping its wings in the quickest speed it could and hastily brought it out from the region where the firepower was concentrated at. At the same time, the arrows shower unleashed from its hand was getting more intense, as it intended to break through the defensive magic spell of the four men with a full blown attack.


    Langdon, who hadpleted his bloodline transformation, let out a loud roar. An angry expression could be seen covering his azure blue face. One after another ice spears quickly condensed in his palm. Using the fastest speed he could, he continuously threw them at the Fairy who was in turn, dashing around and dodging the attacks.


    The bloodline of Frost Giant had given him the ability to cast Ice element magic spells limitlessly and also strengthened each of the Ice element magic spells unleashed by him to the maximum power. Although all the ice spears that exploded around the Fairy''s body hadn''t hit right onto the target, the dissipating frost energy still invaded its body, covering its rose armor with a thick ice crystal that slowed down its dodging and flying speed.


    The other three Pseudo-Mages saw this opportunity and immediately increased their attack frequency. The magic spells blotted out the sky and pierced through the air, continually shooting at the Fairy.


    The reward was limited if they just killed an Intermediate Apprentice from the surface. But if they could kill an Mage level wild demon leader, then just by splitting the Mage level magical materials they had obtained ¨C it would be enough for all four of them tough for an entire day!


    However, right as both parties were locked up in a fierce fight, Leon who had previously fled to a far distance, hade back after taking a short break. Of course, the target he chose for himself were the Fallen Pseudo-Mages who had brought him into a sorry state.


    Hovering high up in midair and quietly brewing for seventeen seconds, the major scale thunderstorm of the Lightning Giant had once again circled all four Fallen Pseudo-Mages in the attack range.


    The suddenly denseness of Lightning Elementium in the air had squeezed out all the other Elementiums. Thus, except for Hegel who was also an expert in Lightning element magic spells, all the other were facing difficulty when casting their respective element magic spells. Also, the lighting strike that hade down in a row had brought the effect of paralysis, interrupting the casting of their magic spells.


    Though they knew that by standing close to each other, they would have to facerge area offensive magic spell attacks from the enemy, however, when facing a frightening Fairy who could move like the wind, though all four Fallen Pseudo-Mages had confidence in themselves, they dared not stay too far away from their peers. Or else, if the Fairy ignored the damage inflicted on it and forcefullyunched an onrush assault, neither of them had the confidence that they could withstand it unless their peers came to the rescue.


    Except for the Frost Giant that Langdon had transformed into that possessed some melee abilities, the rest of them were purely element apprentices. Once they let the enemy get closer to them, though they would not be at a loss of what to do, theirbative strength would be greatly reduced.


    Realizing they had been attacked from both the front and rear, Langdon who was leading the team let out a furious roar, "Hegel, you go and fight with that kid''s golem, the three of us will hold up against this crazy woman!"


    Hegel answered the call, turned around and unleashed a chain lighting, forcing the Lightning Giant who had continued to approach to back off. After that, he and the golem started a fierce exchange of attacks.


    Meanwhile, relying on the toughness of the rose armor and the powerful magic bow in its hand, the Fairy was dashing around through the massive showers of offensive magic spells and continued to reduce the individual defense of those few Fallen Pseudo-Mages using guerri methods. Under its continuous attack, the Pseudo-Mage level defense could notst more than thirty seconds. Whenever a defensive magic spell was broken, it was the dangerous time for that Pseudo-Mage to hide behind his peer and recast a defensive magic spell for himself.


    Nevertheless, by the mutual support and cover fire of the three Pseudo-Mages, they actually were able to put up a fierce fight against the Fairy. They were even able to add a few more new wounds onto its body.


    As a wild demon, besides a few limited magical spells, the Fairy had nearly no other offensive approaches. In order to quickly prate the enemy''s defense, it would have to take the risk and fight in close range. However, this meant that the attack it would receive would also increase significantly, while the guerri-style right now was much safer.


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    Of course, it could also hold up against the enemy''s attack and unleash another full blown arrow showers. But in a battle like this where every second counted, the casting time of seven seconds just seemed unrealistic. Hence, it could only rely on its fast and rapid attacks by moving around at top speed while slowly reducing the enemy''s strength.


    Nevertheless, opportunities always came at the least expected moment!


    When the Inferno Shield hovering outside of the Fire element Pseudo-Mage had once again been shattered by the Fairy, he quickly hid behind Langdon who had a tall body, while reciting the magic spell incantation that summoned the Inferno Shield with a loud voice. Meanwhile, though the Fairy had already discovered his weakness, it had to face both the rapid fire of Langdon''s Ice st and a crafty and strange Dark Curse from the other Pseudo-Mage. Thus, it had no choice but to let him recast his defensive magic spell.


    Right when the casting of the Pseudo-Mage''s Inferno Shield had been nearlypleted, the ground underneath their feet suddenly trembled violently. The once solid hard rockyer actually burst out and cracked, and a giant snake poked its head out from the crack.


    The expressions of these Fallen Apprentices instantly changed!


    The violent changes in the terrain forced them to keep dodging and jumping around, it also meant their mutual dependence on their defensive formations had been broken. In this chaotic situation, each of them could only take care of themselves and had no time to look after their fragile peers!


    The other Pseudo-Mages were in a better condition, as they were protected by their own defensive magic spell. So, while continuously attacking the enemy, they also quickly dodged the scene and safely escaped the attack range of the Rock Snake. But this was not the case for that Fire element Pseudo-Mage, his nearplete Inferno Shield had been forcefully interrupted and as he was busy fleeing away from the scene, he just didn''t have the chance to recast the spell.


    While he was running away restlessly, he suddenly felt a strong winde from behind him. The Fire element Pseudo-Mage''s heart immediately sank. With no time to consider any other options, his eyes went wide as he let out a loud shout, quickly forming a temporary Fire Shield behind his back.


    But it had been toote, before the Fire Shield could fully reveal itself, a super sharp slim hand pierced through the enshrouding me and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him into midair.


    Damn it, it was that Fairy!


    Realizing this instantly, a couple of magical items hanging on the Fire element Pseudo-Mage lit up at the same time, a Fire Field covered his body immediately turning his surroundings into a realm of me.


    In the raging and soaring mes, Fire Crows flew around happily, some partly hidden and some partly visible Fire Spirits...


    At that moment, countless Fire element creatures revealed themselves within the Fire Field, instantly igniting everything around the Fire element Pseudo-Mage!


    However, following the sound of an exhale, another slim hand pierced through his shield and poked into his body. When both slim hands let out a powerful force, a loud tearing noise was heard ¨C the Fire element Pseudo-Mage had been torn into two by the Fairy!


    ...


    2438 Words

 Chapter 105 The death

    When the steaming hot small andrge intestines, heart, liver, lungs and all sorts of internal organs fell from the sky along with a shower of blood, all of the human apprentices standing on the battlefield couldn''t help but have their minds go nk from shock.


    That was a Pseudo-Mage! A Pseudo-Mage was killed this time!


    All of the Fallen Apprentices were yelling crazily in their minds. On their twisted faces, besides their anger, there was also a slight expression of fear that couldn''t be concealed.


    If... if in the previous moment, it was them whose defensive magic spell had broken, then perhaps the broken corpse falling from the sky right now would be theirs! Upon thinking about this, all of the Fallen Apprentices had their mind fully filled with a shivering sensation. For the first time, all of the Fallen Apprentices were in awe of an Mage level demon.


    Without saying anything, Hegel fully wrapped his body in a dazzling electric web and instantly disappeared from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was at the far edge of the demonized forest. On the other side, the Dark element Pseudo-Mage''s body exploded into arge clump of dark smoke which sank into the ground underneath his feet. Right after that, a small mound was seen moving quickly towards the outer perimeter of the forest.


    Langdon, who had transformed into the Frost Giant, instantly changed his expression. He took a small step back, squatted down, and ced both arms on his chest. In an instant, arge chunk of crystal clear ice surrounded him until he resembled an ice cube. Judging from the thickness of the ice and the magical runes shing within it, perhaps even the Fairy''s strongest attack would not be able to break it in a short amount of time.


    What to do? The transformation into a Frost Giant had given Langdon an powerful body and incredible muscle strength. It also brought him an extraordinary talent in Ice element magic energy. But too bad, none of this had anything to do with speed! Once he was defeated in a battle and tried to escape, such a huge body would instead bring him even more enemies.


    Therefore, Langdon could only use the Wall of Ice to protect his safety temporarily. Meanwhile, within the transparent ice cube, the tall and burly body of Langdon had started to shrink quickly and once again was restored to his normal shape. Standing inside of the transparent ice cube, he took out a magic spell scroll, fully inscribed with ancient looking patterns, threw a furious nce over at the Fairy and Leon a few times, and finally had no choice but to activate the scroll.


    Following a sh of bright light, a violent spatial ripple reverberated within the battlefield. When the bright light faded out, Langdon had disappeared from the ice cube.


    The escaping scroll! It was not something an ordinary apprentice could buy by paying a hefty price. Usually, it could only be produced by official Mages, and the destination was most likely some safe and hidden ce!


    Leon didn''t try to break the Ice Wall. Instead, he carefullymanded the Lighting Giant and the other two Rock Snakes to surround him and slowly left the battlefield.


    The few Fallen Pseudo-Mages who had been used as buffers had run away, leaving only him and the Fairy on the battlefield. With the demon''s bad habit of seeking revenge for the smallest grievances, perhaps it would not regard him as its rade'' who just fought together with it. Therefore, it was best to...


    Too bad, just as Leon reached a hundred meters away, a green light suddenly shed in front of his eyes, and the Fairy, whose body was covered in scars, blocked his path.


    Leon silently sighed.


    Though the Fairy had gained a huge advantage in the previous battle by severely wounding, killing, and scaring off three Pseudo-Mages, it had paid a serious price for it.


    Weakened by countless powerful magic spells, the Rose Armor on its body looked dull. Its slim and delicate body was covered in traces left behind by the magic spells, especially from when it hadunched an ambush at the Fire element Pseudo-Mage. Although the battle had onlysted a very short period of time, the counter attack he had unleashed before his death had still caused tremendous damage to its body.


    From what Leon could see, its short green hair was a hideous mess from being burned by fire and countless burn marks and blisters could be found all over its seductive and tender body. Burn marks could also be seen on the corners of the transparent wings on its back, causing it to fly unstably, and its speed had greatly reduced as well.


    "So, after wreaking havoc in my territory, you still think to leave just like that?" The Fairy''s beautiful face was covered in a ferocious and twisted smile. It continued, saying, "You better stay back obediently. Use your flesh and soul as thepensation for my loss!"


    After it finished saying that, the Fairy immediately prepared to attack.


    Without hesitation, Leon quickly shouted out, "Hold on! Honorable Fairy, we were fighting side by side just now, weren''t we?"


    "Hmph, all of you are damn intruders, and you all deserve to be killed. They paid their price. As for you... you have to pay the price as well!"


    "Honorable Fairy, you really need to consider carefully. Now you''re seriously wounded too, and if you want to defeat me, the price might not be something you can withstand currently! Why not..."


    "You''re dreaming! No matter how high the price I have to pay today, I still want to tear you to pieces!"


    Looking at the resolute expression of the Fairy, Leon simply showed a look of ''you''re the one who forced me.'' He suddenly stood up with his back straight, gazed straight at the approaching Fairy, and shouted out with a stern and loud voice, "Since you insist on fighting, I''ve no choice but to keep youpany. Detonate! Detonate everything for me!"


    Obviously, thest words were not intended for the Fairy.


    Hearing the sharp and stern shout of this wildly arrogant kid, a bad feeling suddenly surged up in the Fairy''s mind.


    Indeed, as Leon''s shrill voice dissolved into the air, a loud rumbling suddenly came from the ground underneath their feet. Following a violent shake of the ground, the earth where the ruins were located suddenly rose and immediately copsed into the ground. The same process repeated three times. Only then did the frightening shock wave from the explosionpletely vanish.


    This time, it was the Fairy''s turn to let out a shrill cry.


    Because, just now, the inseparable spiritual connection between it and its true form waspletely cut off. It was not concealed or interrupted by something, but it was... it waspletely cut off.


    Without the endless energy transmitted through the soulyer of its true form, the soul aura of the Fairy started to weaken significantly. "You damn human. What have you done? I''m going to kill you!"


    The Fairy pulled out the short wooden stick, only to realize it had broken into pieces and turned into ash in an instant. As the ashes flew away, an enshrouding curse shot right into the Fairy''s body, causing its aura to be even weaker.


    Despite suffering from a series of attack, the Fairy''s soul still hadn''t dropped below Mage level. From this, one could tell it had stored a vast amount of soul energy after upying an Elementium Pool. But when its true form and the Elementium Pool exploded into thousands of broken pieces from the alchemy bomb, the Fairy''s soul pressure suddenly disappeared.


    Looking into the distance at Bleia, who was pping her wings and quickly flying to him, Leon waved his hand and ordered the Lightning Giant and two Rock Snakes to leap toward the Fairy. In an instant, the me of war, which had just settled down, reignited.


    The brutal and intense battlested for two hours before it ended. In truth, the result of the battle had been decided when the Fairy''s true form was destroyed. If the Fairy had been a demon with sufficient intelligence and a crafty mind, it would have immediately escaped from the ce when it had lost the connection with its true form.


    But obviously, the Fairy hadn''t learned the cunning and treachery of a human. Hence, when it made its desperate assault, intending to perish together with Leon, it actually allowed Bleia totch herself to its body and savagely bite into its neck.


    The vampire''s hunger for blood was unimaginable. This was especially true for an Advanced Apprentice level vampire!


    Without the lighting whip of the Lightning Giant, perhaps Bleia would have been destroyed by the final counter attacks of the Fairy. But with the help from the Lightning Giant and Rock Snakes, Bleia simply clung onto the Fairy''s body regardless of her own safety, crazily sucking out all its nt element energy-filled blood.


    While resisting the attacksing from golems, the Fairy crazily tore Bleia''s body apart. However, no matter how she was attacked, Bleia didn''t stop, but kept sucking the blood of the Fairy.


    Meanwhile, the blood swallowed by Bleia brought her tremendous benefit. Besides fixing her broken body at an incredible speed, the spirit wave emanating from her became stronger and her soul aura also became more powerful. On the opposite side, the spirit wave and soul aura of the Fairy were decreasing at a constant pace. Eventually, its breathing was as thin as a thread.


    Initially, it was Bleia''s tiny body coiled up on the Fairy''s body, butter, as the Fairy''s body became weaker and lost all of its strength, Bleia had to hug it tightly to prevent it from copsing.


    When thest thread of soul aura vanished from the Fairy''s body, only then did Bleia loosen her arms, satisfied. The slim and tender body of the Fairy was like a drooping leather pouch that had lost all its air. It was now lying motionlessly on the floor.


    Bleia let out a loud belch. Her beautiful face turned red from abundant vitality. She only had the time to give Leon a sweet smile before she fell down beside the Fairy''s body. She actually fell asleep!


    Damn it! It was really troublesome when a woman went crazy! Couldn''t you just wait until we returned to the Mage Tower, and only start your enjoyment once we confirm everything is safe?


    After silentlyining in his head, Leon had no choice but to carry Bleia with one arm and pull the Fairy''s corpse with the other. Then he started tomand the Lightning Giant and loot the battlefield.


    The dead Fire element Pseudo-Mage''s body was scattered across the ce; perhaps he could find some useful treasures among the broken bodies. Of course, Leon really wanted to find the magic spell notebooks that may have been in the guy''s waist pouch.


    As Leon was busy working, a grass bush not far from him split apart and Snox squeezed out from under it with a huge bag on its back. "Master, master! There are still some treasures underground!"


    Leon gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, then ferociously said, "I''ll have Rock Snake help you. Get everything you can ¨C you only have fifteen minutes!" Discover exclusive tales on empire


    A Rock Snake hastily slithered over, opened its huge mouth, and swallowed Snox. After that, it raised its head high before mming it into the ground, digging out a huge hole, and diving into the soil. Breaking through all kinds of soil and rock strata, the Rock Snake rushed towards the second underground floor with incredible speed.


    With the raging energy that had leaked out as its beacon, there was no way they could go in the wrong direction!


    ....


    1984 Words


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 106 Object Fire Lord鈥檚 Scepter

    Most of the time, Leon was too busy to individually identify what kind of objects were hidden inside the grass, like which of them were useful and which weren''t. As long as he sensed an element aura lingering in a certain spot, he would let the Rock Snake swallow the object together with arge patch of dirt. He would then store them inside of the Rock Snake''s stomach and slowly identify them when they returned to safety.


    Fifteen minutester, the ground shook violently before bursting apart. The Rock Snake that had squeezed underground had smoothly returned.


    "Let''s go, quick!" The more rewards Leon harvested, the faster his heart raced. Without saying another word, he jumped into the stomach of another Rock Snake and left the ce straightaway.


    Half an hourter, a bizarre looking dark figure suddenly appeared at the destroyed battlefield.


    Through his strong spiritual sense, he walked with light steps on the battlefield like a wandering soul. Soon, he stopped at the spot where the Fairy had died. Quietly, he sensed and identified the traces of elemental aura in the air.


    For others, the remains of aura didn''t have any meaning, but they provided him with a vast amount of information and critical data about the battlefield. Soon, scene after scene of the battle started to y in his mind, and eventually assembled into aplete scene.


    He showed no emotion in regards to the violent battle that had just happened. He even maintained the same indifferent expression when he realized a Fallen Pseudo-Mage was killed in the battle. However, his body slightly trembled when he saw Leon order the Rock Snake and take away the dead body of the Fairy. A frightful, bright beam suddenly shot out from his eyes, which were hidden behind his drooped hat.


    Since the most valuable Fairy was gone, there wasn''t any need for this ce to continue existing!


    Following a deep voice''s reciting of an incantation, countless ghost-like dark shadows shot out from his body, charging in all directions within the demonized forest. Soon, the entire forest became dead silent and no life aura could be sensed anymore.


    The demonized forest had be something that only existed in the past. Once again, this ce would be a dead zone where no life could exist!


    After finishing with all of this, like how he had appeared, the dark figure simply vanished into thin air! Throughout the entire process, no living creature or thing could sense his existence, as if he was just a soul that wandered in this world.


    ...


    Leon didn''t rush back to the Mage Tower. But instead, after he brought his team of golems to the surface, immediately snuck into the Ker mountain range. They found a secret ce and dug out a cave. Only then did they started slowly organizing their war trophies for this trip.


    The first object Rock Snake spat out was Bleia, who was sleeping soundly, and the Fairy who had be mummified.


    Once again, Leon gave Bleia a thorough examination. She was just overstuffed with a huge amount of blood from a mighty existence, and had no choice but to sleep to slowly digest the energy contained within the blood. ording to the Chip''s estimation after it gave Bleia a scan, she had earned a good fortune this time. Most probably, she was going to advance into the Pseudo-Mage realm.


    Leon ced a thick and warm nket in a corner of the cave and carefully ced Bleia on top of it. She was wearing a sweet and calm smile on her face, her rosy cheeks looked like a ripe apple, her lips were juicy and delicate, and her beautiful eyshes were moving like butterflies... The sleeping Bleia was showing the rare, gentle, and serene look of a young girl, so Leon couldn''t help but gently kiss her forehead, but then doubts crept into his mind.


    Would this be the perfect time to rape Bleia?


    Swallowing hard, he shook his head and trembled in fear, after all even Bleia''s vaginal contractions would be enough to break his human dick.


    He needs to strengthen his physical body before raping her.


    After he settled Bleia, Leon moved his nce over to the Fairy''s corpse.


    After losing the support of endless energy and having all of its blood sucked out, the shriveled corpse of the Fairy looked like a deted leather skin. Nevertheless, both the Rose Armor, that fully covered its body, and the magic bow were still the items attracted Leon the most. In the previous battle, those two items had given Leon a really hard time.


    Holding the magic bow in his hand and spending some time in examining it, Leon finally heard the exciting ''beep'' sound in his mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Beep! Scanning of the objectpleted!


    A magic bow is found. Detail information as below: ...[omitted]...


    Modifiable!"


    Leon was very excited. He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes.


    In his first battle with the Fairy, the Chip had roughly scanned the basic information of this magic bow. Now it was adding more detailed information about it. There wasn''t anything to be excited about this information, however. The only thing that made Leon really excited was the conclusion just given out by the Chip: the magic bow was modifiable!


    As the Fairy was the only user of this magic bow, the energy spectrum used to unleash light arrows was also nt element. This meant that the magic bow couldn''t be used by anyone else! But now, since the Chip had determined that it could be modified, it also meant the energy spectrum used to drive it could be modified as well, so it could be changed to Fire element or Blood element...


    When Leon thought that in future battles, he could just sit high up on the Rock Snake''s head and pour down countless light arrows to the enemy just by moving his fingers, Leon just couldn''t help but feel really excited.


    Gently cing the magic bow aside, Leon murmured under his breath, "Calm down, calm down... let me see if there is a magic staff that I can use. If there is one, I''ll give this bow to Bleia. If not, hehehe..."


    The second item pulled from the Fairy''s body was the Rose Armor.


    Leon really wanted to keep the protective gear for himself. But, at the thought that once the Rose Armor was attacked by the enemy, his body would be covered by countless rose stalks, Leon instantly felt no love for it. Fuck, a grown man wearing Rose Armor and fighting with the enemy... Upon thinking about that peculiar scene, Leon just couldn''t ept it.


    Never mind, just give it to Bleia after modifying!


    As a wild demon, the Fairy only had these two magical items with it. Looked like it was really poor.


    After the Rose Armor was stripped away, the petite body of the Fairy was totally naked. However, after losing the nourishment from its blood, the once silky smooth and glittering skin had dried and shriveled like an eighty year old granny. It was no longer as beautiful as before and felt like a dried bark upon touching.


    Although the Fairy was dead, Leon could still sense an extraordinary, powerful auraing from all of its organs. Should he slice it into pieces and harvest the magical materials? Or keep the corpse intact and find a way to maximize his profit?


    Leon hesitated for a moment before he decided to put it aside for now. He would make the decision after he consulted with some professionals.


    If he was a necromancer apprentice, for sure he would use the Fairy''s corpse and produce a powerful corpse automaton. However, as he was a fake and inferior golem controller, it would be tough for him to squeeze the value of this Mage level demon to thest drop!


    He ordered the Chip to give the body structure of the Fairy a detailed andplete scan. After that, he extracted the flesh and blood information from some critical parts of its body, handed them to the Chip, and let it analysis slowly. Finally, Leon started to organize all of the other war trophies.


    Snox, who had been attentively serving its master, carefully ced a huge bag in front of Leon. Following the opening of the bag, countless colorful lights immediately shone upon Leon''s face, forcing him to close his eyes.


    Shadow Stone, Tiger''s Eye Stone, Mchite, Green Agate, Lesser Moonstone, Emerald, Topaz, Aquamarine, Blood of the Old God, Ruby, Opal, Sapphire, Azure Moonstone, Deep Peridot, me Spessarite, Golden Dranite, Blood Gem, Dawn Stone, Tsite, Night''s Eye, Noble Topaz, Pyre Stone, Living Ruby, Lion''s Eye Stone, Crimson Spinal Stone...


    Leon couldn''t help but be ovee with emotion. He firmly believed that the Fairy must be a gemstone collecting maniac. Nearly every magical stone and gem he had ever heard of could be found in this bag. Any gemstone taken out from this bag could be exchanged for dozens of miles ofnds and peasants in a mortal kingdom. Especially the few with higher values, they could even be used in exchange for the title of Count.


    But in the eyes of an Apprentice Mage, they were only consumable magical materials. Nevertheless, only official Mages could use these expensive magical materials without changing their expression.


    Leon lightly fiddled with the gem stones. asionally, he would pick one up and give it a careful look. After all, he only knew most of these magical stones from books, it was far less direct and clear than holding them with his own hand.


    Standing beside Leon, Snox too was breathing heavily.


    Looking at the colorful reflection of these gemstones, it felt it was getting harder to breathe smoothly, and its heart was pounding extremely fast.


    Leon casually picked a few gemstones that he could put them to a good use, then pointed the remaining gemstones and said lightly, "I''ll let you settle with these gemstones. You can take 1/3 of them. That''s your reward for this adventure. You''ve done great today, especially the loophole you left on the controlling magic wand, it was brilliant. You deserve all of this!"


    After it heard what Leon said, Snox''s green face started to twitch. Before a smile could bloom on its face, its eyes rolled up and it fainted.


    Leon shook his head, never paid any attention to his minion who just begun to show its value, and continued to nce through the gem stones. Very soon, he pulled out a fiery red magic scepter, which looked like it was made from the Fire Coral found in the bottom of the ocean.


    A Fire Lord''s Scepter!


    When the scepter revealed itself, Leon immediately sensed the surging Fire element energy hiding within it. Before he could put his hand on it, Leon could also felt the scorching hot element fire from it. However, when he finally gripped on the scepter, the heat disappeared without a trace. The scepter had be warm and nice to hold, and a warm stream of energy kept flowing into his body.


    At the same time, the Fire element energy gathering in Leon''s body started to be restless, and became at least three times more active than before.


    "Chip, scan this Fire Lord''s Scepter!"


    "Beep. Task epted! Commencing scanning operation... beep! Operationpleted. The result of the scan is as follow:


    Object: Fire Lord''s Scepter


    Attribute: Fire Element


    Secondary Skills: Added Fire Resistant (Intermediate) to Bearer. Immune to any lower grade Fire element damage. Fast Cast. [Fire Element]


    Ability: Inferno Shield (3 times / day), Summon Fire Deity (Pseudo-Mage level) (1 / day)


    Additional functions: When ced on top of a special magical altar, it can be used to establish a small teleportation gate to the Fire Element ne. Able to summon a Fire Deity (Pseudo-Mage level) every day without any consumption, or two Fire Giants (Advanced Apprentice level), or five Lava Hounds (Intermediate Apprentice level), or ten Fire Spirits (Beginner Apprentice level).


    These Fire element creatures cannot go beyond 1000 meters from the magical altar. Once the Fire Lord''s Scepter is taken away from the altar, all Fire element creatures will be repatriated to their original ne."


    Ugh... Leon couldn''t help but draw in a sharp cold breath.


    This Fire Lord''s Scepter was much stronger than his original estimation!


    ...


    2060 Words

 Chapter 107 A Old book?

    It was a powerful magical item, and it was almost like it was specifically made for Leon.


    Leon held the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his hand and kept inspecting it over and over. He could hardly tear himself away from it.


    The scepter consisted of three parts: The tail, body, and head. It had a one-meter long body, which was entirely made from a bright fiery red material. Although it was glowing red, it felt warm upon touch, and feltfortable when held in the hand.


    A magical gemstone with no attribute was socketed on the tail of the scepter. Obviously, it was a design used to allow the scepter to be ced on a Fire Altar. Three inter-coiling Fire Dragons were engraved on the head of the scepter. A Heart of the Fire Lord was ced in the middle, where the three dragon heads met.


    It was a unique magical gemstone that came from the Fire Element ne and possessed a thread of Source Energy of Fire Element. With this magical gemstone, the bearer of the scepter would be given with the ability of fire resistance. Of course, the fire mentioned here should be the ordinary fire found in the natural environment, not the Elemental Fire created by magic spells.


    By just holding the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his hand, Leon was given the ability to take a bath in the magma pool of a volcano.


    After fiddling with it over and over for a long time, Leon finally ced it into his storage waist belt with reluctance. From now on, he finally owned a suitable magical item for himself. It was not surprising that the Fairy only kept this extraordinary item but did not use it, as the element spectrum was totally different from its own!


    Leon nced through the pile of gemstones again, and this time, he pulled out two strange objects: a test tube containing a mysterious purple potion, and a magical book that had a gruesome ghost head drawn on its cover.


    Leon picked up the mysterious test tube with his fingers, uncorked it ,and gave it a brief smell. A pungent smell, like a mixture of fish and pepper, immediately brought a frown on his face. The test tube was fully filled with a purple colored magical potion. With a gentle shake, the potion immediately began emanating a purple glow.


    Bloodline Strengthening Potion?


    Leon''s eyes brightened. He couldn''t bear it and brought a tiny dot of the purple potion up to his mouth with a fingertip. After a brief moment, the Chip gave out a confirmed answer.


    Bloodline Strengthening Potion!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Maybe for Leon, who aimed to take the path of an Elementium Mage, this item didn''t serve too much of a purpose. But for Bleia, or other apprentices who took the path of the Bloodline, it was a priceless treasure. Its biggest value was that it could provide a preliminary purification of the bloodline of an apprentice, allowing the apprentice to take a step closer to the source of their bloodline.


    Therefore, after confirming the ingredients of the potion, without saying another word, Leon immediately poured it into Bleia''s mouth. After all, Bleia was using sleep to digest the surging energy of blood that came from the Fairy. In another word, it was also an evolution of the innate talent of her vampire bloodline. Therefore, if she could receive some external help at this moment, it would no doubt help make the breakthrough easier!


    Devouring the blood of stronger existences was an effective method to improve the grade of a vampire, while the Bloodline Strengthening Potion could further stimte the evolution of a vampire. With these two factorsplementing each other, it was a huge boost to Bleia. Hence, after pouring all of the potion into Bleia''s mouth, Leon rubbed his palms excitedly, his mind filled with anticipation.


    He just couldn''t wait to see what Bleia would looked like, after having both her overall strength and bloodline improved!


    After dealing with the Bloodline Strengthening Potion, Leon calmed himself down and started to give the gruesome magical book a thorough examination.


    When Leon rested his gaze on the horrendous ghost head drawn on the cover of the book, a pale white mist suddenly diffused from the book itself, and the ghost head became alive within the mist.


    It was a ghastly and bloodcurdling ghost face that hid within the shadows, so no one could see the expression on it, as sight was impaired by the mist. Just as Leon knit his brows in a tight frown, a strange, indistinct, and near inaudible voice suddenly rung up in his mind.


    "In ordance with the ancient will, following strictly with the principle of equivalent exchange! Little guy who is walking on the path of an Mage, do you want to obtain the mighty and mysterious knowledge from the ancient era? Then open me up quickly!"


    Leon was slightly shocked.


    He had heard of this kind of magical book, that had its own consciousness. Most of them were produced by Mages of the ancient era. Inside of these books, it was highly possible one would find some unique magic spell or mysterious knowledge that no one knew. Of course, it could also be a prank left behind by an ancient Mage. There were even funny, true stories of official Mages being fooled by such pranks!


    In order to open up such magical books protected by a demon spirit, not only would one have to follow the will left behind by the previous owner of the book, he also needed to fulfill some random in-bad-taste requests given out by the demon spirit itself. Therefore, it was a ''fair trade'' that really depend on the luck of the person.


    "Your honorable demon spirit, if I really want to read the contents of this book, what kind of price do I have to pay?" Leon wasn''t fooled by the flowery words and cunning statements of the guardian demon spirit, but instead, he soberly asked the most critical question.


    From the relevant knowledge Leon had studied before, it was mentioned that when some Apprentice Mages with insufficient overall strength found a demon spirit book, they couldn''t wait and opened it up straightaway, only to realize the price they had to pay after reading the book was not something they could afford, but it was all toote! Not only did the unlucky fellows not learn any ancient magic spells, they even paid the price with their own precious lives!


    Therefore, in the fundamental code of practice for Apprentice Mages, when they bumped into some living creatures from the outerworld or demon spirits, they had to be really careful in any choices they made. Once they fell into these creatures'' word traps or were bound with a mandatory contract, getting themselves killed was, in fact, the lightest consequence. The most frightful was having their soul became these creatures'' war trophy.


    In the aspect of toying with someone else''s soul, these demon spirits could even bepared with a powerful existence, such as an official Necromancer.


    Perhaps realizing its small trick was discovered by Leon, the gruesome ghost face turned listless. "As expected, you''re a hateful boring guy. Aren''t you excited by knowing that you can learn ancient magic spells and mysterious knowledge? Why are you fussing with these boring questions!"


    "Your honorable ancient demon spirit, please answer my question!"


    "Alright, alright! If you wish to read this book, you need to give me 15 points of your Physique..." The demon spirit''s voice was getting lower and lower. Thest few words sounded so vague it was as if it was the snoring of a kitten. Leon nearly didn''t hear what it said.


    Leon broke out in a cold sweat, nearly couldn''t hold himself back from throwing the demon spirit book from his hand.


    Damn it, 15 points of Physique!


    No wonder this book wasn''t opened up by the Fairy. Presumably even it grudged the loss of a precious 15 points of Physique. For Leon, he only had three points in Physique. If he had identally opened this book, the mandatory contract between him and the demon spirit book would be taken effect immediately. And since he couldn''t fulfill the requirement of the contract, let alone anything else, the only consequence would be an inevitable death, by having his soul extracted from his body!


    Just as Leon raised the book high up and want to forcefully throw it to a corner of the cave, a stream of data transmitted from the Chip stopped his movement.


    Within the on-site data, which had been restored and magnified a few times by the chip, thest few vague words spoke by the demon spirit book were clearly presented in front of him.


    "... or reced with something of equivalent value!"


    It was spoken in an ancientnguage of ''Amarr,'' and had been spoken with a weird tone by the demon spirit. Perhaps, most of the targets it ever spoke with had been deceived by this petty trick.


    Though the ancient Mages had forced demon spirits to guard the inheritance of their knowledge, and hadid down the strictest rules for them, as long as anyteers could achieve the requirement of reading the book, the demon spirit had to follow the will of the Mage and hand over the knowledge without hiding anything. But no matter how strict the rules, the crafty and cunning demon spirit could always find a workaround. This demon spirit had found a loophole in the contract, not only it increased the requirement of reading to a jaw-dropping condition, it had also hidden the most critical rule of the contract.


    Yes, even if that ancient Mage coulde back alive, he couldn''t use the demon spirit for viting the contract. It had acted ording to the contract between it and the ancient Mage! As for whether can you understand the ancientnguage of Amarr, it had nothing to do with the demon spirit! It is you who arecking knowledge, and never serious in handling the situation.


    Leon wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead, and with a serious tone, he told the ghost face, "Your honorable demon spirit, please tell me what are the substitute requirements. I want to give it serious consideration!"


    The ghost face on the cover of the magical book suddenly became extremely angry, ferociously letting out a raging roar at Leon. However, as Leon had gained insight into this seemingly ferocious appearance, he just narrowed his eyes and enjoyed the demon spirit''s performance.


    Realizing that the threatening was ineffective, and its previous petty trick had been exposed, it knew by dragging anything further, it might trigger the frightful ancient contract. Left with no alternative, the ghost face of the demon spirit dully told Leon the real requirements of reading the book.


    "With 15 points of Physique, you can have a total control of this magical book. With 8 points of Physique, you can read all of the contents of this book. With 5 points of Physique, you can read any content that is below the grade of Mage, 3 points of Physique allow you to learn a specific magic spell, 1 point of Physique gives you a random magic spell."


    "Substitute objects, I was asking about substitute objects! What kind of objects can be used as the substitution?" It was Leon''s turn to interrogate the demon spirit.


    "Magical gemstones, magical materials, any mysterious knowledge which is not inside of this book... anything and everything. As long as they are rted to magic spell, they could all be the substitute objects, but the required amount would be a lot!"


    "How about this?" Leon tried his luck by cing an Emerald on top of the magical book.


    It was arge Emerald with a size simr to a human heart. It would cost at least 230 magic crystals in the Mage market.


    "0.3 Physique."


    The answer given by the demon spirit shocked Leon.


    If calcted based on this, then if he wanted to gain total control of this book, 15 points of Physique would be equivalent to twelve thousand magic crystals! Maybe for an official Mage, this price was nothing, but for Apprentice Mages who were constantly in need of resources, it was simply an astronomical figure.


    The corner of Leon''s eyes twitched. He tilted his head and looked at the pile of gemstones, which he had thought were plenty moments ago. But now, he felt that even if he had more of them, it was still not enough for him to spend.


    cing the demon spirit book on the ground, Leon started to ce magical gemstones on top of it. Every time after he ced one gemstone, the demon spirit would tell him a small figure.


    Shadow Stone, Tiger''s Eye stone, Mchite, Green Agate, Lesser Moonstone, Emerald, Topaz, Aquamarine, Ruby, Opal, Sapphire, Azure Moonstone, me Spessarite, Golden Dranite, Dawn Stone, Living Ruby, Noble Topaz...


    Following the piling up of the magical gemstones, the figures eventually reached 11. The remaining gemstones were all top grade. For example, Blood of the Old God, Blood Gem, Deep Peridot, Dawn Stone, Tsite, Night''s Eye, Lion''s Eye Stone, Crimson Spinal Stone. All of them were gems which Leon felt reluctant to give away.


    ...


    2220 Words

 Chapter 108: Voodoo

    Leon hesitated for a brief moment, then waved his hand, ordering the Rock Snake to a corner of the cave to spit out a huge amount of dirt, gravel, weeds, broken vines and other debris. Afterwards, he started to thoroughly search through the messy pile to find some magical items that had been left over by the Fire element Fallen Pseudo-Mage. Experience tales with empire


    Snox had awakened long ago and was cleverly squatting beside Leon, helping him aplish the dirty job.


    After searching through the entire pile, Leon had found three magical items.


    One was a ne that allowed the bearer to unleash me Balls instantly, another was a bracelet that could improve the efficiency of Fire element meditation, and thest one was a magical staff made of Fire Coral.


    As effects of all three magical items were for Fire element apprentices, they were suitable for Leon as well. However, since he had found the Fire Lord¡¯s Scepter, they would no longer bring him those huge benefits.


    Gnashing his teeth, Leon ced all three magical items on top of the demon spirit book.


    "14 points." The number announced by the demon spirit made Leon clench his jaw forcefully.


    It only needed one more point!


    Leon searched through his storage waist belt and waist pouch, he couldn¡¯t find anything else that was suitable. As for the remaining items, he felt reluctant to give up any of them!


    Right as he was hesitating, a goose egg shaped Opal suddenly fell into the pile of gemstones.


    "15 points, you have reached the upper limit for unsealing the demon spirit book. The book will now start unsealing!" At this moment, the ghost face had finally shown the frightful manner of an ancient demon spirit. Soon, numerous magical arrays started to emerge on the cover of the book. Following a barely audible muttering voice, one after another, the arrays disintegrated and vanished along with those gemstones and magical items which had been used as substitute objects!


    After the ghost face had gradually faded away from the book cover, the real appearance of this magical book was finally revealed.


    Struck by surprise, Leon gazed at Snox who had an aching heart expression on its face. A smile emerged on Leon¡¯s face. He nodded his head praisingly at Snox, before switching his focus back to the magical book.


    This book was called a demon spirit book initially, because the entire book was concealed by the demon spirit and one had to achieve the basic requirement to read it. But now, as the requirement of reading it had been achieved, ording to the ancient contract, the demon spirit had taken the war trophies it deserved and disappeared from this world. That was why the magical book was now present in front of Leon.


    The book had a ck cover and was made of leather. The corners of the book were installed with golden frames, giving it a touch of a dignified and ancient look. Leon tried to weigh it in his hand, though the book was at most thirty pages, it weighed a whopping three to four kilograms.


    When Leon used his finger and gently stroked the rather coarse hardcover, the name of the book condensed from greenish ghost mes and was revealed. It was written in the ancientnguage of Amarr ¨C The Secret Scroll of Voodoo.


    As Leon had unsealed the book with the highest requirement, when he held the book, a feeling of kinship immediately filled his mind. He didn¡¯t even need to flip the pages with his own hands, as when he prated the Scroll of Voodoo with his Spirit, the book started to flip the pages by itself and stopped at any page that Leon showed an interest in.


    After giving it a brief read, Leon was instantly shocked by the contents of the book.


    The entire Scroll of Voodoo was simply an encyclopedia of voodoo,piled by an ancient Mage. From the origin of voodoo to the prevalence of voodoo, records of different voodoo ceremonies, and detailed process of creating a voodoo doll... this book had them all in extreme detail.


    Besides the vast knowledge of voodoo, it also included many bizarre and unpredictable voodoo curses from the ancient era. For example, Scourge Cauldron, Curse of Bloodline, the Spell of Great Pestilence, Kiss of Death, Spirit of Pestilence... Just hearing their names alone would be enough to make one¡¯s hair stand on its end, but casting them was surprisingly simple. The materials used were not rare resources or expensive materials, but... humans.


    To be more precise, the casting required arge amount of humans, including their souls and flesh!


    The entire Scroll of Voodoo seemed to be teaching someone how to use the simplest method to create the Scourge Cauldron. Then how to use the Spell of Great Pestilence to produce a deadly pestilence that could wipe out all living being in an entire continent. After that, gathering all the variants of pestilence and merging them together to eventually produce the mighty Spirit of Pestilence.


    And this Spirit of Pestilence would be the strongest warrior working for the owner of this secret scroll.


    By sending it out, Pestilence would wreak havoc to wherever it went, causing death to spread across thend. Any living beings without a proper defensive magic spell would unable to stand against the invasion of this Pestilence, which had been mixed with a small percentage of source rules of Voodoo.


    Since the ancient era, the Spirit of Pestilence had been the best agent in warfare and was used by Mages to deal with those lower grade nes who put up a desperate struggle. For smaller scale nes, they just need to throw a Spirit of Pestilence onto it, and they would be able to have their harvest one monthter. The entire ne would have been filled with howling souls that wandered everywhere, and they could seize any materials and resources they had wanted from that ce. Compared to sending arge army of Mages to eliminate enemies everywhere and repress the revolts from the natives of the ce day and night, this method saved a lot of time.


    However, this method was overly evil, and frequently it would evoke a strong reaction from the Will of the ne that was being invaded. After all, the Will of the ne was the collection of every single material and living beings¡¯ wills. When all the living beings on a ne were wiped out, the Will of the ne would perish altogether. Therefore, those who possessed the Spirit of Pestilence would often receive a curse from the Will of ne which had perished and would be an enemy of that particr ne.


    Once an Mage wasbeled as the enemy of the ne, he would be disgusted by all the nes, including the origin ne where he was born and raised. And when someone like that entered into a random ne, he would immediately be weed by the wrath of everything in that ne, as all the living beings within the particr ne would advance wave upon wave,unching attacks at him without any fear of death and would only stop once one side was dead!


    Hence, as he was holding a weapon of mass destruction like this in his hand, even Leon couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore!


    Leon restlessly connected his mind with the Scroll of Voodoo, asking the Chip to make an identical copy of the content in his mind, then ordered it to slowly organize and analyze the data. He wanted to know if the Chip could find something suitable for him to use from these ancient voodoo magic spells.


    Once Leon had established a deeper spiritual connection with the Scroll of Voodoo, to his surprise, he found out that this Scroll of Voodoo could be used as a magic spell book. He could store six spiritual models of magic spell in a secret space within the book. This also meant, as long as he held the book in his hand, he would have six free magic spells which he could instantly cast.


    Of course, he had to store the spiritual models of these six magic spells in the book first.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Damn, wasn¡¯t this just like the cache in his Chip, but an outworldly version?


    At this point in time, Leon couldn¡¯t help but feel respect towards those ancient Mages. Though they were fighting alone, and they didn¡¯t have aplete education system which allowed one to slowly umte knowledge like how it was done back in the Earth, with just a tiny little spark in the mind of a random and unknown genius, they could actually create a mysterious space like this, which looked like an advanced technology from the modern world.


    With regards to this, Leon couldn¡¯t help but admire them speechlessly!


    Initially, he thought he was the only one who had the technique to solidify magic spells and stored their spiritual models in his mind. But judging from what he had just discovered, this mysterious world did indeed have a simr technique. The only difference was, once the spiritual model stored in the mysterious space of the book was used, it would vanish, and would once again need to be re-injected before it could be used again. Based on this point alone, it was not as effective as the cache in his Chip.


    It looked like he was going to have an additional magical equipment ¨C an extremely powerful magic spell sequencer!


    In future when fighting with enemies, without using any of his Spirit, Leon could use the advantage of instant casting brought by magic spell sequencer and shower the enemy with a raging bombardment.


    Upon thinking about this, Leon couldn¡¯t help but feel really excited.


    In order to express his love towards this Scroll of Voodoo, he purposely found a half meter long silver chain from his storage waist belt and used it to tie the magical book around his waist. After tinkering with it a few times, he was very satisfied with the results. Now, with just a thought in his mind, the magical book would automatically fly into his left hand, flip through the pages by itself and stop at the page where the magic spell Leon wanted to use was located.


    As for keeping it a secret, Leon had no worries at all.


    He had gained total control of this book, and it had a constant hidden connection with his spirit. Thus, even if it fell into the hands of an outsider, what the outsider would see would be the pages of totally emptied goat skin. Without Leon¡¯s permission, no one could overtake him and read the contents of the book.


    Perhaps, this was the biggest benefit of unsealing it with the highest requirement!


    Right as Leon was showing his fondness towards the magical book and could hardly tear himself away from it, Snox was keeping itself busy as well. It kept searching through the dirt pile that the Rock Snake spat out. Eventually, its hard work did pay off, because it really found something surprising.


    The partial fragment of the Fairy¡¯s true form!


    Among some of broken pieces of dried up tree skin, a sticky green liquid and some strange broken pieces of what looked like internal organs of a human could be found. It looked like during the evolution of the Fairy¡¯s true form, some unexpected mutation had happened.


    However, when Leon picked up those fragments in his hand and gave them a careful look, his mind was immediately filled with a series of messages from the Chip.


    "Beep, unique active molecules of bloodline gene is detected, data saved..."


    "Beep, unique active molecules of bloodline gene is detected, data saved..."


    "Beep, unique active molecules of bloodline gene is detected, data saved..."


    ...


    ...


    A series of prompting sounds rang through Leon¡¯s mind and also caused his eyes to be filled with unconcealed awe.


    It was not because the Chip had crashed that the messages kept repeating themselves, but because every new prompt meant that the Chip had found another new bloodline gene in the fragment of the Fairy¡¯s true form. Eventually, a total of twenty-seven brand new bloodline genes were found. The discovery had suddenly made Leon feel that something was not right.


    A demon leader who was trapped in a small ce like that. Where had it gotten in touch with and devoured so many bloodline genes? After all, among the poption of Apprentice Mages, these bloodline genes were priceless treasure that one couldn¡¯t even purchase with money! With just a small bottle of purified ancestor¡¯s bloodline, any apprentice would be able to step onto the broad road of the Bloodline Mage.


    With twenty-seven brand new bloodline genes, it also meant that frightening Fairy had once devoured twenty-six creatures who possessed mutated bloodline genes! Could there be twenty-six Bloodline apprentices from different species that had visited the demonized forest and gotten themselves killed there?


    Of course, it was impossible!


    Even by searching all the Bloodline Apprentice in the Dagon region, it would not possible to find twenty-six different species.


    So, how had this frightening Fairy achieve something that even an official Mage would find tough to do?


    ...


    2225 Words

 Chapter 109: Level 2 Mage?

    He sort of had the feeling that he had unintentionally intruded into a dangerous domain that he shouldn¡¯t have stepped into at all!


    It was impossible for the Fairy to have absorbed so many bloodline genes just by relying on its own ability. So there was only one possibility: the fragments of bloodline genes were being stored by the Mage Tower. When that ce had been abandoned by the Fallen Mages, the Human-faced Flower that was lucky enough to survive had absorbed the other bloodline genes, and so had grown into an Mage level Fairy.


    After all, due to the mightiness of Mage¡¯s bloodline and the powerful strength of the family behind them, in the entire Mage Continent, any behavior that led to the stealing of Mage¡¯s bloodline was forbidden and any research rted to that was totally prohibited as well. Therefore, that within an Mage Tower built by Fallen Mages, Leon had actually found the trace of so many bloodline genes, perhaps... there was a severe secret hiding behind this!


    On instinct, the first assumption Leon had was that Second Grade Fallen Mage Pridka had carried out a secret experiment rted to synthetic bloodlines. And it was highly possible this assumption was real! After all, for a First Grade Mage, carrying out any research rted to bloodlines was nearly impossible.


    But the deeper Leon dug into this matter, the more he just couldn¡¯t help but gulped a mouthful of his own saliva as his mind was overcast by a huge patch of shadow.


    Could a Second Grade Fallen Mageplete bloodline research on such a huge scale alone?


    After all, Bloodline Apprentices were high-quality resources that were sought after by ns of all different sizes. The treatment they received was much better than that given to Elemental Apprentices, Body Refining Apprentices, and Profound Apprentices. If more than double digit numbers of Bloodline Apprentices had been murdered or went missing in the Dagon region, a massive storm would have long broken out.


    However, Leon had been in this ce for quite some time but he had never heard any rumors or news regarding this.


    Could this mean that the Second Grade Fallen Mage had handled this matter brilliantly and kept it well hidden, or there was an unknown, yet powerful, n that was hiding this for him? In the Dagon Region, a couple of small Mage families wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve that; even the big families would not be able to keep this matter very secret.


    If that was the case, then the only possibility would be...


    Leon turned his head slightly, looking into the direction of the Mage Tower of Underground Cave. Suddenprehension bloomed in his mind.


    Only the Zhentarim Association had the ability to cover the matter up to the level of no leakage!


    Based on this assumption and extrapted further, the purpose of designing the Underground Cave was rather thought-provoking.


    On the face of it, it seemed like a few Fallen Mages had fled to the Underground World, engaged in guerri warfare, and fought with the surface Mages for rare and precious resources. But if one looked from a higher perspective, that ce did look like a conflict zone purposely created by someone, with the hidden purpose of training their minions through constant battles.


    If the higher grade Mages who managed this region truly had a selfish motive, were taking the opportunity to secretly carry out forbidden research, it could actually be covered up with a good reason. After all, the ce was in constant warfare. From time to time, many apprentices would get themselves killed. At most, people would felt pity for their death but it was tough for them to rte their deaths to something else.


    If Leon were the true mastermind behind this, he would just need to assign more Bloodline Apprentices when announcing a mandatory mission, then purposely create some conflicts during their mission. With that, the death of the Bloodline Apprentices would be well-reasoned and no one would notice anything fishy.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Leon recalled, among the ten people on thepulsory mission team of his, four of them were Bloodline Apprentices, including Bleia. So far, out of two Advanced Apprentices who were dead, Sh had been a Bloodline Apprentice. Also, it seemed like the Demon Vine Lady killed by Leon had also been a Bloodline Apprentice.


    He had never felt anything wrong before this. But thinking back now, as the superior existence among same level apprentices, the death rate of Bloodline Apprentices was extremely high! This... this told him something was not right.


    So how were they going to handle Leon, an outsider who identally intruded onto their secret experiment field? Were they going to assign him a highly dangerouspulsory mission without his knowledge and have him killed in the Underground World? Or maybe the mastermind would settle this matter personally, killing Leon straightaway and shutting his mouth? After all, he was just an Intermediate Apprentice who had no background, and no one would confront a Second Grade Mage for the death of a mere apprentice!


    Quietly, from his waist pouch, Leon took out the chest badge that represented the Byron family, which he had been given by Mage Angus, and carefully pinned it onto his chest. For the first time, he realized the tremendous benefit of having support from an Mage family!


    ...


    One hourter, when Leon, carrying the sleeping Bleia, and Snox, who was carrying a huge bag on its back, approached the entrance of the Mage Tower, they were blocked by a magical golem.


    With no exnation, they were brought to a huge secret room on the ninth floor of the Mage Tower.


    They were greeted by a young Mage who looked only a few years older than Leon. He had a delicate and handsome face and a tall and strong body. He was wearing a luxurious Mage robe with a pointy Mage hat on his head. Standing in front of them, he sent forth a youthful aura that felt rather strange.


    If not for the powerful spiritual pressure indistinctly leaking out from his body, perhaps Leon would thought this Mage was disguised by an Apprentice Mage. But when he sensed the pure and reserved spiritual wave, Leon immediately felt like he was staring at a dazzling sun which made his eyes sore. Under the brilliant radiation of such strong glow, he nearly turned into a blind man.


    Leon immediately lowered his head, bent his back slightly, and expressed his respect. At the same time, he quietly unleashed some Fire Elementium and covered his eyes. Only then did he feel the pain in his eyes relieve a little bit. In his arms, as if the sleeping Bleia had also sensed some threat, she restlessly moved her body and buried her beautiful face under Leon¡¯s arms.


    At the same time, Snox, who was standing behind Leon, shrank its body away from fear, lying on the ground with its face down, and did not dare stand up again.


    As a demon, Snox¡¯s sense of danger was more direct and sensitivepared to human beings, so the spiritual pressure it felt was much stronger than anybody else.


    This was a simple and rather crude meeting room; the wooden table and chairs ced inside had never gone through any polish, as they still had the original color of the wood.


    The young, evil looking Mage was sitting in one of the chairs, holding a cup of a steaming hot beverage in his hand. He was none other than the Second Grade Mage who controlled this Mage Tower, Master Andre.


    After all, he was in a bizarre world, which was totally different from the Earth in his previous life. Though the appearance, behavior, and habit of the people here were pretty simr to Middle Ages Europe back on Earth, there was still a huge difference. The most obvious difference was their name.


    In Leon¡¯s memory, Europeans always hadplicated names that were used to indicate the origin of their family. But in this world, where the strong would gain authority, the family influence had been weakened. A new type of family was found here, which was established around a powerful Mage.


    Usually, the leader of the family would not be the strongest of that family, but an elder of the family who was an expert in managing their territory. The direction of development of the family was actually held in the hand of the higher grade Mages, who hid behind curtains and possessed powerful abilities.


    The Mage and the family were like twin trees that supported each other; when the family was strong, the Mage of the family would be the vine that parasitized the tree. And once the Mage became stronger, the family would, in turn, became the essory of the Mage, allowing him to demand anything he wanted.


    Therefore, many mighty Mages didn¡¯t have a family name. On the contrary, his family would felt honored to have his name as their family name. It was a reversed rtionship of dependence.


    Since the first day Leon had arrived at the Mage Tower of the Underground Cave, he had memorized the name of Master Andre. But with his status and position, there was no chance he could have met with such mighty existence.


    Apparently, today was obviously an exception!


    Therefore, Leon lowered his head and bent down his body, waiting quietly and never showed any disrespect.


    After a long time, after Mage Andre had slowly finished with the hot beverage in his hand, he ced the cup down gently and moved his nce over to Leon, who was standing respectfully.


    Without raising his head, Leon could feel the scorching hot nce. It didn¡¯t mean Mage Andre¡¯s element affinity was Fire, but that the element energy soaking his eyes was too dense. When he moved his nce over to Leon, the sudden increase in element density had caused element damage to him.


    This was why Leon felt like he was burning!


    "Have you gone to the Underground World recently?" Mage Andre finally spoke.


    Leon¡¯s body trembled slightly. He lowered his head further and said, "Yes, master. I just came back from the Underground World!"


    "Did you find anything?"


    Leon moved his head a little, as if he had tried to raise his head to have a look but quickly held down the impulse.


    "Yes, master. I did find something on this trip!"


    A wondering expression emerged on Leon¡¯s face, which was still pointed at the floor. Clearly, he was puzzled about why a Second Grade Mage would show concern to a mere Intermediate Apprentice. Of course, Leon had purposely put on this expression!


    With the powerful Spirit of a Second Grade Mage, perhaps the entire Mage Tower was under his control and senses. Therefore, though Leon had lowered his head, any changes on his face would still be sensed by Mage Andre.


    Leon had to put on a real show!


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    Since the moment he had stepped into Mage Tower, Leon had been hypnotizing himself restlessly, disguising himself as a reckless boy who knew nothing.


    After all, the information he had obtained previously was based on the data gathering, information summarization, and analysis of the powerful Chip. If any ordinary Apprentice Mage had wished to dig out the hidden secret from the Fairy¡¯s body, perhaps he would have needed to use the precise equipment found in the Alchemy Laboratory.


    Therefore, if Leon wanted to lower the risk he would face, he needed to pretend that he knew nothing about the secret!


    Also, Leon had tried to sound out Snox secretly, but the goblin had shown no knowledge of the bloodline experiments. It didn¡¯t even have an idea about how it possessed such bizarre abilities.


    This had strengthened Leon¡¯s decision to y stupid!


    ...


    1968 Words

 Chapter 110 Convincing

    "What did you find? Show me!" Mage Andre ordered.


    Without any hesitation, Leon respectfully bowed and gently ced Bleia on the floor beside him. He then turned around and asked Snox to bring the bag over. But too bad, his order had already lost its effectiveness, as Snox had copsed on the floor and couldn''t get up.


    Left with no other choice, Leon walked over to the huge bag and arduously dragged it to the center of the meeting room. He opened up the bag and poured everything out on the floor.


    Immediately, precious stones, dazzlingly magical gemstones and an exceptionally designed rose armor and magical bow rolled out onto the ground. Meanwhile, the Fairy''s body which looked like a saggy leather pouch and the broken stalks of its true form were mixed among them. They looked like they hadn''t gone through any sorting.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Looking at the scene, Mage Andre who looked like an evil youth narrowed his eyes, showing a ruminating expression. But when he gazed at the bright chest badge on Leon''s chest, the smile on his face became stronger, while the oppressive atmosphere that had suffocated Leon instantly disappeared.


    "An Mage level demon leader! I never expected an Intermediate Apprentice like you could harvest a prey of this level, no wonder Angus was so impatient to recruit you into his family!"


    "It is all because of the care Master Angus has shown for me. Actually, we were able to defeat this frightening Fairy because of Bleia; she had risked her life for this. Also, we were helped by a few Fallen Pseudo-Mages!" An excited expression immediately appeared on Leon''s face. Without waiting for Master Andre to ask the questions, he started to narrate the battle of the demonized forest in a detailed manner.


    He had no idea whether this Mage Andre had any methods of learning the truth of what had happened in the Underground World. Out of careful consideration, Leon chose not to tell any lies, and he told the entire process without covering anything up, expressing how proud he was for participating in such an incredible battle.


    It was a rare urrence, as Mage Andre patiently and carefully listened to everything Leon had to say. From time to time, he even nodded his head praisingly.


    Leon was able to fight an Mage level demon for such a long hour, employing some tricks, he even dragged a few Fallen Pseudo-Mages who hade to ambush him into the battle, and eventually became the final winner who looted everything. To be honest, when such crafty nning and strategy was seen from an Intermediate Apprentice, it clearly showed his amazing ability to control a battlefield.


    "You only found these after killing an Mage level demon?" Mage Andre''s eyes kept lingering on the magical book tied to the side of Leon''s waist. It was not until after Leon finally took out a strange looking, fiery red scepter from his storage waist belt, that his expression had rxed a little bit, "So it is a Fire Lord''s Scepter! Not bad, with your Fire element affinity, currently this scepter is the perfect magical item for you!"


    Andre lowered his head and pondered for a brief moment, he then raised his head and said, "I need some magical materials for the experiment I''m working on right now, so, I''ll purchase all your war trophies. And since you''ve risked your life to find all these items, I''ll not seek profit at the expense of a little guy like you. Here are a few items, the value of each is higher than your magical materials. You can pick which one you want for yourself."


    Following a wave of Mage Andre''s hand, though it was mixed with all the other war trophies, the Fairy''s corpse and the fragments of its true form started to fly up into the air by a mysterious force. In an instant, they were thrown into a dark rift that suddenly tore up in midair. After they disappeared, three small bubbles flew out from the dark rift, each of them was holding a bizarre magical item of peculiar design.


    One was a narrow-necked sk the size of a human palm, containing a mysterious, light-blue potion.


    Another one was a pair of red colored wings. It shone with a cold metal ze, and a special glow kept circting on top of it.


    Thest one was a token engraved with mysterious andplicated patterns, the purpose of which was unknown.


    "The value of these three items are not lower than that of your demon corpse. The first one is an ''Elementary Intelligence Potion'', with the current level of your Spirit, it will increase your Spirit by three points without causing any harm to you. The second item is an Mage level Wing of mingo, with a simple transnt operation, you''ll be given the ability to fly freely in the air. And thest one is a Token of Permit, with it, you can visit the World of Deep Red once, a ce where you can improve your Fire element affinity."


    Leon''s body shook, his eyes instantly went wide, as he greedily stared at the three peculiar items floating inside of the bubbles. A wild beast was making an uproar in his mind, asking him to pull over all these items and make them his.


    Clenching his fist tightly, after put in a huge effort, Leon finally pressed down the restless emotions in his mind. He raised his head and asked with a stammering voice, "Your respectful Master Andre, I... can I chose more than one?"


    "You can only pick one! The value of your demon is only worth one."


    Leon fixed his bloodshot eyes on all three items in front of him. Meanwhile, his mind was spinning fast to decide the right choice.


    Though the Elementary Intelligence Potion was a good item, it was only effective for apprentices below the Pseudo-Mage grade. Also, using it just to increase Spirit was rather wasteful, as the biggest purpose of it was used to bring enlightenment to one''s intelligence. As the matter of fact, not everyone who lived in the Mage Continent was given the ability to study magic when they born. Even when two official Mages got married, it was also possible that they would give birth to an ordinary child who had no talent in magic at all. In that situation, the purpose of Elementary Intelligence Potion hade into y.


    It could promote an ordinary child into a Beginner Apprentice Mage straightaway. This was the biggest value of it!


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    The Wings of mingo, it was a pretty good assisting magical organ. And best of all, it was an option that brought the least amount of bloodline contamination. After owning it, Leon would have the ability to fly freely in the air.


    Also, for this kind of transnted magical organ, usually it would just be a small bloodline mark that solidified on the body. From the face of it, no one could tell any difference. Only when he recited a simple magic incantation would the magical organ activate and a pair of magical wings would stretch out from his back.


    For him, whether for pursuing enemies or for fleeing at high speeds, it was an excellent option!


    But, after clenching his jaw tightly and hesitating for some time, Leon eventually stretched his hand towards the third bubble.


    Though the first two items were extremely rare and precious, but if he was willing to spend some magic crystals, he could still find them in the market. But for the third item, which would allow him to improve his Fire element affinity, it was something that could hardly be found anywhere else!


    The bubble burst, and a cold metal token fell into Leon''s hand.


    "Good, very good! The deal isplete, and you can leave now. As for how to use this token, you can go and ask Angus!" Andre waved his hand after finished saying that. In an instant, Leon felt the sky and the earth spinning around. When his mind had finally settled down, he realized he had returned to his own room located on the second floor.


    Right beside him, he saw Bleia who was sleeping soundly, Snox who was struggling in getting on its feet again and the opened bag with glows of gemstones all over the ce, the Rose Armor shining brightly, magical bow and the Fire Lord''s Scepter... after a careful counting, none of them was missing. Everything was lying on the floor, emanating its own glow quietly.


    Haha, it looked like these items couldn''t enter the eyes of a Second Grade Mage. He was being overly worried previously!


    Before Leon returned to the Mage Tower, he had sessfully hypnotized himself to forget every single assumption he had made before this, and only made a backup of them in the storage area of the Chip. Now, after leaving the control of that Second Grade Mage, the backup data stored inside the Chip had once again transmitted into his mind, allowing him to remember those memories he had forgotten.


    He had no choice, as when faced with a Second Grade Mage, he had to be extremely careful.


    Leon carefully ced Bleia on the bed, before putting all the gemstones into the bag and tossing it over to Snox, asking it to find a way to settle them. As for himself, after putting away those magical items, he turned around and left his room, rushing toward Mage Angus''s residence.


    It was hard to describe what kind of strange expression Mage Angus had when he saw the mysterious token. However, after he listened to Leon''s much-varnished exnation, though he still had his brows knitted in a tight frown and felt puzzled, he just couldn''t find anything wrong with it.


    Angus dared not show any hesitation with regards to the order from a Second Grade Mage. He stomped his feet lightly, and immediately, a mysterious magical array that covered the entire main hall emerged on the hard rock floor.


    "Insert that token into the center of this magical array!" Angus ordered with a low voice.


    Only now Leon had noticed that right in the center of this magical array which was entirely made up of element energy, there was a round shaped notch, and the size which perfectly matched the bottom of the mysterious token.


    After Leon inserted the token, Angus, while slowly activating the magical array, exhorted Leon with a deep voice, "The ce you''re going to visit is the World of Deep Red. It is a small space created inside of an underground volcano by the Mage Tower. A ce suitable for those apprentices with Fire element affinity to train. After you arrive there, do not do anything extra, as the ce is heavily guarded by numerous magical automatons, also... in a few simple words, just follow everything ''she'' says!"


    Angus''s voice became slightly hesitant at thest few words. Especially when he mentioned ''she'', his face was filled with a strange mixed expression of envy and hatred.


    This had caused a nervous feeling to slowly enter into Leon''s mind.


    Could that ce have something special or strange?


    However, before he could ask any other questions, the magical array had activated. Once again, Leon was forced to go through a violent dizziness that overwhelmed all his senses. Everything in front of his eyes had been stretched out and became a vague image. The space around him would sometimes elongate and sometimespress ¨C it just looked like a dough that anyone could knead freely.


    Leon had no idea how much time had passed.


    ording to the Chip, the entire process onlysted five seconds. However, Leon himself felt as if it hadsted for one whole day.


    When the dizziness brought by the disorientation of space finally faded away, Leon rolled his eyes and leapt out from the magical array, throwing himself onto his knees to retch. Never in his life had he hated this simple space teleportation so much! He didn''t possess the integrated and near materialized Spirit like an official Mage, thus without the protection from the magical array, there was no way he could defend himself from the invasion of the spatial force.


    Yet, while he was cursing inwardly, a pair of slim and soft long legs suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. After that, a female''s charming, seductive voice rang into his ears.


    "Eh, howe this time it is a handsome boy? I thought that old man Angus has finallye to see me! Handsome boy, what''s your name?"


    To his horror, Leon raised his head!


    ...


    2110 words

 Chapter 111 New#1

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 Chapter 112 succubus

    She was a very graceful and charmingdy, and a bantering smile could be found on her juicy lips.


    Her skin was silky smooth and as white as snow, some tiny purple colored freckles could be seen indistinctly spread across them. Her sexy hot body made her the most beautiful creature Leon had ever seen in his entire life.


    A pair of curving horns stretched out from her forehead, and her purple colored long hair was hanging loosely down her back. A dangerous look of lust was lingering in her narrow yet charming eyes, making any man in the world want to indulge in her magnificent beauty upon staring at her face.


    On her back were a pair ofrge bat wings with distinct joints, one could even see sharp ws poking out from these joints. A t and slender bone tail stretched out from her lower back, glowing like a metal. All of these gave her a touch dangerous, yet inviting look ¨C it was like a forbidden excitement.


    She was wearing a curvaceous silk gown with a leather belt with silver ornaments strapped around her waist. She leisurely fiddled with a long whip made from wrought gold chain which produced electric sparks when it swung around.


    The devil''s horns, those ming lips, and the signature bat wings, long tail and hoof legs, this... She was an abyss creature that shouldn''t appear in the Material ne ¨C a Subus.


    Right when Leon saw this Subus, his thoughts had nearly stagnated. In a trance, he thought the previous teleportation had transported him into the horrible World of Abyss. When he recovered from his shock and nced around, only that had he realized that he was in a unique space that was trapped by some sort of magical spells.


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    In front of Leon was a spacious and deep hall ofva. Nearly half the space of this hall was upied by a hugeva pool. The pool was filled with slow-moving moltenva and scorching hot whiteva stones. A three acres'' stone tform was found on a corner of the hall, on top of it was a simple stone cottage, a simple stone table, and chairs ¨C everything looked so simple and crude.


    Leon was now kneeling on this tform. Behind him was the teleportation magical array with its glow slowly fading away, and in front of him was... an Abyss Subus with a charming face and sexy body.


    With Leon''s vast knowledge, he roughly understood theyout of this ce with just a brief nce.


    Fuck, what bullshit World of Deep Red. It was merely a small living space established within the inner part of an underground volcano! And, the reason why those old goats had established this space wasn''t for any magic spell research at all, but purely... to house this seductive Subus of the Abyss.


    After all, the Abyss Subus was the native creature from the World of Abyss, which was a lower grade ne. Though they didn''t possess a powerfulbative strength, relying on their sexy and charming bodies and their extraordinary smart brains, they had been the favorite concubines and advisers of many powerful Devil Lords of the Abyss.


    Though they could also enter into a material ne, the perfect living environment for them was still a hot and harsh world like the World of Abyss. Meanwhile, a primary material ne, like the World of Mage, would seriously reject the chaotic and brutal aura emanating from the body of these creatures from the Abyss.


    Therefore, since those old goats wanted to let this Abyss Subus survive in this world, they had no other option but to establish a ''World of Deep Red'' near the underground volcano, which had a simr environment to the Abyss ne.


    To put it inly, this was a ''recreation and entertainment'' ce those Mages had set up for themselves. And judging from what this Subus had just said, perhaps she was not even the exclusive concubine for someone, but...


    Leon shuddered suddenly, quickly stopped himself from pondering further.


    When Leon was curiously measuring the surrounding with his eyes, the Subus was also staring at him in wonderment!


    To be honest, only those human Mages could enter this ce at their pleasure. And as for any existence below the grade of Mage, Leon was the first toe to this ce!


    Right when Leon was contemting how to introduce himself, a tall humanoid stone figure suddenly walked out from a wall beside the stone tform. A low, muffled voice came out from its bee hive-like face full of holes.


    "Outsider, ording to the message transmitted from the master, you can only stay in this ce for two hours. Please do not disy any behavior that will harm the stability of this space, or else, you''ll be killed!"


    Having finished saying that, the huge humanoid stone figure took a step back, before once again merging back into the stone wall. No one could see any difference from the spot where it came out.


    An Mage level magical automaton!


    With just one gaze, Leon had determined the overall strength of this huge humanoid stone figure. And with such a mighty overall strength and within this tiny space, a magical automaton would be able to kill him easily. Even if he had summoned all his Golems, he would not be able to save his life, because there wasn''t any space he could run to, to get away from the attack!


    Leon finally sensed the unique environment of this ce.


    The dried and hot fire air made it extremely difficult to breathe. It was as if there was a fireball residing in his lungs, every inhale and exhale was a scorching hot airflow. As Leon''s element affinity was Fire, within his Spiritual Domain, his entire body and soul were rejoicing for the dense and active Fire Elementium found in the surrounding environment. However, his overly frail body just couldn''t withstand the harsh environment. Indistinctly, signs of self-destruction had appeared on his body.


    With no time to interact with the Subus standing beside him, Leon immediately sat down folding his legs and started cultivating his Inferno Body.


    For any Element Mages, if they wish to maximize the power of their element magic spell, they had to carry out a magical modification to their body. And, having the body totally transformed into Elementium was an inevitable path! It was an extremely slow process and also consumed a huge amount of resources.


    They had to consume Fire element demon beasts'' meat on a regr basis and use it to slowly and gently stimte their body to allow their body to get used to the gradually denser Fire Elementium. And the cultivating of Inferno Body was just the first step to transforming the body into Elementium, and it was also the initial threshold.


    Only once he hadpleted the cultivation of Inferno Body, Leon would have the ability to travel to some unique environments which were rich with Fire Elementium and continue his meditation and cultivation. While his innate talent might have weed these rich Fire Elementiums, his body wouldn''t be able to withstand the entire cultivation process.


    Leon closed his eyes, calmed his mind and entered into deep meditation. Before, he had to use his Spiritual tentacles to capture those Fire Elementiums, but now, they were flooding into his Spiritual Domain like they had just burst out from a huge dam. Also, because of the overly dense Fire Elementiums, the incorporeal process that normally only happened in his Spiritual Domain had be visible to the naked eye.


    Countless flickering tiny red dots were lingering around Leon''s body, constantly merging into his body, prating into his bones and tendons, flesh and blood, some even prated into the source of his Spirit.


    However, this process didn''t bring him only benefits.


    Following the pration of countless Fire Elementiums, within his flesh, blood, bones, tendons, internal organs and some other parts of his body, Fire Elementiums started to pile up and couldn''t be absorbed in a timely manner. They started to show their active, unstable and destructive characteristics, as they had begun to erode Leon''s body.


    Looking from a far distance, it was like an invisible furnace was burning violently inside of Leon''s body. His skin turned red and just as his sweat had emerged, they immediately evaporated before they could roll off his skin. Leon''s breathing became heavier, and even the air he let out had turned into a scorching hot me.


    Due to ack of magic spell protection, Leon''s cloth had started to burn off, enshrouding him within a huge fireball. However, as the me didn''t possess any supernatural power, obviously, it couldn''t hurt Leon at all. Instead, it was giving him a touch of mystery.


    Though Leon''s mind was indulging in the deep meditation, his brows started to furrow, and his mind slowly retracted from the Spiritual Domain.


    His body constitution was too weak, so there was no way he could withstand a Fire element cultivation of this level. Usually, he could maintain three hours of deep meditation, but in this ce, he was forced to stop before reaching fifteen minutes.


    When he regained consciousness, two totally opposed logical judgments came out from his burning hot body. Guided by his Fire element innate talent, the Spiritual Domain had be unprecedentedly strong and nourished. The raging Fire element energy kept storming into it at a constant pace, bringing tremendous benefits. On the other side, the body which had suffered a constant erosion from the Fire element energy was moaning and howling miserably. While the body had undergone the tempering process, it was also being weakened at the same time.


    The corner of Leon''s eyes twitched.


    Could this be the end of his rare opportunity of being able to cultivate in the undergroundva? After he was transported to this ce, the mysterious token had disappeared. Apparently, it could only be used one time. If he was forced to leave this ce now, he wouldn''t have any more opportunities to visit this ce!


    This was an extremely unique environment, and it would be extremely difficult for him to find a simr ce to continue his cultivation.


    "Chip, is there any solution to the current situation?"


    "Beep, Fire Lord''s Scepter..."


    The Chip''s answer was simple and straightforward. Leon forcefully pped his forehead, cursing his own stupidity.


    With a flip of his palm, the Fire Lord''s Scepter, ced inside his storage waist belt, appeared immediately. Upon holding it, the painful and numbing sensation he had felt throughout the entire body disappeared instantly. Even the mes that had tortured him previously had be a suitable temperature.


    Leon lifted his fair right hand; he saw numerous zing red fireballs ragingly burning the surface of his skin. The dancing mes and the scorching hot ze now looked like a crimson outfit,pletely covering his entire body, making anyone who saw this admire the miraculousness and bizarreness of the magic spell.


    With the help of the Fire Lord''s Scepter, Leon was now spared from the harm that mighte about from those low-intensity mes. With that, he was tempted and moved his nce over to the boilingva pool not far away.


    Since it was a rare opportunity for him toe here, he had to maximize the gains no matter what!


    Leon gritted his teeth and stood up suddenly. The few remaining magical equipment detached from his body automatically. Fully naked and holding only the Fire Lord''s Scepter, Leon strode to the edge of theva pool.


    He had no choice; perhaps with the Fire Lord''s Scepter, his body would be able to withstand theva pool, but his magical equipment wouldn''t. If they were destroyed in theva pool, it would be a huge loss for him! Therefore, Leon could only carry out the experiment with a naked body.


    As for the Subus who had been standing beside him smiling, Leon simply ignored her existence!


    At this moment, Leon''s thoughts of bing stronger were extremely firm and tough ¨C the petty charm spell of the Subus couldn''t affect him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Standing at the edge of the pool, normally the burning hot air wave would have been enough to half-cook him, but now, it felt like a warm breeze.


    Leon poked his toe lightly into the boiling moltenva. Judging from the feeling, it felt like a hot water with a temperature of fifty degree Celsius. Though it felt hot to the touch, he could still bear it.


    Leon clenched his jaws, gently cing his first leg into the pool, then the second leg. Marching forward step by step, soon his entire body had submerged into the boiling moltenva.


    Sensing the increasing temperature right in front of him, Leon stopped moving forward and stopped at a position where his head was just barely under the surface. Once again, he started the cultivation of his Inferno Body.


    ...


    2156 Word

 Chapter 113: Lava Pool

    As the matter of fact, the cultivation of Inferno Body was more of a process of attracting the Fire Elementiums in the air and making them merged into the cultivator¡¯s body. Using them, the cultivator was able to temper and strengthen his Fire element innate talent.


    Thus, during the cultivating process, the density of the Fire Elementiums in the surrounding environment yed an important role in the speed of the cultivation!


    If Leon was ced in a wet and cold environment like the Swampy Tower, the speed of his cultivation would be at least ten times slower. On the contrary, when he was cultivating in this undergroundva pool where Fire Elementium was in an extreme majority, his progress in cultivation had simply skyrocketed.


    Theparison between two different environments couldn¡¯t even be calcted with mere numbers!


    Countless Fire Elementiums kept pouring into Leon¡¯s body together with some mysteriousva materials. They were condensing his flesh and blood, tempering his bones and strengthened his tendons, helping his body which had be corroded by the Mind Concentrating Potion, be strong once again.


    Washed by the slow-moving moltenva, Leon¡¯s bones and tendons had started to produce cracking noise, a sign of their growing and bing stronger. At the same time, his blood and flesh had be sturdier and filled with more vitality. His dark long hair which had once hung loosely on his shoulders had beenpletely burned off by theva. However, they were now slowly regrowing while making a strange hissing sound. Surprisingly, the color of his hair had changed to dark red and was glowing now with magical luster!


    Within Leon¡¯s mind, the dynamic data about his body attribute was refreshing at a crazy speed.


    Before he could get a glimpse at the rows of tiny green characters that were pouring in with insane speeds, they were immediately flooded with new prompts given out by the Chip.


    "Beep. An iing unusual foreign material detected. It will increase host¡¯s Physique by 0.01 points..."


    "Beep. Merging of a foreign Fire element energy into the Spirit source detected. It will increase host¡¯s Spirit by 0.01 points..."


    "Beep. An iing unusual foreign material detected. It will increase host¡¯s Physique by 0.01 points..."


    ...


    ...


    Two different messages kept alternating off his vision. From time to time, a message that prompted the sessful cultivation of Inferno Body would mix between them.


    "Beep. The host¡¯s body and Spirit have reached the lowest requirement of the cultivation of Inferno Body. Current progress: 1%."


    When Leon finally stepped over the threshold for cultivating the Inferno Body, the temperature of theva, which had caused him to reach the limit of his endurance, suddenly dropped. He felt that he was able to handle the extreme temperatures better now.


    A thought suddenly struck Leon, and he couldn¡¯t hold himself and took a step forward. He wanted to keep himself at the border of his limits, and force himself to endure the painful torture throughout the entire cultivation.


    "Beep. The Inferno Body has been strengthened. Current progress: 2%."


    Your journey continues at empire


    Trying his best to ignore the tremendous pain resulting in his body going through the tempering process, Leon diverted his attention by staring at the rolling text in his vision. Only by doing that could he feel an excitement filling his mind, making the pain he was suffering endurable.


    Following the strengthening of the Inferno Body, the enduring limit Leon had towards the high temperatures of theva had be higher, and he himself also moved deeper into theva pool.


    The Subus was standing on the edge of theva pool, overlooking at the rocking and burning hotva. Her green glowing eyes were filled with strong surprise and a look of disbelief! How could this be possible? That kid who had just came in was only a mere Apprentice Mage, how could he directly touch the frightening undergroundva?!


    Could it have been because of that mysterious looking magical scepter? Or, he was a kid with extraordinary innate talent, having amazing potential in his bloodline?


    The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. The Subus couldn¡¯t help but lick her juicy ming lips in a seductive manner. A hot stream suddenly surged in her heart, as the once charming eyes turned watery.


    Although she was a Subus from the World of Abyss and was regarded as a Fire element demon by themon people, when facing a undergroundva at this degree, she only dared to y with the fire at the edge of the pool. She could only cup a handful of white and boilingva, pour them on her curvy and perfect body, and let them roll off her silky smooth skin freely. But if asked to dive deeper into theva pool, even she couldn¡¯t withstand the devastating and deadly high temperatures.


    After all, she was just a Subus, not a ming Demon who could dance with fire. She could only endure the fire, not like it from the depths of her soul.


    After more than an hour, following the sshing of fire sparks, Leon poked his head out from theva near the edge of the pool. He started to walk slowly back to the tform.


    A moment ago when he was at the bottom of theva pool, he had received a prompt from the Chip.


    The Inferno Body had reached to the maximum level that he could withstand currently. His tempered body had started to show signs of decay as a result of over cultivating. Therefore, he had no choice but to leave theva pool slowly and prepare to cool down his body that had been constantly been in extreme limits.


    Previously, Leon had looked like a slightly skinny, immature youth of sixteen years. But now, he actually possessed a muscr body that would make a lot of people envious.


    With just an hour of tempering, his body had grown to the height of two meters. His burly body was now filled with toned muscles that popped right out, and together with the long dark red hair hanging loosely on his back, he was sending forth a devil-like charisma.


    When remaining standing in the boiling hotva pool that had reached his waist level, the Chip had finally refreshed thetest body attributes in Leon¡¯s mind.


    "Leon (Advanced Apprentice): Strength ¨C 7.12, Agility ¨C 7.35, Physique ¨C 9.17, Spirit ¨C 16.25."


    Without any notice, Leon had grown to the Advanced Apprentice level that he once had looked up to. Also, his Physique and Strength had finally crossed the threshold of five points, matching the grade of his Spirit.


    Clenching his fists slightly, for the first time, Leon felt that his body was filled with mighty forces that he could never deplete. At the same time, the raging Fire element energy was pushing around violently within his body, making it hard to sit still and urging him to smash something to release the active energy.


    Leon lowered his head and looked at the Fire Lord¡¯s Scepter in his left hand. He couldn¡¯t help and sigh with mixed emotions at his heaven-defying luck. Without this scepter, at most he could only have a short moment of meditation right beside theva pool. And if he had wanted to cross into the threshold for the Inferno Body, it would have been simply impossible without tens of days of restless cultivation. Because of this scepter, Leon was given with the ability of intermediate level Fire resistance, allowing him to be spared from the Fire element damage caused by the scorching hotva.


    Just because of this, the progress of his cultivation had skyrocketed. Without it, he would have had to express his thanks to heaven and earth just for having a one-point increment in his Spirit!


    Right when he had all his attention focused on his brand new body attribute, a soft and warm body suddenly attached onto his back and was stroking up and down slowly. At the same time, a sweet, seductive voice suddenly squeezed into his ears.


    "My handsome boy, I just losing sight of you for a short time, I never thought that your body would be so strong, so attractive! Do you want this sister to apany you for ava bath?"


    After that, two tender and lovely arms stretched out from his back, gently and slowly stroking on his toned chest. In an instant, the marvelous sensation of being touched by silky smooth skin had filled Leon¡¯s mind.


    Right at this very moment, the Subus who had her charming fame spread across the universe had fully revealed the tenderness and agileness of her body. While sticking out her flexible tongue and lightly licking on Leon¡¯s neck, she pressed her curvy body tightly onto Leon¡¯s back, at the same time her hand were skillfully flirting and stroking his chest.


    Inside of theva pool where no one could see what happened, her long bone tail gently coiled up around Leon¡¯s ripped thigh like a nimble snake, using the huge contrast between the touch of coarse bone and sensitive skin to further provoke this young man¡¯s ¡¯anger¡¯.


    For an evil creature like this Abyss Subus, the concept of chastity and dignity was something that would never cross their minds. In the World of Abyss ruled by the jungle rules, the mighty strength that brutally destroyed everything was the only thing they were after and also the ultimate guide of the Will of Abyss World. Since Subus don¡¯t possess a strong body constitution or powerful magic spells, attaching themselves to mighty existences became their only method for making a living.


    The material world wasn¡¯t a ce suitable for their survival, yet they still stubbornly tried toe to a material world. What they wanted was in fact, the bloodline and soul of a mighty existence.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The reason those human Mages summoned and imprisoned this Subus in their own ne was for nothing more than to enjoy her wonderful body and her wild techniques when making love. Although this Subus knew this clearly, she still came to this ce without any hesitation, because she was proud and had confidence in her body.


    Once she was allowed to spend a long time with an Mage, she would use her own ways to make the Mage fall in love with her uncontrobly. At that point in time, not only she would gain control of huge sum of fortune, she could also devour the Mage¡¯s body, and return to the World of Abyss with the soul of a mighty human.


    For the Will of Abyss, any behavior regarding bringing back the soul of a mighty existence from a primary ne was well worth the praise. If these Abyss Subus couldn¡¯t improve themselves by ughtering, then carrying out the business of smuggling the souls of mighty existences was still beneficial!


    Only through this method, would she have the chance to grow into an advanced devil ¨C a Pleasure Devil, which was the advanced shape of Subus.


    It was worth mentioning, the flirting techniques that the Subus knew were most effective!


    In nearly a few seconds, Leon¡¯s face became flush.


    But at the moment this Subus had attained her sess, she had failed at the same time. Because the huge humanoid stone figure hidden inside of the stone wall had once again revealed itself.


    "Time¡¯s up! Outsider, you have to leave here at once. Or else, you¡¯ll be attacked by all the Lava Guards. Countdown starts now! 10... 9... 8..."


    Fuck! The time was up!


    The intense sense of danger brutally pulled Leon out of his lustful fantasy. He forcefully shook off the Subus clinging on his body and rushed towards his magical equipment that were scattered on the ground and picked them up. When he had finally rushed into the center of the teleportation array, he saw the Subus standing in theva pool, breaking into a furious rage.


    She had already bitten the well-cooked duck, however, it had just slipped away because of a stupid reason. How could she not get angry?


    Surrounded by her furious roar, the attractive and inviting body of Subus gradually rose from theva pool. The widespread bat wings on her back kept pping in the air, while the raging aura of Abyss emanated from her body like a blood mist, covering arge area.


    But too bad, before she could increase her power to the maximum level, two tiny, delicate and mysterious looking magical arrays suddenly emerged on her round and smooth shoulders. Under the suppression of the two mysterious magical arrays on her shoulders, the power gathered by the Subus suddenly dispersed without making any noise. From a brutal and violent Abyss Devil, she was once again transformed back to the little Subus that could be freely toyed with by anybody.


    She let out a shrill curse, before throwing herself back into theva pool.


    ...


    2158 Words

 Chapter 114: Bleia

    One monthter, Bleia finally woke up.


    Because the energy level of the blood she had drunk was way beyond her vampire grade, she had been forced to continue her sleep in order to digest such powerful blood energy. Of course, this was also an innate ability unique to the vampire!


    If it were any other creature devouring so many different mutated energies in one go, it would be very easy to contaminate the direction of its own bloodline. But it was apletely different case for the vampire. No matter how many different mutated energies they were fed, after digestion, they would all be nourishment for the vampire¡¯s bloodline. Their bloodline being contaminated would never happen.


    But this time, her evolution was clearly different. After she woke up from her deep sleep, Bleia felt like she was dying of starvation.


    The feeling greatly frightened her.


    In the past, when she devoured some blood energy and went to sleep, she would always have the feeling of repletion and satisfactioning from her bloodline upon waking up. But for some unknown reason, after devouring all of the blood from an Mages level demon, she actually felt hungry when she woke up. She was so hungry that her stomach was beginning to gurgle.


    Also, the feeling of hunger wasing from the deepest part of her body, from the source of her bloodline. As if... as if, after this evolution, the progress of her bloodline was greater than the progress of her body constitution, and in a more radical manner.


    Could there be a factor that stimted the growth of bloodlines hiding within the blood of that Fairy? Bearing the heavy question in her mind, Bleia moistened her lips and opened her eyes.


    This was not her room! There was somebody else in this room!


    Without making any noise, Bleia sat up on the bed. Her bloodshot eyes stared straight at the back of a stalwart figure.


    She was in Leon¡¯s room. However, the figure sitting in front of the writing table and reading a book quietly was obviously not him. The broad and ripped body was rather strange to her. But the familiar soul ripple and the familiar aura emanating from the body... eh, something was not right! Why was there a pungent smell of sulfur mixed with that familiar smell?


    Bleia drifted into the air noiselessly. In a sh, she arrived at the back of that familiar yet strange figure. The nails on her fingertips stretched out with incredible speed, and with a crimson glow, they turned extremely sharp. Meanwhile, her bloodshot eyes were on the figure¡¯s neck. She could give it a ferocious bite any time she wanted.


    Following Bleia¡¯s movement, two objects that had been ced on top of her body fell to the ground, producing a crystal clear noise.


    Alerted by the noise, the burly figure turned his head. When he saw Bleia, a delighted smile immediately emerged on his face.


    "You¡¯ve awakened?!"


    It was a sincere smile; a smile full of delight!


    Bleia stopped her leaping movement. She narrowed her bloodshot eyes, asking with a cold voice, "Who are you? Why do you smell like Leon?"


    Looking at how nervous and panicked Bleia was, an expression wavering betweenughing and crying appeared on Leon¡¯s handsome face. It looked like after her long period of sleep, both of them had changed a lot, resulting in Bleia suspecting her own eyes.


    Leon stood up from the chair. In the past, he used to be as tall as Bleia, but now, he was a head taller than her. With his burly body, when both of them stood face to face, the pressure unintentionally caused by his body actually forced Bleia to take a step back.


    "To determine the real identity of a person, the best proof is his soul ripple. Bleia, can you sense my soul ripple now?" Leon asked in a calm manner.


    At the moment, he didn¡¯t want to overly provoke Bleia, because she was like a strictly vignt leopardess, looking as if Leon did something wrong, she would leap onto him and give him a fierce bite. Although his increased overall strength had given Leon more confidence, when they were in a tiny room with limited space, even five of him tied together would not be enough to hold against the ripping of a Pseudo-Mages level vampire.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Yes, as Leon was very sensitive, he could tell that Bleia was a Pseudo-Mages level vampire now! ording to the ssification of Vampires from the books he had read, Bleia should possess her own noble title now.


    The titles of Vampire nobility were not the rankings used by ordinary mortal kingdoms. They were a form of hierarchy used by the Vampire n based on the overall strength of their members. Due to the fact that vampires loved to stay hidden within human society, they disguised themselves as human nobles to conceal their true identity. Therefore they had adapted the same rankings used by human nobles.


    With Bleia¡¯s current level, perhaps she could be given the title of Baron!


    Vampire, Knight, Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke, Grand Duke, Prince! These were the noble titles used by the vampire n. Yet sometimes, the grade of their bloodline was not urately reflected by the grade of their overall strength.


    For example, Bleia¡¯s current grade of bloodline made her a Baron, but her overall strength was Pseudo-Mages. If she were met with a vampire who owned the best blood of the orthodox vampire family, it was highly possible that his overall strength would only be Intermediate Apprentice level, but he had already been given the title of Viscount.


    For any race other than the vampire, the title didn¡¯t carry any meaning. But within the vampire n, it would bring tremendous benefit. At least, for that Intermediate Apprentice level vampire Viscount, when he was faced with Bleia, it was highly possible that he would use the suppressive effecting from the bloodline and force Bleia to be his ve. As to whether he would seed or not, that would depend on the level of suppression from the bloodline and the fight between their wills.


    Bleia once again stared at Leon¡¯s face wonderingly. She couldn¡¯t stop sniffing the smelling from Leon¡¯s body. It was indeed Leon¡¯s soul ripple! After making sure of this, the nervous expression on her face finally eased up a little bit. But, where did that pungent smell of sulfur and the feeling of sweetnesse from?


    Once again, Bleia brought herself closer to Leon¡¯s body, opened up her juicy lips, ready to give him a small bite so that she could taste his blood. But just as her tiny fangs approached Leon¡¯s neck, a small fireball suddenly exploded and blew her away.


    With just a small swaying movement in the air, Bleia returned to Leon¡¯s side. She stared right at a small me that had suddenly burst out from Leon¡¯s neck.


    It was a golden me the size of a human thumb, quietly hovering on top of Leon¡¯s skin and burning soundlessly. It did not produce the crackling noise of ordinary mes. After five seconds, perhaps not sensing any foreign hostility or intention of attack, the golden me simply submerged into Leon¡¯s skin without leaving a trace.


    Now Bleia finally understood. The fireball hadn¡¯t been summoned by Leon using a magic spell, but was a self-defense mechanism put out by the instincts of his body.


    Curiously, Bleia stretched out a finger and pressed the spot where the me had emerged from. But this time, though she pressed and stroked Leon¡¯s skin with her silky smooth finger for quite some time, no me appeared. Bleia startled for a brief moment. After that, she seemed to have learnt something.


    A shivering killing intention suddenly filled the air, and crackling noises were heard as Bleia¡¯s nails started to grow longer. Filled up with Blood element energy, the tip of her nails became extremely sharp. Nearly at the same moment, right at the spot Bleia had her finger pressed, a golden me burst out and ignited her finger.


    Her mind filled with curiosity, Bleia brought her hand to her face and looked at it. The me actually detached from Leon¡¯s body, stubbornly burning her fingertip and continuously causing damage to her.


    A blood red beam shot out from Bleia¡¯s fingertip. Very soon, the Blood element energy neutralized and annihted the me. After that, she turned her head and looked into Leon¡¯s face.


    "What exactly is this? It looks pretty amazing!"


    "Thebination of Inferno Body and Fire Shield."


    "Where did you get that smell of sulfur on your body?"


    "It is the aftereffect of soaking in undergroundva. I¡¯m looking for a way to get rid of it."


    "Soaking in undergroundva?"


    "You know, you¡¯ve been sleeping for 32 days without waking up!" Leon spread his arms helplessly and continued, saying, "During this time, many things have happened and you need time to understand them all!"


    "Then tell me from the beginning!" Bleia¡¯s furrowed her brows and curled her tiny lips. "I want you to tell me while I¡¯m eating!"


    Within two hours, Bleia had swallowed five magical energy set meals continuously. Only then was she able to barely stop feeling the hunger from the depths of her soul. Meanwhile, Leon sat by her side, watching her wolf down her food, and he started to tell her what all had happened. Find more to read at empire


    Of course, Leon only told her what had actually happened. As for those spections and doubts he had derived at the cave, he said not a word. After all, they were at the Mages Tower, which was controlled by others. Who knew if that Second Grade Mages Andre was watching them secretly. Therefore, to be on the safe side, he decided to keep the secret to himself!


    When Bleia finally stopped eating, Leon brought out the two presents and gave them to Bleia once again.


    Touching the exquisite Rose Armor and magical bow that she only had a vague impression of, Bleia tilted her head up and waited for Leon¡¯s exnation, puzzled.


    "Both of them were the Fairy¡¯s magical items, but I¡¯ve modified them. Now you can use them with your Blood element energy. In the past, you werecking a long-range offensive approach. Now with these two magical items, we¡¯ve fixed your weakness!"


    Leon had alwaysined about Bleia¡¯s simple approach to using her bloodline power. Although she had such an amazing innate talent, she still fought like a mad dog, trying to hurt the enemy by risking herself at the same time! If she was faced with an enemy who had the ability to stop her bloodsucking and regenerating ability, her fighting style was simply an act of courting death!


    Now, with the Rose Armor, her vulnerable defense had been patched up. And with the crimson magic bow, herck of long-range offense had also been repaired. With both magical items, she could make use of her high agility, fighting with guerri style and slowly biting away the enemy¡¯s offensive and defensive approach. If she was required to fight close-range, she could also put away the magic bow, change her weapon into her cruel ws, and lock the enemy in a close fight.


    Essentially, not only was she well-equipped for long-range and close-range battle, she also now possessed the necessary defense. With all of these, Bleia¡¯s fullbative ability was able to be unleashed!


    During this period of time, Leon had also been working busily on something else.


    After hepleted the modification of Bleia¡¯s magical items, he spent all of his time mastering Fire element magic spells and restoring his golems.


    The Inferno Body was just an elementary threshold on his path to the Focused Fire Element. Although it didn¡¯t give any directbative ability to Leon, it was the best foundation for all Fire element magic spells. For example, thebination of Inferno Body and Fire Shield had given Leon the self-defense mechanism that triggered automatically upon touch. Any behavior that would harm him at close-range would immediately be countered by the self-activating me, and it brought three to five points of damage.


    Although the damage inflicted by the me was not strong, it didn¡¯t require him to cast any spell, and it also didn¡¯t consume any of his Spirit. It was considered a pretty nifty self-defense ability!


    ...


    2069 Words

 Chapter 115 New Status

    Recently, Leon had been carried out an in-depth research on the Inferno Force Field.


    He hadpleted studying all prerequisite knowledge rted to Inferno Force Field. Currently, he was able to cast it and maintain it for ten minutes. However, regardingbining his Inferno Body and the Inferno Force Field, there were still many tough questions to solve.


    ording to the best scenario Leon had thought of, he wanted to make the damage caused by the auto triggering self-defense me to be reflected onto the force field. With that, once any enemy entered his Inferno Force Field, the enemy would have to constantly suffer from the damage caused by the mes. This was almost equivalent to a small Ring of Fire magic spell!


    Leon had estimated this before, if he wanted to fully master the Ring of Fire, he would most probably have to wait until after he became an official Mage. As for now, he was trying to achieve it with an irregr way ¨C using abination of Inferno Body and Inferno Force Field to eventually yield a result simr to that of the Ring of Fire.


    Yet, in order to achieve this, he still needed a huge amount of magic spell knowledge and analysis, and he also needed to further optimize the control of the Inferno Force Field''s nodes. In short, most of his energy had been reserved for the Chip, so it could perform the heavy load calctions. Meanwhile, Leon only needed to work on some simple tasks like reading, meditating and the restoring his golems.


    After the battle in the demonized forest, Leon''s team of golems had suffered heavy damage.


    The Lightning Giant had lost two auxiliary cores; it would be able to restore to its full power once they were replenished. However, out of the three Rock Snakes, two of them had beenpletely destroyed beyond repair. Therefore, during this period, besides hiding in his room and studying some rted magic spells, Leon had spent most of his time in the Alchemy Laboratory.


    Through the enthusiastic promotion of Snox, those magical gemstones they had brought back from the Underground World had all sold out, bringing Leon a huge amount of magic crystals and handy magical equipment.


    Also, Leon had acquired apletely new body attribute, as hisbative strength had skyrocketed.


    Name: Leon


    Species: Human


    Attributes: Strength ¨C 7.32 (+1), Agility ¨C 7.51 (+1), Physique ¨C 9.47 (+1), Spirit ¨C 16.67 (+3)


    Profession: Apprentice Mage (Advanced)


    Health Points: 34/34


    Experience: 871 / 1000


    Status: Healthy


    Skills: Scroll Copying, Spell Reading, Golem Crafting (Intermediate), Casting Mastery


    Personal Abilities: Inferno Body (Passive), The Burning Hand (Solidified), Fire Arrow (Solidified), ming Spear (Solidified), Fire Shield, Fire Damage Reflect (Proximity Passive)


    Magical Equipment: Fire Lord''s Scepter, Storage Waist Belt, Secret Scroll of Voodoo, Circlet of Nobility (Spirit +1), Ioun Stone (Spirit +2), Boots of Speed (Agility +1), Talisman of Force (Physique, Strength +1), Wand of Dispel, Wand of Healing, Wand of Prophecy, Green Spirit (Curse Resistance +5), Screaming Tree Branch.


    After spending a huge amount of magic crystals, Leon finally experienced the huge gap in overall strength by having most of his magical equipment reced. There was a Star of Felune gemstone among the loot he had brought back from the Underground World, after having it cut and crafted by a Jewel Master, he had acquired an Ioun Stone which had the effect of Spirit +2. Together with the Circlet of Nobility that gave him +1 in Spirit, although Leon only had 16 points of Spirit, he was able to unleash a frighteningbative strength of 19 points.


    This also meant, if Leon had pushed all the way to his limits in a battle, he would be able to simultaneously control six Rock Snakes, or two Lighting Giants and one Rock Snake. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    Nevertheless, crafting a Lightning Giant would require a Pseudo-Mage level core from the Storm Giant, which was a prohibited item that he could only obtain by luck, not by searching for it. Therefore, even after Snox nearly visited all the merchants within the surrounding regions of the Mage Tower, they never found another one.


    During this period of time, the name of Snox had be famous in the middle and lower tiers of the Mage Tower. Nearly all the merchants supported by Mage families had learned of its existence.


    In fact, within the Underground Cave region, all high-end materials and resources were almost monopolized by these merchants supported by Mage families. They purchased every single local product that was produced in the Underground Cave and sold them to other regions, earning a huge amount of profit through the price differences.


    Although other ordinary merchants or traveling tradesmen tried to achieve this as well, they just didn''t possess the abundant economic capabilities and amunicationwork that spread across the entire Mage Continent like those Mage Families'' merchants. There was no way they couldpete with these giants. As the result, just by selling off a Night-Eyes Stone and a Tsite gemstone, Snox had quickly won over the hearts of these small merchants and traveling tradesmen.


    And perhaps, these powerful merchants had received a warning from the Mage families that supported them, though Snox had undercut them and sold off these high-end materials and resources, it didn''t face any attacks from anyone. With that, it simply created the mysterious and mighty image of Snox. Most of the mysterious magical equipment Leon acquired actually came from these traveling lower grade tradesmen.


    Leon was the one who had the most understanding about his own overall strength. Currently, arge percentage of his overall strength was focused on golems. At least, until he couldplete the framework of his Fire element magic spells, he could only rely on his golems to maintain a powerful offensive strength.


    Since he didn''t have to worry about his offensive strength, Leon had shifted the focus of his research in Fire element magic spell to defensive magic spells. Whether it was the Fire Shield, the Inferno Body or the Inferno Force Field, all of them were Fire element defensive magic spells. As long as he wasn''t facing an Mage level opponent, even if he had to fight a Pseudo-Mage, it would be very difficult for his opponent to bypass his multiyers Fire element defense when surrounded by a group of golems.


    But, as there were numerous magic spells of all kind, and most of the lower tier magic spells were invisible, incorporeal and tough to predict. Therefore, in order to avoid any idents, Leon had crazily purchased some higher grade magic wands.


    The Wand of Dispel could eliminate some abnormal statuses that could be applied to his body. For example, poison, slow, frost, paralysis and some others.


    The Wand of Healing could help cure some obvious injuries in his body.


    The Wand of Prophecy could predict the direction where the dangers mighte from in advance.


    Aa the Dagon region was a ce with an abundant choice of items, Leon even nned to prepare a preventive measure or healing approach for each possible magic spell attack that he might have to deal with in the Underground Cave. Preparedness prevents cmities, this was the core belief that Leon had in his life!


    After equipping himself, Leon was confident that he could even fight against those Pseudo-Mage level experts. Of course, not an ultimate expert like Hulk! When faced with an ultimate expert like Hulk, the golem crafted using an advanced apprentice level core was still too fragile. It was really difficult to use the characteristic of element golems to reduce Hulk''s overall strength.


    If Leon really wanted to fight with Hulk, perhaps he would have to promote the level of all his Golems to the Pseudo-Mage level and use two Lightning Giants as his primarybat force. Therefore, though with his currentbative strength, Leon already had the ability to imperil Hulk, he stillcked the confidence to defeat him!


    As for those apprentices under Hulk, Leon wasn''t being arrogant, but if they were to fight fairly, no Apprentice Mage would be his match!


    Nevertheless, though his overall strength was improving at a steady pace, Leon dared not stepped into the Underground Cave again. The reason was simple. After the battle of demonized forest, one Fallen Pseudo-Mage was killed and the others were severely wounded, and the Elysium City had announced a kill order toward Leon. As long as he stepped into the Underground Cave, Elysium City would try to kill him at all costs!


    This also meant, at that point in time, it was highly possible that he would see a Fallen Mage from the group who ambushed him halfway.


    For this reason, after Leon learned the news from Mage Angus, he was leftpletely speechless. He had no choice but obediently throw himself in secluded cultivation, never stepping out of the Mage Tower.


    Though the surface Mages had upied the dominant position in this region, when those Fallen Mages were determined to kill an Apprentice Mage, they would have hundreds if not even thousands of methods to achieve their goal. Therefore, after Leon offered a few of his most precious gemstones to Angus, his name was finally removed from thepulsory mission and the training camp missions. Now, he could just spend his sweet time in the Mage Tower until thepulsory missions had ended.


    What to do? This Mage Angus was the appraiser for theirpulsory mission!


    While Leon and Bleia were spending their days leisurely, other team members who hade here together with them were in a bad situation. After two Advanced Apprentices had died and Leon and Bleia dropping out, the team of six remaining apprentices tried to recruit some temporary teammates in the Mage Tower, hoping to get some help inpleting their mission. But too bad, no one answered their call.


    Left with no alternative, they could only stick together, spending days and nights rushing between five mission sites. For the mission duration of fifteen days, they would have to spend eleven to twelve days to visit all five mission sites. And after they returned, they were only left with two to three days of resting time, before they needed to attend the next mission.


    Also, after the death of a Fallen Pseudo-Mage, the attacksing from the Elysium City directed at the surface apprentices had be more frequent. Nearly every day, the six-person team would have to face all kinds of ambushes and traps. If not for the strong overall strength of three Pseudo-Mage working hand-in-hand, perhaps it would have been extremely difficult for them to stand up to these frightening attack that kept repeating day after day.


    But as the result of going through this intensive battlefield and warfare training of magic spells, all six of their overall strengths had grown at an incredible speed. Compared to when they had just arrived this ce a few months ago, though they still maintained the same grade, their truebative strength had doubled.


    It was especially true for Sabrina, who was the leader of the team. Vaguely, she was now portraying a slight fiercer killing intent and a ferocious manner, just like the ck-hand Kevin they had met when they just arrived.


    There was one time that Leon and Bleia had bumped into the team who had juste back from their mission in the Mage Tower. The hostility between them had reached to a level where no hiding was needed.


    Although they had heard that Leon had put out an astonishingbative strength in this ce and even defeated a Bloodline Pseudo-Mage who was about to advanced into an official Mage. But, after experiencing the tough life in the Underground World, they thought theirbative strength had improved a lot. Hence, when they bumped into each other, a fight had nearly broken out.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The location they had bumped into each other at was right outside Mage Angus''s residence. Leon and Bleia were here to ask some questions rted to magic spells, while the team was here to submit their mission items afterpleting another round of Underground World training.


    The team members who had had a hard time kept staring at both Leon and Bleia angrily, but not their leader, Sabrina. She was seen wearing a smile on her face as she greeted both of them.


    When Leon and Bleia had left the ce, Sabrina was still looking at the direction where they had gone. She didn''t say anything and was pondering about something in her mind.


    "What''s wrong, chief? Why are you caring about two bastards? If not for their dropping out from our team halfway, our training mission wouldn''t have be so tough!" The Thunder element Pseudo-Mage, Leo came closer to her and whispered. From the way he talked, it wasn''t tough to tell he had truly submitted to Sabrina.


    Hiding under her silver mask, Sabrina''s mechanical eyes were glowing greenly. With a cold voice, she said, "You never noticed that, didn''t you? One of them is a Pseudo-Mage now, and the other is an Advanced Apprentice!"


    The team members who had just crowded around were immediately dumbstruck!


    ....


    2191 Words

 Chapter 116 Tower Again

    Two monthster.


    The gradual descent of the flying ship in the center of the square signaled that thepulsory mission of the Underground Cave hade to an end.


    Just like the time when they came here, it was the same masculine guy wearing a golden armor who was in charge of escorting them back.


    When he saw Leon and the other apprentices, a smile with unknown meanings emerged on the masculine man''s face.


    "Hahaha, little bastards, how was the life in the Underground World? Let me see... not bad, not bad at all! Out of ten apprentices, there are still seven of you left. It looks like those underground fellows are being courteous to you. Eh? Howe there is one additional Pseudo-Mage? It seems someone is doing pretty well! Haha, is that little beginner apprentice the first one to get killed? How brave is the mere beginner apprentice toe to this ce, he was just courting death! Hahaha..."


    Hearing how the masculine man lectured them with a self-entertaining manner, an unsightly expression appeared on the faces of these few apprentices.


    During thest underground patrol for the mission team, they were struck by a nned ambush from the Fallen Apprentices. The Advanced Apprentice, Bruce, was killed on that trip, while the rest managed to flee with different degrees of injuries. Hence, when they heard the mocking words from the masculine man, they immediately lowered their heads, as their eyes were filled with mes of anger.


    With a bitter expression, Leon bowed slightly and greeted, "Master Sammir, I''m the Beginner Apprentice you mentioned!"


    The haughtyughter of Sammir suddenly came to a stop.


    His eyes went wide as he stared right at Leon''s face. Since Leon had changed tremendously, only now could he slightly see Leon''s previous look.


    "You''re an Advanced Apprentice now! Kid, so you''re the one who had the best luck from this ce! Alright, alright! I don''t care a shit about how you live your life here, I want everybody aboard the ship now! I still need to rush back and report thepletion of the task!"


    Without saying anything else, the group started to board the flying ship one after another one. As Leon''s contracted servant, after paying one magic crystal, Snox was allowed to board the ship as well.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    After an indistinct swaying movement, the flying ship rose high into the sky. The group of apprentices leaned on the side of the ship and stared at the crowd and buildings that became smaller and smaller. Their mind was filled withplicated feelings. Like birds that had managed to escape from the cage, everyone''s minds rxed. Those who were familiar with each other even gathered in a group, happily sharing their experiences whileughing.


    However, huge gaps between each team still existed. The team of seven apprentices was split into two distinct groups.


    During thest few days before leaving the Underground Cave''s Mage Tower, Leon ordered Snox to sell off all magical gemstones and materials that he wouldn''t be using in theing days, while purchasing a huge amount of demon beasts'' meat, magical knowledge and element crystal cores that they could find in the market.


    He knew very well thatparing to this ce, the Swampy Tower was simply a destend. Once they returned to that ce, they wouldn''t be able to enjoy the daily magical energy meal anymore. Not only that, there wasn''t any apprentice markets, so no more merchants that provided them with numerous resources. At that point in time, even if they wanted to be well-fed and well-clothed, they would have to depend on themselves!


    The huge amount of resources and goods hadpletely filled his storage waist belt. In order to bring everything they had purchased back, Leon even purchased another five to six storage waist belts. But even so, there was still many materials that couldn''t fit. To solve this problem, Snox simply ced them into a huge bag and carried it on its back. No matter where it went, it just couldn''t tear itself away from the huge bag.


    The flying ship continued to fly high in the sky. As they were at the inner area of the well-developed human colony, the ship was flying with its top speed. When they hade here previously, the Underground Cave was thest stop, but now it had be the first stop. Therefore, as the ship stopped at the mission sites in different regions, more and more apprentices were boarding the ship.


    Compared to the arrogant manner these apprentices had when they first came, it seemed the hardship had rubbed off their sharp edges. They had be more reserved andposed. But once there were more than a hundred apprentices aboard the ship, it was inevitable that the ship had be a noisy scene.


    The group that kept walking around the deck and made the most mor were those Advanced Apprentices. Although Intermediate Apprentice had the most numbers here, most of the time, they would just serve as the backdrop. But still, the real stars among the apprentice circle were those Pseudo-Mages.


    After their training, these Pseudo-Mages would certainly be the future hope of their families who received focused cultivation. Therefore, taking this opportunity, they would also like to get in touch with theirpetitors of the same rank.


    In the eyes of a Pseudo-Mage, he or she could only see another Pseudo-Mage!


    When the flying ship had passed the Dagon and Bracada region, there were more than ten Pseudo-Mages gathering on the ship, including Bleia, who was a Blood element Pseudo-Mage who had just made a breakthrough and... Worm controller ke.


    Yes, unfortunately, that Worm controller ke had also sessfully leveled up as Pseudo-Mage during his training!


    Perhaps he was satisfied with his own progress, when he boarded the flying ship at the Bracada mission site, he didn''t cover his face with the cap like how he usually had. Compared to before, his face had be uglier. Theplexion of his face was dark and dull. Also, an array of tiny, bizarre looking eyes surrounded his purple pupils. All the eyes were blinking at the same time, sending chills down one''s spine.


    His mouth had reced by a lotus shaped organ that looked like the mouthparts of a beetle. Whenever the ck mouthparts moved or opened, one could even see the blood red mouth cavity and green saliva inside.


    It wasn''t hard to tell that Worm controller had gone deeper in the modification of his own body. Currently, he could even be addressed as a ''half-bug man''! Though Leon had felt disdain in regards to such behavior of abandoning a human body totally, he had to admit, among all the apprentices he had met, Worm controller was the only one who treated himself in the cruelest manner!


    The overall powerful strength had given ke strong confidence, allowing him to ignore the eyes and judgment from any outsiders. It was easy to tell from the way how he stepped onto the ship with his head held high in the air. His purplepound eyes gazed across the lively crowd, before finally resting on Bleia and Leon''s face. The Advanced Apprentices who followed and regarded him as their chief actually sensed a feelings of angering from ke.


    When they followed the gaze of their chief and saw Bleia, who was wearing a red dress and red armor with a red bow on her back, a captivated and intoxicated expression immediately appeared on their faces. However, when they sensed the reserved yet powerful spiritual ripples emanating from Bleia, they were struck by awe. Without hesitation, they quickly put away their lustful looks and bent their bodies slightly to show respect to Bleia.


    A cold and strikingly pretty woman like her was actually a Pseudo-Mage? This group of men couldn''t help by sigh emotionally inwardly,ining about the unfair treatment that the Will of the World had shown.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After gazing at Bleia coldly for some time, finally, ke pulled down his cap and covered his face. Silently, he walked over to a corner. Throughout the entire process, his gaze had never stopped on Leon''s face for more than one second.


    "Looks like we''ll have more fights when we return! This ke seemed to also have gained a lot during this trip." Leon wasn''t bothered by the disdain Worm controller had for him, instead, he banteringly spoke with a smile on his face.


    "Hmph. No matter how deeply hidden his abilities are, he is no way a match for you. Among all many people I''ve met so far, you''re the master in the art of disguise! It is undisputable that you possess such a powerful ability, yet you just pretend that you''re a harmless apprentice, waiting for some idiots to poke their heads in front of you and only to get themselves killed by you. Are you addicted to self-torture?" Bleia refuted in a rather discontented manner.


    She was feeling doubtful now! By pushing her up to the position of Pseudo-Mage, was this damn bastard doing it for her own good, or just out of his usual habit of pushing her to the front so he could hide behind and n evil plots against the enemy?


    At thest mission site of Bracada region, Super girl had boarded the ship too.


    When they suddenly met, not only did they not have any joyful feeling of reunion, the atmosphere seemed to have turned heavier and more bizarre.


    Super girl was still at the same rank ¨C an Advanced Apprentice. But during the training mission, she had also had significant growth in her overall strength. Butpared to Worm controller and Bleia, obviously, she was out of luck.


    Previously, in order to stand up against Bleia, an ''outsider'' who had suddenly emerged, the rtionship between Super girl and Worm controller had been rather harmonious. But now, since Worm controller had be a Pseudo-Mage, an estrangement suddenly urred between her and Worm controller. Super girl walked alone to a corner and found herself a resting spot, showing no intention of congratting Worm controller on his breakthrough.


    Her behavior had puzzled Leon. He started to ponder about the true rtionship between both of them.


    Soon, when the flying ship entered the Erathia region, more than two hundred sixty Apprentice Mages had boarded the ship. As for those who didn''t board the ship, most probably they were killed during the mission.


    There was a total of eleven Pseudo-Mages when they first came, but on their return trip, the number had reached to fourteen. This also meant, during the training mission, three lucky Advanced Apprentices had taken the leap and became the fortunate ones. Everyone was looking at these three lucky apprentices, casting countless nces of unexinable envy and hatred, buried deep in their minds.


    After tens of days of flying, when the ship entered the center region of Zhentarim, one after another, the apprentices started to leave the flying ship. Eventually, Leon and few others had smoothly arrived at the Swampy Tower.


    As their group was heading to the Dagon region, which was the most remote area of the Zhentarim territory, they were thest group of apprentices that had returned to the Swampy Tower. As the result, those apprentices that gathered at the entrance of the Swampy Tower represented nearly all the official apprentices of this ce.


    While he was still on the ship, Leon gave the crowd a rough gaze. Within seconds, the Chip had given him the numbers of apprentices he saw: thirty-seven apprentices. Including the nine apprentices on the ship, the total was only forty-six. Comparing to sixty-two apprentices that had attended the mission, one-third of the apprentices were gone.


    Presumably, among all Mage Towers, a depletion ratio like this was considered the highest. And obviously, the reason for this was closely rted to the cking off of Mage Eclivel, the master of Swampy Tower. In the previous years, Leon and all the other apprentices were locked up in this magical swampynd, a ce with sparse resources. During normal days, in order to carry out a magical experiment, they even had to restlessly harvest the materials themselves or exchange with other apprentices.


    As the result,pared to those apprentices from other Mage Towers, the overall strength of the apprentices from Swampy Tower was shockingly weak, and they were poor to a jaw-dropping extent. And by participating in the dangerous apprentice training with such overall strength, any minor ident would be a life-threatening event for them!


    Even for those apprentices who had lived through the training mission, most of thempleted their mission with the poorest results, hence their improvement wasn''t much. On the contrary, led by Ellen, the ten apprentices who stayed back were covering their face with a ttering smile. Facing with these apprentices who risked their life but harvested a little, they felt that they really had great foresight and had made a wise decision.


    But, when thest batch of nine apprentices stepped down from the flying ship, everyone at the scene couldn''t help but change their expressions drastically!


    ...


    2192 Words

 Chapter 117 Experiments

    Bleia had be a Pseudo-Mage?!


    Though everybody was surprised that Worm controller ke had a breakthrough, it wasn''t something unexpected. After all, he had been one of the strongest three in the Swampy Tower!


    However, Bleia''s breakthrough had confounded these people, and they simply felt it hard to believe.


    Therefore, overshadowed by Bleia''s huge glory of bing a Pseudo-Mage, the fact that Leon had also made the leap and be an Advanced Apprentice was merely discussed among the Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices. For those Advanced Apprentices who held the discourse power of apprentices, they just locked their gazes onto the two brand new Pseudo-Mages.


    Virtually overnight, the power structure of Swampy Tower was going to change!


    As the newly appointed Apprentice Leader, Brandon had prepared a long weing speech full of beautiful words and affection. But when he stood right in front of the evil looking ke and the ghostly Bleia, he was instantly pressured by the shivering aura emanating from both of them. His body started to tremble, and he couldn''t utter out a single word that would be fitting for the atmosphere.


    "We''re tired, and we need rest. Everybody just go back to where you belong!" Bleia, in the same self-centered manner, said with a cold voice.


    Only when she was facing her prey would she let out a pretty and coquettish smile that came from the bottom of her heart. As for these people of no importance, to be honest, even if they stretched their neck and ced themselves in front of her, she would be toozy to take a bite.


    Faced with such an overbearing ''subordinate'', Brandon''s overall strength was simply not enough for him to do anything. As a result, he wittily moved aside, clearing the path that led to the entrance.


    Following behind Leon, Snox was seen having six to seven fully packed waist pouches tied around its waist, and carrying a huge bag on its back, as it also staggered into the Swampy Tower.


    ording to Mage Eclivel''s temperament, it was obvious that he wouldn''t waste any time in weing the apprentices'' return. Of course, if he was informed earlier that two of his apprentices had sessfully be Pseudo-Mages, perhaps he might have changed his mind and showed his face, trying to win over their hearts.


    After all, Pseudo-Mages were a unique group of apprentices! If someone was lucky enough to make the breakthrough, that Pseudo-Mage would instantly be an existence of the same grade as him. If Sarubo family knew he had conveniently ''wasted'' drawing in Pseudo-Mages, those advanced Mages of the family would have definitely invited him for a ''polite'' discussion.


    Therefore, in this isted and private resource site, even Advanced Apprentices were mere targets he could torture and bully as he like. But when it came to Pseudo-Mages, it would be a totally different case. Any damage done to Pseudo-Mages was behavior that strangled the future of the Mage Families.


    Instead, as long as Eclivel reported the news about the two Pseudo-Mages to Sarubo family, the management of the family would definitely reward him handsomely for the ''cultivating'' credit he had put out. Also, the yearly resources, materials he received from the family would also be increased significantly.


    Of course, if ke and Bleia wished to gain a further support in resources from the Sarubo Family, they would have to sign a magical contract with them, using the years of service they could provide to the family after they became an official Mage in exchange for a portion of resources. The longer they served, the more resources they would receive. If they were willing to join the family, they could even receive the best cultivation conditions from the family.


    Hence, the same night after Leon and the others returned to the Swampy Tower, ke and Bleia were called up to the fifth floor of the tower by Mage Eclivel. There, they met another official Mage from Sarubo Family, Mage Keoghan.


    From the introduction given by this Mage Keoghan, both of them had roughly learned the basic situation of Sarubo Family.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    One thousand three hundred years ago, Sarubo Family was established by a great Fourth Grade Element Mage, Sarubo. During that period, Sarubo was the deputy chairman of the Zhentarim Association and had a great reputation in the center region of the continent. And just five hundred years ago, this founder of the family had even made a breakthrough and became a Fifth Grade Principle Mage. After that, he had traveled to the Ocean of Stars and was never seen again.


    As the matter of fact, in the Mage Continent, this was the mostmon situation for the nearly all Mage Families!


    Every single Mage Family was founded by a mighty Mage. If this Mage stepped into Fifth Grade sessfully, he would inevitably have to travel to the Ocean of Stars, searching and conquering those weaker nes in the vast ocean of stars. Any Mage who failed to attain Fifth Grade would have to face his death one day.


    When an Mage Family lost the deterrent forceing from a powerful Mage, their inevitable fate would be devoured by other Mage Families. Those families who had a Fifth Grade Mage conquering the weaker nes elsewhere were considered stable, after all, though the Fifth Grade Mage wasn''t allowed to return to the World of Mage personally, he could still supply the family with the resources he found at the outside world.


    With these premium resourcesing from other nes, the family would be able to maintain their power, while constantly cultivating new blood to supply the vacuum left over by the departure of the family''s experts. On the other hand, the reason those Fifth Grade Mages were willing to supply the hard earned resources to their families, was so that the family could cultivate more Mages that he could use to conquer new nes.


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    When they were on a major scale conquering mission at another ce, the Magesing from their family would be the main force used to expand their kingdom.


    Therefore, when ke and Bleia signed the family contract with the Sarubo Family, after they became an official Mage, unavoidably, they would have to participate in the ne warfare initiated by the Sarubo Family.


    ording to the introduction by Mage Keoghan, currently Sarubo Family didn''t have any Fourth Grade Mages. They only have one Third Grade Mage, one Second Grade Mage and seven First Grade Mages. Among the regions ruled by Zhentarim Association, an overall strength like this was only considered an intermediate force.


    Sarubo Family was stationed at Feidnan City, two thousand six hundred miles from the Swampy Tower. Meanwhile, this ce was just one of the four major resource sites of the family and was stationed by Mage Eclivel.


    After briefly exining the situation of the family, Mage Keoghan started to ask about their decisions. They had to choose between exchanging their portion of resources with the years of service, or joining the family in order to receive full fledged support. Unexpectedly, ke chose to join the family, while Bleia went for ten years of service.


    Actually, if there were shorter years of service, Bleia would have rather chosen that, as that was also the decision that she made after discussing with Leon. But too bad, the minimum years of service Keoghan gave her was ten years!


    Soon, both of them left their own magical seal on the magical contract drafted by Mage Keoghan. From now onwards, their status and position would bepletely different than that of other apprentices.


    As they had made different choices, the treatment they received was alsopletely different!


    After Worm controller ke made the decision, he was immediately given a family chest badge by Keoghan, and was urged to move his residence up to the fourth level of the tower as soon as possible. That was a region that no ordinary apprentice could set their feet on! Though Bleia was also allowed to temporarily stay at the fourth floor, she had to pay a fee of two magic crystals every day.


    As for the reason, the density of a particr Elementium at the fourth floor''s residence could be controlled, which had a tremendous benefits for their meditation and the modification of their body. As Bleia was only employed by the family, obviously she couldn''t enjoy this benefit exclusive only to the members of the family.


    After Mage Keoghan left, Bleia and Mage Eclivel carried out an in-depth discussion. And through a tedious bargain, both of them eventually came out with a fair deal where both parties were satisfied.


    After agreeing to give a huge bucket of her own blood, Bleia got herself and Leon the right to move their residence to the fourth floor. Along with that, Bleia also promised after she became an official Mage, she would not seek revenge against Eclivel. She also promised to provide her Mage level blood sample, allowing Eclivel toplete his research.


    Strictly speaking, the experiment Eclivel carried out on Bleia was in fact, a bloodline experiment that couldn''t be known by the public. Thanks to Bleia''s good fortune, she was able to survive the painful bloodline modification that could get her killed, and was lucky enough to be a mutated vampire.


    She was a mutated vampire because the vampire bloodline Mage Eclivel possessed wasn''t of pure blood, and the source was somewhat dubious. Therefore, after repeatedly being preached at by Leon, Bleia expressed her willingness to forget the grudge from the past, but with the condition that she needed some samples and data of the source bloodline.


    As a result, everybody was happy with the oue, and both parties had obtained the things they wanted the most.


    Bleia vaciting and staggered her way back to Leon''s residence, threw the things in her hand over to Leon before she threw herself onto the bed and fainted. What to do? She had lost a huge amount of blood, even with her body constitution, she would need a good sleep before she could recover.


    After settling Bleia in a good position, Leon calmly sat back on his wooden table and started to give the small test tube in front of him a careful and serious examination.


    It was a ss test tube the size of a human finger, and wasn''t too long either. Bringing it in front of his face and staring at it seriously, Leon could only see some nearly dried up blood at the bottom of this test tube.


    Actually, that Mage Eclivel was a half-baked bloodline researcher. During an asion, he was sent to investigate a haunting event in a territory ruled by Sarubo Family. He was met with a vampire who had hid deeply in the human society.


    Though three Mages of the family were working hand-in-hand, they still couldn''t defeat this powerful vampire. At the end, the Second Grade Mage of the family struck personally, only then they were able to expel that fellow from their family''s territory. When they searched through the mysterious castle where this vampire lived a secluded life, Mage Eclivel identally found a test tube containing highly concentrated vampire blood.


    Obviously, that escaped vampire was also carrying out some kind of secret research rted to bloodlines.


    Hence, Mage Eclivel secretly concealed this war trophy, and hid in this remote and deste Swampy Tower. Without anybody else''s knowledge, he conducted research regarding the mutated vampire.


    But too bad, most of his initial experiments had failed miserably. All the creatures injected with the vampire blood were dead because of the disintegration of their genes. Among all bloodline creatures, the bloodline gene of the vampire was considering tyrannical. When any other bloodlines tried to merge with it, they would always be nourishment to it, and it was impossible to have the situation where both would co-exist.


    Initially, Eclivel thought it was because those test creatures he used had an overly weak body constitution, making them unable to withstand the violent bloodline modification. Therefore, he used the authority he had and started to run the experiment on apprentices of the Swampy Tower.


    Three Intermediate Apprentices were injected with the source vampire blood sample; Bleia was the only survivor. Undoubtedly, she had be the key to his future experiments.


    When it came to vampires, locking them up and conducting the research would yield no results. Because vampires needed to keep sucking the blood of experts to purify and cleanse their own bloodline. That was the reason why Eclivel had set Bleia free, with the intention that she could evolve by herself andplete the purification of her vampire bloodline.


    It was worth mentioning that his view on this matter was urate. At least, Bleia''s current progress had gone way beyond his expectation. Presumably, through analyzing and experimenting with both the old and new vampire blood, he would be able to make a step forward in his research of mutated vampires.


    Therefore, since he was given with new experimental material, Mage Eclivel generously gave Bleia a drop of the source blood. Nevertheless, this drop of source blood was almost reaching the end of its life expectancy and would soon lose all its gene activity!


    ...


    2201 Words

 Chapter 118 A meeting

    The next day.


    It was a rare asion, as Mage Eclivel had called all the Apprentice Mages of the Swampy Tower together. In front of everyone, he announced the new statuses of ke, Bleia and Leon. From now onwards, the three of them would no longer be bound by the system of apprentices, and could arrange their lives ording to their own will. Also, they had be the people who had the highest authority in the entire tower, under Mage Eclivel.


    Within the crowd, the newly appointed Apprentice Leader, Brandon''s expression turned extremely awful, but at the same time, was mixed with a helpless look.


    Pseudo-Mage!


    They were a group of monsters standing between Apprentice Mages and official Mages!


    It was tough to predict which of them would have a greater chance to be an official Mage smoothly. Therefore, for all the lower ranked apprentices, offending any one of them could turn into a future catastrophe!


    But... but Brandon had deeply offended one of them.


    Hence, right when the meeting was dismissed, Brandon immediately paid a visit to ke, while bringing along all the resources he could find.


    Since ke, Bleia and Leon had moved their residences to the fourth level of Mage Tower, even Brandon, the Apprentice Leader, had to send a visiting request prior to meeting ke. Then, he had to stand mortifyingly at the entrance to the fourth floor, waiting for approval from ke.


    And this was still considering nothing! What angered him the most was that that damn Leon had actually brought his contracted creature, a goblin, to the fourth floor without feeling ashamed, and made it one of the residents there. This had further stirred up Brandon''s hatred!


    A goblin, a cheap, insignificant, dirty, cowardly... goblin, how could it rise above his head? Whenever this thought came into Brandon''s mind, he felt like his heart was filled with weeds and felt extremely depressed!


    No one knew what had happened during the secret meeting between Brandon and Worm controller. But when Brandon left ke''s room, he was seen holding his head high and once again resumed the arrogant and lofty manner he had previously.


    While Brandon''s mood had transformed, a small meeting was carried out inside of Super Girl''s room. There were only two participants, Super Girl and Fatal Shot Evan.


    It was not long before this, in order to keep the same pace and protect the interest of their minions, the strongest three of the Swampy Tower had a regr meeting like this. But today, after Worm controller ke had be a Pseudo-Mage, the once harmonious circle of strongest three had be a past tense. Everything had changed from the root!


    "How is it? Is your circle still stable?" A shivering glow could be seen filling Super Girl''s eyes. She had shed off her previous violent and reckless attitude and was now portraying the calm and intelligent nature of a proper Advanced Apprentice.


    "Benson and Carl made the call for a meeting, those few fence-sitters used the excuse of conducting an important magic spell experiment and didn''t turn up. Looks like they are going to switch sides." Fatal Shot Evan let out a helpless and bitter smile, before continuing, "One of the hardcore fans of Worm controller, Chris, is recruiting new followers, those fence-sitters might have been getting in touch with him secretly. Hmph..."


    Having finished saying that, Evan raised his head and gazed at Super Girl, asking, "How about you? What is the situation from your side?"


    "Hmph... not any better than yours! Donna can''t make those few subordinates listen to her anymore and wasining to me just now!" Experience exclusive tales on empire


    Both apprentices sat facing each other in silence, with their minds filled with disconste emotions.


    At the beginning of thepulsory mission, they had been underestimating this training mission, and didn''t push themselves too hard. Super Girl only chose a Red mission, which was not really dangerous. On the other side, Evan even chose a lower risk Orange mission. Now, faced with two new Pseudo-Mages who had raised up abruptly, as the veteran Advanced Apprentices, they felt discontented and helpless about changing the situation.


    After remained silent for a brief moment, Evan finally spoke again.


    "Judging from the current situation, the rtionship between ke and that Bleia is rather hostile. In your opinion, do we need to decide which side we should join?"


    "Between the two of them, who do you want to join?" Super Girl''s face darkened. As the most experienced and oldest Advanced Apprentice, asking her to put down her face and became a minion for someone else, she... she just couldn''t imagine the horrifying and humiliating life she was going to face.


    "Perhaps, if we wait for a few more days, we''ll not be able to make the decision ourselves." Evan was rather calm and realistic. "Bleia is too arrogant. Besides her peacock, she never cares about other people''s feelings and face, and she won''t be taking care of our current interests. So..."


    "So you want to get in touch with ke?"


    "Yes! Although Worm controller has a slightly extreme mind, after all, we had been getting along for a long time. As long as we give up some of our interest, I think he''ll ept us. No matter what, if he wants to deal with that Bleia, he will need the help from both of us. No matter how many insignificant apprentices he recruits, they arepletely useless in fighting when with a Pseudo-Mage. We are the only ones he could use!"


    Super Girl snorted depressingly, holding back her anger, as she nodded in aLeonent to Fatal Shot''s opinion.


    However, before she could say anything, the deep, hoarse voice of Worm controller suddenly rang out through the secret room that only the both of them were in.


    "I certainly didn''t expect that Fatal Shot could still judge the hour and size up the situation so urately. You''re right, I really do need the help from both of you!"


    Both apprentices were aghast.


    Super Girl widened her big eyes and quickly gazed at surroundings of her own room.


    Under the restless nces of both apprentices, some noises suddenly came out from the shadow behind Evan''s back. Soon, a strange looking scorpion with peculiar appearance squeezed out from the shadow, waving its huge pincers towards both of them. On the ck crust behind of this scorpion, a pale human face emerged, it was the ugly face of ke after his mutation.


    "Hello, long time no see! Howe you never informed me about your meeting?"


    Super Girl and Fatal Shot remained silent and didn''t respond to ke''s question. However, their flickering eyes had betrayed the nervous emotions hiding in their mind. They hadn''t expected this at all, with just a small tier difference between them, they could no longer detect Worm controller'' magic spell approach.


    "You don''t have to be panic. Just as Fatal Shot said, I''m in urgent need of your help. If you can condescend to me and join the Worm controller''s alliance, I, ke, will wee you with open arms!"


    The corner of Super Girl''s lips twitched violently a few times.


    She was not an idiot, since this so-called alliance was named after ke''s title, then he would be the true master. To say the least, they were his allies, but as the matter of fact, they were just his advanced level hatchet men! Though they were discontent by this, Super Girl still wanted to hear the true motives of Worm controller.


    "What do you need us to do for you?"


    "Help me watch every single move of those two. When timese, help me in fighting against them. Don''t worry, I won''t make you fight face-to-face against that Bleia. If we really engage in a fight, I''ll just need the two of you to pin down that Leon. I''ll handle Bleia myself!"


    After hearing what ke said, a hardly concealed shocking expression emerged on their faces. Evan couldn''t bear himself and asked, "You only need both of us to pin down that Leon? He... he only just became an Advanced Apprentice! For a newbie like this, even I alone should be able to defeat him, right?"


    "Hehehe..." The human face on the back of the scorpion let out ke''s signature gruesomeugh, "Fatal Shot, don''t think so highly of yourself! Perhaps, both of you haven''t found out this. In that team of Bleia and Leon, it is obvious that Leon is the mastermind behind everything. Or, put this way, he is the key person on their team!"


    "What?"


    "Impossible!"


    The response Super Girl and Fatal Shot gave out was exactly the same as the one they had when they first heard Worm controller had be a Pseudo-Mage, extreme shock. Worm controller ke, who was now a Pseudo-Mage, actually gave such serious consideration to the once little Beginner Apprentice. This... this was really out of their expectations.


    Could that Leon really have some strange abilities?


    "Don''t you forget this, after all, Bleia is just an inferior vampire who had her bloodline mutated! With such a lousy bloodline and innate talent, wanting to have quick progress in her rank is just like a fat hope. So, the only possible reason that brought her such a mystical transformation would be that strange boy whose overall strength had skyrocketed. This Leon is the only person on their team whose true strength I can''t tell!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Evan remained silent for a while, before asking, "Bleia is now a Pseudo-Mage, will Master Mage agree to your behavior of publicly attacking her?"


    Right after he finished his words, Fatal Shot immediately heard the arrogant and gruesomeugh of ke.


    "Hehehe... I''ve signed the family contract, yet she only signed on an employment contract. So, if something really happens, who do you think the family would help? Also... if there aren''t any ordersing from the top, why do you think I would be so passionate about fighting against a Pseudo-Mage, who is the same rank with me?"


    "What you are saying is... the person who wants to deal with Bleia is Ander..." Evan cried out involuntarily.


    "Shut up! Fatal Shot, if you don''t want to get killed in the dark, then stop these damn words in your mouth. There are things you just have to do and don''t have to get to the bottom of and will bring no good to you!" Worm controller ke hurriedly interrupted Evan, a threatening expression finally showing up on his ugly bug-like face.


    Evan arduously swallowed a lump in his throat. He exchanged a nce with Super Girl and eventually, nodded his head silently.


    "Hehehe... I knew you''d make the smartest decision. Alright, when the timees, I''ll contact you again. Fatal Shot will keep an eye on them, as for Super Girl, you''ll train those Intermediate Apprentices, so we can put them to good useter. Hmph, once I find the right opportunity, we''ll teach both of them a good lesson!"


    After saying that, the evil and arrogant cries of bugs echoed out in the room. In an instant, the ck scorpion exploded into a puddle of poisonous liquid, before slowly submerging into the floor and disappearing without a trace.


    Inside the room, Super Girl and Fatal Shot sat facing each other in silence!


    Meanwhile, inside a secret room within the fourth floor of the Swampy Tower, the scorpion who had suddenly disappeared from Super Girl''s room squeezed out from the floor, climbing onto a somber looking figure who had his bodypletely covered in a ck cloak.


    The somber figure suddenly stretched out a bizarre looking huge hand, half flesh and half shell, picked up the scorpion and shoved it into his mouth. After the scorpion was crushed into a puddle of blood and fragments by his razor sharp teeth, only then did Worm controller tilt his head up and reveal his face.


    Within just a few days, one could tell that the degree of bug transformation on his body had gone deeper.


    Now, rather than referring to him as a human apprentice, he was more like a bug man who had the identity of a human.


    He had transformed into ''it''!


    ...


    2034 Words

 Chapter 119 Lucy and her master

    From within the darkness outside the tower, a red-eyed crow flew into the night sky without a sound.


    Suddenly, from a brightly lit room located on the fourth floor of the tower, a crimson glow ignited, shooting through the window and hitting the crow, making it explode into a huge clump of blood mist that covered the night sky.


    "Hmph, this is the fourth one! What exactly does that Fatal Shot want to do?" Bleia gently put away the crimson bow in her hand, cursing angrily, "Does he wants me to have a heart-to-heart talk with him now?"


    "It looks like few of them have coborated again!" While busy with his own stuff, Leon casually responded.


    Bleia tilted her head and gave it a thought, before nodding her head, agreeing to Leon''s opinion.


    Though part of previous strongest three, Fatal Shot, was at most an Advanced Apprentice now. If he really provoked Bleia, she could rip his crow''s nest up at any time! Since he was brave enough to keep sending his minions to watch them, there must be someone else backing him. And currently, the only apprentice who could be doing this within the Swampy Tower would be Worm controller, ke.


    Most of the residences located on the fourth floor were for official Mages. That was why not only had they had a super luxurious andfortable bedroom, they were also equipped with their own study and smallboratory. At this moment, Leon was meticulously leaning onto a micro alchemy station, watching the transformation of the drop of source blood through a special magical array.


    During thest few days, in order to activate the gene activity of this drop of source blood, Leon had tried nearly all magical approaches he knew. Eventually, he learned that only the blood full of energy aura could save this drop of source blood. Therefore, Leon cut his own arm, pouring his blood which was full of Fire element energy into the cultivating test tube.


    Soon, he obtained a test tube full of boiling blood which was slightly mutated.


    No, strictly speaking, it didn''t look like a test tube of blood, but more like a blood monster that had been held captive within the test tube.


    After the blood injected by Leon was devoured by the source blood, it had quickly contaminated and mutated into the same vampire blood as the source blood itself. Though the Fire element energy contained within Leon''s blood had killed a lot of vampire blood gene, under the constant attack from the newly contaminated blood genes, the Fire element energy had been neutralized, causing all of Leon''s blood to be contaminated and mutated.


    After that, the test tube of blood transformed into a blood monster that seemed to have its own consciousness. Needle-like tentacles kept stretching out from the sticky blood, crazily poking at the strong surface of the test tube. If not for the fact that the toughness of the test tube was not weaker than magical alloy, perhaps this blood monster would really escape.


    While observing its behavior, Leon kept praising it unstoppably.


    Miraculous, this was absolutely miraculous! In this world of advanced magic, even a drop of advanced grade vampire source blood could portray such a terrifying destructive force. Imagine if a vampire injected this kind of blood gene into its prey, perhaps the life of its enemy would be in its handpletely.


    Could this be the secret behind why those advanced grade vampires were able to producerge armies of blood ves?


    After the drop of source blood had assimted so much of blood, it had hidden deep inside the lump of blood. If wasn''t for the help from the Chip which had attached a spiritualbel to it, perhaps Leon wouldn''t have been able to find its exact position within the lump of blood which kept changing its shape and surface structure.


    The energy used to support the violent activity of the blood came from the nutrients after the blood gene had self-dposed. Hence, the more violent its activity was, the smaller its size became. It was like a raging burning me, and the fuel wasing from its own mass.


    Eventually, when it finally realized it couldn''t escape from the test tube, the lump of blood finally quiet down, entering into a hibernation state. Also, from the size of a chicken egg, it had turned into the size of a thumb. ording to the Chip''s calction, this thumb-sized blood lump was sufficient to support its life for half a year. Only when it was stimted by some external forces, would it be reactivated.


    Did all the vampires in this world possess the same frightening ability? Or was there something special about the vampire that Eclivel and the other Mages attacked?


    No wonder after Bleia was mutated into a vampire, her intelligence seemed to suffer some damage, and she became rather ill-tempered and irritable. As a matter of fact, no matter who had this kind of blood in his or her body, which was one that could self-burn and boil at any time, he or she wouldn''t be able to maintain a calm and delicate manner.


    ording to the characteristics portrayed by this drop of source blood, Leon even suspected that when the original owner of the blood got close enough with it, it was highly possible he could regain the control of this blood, and eventually gain control of the consciousness and life of the one who had this blood in the body.


    In connection to this, Leon performed a thorough search through all the records and experiments rted to vampires, bit by bit he puzzled together the direction of evolution and strengthening path for vampires, arduously finding ways and approaches that could allow Bleia to break through the current bottleneck in her bloodline.


    After all, Bleia was a mutated vampire. In a way, she was just an advanced blood ve. Once that higher-order vampire appeared in front of Bleia, perhaps she wouldn''t have the chance to control her own fate anymore. Therefore, the reason why Leon became so obsessed in carrying out research on the source blood was to cut off the spiritual connection between her mutated blood and the source blood, making her the true master of her own body!


    ......


    At the entrance of Magical Swamp.


    It was still the same small, deste and miserable looking hillside.


    Following an ear-splitting cry, a witch, wearing a gray Mage robe and a pointy Mage hat, rode on her flying broom and descended from the sky, setting her feet on this destend.


    When she got down from the broom, a lovely, active and pretty little girl who looked like a doll jumping out from her back. She was wearing a light yellow dress, had a baby face, wasn''t tall, and was carrying a golden bird cage in her hand. She was none other than Lucy, the little girl who had suffered a great dealst time she visited the Magical Swamp.


    "Great Granny, here it is!" Though Lucy had a sweet and beautiful look, when she was looking at the familiar scene in front, her azure blue eyes immediately shot out two bright glows of hatred.


    "Those rascals who bullied me are living inside this ce!" She said.


    The witch, who Lucy addressed as her Great Granny, had a really old face. Stay connected with empire


    Under the crooked and dirty hat was the ugly and aged face of a female. Her face was fully filled with wrinkles making her skin look like that of a dried and withered tree. She had a hook nose that looked like the hawk''s beak, a pair of murky gray eyes, and a mouthful of brownish and broken teeth. She was bending her body while holding onto the flying broom, and after every movement, she would stop and pant for a long time.


    However, this old witch, who looked so weak as to be unable to stand any breeze, as if she would copse and die at any moment, was actually emanating a powerful spiritual ripple that could send a chill down anyone''s spine.


    After she held the broom and panted for some time, she took out a dirty and ck biscuit-like object from her pocket. With a cold voice, she said, "Go, Lucy. Crush this into powder and sprinkle it into the swamp!"


    Although the old witch had an aged voice, her words carried an authoritative air that no one could disobey. Even Lucy, who was a cunning and wicked girl, dared to not refute her will. Obediently, she took over the biscuit-like object and walked in front of the Magical Swamp, crushed it into powder and sprinkled it into the pond which was nketed by a thick fog.


    While she was doing that, Lucy even covered her hands with a thinyer of spatial barrier, to avoid touching the insignificant looking biscuit. As it was an object taken from the pocket of Endor, the infamous ''Poisonous Witch'', it was definitely something that came with a deadly poison!


    As expected, not long after the powder was sprinkled into the water, a new clump of mist was seen rising up from the wet pond. Bit by bit, it merged into the misty fog of the Magical Swamp. Following the spreading of this mist, all the demons living in this region were struck with a deadly cmity.


    A Red-eyed Crow, which had justnded on top of a Killer Tree at the border of Magical Swamp, tilted its head and watching wonderingly at these two outsiders who appeared out of nowhere. But suddenly, its fluffy dark feathers exploded without making any noise. The broken flesh and bones soon transformed into new bloody mist that merged into the air.


    Following the flow of the mist, all living beings who possessed magical element in their body, be it nts or animals, exploded when they were touched by the mist. However, those ordinary nts right beside them were not affected by it at all.


    As the incorporeal mist spreading across thend, Red-eyed Crows, Killer Trees, Bloodsucking Rattans, Green Spot Snakes, Ghost Nannies, Demon Babies, and even those parasitic demon worms, all exploded while they were moving freely within their own habitat. After a huge amount of demons were killed, the remaining creatures were those who had a very sensitive sense of dangers. They ignored the territory of other demons within the Magical Swamp and rushed towards the direction opposite to the mist using the fastest speed they could.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    At the beginning, the mor was only limited to within the outer perimeter of the Magical Swamp. But when the mist slowly pushed through and prated into the inner area of it, arge group of escaping demons finally broke out.


    And right at this moment, the inspecting Apprentice Mage had finally realized that something was wrong. The news was spreading quickly, and the entire Swampy Tower had been lit up, floor after floor.


    Compared to those standard Mage Towers like the one at the Underground Cave, the tower at Magical Swamp was clearly weaker and cruder. Although the internal facilities were ratherplete, it was weak in terms of the surveince throughout the entire swampy area.


    Although Sarubo Family was once prosperous, following the absence of that Fourth Grade Mage for a long time, and with no new Fourth Grade Mages, the prestige and influence of the family could no longer bepared to what they had before.


    For a small resource site like this, the Sarubo Family didn''t even have the financial capacity to build a proper Mage Tower, and could only substitute with a weaker version of the tower. Therefore, when faced with the invasion of a powerful enemy, their response was slow and clumsy.


    When the Magical Swamp plunged into a big mess, Mage Eclivel, the man who controlled the Swampy Tower, finally walked out from his magic spellboratory. Very soon, he had locked down on the enemy''s position.


    Following a muffled ''ng'' noise, dust and grass blew upwards at the small hill near the entrance of Magical Swamp. Mage Eclivel had traveled through the space of nearly ten miles and suddenly appeared in front of the old witch.


    ...


    2040 Words

 Chapter 120 A promise

    "So it''s you, Endor! I don''t think there are any old grudges between us, is there? Why are you causing problems at my ce?" Stepping out from the vortex, Eclivel immediately saw the old witch with a peculiar look. Unable to press down his anger, he roared, "Don''t you forget, this is the territory of the Zhentarim Association! You, the Northern Witches, have no right to show your arrogance here!"


    Still holding onto her broom, the old witch let out a shiveringugh that sounded like the cries of a night owl. She looked at Eclivel, who appeared to be ferocious in appearance but feeble in essence, with a disdainful expression, and said, "Zhentarim Association? Would they publicly drive off us, the Northern Witches, just because of your tiny little resource site?"


    "Then why are you here today? Don''t tell me you''re here to be a guest?!" Eclivel still roaring furiously, nevertheless, he had lowered his voice. He was facing at a Combat Witch from the Far Land of North, although he had the topographical advantages, if a fight really broke out between them, perhaps the chances of him winning would be slim.


    Though these Northern Witches looked weak and ill, they were able to open up new worlds in the Land of Far North, a ce with extreme cold temperature and harsh environment. They had a strong will and frightening approaches that no male Mage could everpare with. Putting others aside and just talking about this Endor, she was sent to station at the Zhentarim region for merely seven years, before she had brought herself the famous title of ''Poisonous Witch''.


    ording to rumors, once there was a wandering Mage who had recruited a group of bandits and robbed apany of traveling merchants sent by the Northern Witches, they also killed an Apprentice Witch who had followed the merchant. When this Endor heard the news, she struck immediately, and found that group of bandits just after half a day.


    She didn''t charge into the group and ughter everyone in her sight. She just sprinkled some poisonous stuff around their camp site. Virtually overnight, all the bandits, including the wandering Mage, were killed by the horrifying, deadly poison. Just with this warfare alone, this ferocious, tough and old witch from the Land of Far North had killed nearly three hundred men with her poison, causing her reputation of ''Poisonous Witch'' reach to ultimate heights.


    She was a Northern Witch, yet she had killed so many people in a region ruled by the Zhentarim Association. Her actions had immediately evoked a strong reaction from some Mage Families at the center region of Mage Continent. But with regards to this matter, after all, the old witch had the valid reason for seeking revenge for her disciple, hence, no matter how discontent those Mage Families were, they had no choice but acquiesce her action.


    Therefore, whenever the name of this poisonous witch was mentioned, all the Mages from center region of the continent would feel a headache. After all, in the center region of the continent controlled by the Zhentarim Association, there weren''t any major scale of invasionsing from demons, and the conditions of the natural environment were so much betterparing to the Land of Far North. As the result, most of the Mages here had spent too much time carrying out magical experiments, which caused theirbative abilities and approaches to recede. That was why they were not as ferocious and brutal as those Northern Witches.


    If not because Zhentarim Association had controlled a huge area with abundant resources, which allowed them to produce countless Mages, with the quality of the Mages in this ce, there was no way they couldpete with the other three major Mage powers that surrounded them.


    The Magical Swamp was, after all, a private resource site for Sarubo Family. If it were any other Mage of the same grade who hade and gave him trouble, Eclivel would have attacked him or her without another word. But when facing this infamous ''Poisonous Witch'', even with his unsociable and entric temperament, he wouldn''t initiate any attacks easily.


    Faced with Eclivel''s question, the poisonous witch let out a few ghastly sneers, turned behind her and said, "Lucy,e out and show yourself to this master Eclivel, so he can save his breath in uttering that nonsense!"


    When Eclivel saw the little girl who had jumped out from behind the poisonous witch, his gloomy face turned as dark as the bottom of a used pot. "Endor, who is this little girl to you? I remember she is Deborah''s disciple."


    "You do have a good memory. She is doing her apprenticeship under Deborah currently. But she is also my blood descendant! She is an Apprentice Witch with the most potential from my family, Moya Family! However, she had suffered a shameful ambush and humiliation from you! Today, I''m here to settle the scores with you!"


    Fuck! Right at this very moment, who knew how many times had Eclivel cursed in his mind! Who would know by simply teaching a lesson to an Advanced Apprentice who had intruded Magical Swamp, he would provoke a junior from the n of the ''Poisonous Witch''? Could what he had done disgusted the Will of the Mage World, causing it to bring him such punishment?


    While cursing his bad luck inwardly, Eclivel roared out furiously with a cold expression, "I did teach a lesson to this little girl! So what? Are you going to fight me just because of her? Endor, don''t you forget you''re just a representative sent by Northern Witch, attacking me would stir up a n war between our families!"


    "n war? Hmph. Would the family behind you, Sarubo Family, dere a war against my Moya Family just because of such a petty matter? But, you don''t have to worry, my purpose today is not to teach you a lesson, but to let Lucy vent her spleen." Hearing what the poisonous witch had said, the doll-like Lucy''s eyes immediately turned red, as she threw herself into the old witch''s arms and acted like a spoiled child. She even turned her head and gave Eclivel a fierce gaze.


    "So what exactly do you want? I was just punishing a little fellow who was rude to me, do you really want me to pay a price for that?" Eclivel''s voice lowered by a few degrees.


    "Hmph, I can ept your action of teaching Lucy a lesson! But your apprentices had jointly attacked Lucy, and we need to settle this score in a proper manner! I''ll not bully the weak by being strong, so get those few fellows who had hurt Lucy before and let them have another fight again. If your apprentices win, I''ll leave immediately. If your apprentices lose, hehehe... they will have to face their death!"


    The gloomy face of Eclivel twisted violently a few times. He then waved his hand and recited some incantations that no one could understand. Following an enshrouding magical ring that shed through the top of this small hill, three figures of different appearances appeared in midair.


    As Mage Eclivel owned the highest control power of the Swampy Tower, therefore, withoutmunicating with Leon and the others, he had used his right and forcefully teleported Acteon, Bleia and Leon over to this small hill. Obviously, the three of them still had no idea what was going on, they were busy with their own matters in their own residences, but with a magical ring that suddenly shed underneath their feet, they hade to this wilderness for no apparent reason.


    The three of them were first struck with bewilderment, then they were startled. And when they saw Mage Eclivel, they quickly bowed deeply and paid him respect, waiting for his orders quietly.


    "They are the ones! All of them are bad people, they had hurt me repeatedly! Especially that disgusting vampire, she even sucked away a lot of my blood..."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Right when Lucy jumped out and scolded angrily, the poisonous witch who had brought her here knitted her brows in a tight frown.


    Two Pseudo-Mages and an Advanced Apprentice!


    How came their rank was slightly different from what Lucy had described?


    "Lucy, are you sure they are the ones? Why they are different from what you told me?" The poisonous witch''s expression turned cold.


    "Yes, I''m sure! Butst time two of them were only Advanced Apprentices, and this..." Lucy pointed her finger at Leon, a vicious glow could be seen flickering on her cute little face, "This guy, he was only a Beginner Apprenticest time!"


    They had been promoted?


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    Facing two Pseudo-Mages, even the Poisonous Witch Endor started to worry.


    With her overall strength and the aggressiveness of Moya Family that supported her, it wouldn''t be a big deal if Lucy killed two Advanced Apprentices. But when it involved Pseudo-Mages, things became a bit trickier to handle!


    For any Mage Family, Pseudo-Mages were the backup force they prepared for their future, and they wouldn''t give any of them up. ording to Endor''s understanding, this Sarubo Family didn''t even own more than a two digit number of Pseudo-Mages, if she killed two of them at the same time, even though Sarubo Family was a weak family, perhaps they would still dere a war to the Moya Family!


    "Lucy, you can''t touch those two Pseudo-Mages! I thought you said you hated that kid the most? Go challenge that Advanced Apprentice! Kill him and vent your spleen, I''ll find a way to settle the other two." Showing no changes on the outside, Endor had transmitted her thought over to Lucy''s mind via telepathy.


    Lucy, who was in the middle of yelling and scolding, stopped for a brief moment. Then, she pointed her finger at Leon and announced her challenge.


    By right, a meaningless challenge like this would not be approved. As the apprentice of Swampy Tower, Mage Eclivel was obliged to provide protection to Leon. But obviously, today was an exception. When Lucy announced her challenge in front of everyone, Mage Eclivel never said another word, clearly, he had tacitly assented such behavior.


    Leon sneered a few times inwardly.


    Though he only arrived here for a very short amount of time, but right when he saw Lucy, he had grasped the reasons behind this farce. Therefore, when confronted with Lucy''s challenge, Leon took a step forward.


    "After beating youst time, I never expected to see you back for revenge so soon! So, if I beat you again this time, when are you going toe back for your revenge?"


    Though Lucy was a ck-hearted and merciless girl, she still took her honor seriously. When she heard the ridiculeing from Leon, she immediately jumped up and down from anger, screaming furiously, "Do you really think you can defeat me? Last time, if it weren''t for the fact that you all had taken turns attacking me and had gotten help from the sneak attack of that vampire, do you really think you could live until today?"


    "So, if I really defeat you this time, what are you going to do?" Leon was waiting for these words from her. Without hesitation, he immediately countered her statement.


    "If I''m really defeated by you, my life will be yours, and I''ll be your ve forever! But if you''re defeated by me, your life will be mine!" In a towering rage, Lucy roared out this statement without thinking twice.


    Endor, standing behind Lucy, furrowed her brows. For some unknown reasons, an inauspicious feeling suddenly surged up in her mind. This young kid, who was going to fight Lucy, portrayed an overly calm and peaceful manner. Could he really possess some powerful trump cards?


    Secretly, a tentacle stretched out from Endor''s powerful spirit, slowly but surely it reached Leon''s body, and gave its target a serious examination. Overall strength of an Advanced Apprentice and ordinary Fire element innate talent. The magical equipment on his body could be considered as finely made. But, with such overall strength, it was far from enough to defeat Lucy.


    Since she stepped into the path of an Mage, Endor never saw anyone possessing a more powerful innate ability than Lucy''s spatial innate ability. No matter what kind of powerful magic spells those elemental apprentices mastered, when facing against Lucy, an opponent who had total control of the spatial aspects of the battlefield, nothing would matter when they couldn''t hit her with their spells.


    As for Body Refining and Profound Apprentices, in front of Lucy, they were as fragile as scarecrows. Only those Bloodline Apprentice with extraordinary innate talents would be a threat to Lucy.


    But, after thest defeat, Lucy had gone through a painful torture, which eventually made her skyrocket in her mastery in short distance teleportation. When facing against Lucy, who could now travel freely within a battlefield, Endor couldn''t think of how those Apprentice Mages could defend against her Spatial Cut that was capable of destroying anything, and how were they going to capture Lucy who kept teleporting across the battlefield!


    After making sure the overall strength of Lucy''s opponent, Endor let out a shivering sneer, saying, "Kid, save your breath, go inside and have a fight with Lucy!"


    Having finished saying that, she stretched her arm and took the golden bird cage from Lucy, then waved it towards both Leon and Lucy.


    In next second, both Leon and Lucy had disappeared from the scene!


    ...


    2253 Words

 Chapter 121 Lucy vc Leon

    When Leon finally got a hold of himself, he discovered that he was standing right inside of the golden bird cage.


    Through the fence of the bird cage that now looked like rows of stone pirs poking into the sky, Leon could vaguely see the view outside of the cage. Especially when the frightening poisonous witch was leaning close to the cage, her enormous eyeballs that nearly upied half of the sky simply sent chills down Leon''s back.


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    When he looked into the distance, right at the other end of the cage, nearly three miles away from him, the petite figure of Lucy was seen continuously teleporting her way and rushing in his direction.


    Leon knitted his brows into a tight frown.


    At this moment, he wasn''t sure on whether this ce was just a small space in a different dimension or if old witch really did transform him into a smaller size. Nevertheless, now was not the right time to research further on this. In less than ten seconds, that Lucy who had gone berserk would arrive in front of him.


    Previously, he had been concealing his capabilities and avoided the limelight, so he could further polish his own overall strength, and design a set ofbat tactic that suited him the most. It seemed that now was the perfect timing for him to test if thosebat tactics were suitable!


    Leon started to equip himself swiftly.


    While remained standing at where he was, he touched his waist belt with his right hand. A strange scepter with peculiar designs immediately appeared in his grip. At the same time, he stretched out his left hand, the magical book, tied by a silver chain that was hanging on his waist automatically flew into his hand, and started to flip through the pages by itself.


    Following one after another the fiery red ring shed out from Leon''s body, Inferno Body, Inferno Shield, Inferno Force Field, Fire Damage Reflect, multiple Fire element defensive magic spells had revealed themselves. After finishing preparing his defense, Leon pointed in front of him with the Fire Lord''s Scepter, and started to recite with a loud voice, "Redmond Carina, Anya Roset, in the name of mes..."


    From all directions, countless fiery red mes started to gather in midair. Within the blink of an eye, a tall Fire Deity over seven meters stood right in front of Leon. It was surrounded by raging and boiling mes, and the color of the mes had turned from ordinary fiery red into me with a purple colored core. This also meant that this Fire Deity possessed the overall strength of a Pseudo-Mage.


    But, this was not the end!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Countless brilliantly lit objects flew out from Leon''s storage waist belt and scattered around. After a burst of furious cracklinging from the explosions of Elementiums, these objects formed into different elemental golems with a variety of heights, shapes and looks.


    The most attractive among them would be the Lightning Giant. Every time it made its debut, it would always bring forth a frightening scene, where the sky would be filled with raging thunder strikes. Also, the tall, green body which waspletely covered in the golden armor, the lightning serpents that kept bolting out and lingering around its body, all had given it a touch of mightiness.


    While the Lightning Giant slowly ascended into the sky, the Fire Deity strode toward Lucy and the Water Elementiums started to gather on both sides of Leon at an incredible speed. Soon, two Pseudo-Mage level Water Elementals had emerged out from thin air.


    Leon stomped his feet on the ground with great force, though they looked like they were made from stone, they were actually transformed from the Protection Barrier. Since he couldn''t squeeze into the underground, there was no need to summon the Demon Alligator Hunter or Rock Snake. Leon gave up on the thought of summoning Earth element golems and switched his attention to the battle that was happening in the far distance.


    The summon of Lightning Giant had consumed 7 points of his Spirit, while two Water Elementals took away 6 points of his Spirit. As for the Inferno Shield and the Fire Deity, both of them were abilities brought to him by the Fire Lord''s Scepter, thus they didn''t consume any of his Spirit. With Leon''s total Spirit of 19 points, he still had 6 points that he could use in case of emergencies, and, judging from the development of the battleter, only then would he decide which golem to summon next.


    The Lightning Giant was focused on offense with the Fire Deity as its assistant, and two Water Elementals handled both offense and defense at the same time.


    These Water Elementals were the brand new golems crafted by Leon using Water element cores. They had an appearance that resembled arge clump of water that could stand straight and walk around. They didn''t have feet, so their lower bodies were just thick water pirs, and water could be seen kept sshing around from the bottom of these water pirs. Their upper bodies had the vague look of a human, there was a body, a head, and even two arms. But all these body parts looked rather crude, there didn''t have any facial features on their heads, and both arms were just two thick water pirs.


    Though these Water Elementals had a humble outlook, their strange abilities could cause eyebrows to raise.


    Right after both Water Elementals appeared, they immediately waved their arms several times in the air. After each wave, there would be a smaller size Water Elementals pulled out of their bodies, and within a blink of an eye, the smaller Water Elementals changed their appearances into that of Leon''s. They even had the same magical equipment as Leon had.


    Nearly in an instant, two Water Elementals working together and produced twelve ''Leon''. And, after all thirteen Leon switched their positions in a messy order, the real Leon, who was now mixed among the other ''Leon'', had a bright smile blooming on his face.


    There were so many ''Leon'' that looked exactly like him, to be honest, when he saw he was surrounded by copies of ''himself'', even he nearly burst out intoughter.


    And, this was not the end. Following the waving movement of both Water Elementals, arge sheet of billowing water vapor emerged, nketing this group of ''Leon''. From the outside, one could only see some wobbling figures behind this sheet of water vapor, and couldn''t get a glimpse at the true scene at all.


    Right at this moment, not only Lucy, who was standing right opposite to Leon, nearly copsed by what she was facing, even both Mages who were standing outside of the cage and were observing the situation had their expression changed slightly, each portraying a different look on their faces.


    Of course, Mage Eclivel showed a surprised look at first, then it was reced by a delightful expression. Initially, he thought it would be a one-sided ughter, but because of the sudden explosive performance put out by this mysterious kid, everything became unpredictable. Though he could sense that because of Leon''s existence his control over Bleia had weakened, the thought of killing Leon in the dark had long hatched in his mind.


    But, on an asion like this, Eclivel preferred to see that cute little Lucy having her head severely beaten. After all, he still had plenty of time to deal with that kid. Therefore, Mage Eclivel simply eased his mind, and for the first time, he was praising at Leon in his mind.


    You just can''t keep all the people happy at the same time!


    When Eclivel brought upon a bizarre smile on his face and quietly watched the battlefield, aplex look could be seen in Endor''s eyes, as she seemed to dither over her decision.


    Damn it, what kind of abilities did this kid possess! Lightning Elementals, Water Elementals, Fire Elementals... each and every single one of this element golems possessed the overall strength of a Pseudo-Mage, were these something he could own and control? Could it be that old rascal, Eclivel, knew that she woulde and passed these advanced magical items to this young kid? But this didn''t make sense either. How could an Advanced Apprentice control so many Pseudo-Mage level element golems at the same time?


    You couldn''t me this Poisonous Witch''s bewilderment, after all, summoning ordinary element golems would consume a huge amount of Spirit. If not because the golems owned by Leon had been optimized and used the special magical arrays designed by the Chip, perhaps just one Lighting Giant alone would upy more than half his Spirit, and he would have no way to fight against Lucy using a small team of golems.


    Meanwhile, right at a corner outside of the cage, Worm controller was watching Leon''s approaches without making any noises. However, a huge wave that could devour his entire body and soul had been rocking violently in his mind.


    Damn it, damn it! How did this bastard own such frightening approaches?


    If he ced himself in Lucy''s position, even ke would feel a headache if he had to face more than one Pseudo-Mage level element golems, let alone Lucy who would always fight alone.


    Right when everyone outside of the battlefield was watching the intense battle that nearly broke out inside of the golden bird cage, Lucy, who was supposed to fight against Leon, nearly broke out into a rampage.


    Last time, this was just a poor guy who had to cover his head and scurry away from her, but this time, he was actually able to summon so many different element golems. Apparently, he was going to gang fight her! Lucy felt as if her heart had been thrown into boiling oil, it was going through all sorts of torture right now. She just couldn''t believe this was real.


    But, the situation simply didn''t permit her to ponder further. The Lightning Giant, whose body was surrounded by raging lightning serpents, was charging towards her.


    Within a tiny fraction of a second, the powerful high-voltage current had filled her entire field of view. Lucy didn''t want to fight face-to-face with a mighty element golem, so, with a sh of her body, she had disappeared from where she was.


    This time, her destination of teleportation was right above the head of that damn bastard.


    She had made up her mind, once she got rid of those troublesome element golems, the first thing she wanted to do was cut that bastard into tens of pieces with her Spatial Cut.


    But, something horrifying had struck Lucy. When she stepped on the vibrating spatial and squeezed out into mid air, the Lightning Giant, together with a suddenly exploding thunderp, had appeared beside her at the same time. A crackling noise echoed out from the scene, as a Lightning Chain covered with violent electricity was whipping toward Lucy''s body in a ferocious manner.


    Bastard, how had this Lightning Giant caught up with her speed?


    The thought shed through Lucy''s mind, but before she coulde out with any answers, with a sway of her body, she once again disappeared from where she was.


    It must because she had been obvious about her motives and target, that was why the Lightning Giant could find out her teleportation destination. There was no way it could guess where she was going this time!


    Having the thought of making fool of this Lightning Giant, this time, the destination Lucy chose was thirty meters behind Leon''s group. Right as she came out to the normal spatial, Lucy spread her arms and prepared to pull out a Spatial Cut, hoping to give this group of ''Leon'' a brutal attack.


    But, before the spatial crack appeared between her hands and stabilized into an ideal Spatial Cut, the terrifying Lightning Chain had once again coiled up and forcefully pped onto her back.


    @#&%£¤...


    Right at this very moment, Lucy''s mind was filled with infinite anger. But at the same time, she felt a shivering sensation that was creeping up from the bottom of her heart.


    How was this possible? How did this lightning man, who apparently had no brain, urately grasp her destination, twice in a row? This was simply something impossible to be aplished!


    Filling her mind with endless resentment, Lucy disappeared from the scene once again.


    This time, Lucy emerged at a short sixty meters to the left of Leon, and she didn''t rush inunching an attack likest time. She patiently and carefully monitored the activity surrounding her. As expected, within seconds after she teleported, the powerful lightning man had also emerged after a sh of electricity.


    And, the spot it emerged was still the same five meters behind of her!


    Even for someone with a scheming mind like Lucy''s, she also couldn''t control herself and nearly cursed out some bad words. Because when she gazed at the group of ''Leon'' who were hiding behind theyers of the water barrier, she discovered that each of them was secretly holding onto a Wand of Prophecy, and was murmuring something while facing in her direction.


    Damn it, so it was you that kept ying tricks on me!


    ...


    2215 Words

 Chapter 122 Win

    At this moment, Lucy''s anger had reached an uncontroble degree.


    When she let loose of herself and attacked in rage, Lucy, who possessed the spatial innate talent, had perfectly exhibited the frightening ability of the spatial magic spells.


    With her delicate, fair and tiny little hands, she performed a gentle ripping gesture in the air. In an instant, one after another spatial crack, which looked like ck pearls nes, were produced between her palms. After that, this pair of little hands started to knead them in the air, transforming them into all kinds of weapons that beyond anyone''s imagination.


    An arc-shaped ''Moon Bent de'', a ''Dark Spear'' that looked like a throwing spear, a perfectly round ''Explosive Ball''...


    And, following Lucy''s shrill screams, one after another bizarre weapon was thrown at the group of Leons at the same time.


    The cutting and piercing abilities of these spatial cracks were simply incredible.


    A ''Moon Bent de'' streaked passed Leon silently, on its way, two mirrored Leons were cut into halves. Also, the Inferno Shield and Inferno Force Field were both missing a chunk, after being grazed by it. Judging from the size and shape of the missing parts, it was identical to that Moon Bent de.


    It looked like when facing the spatial magic that Lucy was an expert with, these ordinary defensive magic spells would hardly function as they were supposed to! As the matter of fact, in front of spatial magic, which had a higher order in the source of their principles, any element magic spell was like a bubble that could be burst easily. Both of them were simply not on the same level.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    If Leon allowed Lucy to keep bombing savagely like this, even if he summoned all his golems, he wouldn''t be able to keep his life safe. Realizing he couldn''t hold up against Lucy''s attacks, Leon clenched his jaws tightly and ordered his team of golems to counterattack, so that he could suppress Lucy''s attack frequency.


    Therefore, a magnificent show of firework had broken out within the ''tiny'' space of the bird cage.


    Nearly every single time when Lucy teleported to a new location, the Lightning Giant who followed right after her would flood the region with its raging lightning attack, immediately followed by a me Throwingunched by the Fire Deity and the Frost Nova unleashed by the Water Elemental.


    Though in the past, the Protection Barrier covering outside Lucy''s body was ''indestructible'', when facing Leon, who had the ability to pinpoint her ''weaknesses'', and together with a group of mighty fighters with no fear of death, whenever a new Protection Barrier was created, it would be shattered into pieces after one round of violent attacks.


    And, within such a short period of time, she only had enough time toplete a long-range attack.


    Although every time she was able to teleport away before the Protection Barrier shattered, such a frequent teleportation and attack routine was a heavy burden for Lucy.


    Whenever the Protection Barrier was broken, she had to teleport herself to a far distance and fix it, only then could sheunch the next round of attacks. And when she teleported herself to Leon''s side, even with her high casting speed and the powerful Spatial Magic of hers, she would have to run away afterunching a single attack. If she made any mistakes in her move, she would have to face the miserable fate of being burned by the explosive fireball and frozen by the azure ice ring.


    But that was not the worst, as the most frightening attack was the strike of high voltage electricity!


    As the result, just after seven rounds of attack, Lucy''s cute, light yellow dress had turned into broken rags, while her precious golden hair was standing up on its end and became a dark and fluffy bird nest after being burned by the raging electricity. Also, her skin waspletely covered in burns and frost marks, dark and green patches could be seen everywhere.


    Meanwhile, out of twelve mirrored Leons, nine of them had been destroyed, leaving only three that mixed together with the real Leon, and no one could tell which one was his true form. As for the team of golems, they were now standing around Leon and protecting him with high vignce and waiting for Lucy toe forth and meet her death.


    The Lightning Giant was hovering in midair with its body covered with raging lightning that producing loud thunderps, from time to time, dazzling electric arcs would bolt out from its green body. A huge thunderstorm was brewing right above its head; the funnel shape dark cloud had covered nearly half of the space of the cage.


    Staring at this Lightning Giant who portrayed a mighty bearing, Lucy angrily clenched her tiny fists, wishing she could use the most violent spatial magic and wipe it off the face of this worldpletely.


    It was all because of this hateful Lightning Giant that she was now suffering from a very serious injury.


    It was worth it to mention that the speed and frequency of the Lightning element magic spells were the fastest among all other magic spells. Every time, right when her Protection Barrier broke, that damn lightning strike unleashed by the Lightning Giant would always lock onto Lucy''s whereabouts andnd right on her body. Not only that, the arc-shaped lightning of the Lightning Giant actually... actually brought a slight paralysis effect.


    This had caused Lucy''s dodging movements to be slower and resulted in her facing the shower of elemental magic spells.


    As the blood descendant of Endor, Lucy had countless magic spell and element talismans with her. But even so, she also couldn''t withstand the damage brought by such violent element magic spells.


    The magic spell talisman used to iste herself from element attacks exploded before it could evenst three rounds of attack.


    The element talisman, which was used to increase her element resistance, had also shattered into pieces after being tortured by a massive amount of elemental magic spells.


    In the end, after her element resistance was reduced to a very low level, Lucy had to fight the battle using purely her strong will.


    Whenever her Spirit had depleted, she would run to the outer perimeter and gulp down arge bottle of magic potion. With that, she would be brimming with Spirit seconds after, with her Spirit restored to the maximum level!


    And, whenever her magical energy had depleted, she would once again run to outer perimeter and drink up a bottle of magical energy potion. Right after that, she would once again have vigorous magical energy!


    With the help of these bottles of magical potions, Lucy was like an undefeatable cockroach, crazily charging into Leon''s team of golems, again and again.


    The Fire Deity was shattered into pieces twice by the raging spatial cuts and had been summoned by Leon for the third time.


    The bodies of both Water Elementals were full of holes now. If not for the fact that they were element golems with the ability to absorb the wandering elementiums in the air and fix their own body, perhaps they would have long disintegrated into a puddle of water.


    The only member of the golems team who was still in a good shape would be the Lightning Giant.


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    But even so, after going through many rounds of spatial magic attacks, its body had also been badly mutted, as many parts of it had been hanging and falling off. When Lucy realized it was extremely difficult for her to attack the real Leon, she eventually switched her target, cing the focus of her attacks onto the Lightning Giant, who had posted the biggest threat to her safety.


    The adjustment in her tactic had soon brought her the best results!


    One of the Lightning Giant''s arms had disappeared.


    The Wind element core hiding inside the arm was shattered by a spatial cut, resulted in the total disintegration of that part of the body and was no longer able to restore its original shape.


    But too bad, the changes made to her guerri tactic hade toote.


    Right when Lucy smoothly destroyed the left arm of Lightning Giant, her Protection Barrier was broken by the incredible fast lightning chain, and her petite body was coiled up by the same lightning chain.


    In next second, the furious ming pir and the frost nova had flooded the region where she was trapped.


    Before Leon could see the result of this massive attack, an egg-shaped shock wave as violent as a sudden thunderp burst out from where Lucy was. The shock wave swept across the area, shattering the spatial of the area like a thin sheet of ss. The spatial was broken, and the air was shaking violently. All the materials within the area had been annihted and reassembled, yet any living creatures within the area would be wiped offpletely and turned into a puff of smoke.


    The Lightning Giant was standing closest to the attack. Though it had noticed the attack and fled with top speed, half of its body was swept across by the broken spatial. A sudden lightning shed by with a loud boom, the Lightning Giant reappeared at a random ce some three hundred meters away. The once burly and tall body was left with a half and a head. As for the rest of its body, it was all cut off by the spatial cracks.


    The body of the Fire Deity, who had suffered badly from the attack, had copsed onto the ground once again.


    Hiding at a far distance, Leon''s facial muscles kept twitching uncontrobly. He had reached the summoning limit of the Fire Deity using the Fire Lord''s Scepter. He couldn''t summon it again today.


    The violent spatial shockwave expanded outward at an incredible speed. As Leon''s speed had been enhanced with the Hasten spell, he barely managed to escape from the attack boundary.


    Both Water Elementals had transformed into two water lines and fled from the battlefield. But too bad, one of them had been caught by the spatial shockwave, and exploded into a stter of water that sshed into all directions. Thest one managed to escape from the attack, and had reformed its body while standing beside Leon, putting up a high vignce.


    When the spatial crack at the heart of the shockwave started to heal slowly, only then Leon stopped from running. He turned around, and through the dense spatial fragments, he saw Lucy.


    Right at this moment, Lucy looked so ferocious and violent, as if she was a mighty deity that had just descended from the heavens!


    Her dress had been shattered into pieces, exposing her petite and cute body in front of everyone. Her eyes were closed, her fists clenched tightly, and she threw her head back and let out shrill cry into the sky. The Spatial Shockwave that swept across half of the space within the cage just now, was thest attack she unleashed after being agitated by the intense sense of danger.


    After unleashed thisst attack, the Spatial Energy contained within her body had been depletedpletely.


    Two streams of blood suddenly flowed down from the corner of Lucy''s tightly closed eyes. Meanwhile, her delicate and fragile body was shivering like a dried body left in the cold breeze, eventually, she drifted down from midair without making any noise.


    She was defeated!


    She was defeated, in the middle of a fair match and by an enemy she had looked down the most!


    The cruel reality had deeply pierced through Lucy''s heart and soul, causing her who had lost all strength, to wish that she was killed by having her head mmed onto the ground in this cage, so that she could be spared from facing the reality that she never wanted to ept!


    But, in next moment, her cold and weak body was cupped by a pair of warm arms. And after that, a long robe, which had an unfamiliar smell, was ced on top of her naked body.


    She opened her blurred eyes, staring at the silhouette that had been inscribed deeply in her mind, before murmuring, "You... bastard..." Finally, she passed outpletely. At the same time, Leon was looking at the weak little girl in his arms, inwardly, he kept roaring out furiously, "You can''t die like this! You can''t die here! Or else, your Granny Witch would definitely go berserk..."


    A sudden shake struck the spatial.


    The scene in front of his eyes changed, and Leon felt the burden in his arms was lifted as Lucy was taken away by that Poisonous Witch Endor.


    Endor ced Lucy on the ground, and after thoroughly examining her a few times and making sure that she had only passed out as the result of depleting all her energy, Endor finally set her mind at rest.


    She turned around and stared at Leon''s face for a long time, until he felt a chill running down his spine, only then had Endor let out a frightening smile, which was uglier than someone who was crying out loud. "Kid, you''re very good! You''re very good... I''ll remember you!"


    Having finished with her words that were buried with some unknown meaning, Endor carried Lucy and mounted her flying broom, and with a blink of an eye, they disappeared into the sky.


    Leaving behind a group of people who were exchanging nces with each other, not knowing what to say.


    What happened today was too damn strange!


    ...


    2264 Words

 Chapter 123 Conspiracy

    In just a short amount of time, the disturbance brought forth by Lucy had died off.


    As a matter of fact, before most of the apprentices within the tower had gotten to the root of this matter, it had passed away into silence. Not to mention that Mage Eclivel, who rarely showed himself in front of his apprentices, and even Worm controller ke, who had witnessed the entire process himself, had be very quiet.


    With regards to Leon''s performance, except Bleia who didn''t express any surprise, the other two had been struck with awe. It was especially true for ke, the degree of his shocking emotion had even elevated to a state where he felt uneasy to even eat or sleep.


    Although Leon never publicly exhibited any hostility towards ke, as a Bloodline Apprentice who had taken a mutated path and took the initiative to strike at any potential enemy, the guideline ke had been practicing all his life was put all his efforts to construct an aggressive position in his living circle, which could bring him all the benefits.


    In the past, as he was constrained by his overall strength, he had no choice but to keep a rtively bnced rtionship with the other two strongest. But after his breakthrough in the recent training mission, he could no longer hold down his true nature and had stood out, ''subduing'' both Super girl and Fatal shot.


    If he hadn''t witnessed the battle of that bizarre kid, perhaps, he would have thought the scale of victory had skewed to his side. Bleia, who was only an expert in running fast, had nothing worth mentioning in her defensive and offensive ability and was not his opponent. As for Leon, a mere Advanced Apprentice, how big a storm could he bring up?


    However, the battle in the bird cage between Lucy and Leon had deeply touched ke.


    From that day onwards, he kept asking himself inwardly. If he and Leon had fought in the bird cage, could he break through the line of defense formed by the group of golems andnd his attack onto Leon? Obviously, the answer was something that he didn''t like to hear.


    Therefore, since that day, he had be extremely reticent!


    ...


    Within a dark secret room.


    ke, wearing a ck robe, was sitting within the shadow of a corner, pondering himself while remaining silent.


    Throughout the entire secret room, there was only a magical torch lit up, and was ced on a wall in the far distance. Not only was the dimmed, jumping me not able to bring any significant light to this space, instead, it gave a touch of gruesomeness and fear to the ce.


    There wasn''t any furniture or decorations in this secret room, not even themonly seen table or chairs. Even ke was sitting on the cold, hard surface of the floor with his legs folded. Behind him, in a corner of the room where light couldn''t reach, a mysterious cocoon was seen hanging down from the roof, and was expanding and creeping in a creepy manner.


    Rather than referring to this ce as a secret room, it was more like a bug''s nest.


    Right beside ke, countless ck bugs were swarming across the floor like a dark wave. Sometimes they would move to the east, and sometimes they would move to the west, the buzzing noise of their legs scratching the floor was incessantly lingering in the air.


    As if affected by these bugs, ke''s body which hid underneath the ck robe started to move restlessly, as if there were hundreds of thousands of bugs trying to rush out from within, wanting to mix together with their peers which were crawling outside. Right when these ck bugs nearly went out of control, finally, ke raised his head up, and within the shadow of his hood, two bright green glows ignited.


    A sharp, ear-piercing cry of bugs echoed out from within the secret room.


    ke opened his mouth widely. Right at the center of his mouth, which was formed withyers of lips, a peculiar head of bug suddenly poked out. The bug cry just now was let out from the mouth of this bug.


    Upon hearing the cry, the restless bugs had returned to a calm state once again. All the ck bugs now surrounded ke, like people worshiping their king, they all held their heads low and remained silent, waiting for the order of their master.


    ke casually picked up a ck bug and threw into his mouth, starting to munch on it and producing the crystal clear sound of biting and crushing. The stinking green liquid leaked out from his lips, and the pungent smell of it had made the air in this secret room even more filthy.


    "So, this is the path you picked for yourself? It is really unique!" An old voice suddenly rang out from within the secret room.


    "Master Eclivel, you''re finally here!" Eclivel lightly raised his head, as if he wasn''t surprised by the voice that suddenly broke the silence of the room.


    "You knew I''ll be here?" The old voice sounded surprised. It was the voice of the master of this Swampy Tower, Mage Eclivel.


    "Of course! As long as you''re still the true master of this tower, I know you will contact me sooner orter!"


    "So, I assume you have also guessed my purpose in contacting you?"


    "You wish for my help in dealing with that Leon!"


    "Hmph, you''re a clever kid. Indeed! I need you to stand out and get rid of that hateful kid. And, I believe you''re willing to do this!"


    "Your respectful master Eclivel, can I ask you a question? Do you really need help killing an Advanced Apprentice? Can''t you just kill him straightaway? Could that bring you any consequences, unbearable even to you?" Clearly, ke wasn''t an idiot. Without knowing the answer to this critical question, he wouldn''t want to be the gun held in someone else''s hand!


    "Because I still want to control that little vampire. She is the key sample to the next step in my blood research. Based on the rtionship between her and that kid, if I do this myself, perhaps it would be extremely difficult for me to control her again." Mage Eclivel remained silent for a brief moment, before finally saying the reason.


    "With thebative ability that kid showed us yesterday, do you think I can defeat him?" Eclivel was never bothered by Mage Eclivel''s answer, instead, he quickly threw out the next question.


    "With my judgment, it is extremely difficult. If you''re fighting him alone, you''ll face an inevitable death. But, it seems you have formed an Worm controller Alliance. If you can bring in the strength of this alliance, perhaps it will be enough."


    "But, by doing all these, what kind of benefits would I be getting? Instead, I''ll be offending Bleia, a Pseudo-Mage for no apparent reason!"


    "What if I say I can make you stronger?"


    "..."


    "I suppose your contracted partner is that Queen Bug? The queen of Carrion Beetle, hehe, you''re really lucky to bump into such a great fortune. It looks like you did have pretty good luck in the past!"


    "..."


    "Right now, probably you''re worrying about how to improve your overall strength. You have tied your life with that Queen Bug, as the result, not only do you have to fulfill the level up requirement by yourself, you also need to fulfill the level up requirement of the Queen of Carrion Beetle. With that, though the half-bug body has given you an advantage when facing an opponent of the same rank, the speed of progress has also dragged you down."


    "..."


    "How many Pseudo-Mages had you devoured in your training mission? One or two? Without such lucky encounters, there is no way you can be a Pseudo-Mage smoothly. So, what are you going to do after that? In order to level up as an Mage, how many Mages are you nning to devour?"


    "Master Eclivel, I''ve understood what you mean. So, with regards to my current situation, do you have any better suggestions?"


    "It is no doubt you have to strengthen yourself first!" With a disdainful voice, Eclivel gave his lecture, "Although currently, that Queen Bug is your contracted creature, and you two are sharing a life together, however, there is an issue of dominance that resides within your rtionship. When you be stronger, naturally, it will be your best servant. But if it evolves faster than you, though there is no risk in terms of your life, but when ites to the true master of this body, perhaps most of the time it will be controlled by the Queen Bug!"


    "Then, how can I strengthen myself even faster?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hehehe... kid, most probably you have forgotten that I turned Bleia into her current appearance! As long as you''re willing to participate in my magic spell experiment, I can promise you, I''ll give you an intrepid body that is not weaker than Bleia''s!"


    "I agree to this condition. What do you need me to do?"


    "First, I need a drop of blood from your Queen Bug! Only by obtaining its blood can I urately concoct the mutated blood most suitable for your body constitution."


    After remaining silent and pondering for a long time, ke finally nodded his head in aLeonent.


    And after obtaining ke''s aLeonent, Mage Eclivel immediately urged him to hand over a drop of Queen Bug''s blood.


    ke gritted his teeth and opened his lotus-shaped mouth, the bug resided inside once again poked out part of its body. Upon revealing itself, the bug immediately let out a miserable cry, causing the dark Carrion Beetles surrounded ke to be restless and furious. But after forced by ke, the Queen bug had no choice but opened its mouth and spat out a drop of strange liquid, which was extremely stinky and sticky.


    The air within the secret room briefly vibrated. When the drop of liquid left the mouth of Queen Bug, before it could reach the ground, a spatial ripple appeared at the right time cupping it from below. A bright light of teleportation shed through the room, the liquid had disappeared in a strange manner.


    ke''spound eyes flickered. Obviously, he was frightened by how tight a control Mage Eclivel had on the tower.


    "Kid, you have made a wise decision! Alright, with this thing, I''ll be able to concoct a mutated blood soon. Once you have also owned the bloodline of a vampire, that will be the moment for you to shine!"


    Sensing that Mage Eclivel''s powerful Spirit had gradually withdrawn from the secret room, only then ke blended himself back into the vast darkness. Within the dark shadow where no one could peek through, the chirping of beetle could be heard without end, no one knew what was the contents of the violentmunication between ke and the Queen Bug.


    The entire space was filled with a ghastly and wicked atmosphere!


    ...


    After returning to his residence, Leon once again dwelled into the secluded lifestyle he used to have.


    Deep meditation, reading books, magic spell experiments... All these boring yet fixed routine had filled up his daily life. For some unknown reasons, a deep sense of danger had been enveloping Leon''s body and soul, urging him to keep umte knowledge and strengthening himself.


    He had a feeling, if he didn''t put in all his effort to run faster, some frightening events would happen on him. Although it was tough to exin where or who these dangers woulde from, Leon believed in his instincts without a shadow of the doubt. And he had put out real action as preventive measures.


    Also, the magic spell study he carried out in session had brought him tremendous benefits. Having been organized and ssified by the Chip, all those magic spell books he had read in the past had transformed into the mystical knowledge that he could use at anytime he wanted. The vacancy of his elementary knowledge about Fire element magic spell had now been filled up.


    Therefore, unknowingly, both Inferno Shield and Inferno Force Field had be skills in his bag, while the mastery of Inferno Body had increased to 41% from 37%.


    Strictly speaking, currently, the fundamental knowledge in Fire element that Leon had was not weaker than that of any official Mage''s!


    ...


    2069 Words

 Chapter 124 Shop

    Since thestpulsory mission had beenpleted, the Swampy Tower was like a clogged up water channel that had suddenly opened up. In a natural way, the fresh water from the outside world started to influence the life within the isted world.


    And obviously, Mage Eclivel wasn''t happy to see such changes. However, when he was faced with the will of the entire Zhentarim Association, which was a n that even the Third Grade Mage from Sarubo Family dared not disobey, there was just nothing he could do to change the situation!


    Therefore, when the apprentices that had attended the training mission made their return, the Mission Hall of the Swampy Tower, which had not been used for a very long time, once again opened up. Every day, the mission board ced in the hall refreshed with countless new missions, from advanced missions like hunting feral demons of Mage level, which only Pseudo-Mage could participate in, to petty missions like gathering resources, expelling demons, and investigating abnormal events. It all refreshed in real-time.


    Put it this way, even at the center of the continent, the well-developed region and the priBleia colony of human society, every day there would be hundreds of thousands of bizarre incidents happening. Either it was the discovery of demon traces near a small town located at the border, or a vige near the wilderness was attacked by some unknown beings, or some expedition team had discovered an uncultivated resource site.


    Without exception, whenever something like this happened, the Zhentarim Association would bring the matter in, and announce a time-limited mission to all the Apprentice Mages within the entire central region of the continent. With this method, they could bring all the apprentices within the center region into y. Not only could they train these apprentices, they could also solve the problem urring at the border of their territory. In another way, they used these apprentices to shoulder the heavy burden of defence missions instead of official Mages.


    Leon could hole himself up in his residence and improve the foundation of his magic spells bit by bit. But, Bleia and Snox couldn''t behave like that. Hence, during this time, they were like prisoners who had bloodshot eyes, hanging around all day inside of the Mission Hall, quietly filtering through the missions and finding ones they like the most.


    After all, Bleia had taken the path of a Bloodline Mage, and it would slow her progress to just rely on the umtion of magic spell knowledge. Only by constantly devouring the blood of experts would ensure her quick progress. Therefore, she had shown enthusiasm when picking her missions, and she had been working hard inpleting them. Within just a month, shepleted two missions and earned herself twenty merit points.


    But it was too bad that all the missions she chose were located within the perimeter of the Swampy Tower. It was a region where human society was well-developed. Though sometimes demons intruded into the ce, it was just impossible to have any Pseudo-Mage level monsters. Therefore, she had no alternative but to look for a distant location.


    Very soon, a suitable mission jumped into her eyes.


    At the Timbermaw Hold, located seven thousand miles away, a camp of Lycanthropes who moved from the depths of the jungle was suddenly discovered. Therefore, the local authority had announced a mission to recruit Pseudo-Mage or Advanced Apprentice and was preparing to eliminate this camp.


    When Bleia enthusiastically invited Leon to join her in this mission, she was turned down straightaway.


    As an Element Apprentice who prepared to take the path of Focused Fire Element, Leon felt he needed to be more focused on the mission of his choice. Last time, he had gained tremendous benefit by soaking himself inside the undergroundva pool in the Underground Cave region, so he wished to find another ce which had a simr environment like the volcano, so he could make further progress with his Inferno Body.


    He had a feeling that in order for him to advance into the realm of official Mage steadily and surely, the Inferno Body yed a very important role.


    Fortunately enough, on the third day after Bleia left excitedly, Snox, who had been spending all day in the Mission Hall, rushed back to Leon. The mission that suited him the most had appeared!


    It was a mission to gather resources, which had a rather low risk, and the location of the mission was right within a volcano which would erupt on a fixed interval. Cotopaxi Volcano was located near the border, east of the Sidney region. It was a ce rich in Fire Diamonds of premium quality, and was one of the main ies for the local Mage Family.


    Cotopaxi Volcano was a very powerful active volcano. Out of the twelve months in a year, it would be in a dangerous active period for nine months. During this period, even Mages wouldn''t risk their life by stepping into it. Only during the three-month resting period would the Cotopaxi Volcano calm down slightly and give the nearby Mage Family a chance to harvest the Fire Diamond that could be found underneath it.


    Even during the resting period of the volcano, the temperature inside was still incredibly high. Also, as most of the Fire Diamonds were found at the edge ofva pool or floating inside of the pool, no ordinary humans could harvest them, and only Advanced Apprentices who had element resistance could achieve this seemingly impossible mission.


    Therefore, in order to increase the productivity of Fire Diamonds during this resting period, aside from sending their own family members to harvest the Fire Diamonds, the local Mage Family would also announce a mission publicly. Any apprentice that entered the Cotopaxi Volcano just needed to submit a fixed portion of Fire Diamonds at the end of their mission, and they could keep the rest as a reward for their mission.


    As a result, every year before the volcano entered its resting period, it also was the time to announce this mission!


    Leon rushed to the Mission Hall. Without hesitation, he immediately undertook the mission of harvesting Fire Diamonds. Looking at the message of the mission, it was only open to twenty apprentices and Leon was the neenth apprentice who undertook the mission. Nearly at the same time that he epted the mission, it disappeared from the mission board.


    The quota of twenty apprentices had beenpletely filled up!


    The mission required Leon to report to the mission site located in the Sidney region within fifteen days. Time was pressing, so Leon immediately started to arrange all the necessary matters.


    The first issue was how to settle Snox.


    Snox had a timid and cowardly character, which made it not fit for a fighter''s position. Instead, it showed great interest in bing a goblin merchant. For this reason, Leon decided to leave Snox in the Swampy Tower and gave it all of the resources he wouldn''t be using temporarily.


    The magical gemstones he had brought back from the Underground Cave, the magical equipment he stripped from the dead bodies of Fallen Apprentices, and the remaining four Mind Concentrating Potions he had ¨C none of them fit in the path Leon was currently taking. So he simply handed them to Snox, making them the highest quality treasures for the newly opened Goblin Shop.


    In the eyes of the Pseudo-Mages that came from some big family, perhaps the items were worth nothing. But when they were ced in Swampy Tower, a ce where all resources were scarce, nearly on the first day that the Goblin Shop opened for business, it became a mystical ce passionately sought after by all Beginner and Intermediate apprentices.


    Mind Concentrating Potions?!


    What kind of miraculous item were they? Why they never heard of it before? A bottle of it could bring an increment of 0.5 ¨C 0.7 in their Spirit? This... how could such miraculous magical potions exist in the world?


    As for the side effects of the Mind Concentrating Potion, in the eyes of the apprentices who could go to every extent just to improve their overall strength, it was simply nothing! After all, inside of the Swampy Tower, through their daily meditation, most Apprentice Mages could only obtain a tiny fraction of increase in their Spirit.


    In the end, only a handful of apprentices could enter a deep meditation state every single time like how Leon was able to. Thus, an increment of 0.5 in Spirit would also mean three months of restless meditation for most of them.


    In the past, they had toboriously meditate for three months in order to achieve the same result, but now, it could be obtained with just one single bottle of potion. How could a miraculous result like this not attract their craziness?


    Unfortunately, the high price of it had made them shrink back at the sight of it, and they could only jealously watch as Fatal shot purchased all four Mind Concentrating Potions in one go.


    Clearly, the results brought by the Mind Concentrating Potion to an Advanced Apprentice weren''t as significant as when it was used by an Intermediate Apprentice, however, for Evan, any tiny bit of increment in his Spirit was extremely valuable. It was because he had eighteen points in his Spirit now. So long as he could increase it just by a little bit, perhaps he could be a Pseudo-Mage.


    Most of the Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices couldn''t get their hands on a top grade product like Mind Concentrating Potions, but their eyes were dazed by the dazzling arrays of magical resources and materials. Perhaps Leon only put his concern towards the Fire element magical equipment he could use but Snox was never picky.


    Using the first pot of gold it had saved, Snox purchased a lot of local products from the Underground Cave. Now, by putting them on disy in its own Goblin Shop, they immediately attracted a crazy spending spree from the apprentices within the tower.


    Ironwood Branch that brought the effect of +1 in the speed of vitality restoration, the Mantle of Intelligence that brought the effect of +1 in the speed of Spirit restoration, Ogre Gauntlets that brought the effect of +1 in Strength, Boot of Haste that brought +1 in Agility, Minor Antidote, Gem of True Sight that could detect any invisible creature...n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Although the magical equipment wasn''t of a high grade, they were perfectly suitable to be used by Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices, and their price was within a range they could afford. As the result, once they were put on sale, a great rush for them broke out within the Swampy Tower.


    With that, Snox was catapulted into the limelight!


    A Goblin that was able to possess such a ''massive'' fortune, of course, it attracted jealousy from outsiders. However, anyone with a sensible mind would know that behind this goblin was a Pseudo-Mage and an Advanced Apprentice. So long as their brain wasn''t damaged by fever, they would know that by offending this goblin, they would also provoke the Bloody Queen and the frightening malefic Leon.


    Therefore, after settling with Snox, Leon packed his luggage and left Swampy Tower without alerting anyone.


    If Leon traveled 7000 miles by foot or coach, he would be lucky to arrive at the mission site before the mission ended. So, after Leon left the Magical Swamp, he found himself a public flying site at the nearest city.


    There, he could get a ride on a flying boat!


    The so-called flying boat was a vehicle that was at least few times inferior to the flying ship used by the Mage Association. However, it was the mostmon and convenient method of travel within the center region of the continent. When Leon saw the flying boat for the first time, his facial muscle twitched uncontrobly.


    This... wasn''t this the hot air balloon back on Earth in his previous life?


    A huge, long, cigar-shaped balloon was floating above. Apparently, it was made from the leather of a unique demon beast. Arge cabin was hanging under the balloon: the bottom level was used to house cargo while the upper level was the ce where the travelers would stay. Nevertheless, it did send forth a mystical aura.


    Of course, the fee of riding the flying boat wasn''t cheap either, and ordinary cargo wouldn''t be shipped using the flying boat. Same goes with the travelers. The only ones who could afford to rent a whole room on the flying boat and experience a luxurious and romantic flying trip would be either the nobles from human society, rich merchants who traveled between ces, or Apprentice Mages who were rushing to different mission sites.


    ....


    2128 words

 Chapter 125 Volcano

    Palmyra Town was the resource supply point nearest to Cotopaxi Volcano.


    It was also the ce where all visiting apprentices reported for duty.


    When Leon arrived at the town, riding on a leisurely moving coach from the outpost, it was dinner time.


    Palmyra Town was a remote but not quite deste town. It was not a big town, and there was only a main street that cut through the center of it. It was a small ce where one could nce over the entire town just by standing at the street corner.


    Dozens of wooden houses were built along both sides of the main street. Just with one look, one could tell they were all ordinary folk houses. In addition to that, there was also a tavern, a grocery shop, and a shabby, wet, little hostel. Together with a poption of around a hundred, that was everything one could find in this tiny town!


    Right after Leon came down from the coach, he vaguely heard a loud yet muffled noise that kepting from the volcano located in the far distance. The noise didn''te at random intervals but had always lingered in Leon''s ears ever since he had approached the region. When at the outer perimeter, it wasn''t that clear, and was just like the muffled thunder one could hear in the wilderness during winter. But, when he came into this tiny town, he was immediately amazed by the mightiness of Mother Nature.


    This, perhaps, was the noise caused by the restless underground activity of the volcano!


    At the thought that the residents of the town had to live in such an environment year in and year out, Leon just couldn''t hold down his curiosity. What was the reason behind them willingly enduring such a harsh environment and staying in this ce?


    Although currently, the resting period of Cotopaxi Volcano was approaching, the dense dust cloud was still bursting out from the crater that was located in a far of distance at high altitude. The town was built fewer than seven miles from the foot of the volcano and because of volcanic activity the sky was forever hazy. No matter if it was outside or inside the town, whether it was in the buildings or on the stony pavement, everything was nketed with a thickyer of volcanic ash.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Inside the hostel, there was an Advanced Apprentice waiting for Leon. His name was Ivan. Judging from the badge pinned on the chest of his gray long robe, he came from the local Mage Family, the Zuber Family. The Cotopaxi Volcano was a family resource site they owned and no visiting Mage could step into the volcano without getting their permission prior.


    When Ivan saw Leon was just an Advanced Apprentice, he could hardly believe it and was unable to hold down his emotion. Then, with a cold voice, he said, "Even during the resting period, the inner area of the volcano isn''t a safe ce. It is filled with terrifyingly hot airflow and Magmakin. Are you sure you can survive in a ce like that?"


    In an indifferent manner, Leon ran his eyes around the main hall of the hostel. He then casually waved his hand a few times in the air, revealing a magical talisman burning with fire element hovering in midair. Of course, his behavior attracted the eyes of everyone at the scene. The people who were sitting around the six to seven tables in the hall immediately turned their gazes over to him.


    Honestly speaking, after Leon had stepped over the threshold of the Inferno Body and after he was injected with the energy from the undergroundva pool, his more than two-meter tall body was rather offending to the eyes. Yet, his long, dark red hair, and the reserved aura of cruelty and brutality had also given him an extraordinary bearing that could easily attract people''s gazes.


    "Eh, so you''re a Fire Element Apprentice! Then the hard underground environment will bring little effect to you. So long you can avoid those hateful Magmakin, perhaps, you can pay a visit to a deeper area!" Ivan nodded his head, took out a white stone, and handed it over to Leon.


    It was the visiting permit for him that allowed him to enter the inner area of volcano a few dayster!


    "Go and talk with them! All the people you find in this hall are visiting apprentices who havee here for the mission. If you can form a team with them, it will be easier for you toplete the mission!" Since he had discovered that Leon was a Fire Element Apprentice, Ivan disyed a warmer reception.


    Leon nodded his head to express his understanding and then slowly walked toward the hall, gradually gazing at all of the unfamiliar faces who were chitchatting across the tables in low voices. At the end, he decided to sit at a table alone.


    For this underground trip, his primary goal was toplete his Inferno Body, and he wasn''t too eager to get the rewards of the mission. Therefore, he had no intention to form a team with other apprentices. That was also why he had been putting up a cold look upon his arrival. It prevented any strangers from talking with him, as he wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble.


    All Apprentice Mages were acute observers. Since Leon had put up an invisible barrier around him, naturally, no one woulde and bother him. Meanwhile, Leon took the opportunity to slowly observe the entire situation around this group of apprentices, so that he could make any necessary preparations for future.


    The main hall of the small hostel wasn''t big and it was dim. There were approximately seventeen Apprentice Mages; only two of them were Pseudo-Mages and the rest were the same as Leon, Advanced Apprentices. In fact, this demographic matched the characteristics of this mission.


    In order to harvest the resources at the underground volcano, on one hand, they had to endure the influence from the extreme environment, on the other hand, they had to deal with Magmakin, Fire Spirits, and other elemental creatures who inhabited the ce. Therefore, Advanced Apprentice was the lowest requirement for this mission!


    Leon came to a conclusion, that among all these Advanced Apprentices, more than half of them must have Fire as their affinity element. While the rest of them may not be Fire element apprentices, they would be fellows with extreme confidence in themselves. And, the reason why there were so few Pseudo-Mages? It was because resource harvesting missions like this dependedrgely on one''s luck.


    If they were lucky, they might bump into a Fire Diamond mine that was exposed after theva subsided. But, if they were out of luck, the story of someone returning with empty hands after three months of the mission was not a rare asion either.


    At that point in time, not only would they not receive any mission rewards, they even had topensate the portion of resources required by the mission from their own stores.


    Therefore, if not for a special need, no Pseudo-Mage would visit the underground volcano and test their luck.


    After getting hold of the rough situation of the mission''s apprentices, Leon hurried through a meal before he went in his own room and never came out again. He had arrived rather early, and there were still five days before the resting period of the volcano. So, for the next few days, he never stepped out from the room and even asked the servant to send his meals straight to his room.


    Using the few days of spare time he had, Leon put in all his effort and arduously researched about the Ring of Fire. He had a feeling that the advanced Fire element defensive magic spell was the perfect match to his Inferno Body. If he could master it sooner, it was highly possible that he could form a Protective me simr to that of a Balrog of Abyss. If he really seeded, anyone who tried to attack him would have to first suffer from constant fire damage. It fit better with his treacherous mentality of killing the enemy in the dark.


    During this period, there were a couple of Apprentice Mages who paid him a visit, trying to pull him into their exploration teams. Leon turned all of them down. Therefore, after a few rounds of rejections, all of the Advanced Apprentices who would visit the underground volcano had learned about the guy who had the intention of visiting the volcano alone.


    As they were all able to be Advanced Apprentices, none of them were people with simple minds. They realized that a guy who had the courage to do that was someone who had extreme confidence in his trump cards. As a result, no one made any thoughtlessments about him. However, many of them were secretly waiting to see some shit happen to Leon!


    Soon, the day everybody was waiting for arrived!


    On this very day, the loud rumble that kept lingering in everybody''s ears finally came to aplete stop.


    The towering dust pir in the far distant sky started to scatter and the shower of volcanic dust that had never stopped also reduced gradually and eventually came to aplete stop.


    Leon, who was quietly studying a book in his room, felt the changes in the outside world. He pushed open the wooden window pane and looked into the street. Without hesitation, he packed everything around him and walked out from the room. Simr to him, many apprentices prepared themselves, and they nodded their head at each other in the corridor as they gathered in the main hall of the hostel.


    Ivan, who was responsible for leading the group, was waiting in the main hall.


    After another fifteen minutes, when all twenty apprentices had arrived, the group left the hostel, following behind Ivan as they rushed to the foot of the volcano.


    For this group of Apprentice Mages, a distance of seven to eight miles was nothing. In less than fifteen minutes, the group came to a natural cave located halfway up the volcano. Two Pseudo-Mages from Zuber Family were waiting for them here. After verifying everybody''s visiting permit, only then did they let them into the cave.


    It was not a big cave and it only upied around seventy square meters of area. Inside the cave, countless rocks with sharp edges and limestone were arranged in a crisscross pattern. Most probably, it was the tunnel that led to the depth of the volcano, as no moss, lichen or any simr things could be found here. Large cracks and deep trenches filled the wall on the both sides, and frequently, hot airflow that could cook a person instantly would burst out from them.


    Perhaps because the undergroundva had just subsided not long ago, even the ground in the cave was boiling hot. The air inside of the tunnel was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur. Without a unique approach, when an ordinary human stayed in this dirty air for more than ten minutes, his body would be invaded by the poisonous fire, turning his trachea and lungs into a sack full of blood.


    But, no hardship in this environment could bring any harm to the apprentices who had the courage to visit the ce. One after another, protective barriers of different colors emerged and covered them inside, isted from any distractioning from the outside. Leon didn''t show off his Inferno Body, but instead cast an Inferno Force Field around him.


    Quietly, he looked to the left and right, noticing eight apprentices had cast a simr Fire element defensive magic spell. They upied nearly half of the entire twenty apprentices. Yet, the rest of them were either Earth or Wind element apprentices, and he couldn''t find any Water element apprentices. Presumably, those apprentice with Water as their affinity element wouldn''t want to suffer in an environment like this.


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    Compared to other spectrums of the element, when residing in a harsh environment like this, not only those Water element apprentices would have a hard time in gathering Water Elementiums, the strength and effect of their magic spell would also be reduced by at least seventy percent. So long their brain was functioning properly, none of them woulde to this ce and torture themselves!


    When the group arrived at this ce, they split up into their own smaller teams.


    Few apprentices who had formed a team gathered together, and the Fire element apprentice among them cast a Fire element resistance spell on everyone in the team. After that, they simply squeezed into the tunnel without saying anything else. The residual temperature within the tunnel was still very high. In a narrow space like this, if they encountered an unexpected hot airflow burst of a major scale, even Advanced Apprentices would have to face a life-endangering situation.


    Therefore, after wishing everyone good luck, the group split up and entered different tunnels, disappearing into the depths of the volcano.


    Leon noticed that the Apprentice Mages from the Zuber Family didn''t follow any visiting apprentices into the tunnel. It looked like they were more familiar with the terrain of this area, and they had a more convenient destination to visit. There was no need to try their luck by poking around like the visiting apprentices.


    Leon shook his head and sighed. Then, he scrunched his body and squeezed into one of theva tunnels.


    .


    2258 Words

 Chapter 126 Spa

    Compared to the Underground World at the Underground Cave region, the volcanic cave in this ce was more dangerous and frightening.


    All the tunnels were created by the violent geologic activity of the volcano, they were actually cracks and channels made forva to flow freely. Thus, it was a ce filled with uncertainty.


    Perhaps, when you were walking in the middle of a red-hot tunnel, a sudden burst of hot air from a crack in the wall could bake you into a pile of charred bones. You might also take a wrong step and fall into a bottomless valley, eventually diving into ava pool that could melt you entirely in seconds.


    Though the volcano had gradually entered its resting period, at some random areas, violent geologic activity still existed. And if the sudden sinking of strata happened right next you, it was most probable that you would be crushed into meat paste by the cave that suddenly closed up or by the shifting of the stratum.


    Therefore, when walking around in a ce like this, one would really have to pay extra attention to the stability of the surrounding rock strata.


    Absolute safety never existed here, each and every single apprentice had to be extreme cautious, so that they could avoid getting themselves dragged into sudden changes of the terrain.


    However, danger not only came from the shifting of terrain in this volcano, most of it were actuallying from the unique creatures that inhabited this region ¨C Fire Spirits, Lava Hounds, Fire Lizards, me Imps, Guardian of mes... one could easily find more than dozens of Fire element creatures that were named here, yet, there were still countless unnamed creatures hiding in every corner of the ce.


    These Fire element creatures who lived by fire and feasted on fire had called this volcano their home, constructing a unique food chain in this world ofva. Of course, the ones who stood on top of the food chain would certainly be the dreadful Molten Giants. They were like a group of ming giants who possessed a high intelligence, and owned some frightful element abilities that were not weaker than human Mages.


    It was a pity that they were overly dependent on the environment to live their lives, as once they left the world of volcanoes, their overall strength would be slowly, but constantly reduced. Therefore, all Molten Giants lived in the deepest areas of this underground volcano, and could hardly be seen in the outside world. With the abilities of ordinary Apprentice Mages, it was insufficient for them to visit such a deep area within the world of volcano, thus, it was nearly impossible for them to bump into each other.


    And yet, the ones who took the ce at the bottom of this food chain would most probably be those disgusting me Imps. They look simr to Goblins, but their skins were red. Also, they didn''t have any flesh or blood, but were a product mixed from balls of source mes and some broken consciousnesses.


    They would shuttle back and forth betweenva tunnels while chattering like magpies, searching everywhere for the area dense with Fire Elementiums. They would also attack any outsiders who intruded into the areas where they were residing, and their attack methods were rather primitive ¨C by shooting fire arrows. Once they realized they couldn''t defeat their opponent, they would simply dive into a randomva pool or hot me and flee to another ce within split seconds.


    If a treasure hunter let a me Imp escape in front of him, then within a very short period of time, his surroundings would be flooded by a swarm of me Imps.


    But, these me Imps were extremely poor. When you exhausted all mental efforts and eliminated them, what you would most probably get was a pile of volcanic ash, and there wouldn''t be any other war trophies you could find. On this point alone, the value of me Imps was far lower than that of Fire Spirits. Though Fire Spirit were also stood at the bottom of the food chain in this volcano world, once they were eliminated, you could at least obtain some broken element cores, far better than me Imp who gave nothing.


    me Imps possessed the abilities of Fire Arrow and Fire Teleportation, if they were ced in the outside world, they would be a nasty type of element creature. However, in this volcanic world where everything had a very strong fire resistance, their bizarre abilities were useless when using against other fire element creatures.


    And this, was the root cause as to why they were reduced to the bottom of the food chain!


    Leon chose not to travel with others. Alone, he squeezed into one of theva tunnels and ran with quick steps through the passage that led downwards. There weren''t any straight paths in this ce, and no tunnels with regr shapes could be seen either. Every path would wind and twist following the changes in the terrain, and there were many forks along the way.


    This world of volcano was like an enormous beehive, the paths within were rough and rugged, and between each tunnel were caves of different sizes. When walking in this ce, if one didn''t have any method to identify his way, it was really easy to get trapped in this gigantic maze, and eventually be killed by the heat after depleting all food and water.


    Nevertheless, this was not a problem for Leon at all. Not only that, the deeper he traveled into the world of volcano, the more active and restless the blood and flesh of his entire body became. They were rejoicing and cheering for how dense the Fire Elementium in this ce were. Even without putting up an element protection, the misty red glow lingering about his body would never bring any harm to him, instead, they actually brought him some benefits.


    But, for the sake of appearances, he had to put up his Inferno Force Field, so that his clothes wouldn''t be burned off by the high temperature. After all, he was a human, and he didn''t have the habit of running naked like those Fire element creatures!


    He had no map, yet he didn''t need one. Leon never showed any hesitation when he arrived at all forks on his way, he just kept striding forward and heading deep underground. In fact, the beacon that guided his way was the density of the Fire Elementiums in the air! He hadn''te here for treasure hunting, but to go to a ''spa''. Thus, wherever Fire Elementium were denser, he would head that way.


    The twists and turns in passages might fool him, but the Fire Elementium hovering in the air would never lie to him. Hence, without missing any turns, he arrived in front of a smallva pool.


    This ce was not considered the depths of the volcano world; it was just a sunken region that existed naturally. Thus, after most of the moltenva subsided back into the underground, a small portion of it was trapped in this hole, forming a smallva pool.


    Right now, a group of me Imps and a Lava Hound were seen gathering in this ce, swimming and floating in theva pool, and pouring the boiling hotva onto their body happily.


    Within this group of monsters, it was obvious that the Lava Hound had a higher status, as alone it had upied nearly half the space. While the rest of the me Imps could only squeeze together on the other side of the pool, none of them daring to step closer to the Lava Hound.


    When they saw that a human had suddenlye through the tunnel and stood in front of them, the Lava Hound, who had a very strong sense of territory, became the first to jump out from theva pool, blocking Leon. It slightly crouched down its body, opened up its huge mouth where scorching hot me could be seen dancing inside, and let out a deep growl in a threatening manner.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    So, this was the Lava Hound?


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    Leon stopped, blue light could be seen flickering in his dark eyes, as he kept scanning on the internal structure of this peculiar creature in front.


    It was a Fire element creature whose size simr to that of a tiger''s back on Earth in his previous life. Most parts of its body were molded from boiling hot half-moltenva, and scorching hot mes enshrouded the surface of its body. When this Lava Hound opened its ferocious mouth and howled at Leon, the searingva that dripped from its sharp fangs could even pierce small holes on the ground.


    This was a sign that theva found on its body was stronger than that found in the natural world, and the Fire Elementium soaking in them was more violent and more corrosive.


    A momentter, the biological information about this creature as scanned by the Chip was projected into Leon''s mind.


    Lava Hound. A unique half-element creature of the Underground Volcano World.


    Overall strength level: Intermediate Apprentice.


    Body Attribute: Strength ¨C 9, Agility ¨C 13, Physique ¨C 10, Spirit ¨C 8.


    Abilities: High-speed Charge, ming Jump, me Throw, Ferocious Bite.


    Part of this information was constructed after analyzing the body structure of the Lava Hound, while the other was supplemented by the information found in books. When both informations merged, all its secrets werepletely revealed in front of Leon.


    Though the Chipbeled this Lava Hound as having the overall strength of an Intermediate Apprentice, in this unique environment, an ordinary Intermediate Apprentice would find it tough to defeat it.


    Right when Leon had found out all the secrets of this Lava Hound, his silence hadpletely provoked the creature.


    The powerful hind leg of Lava Hound forcefully kicked on the ground, catapulting itsrge body into the air and leaping towards Leon and forcefully mmed into the Fire Shield that Leon had just summoned.


    A deep, muffled boom echoed out.


    The Lava Hound''s body brushed the Fire Shield and dodged to Leon''s sides, with just a twist of its heavy and agile body, it had once again repositioned itself, and leapt towards the opponent once again. Yet right at this very moment, four vividly deep w marks hadn''tpletely faded away from the Fire Shield.


    The Lava Hound forcefully mmed onto the Fire Shield once again!


    This time, the Fire Shield could no longer withstand the attack from the ming ws and the powerful impacting from the heavy body of Lava Hound. With a loud rumble, it exploded into fragments of fire that shot in all directions.


    Following the waving movement of the Fire Lord''s Scepter in Leon''s hand, a new Inferno Shield popped up from his body, knocking back the Lava Hound who had taken the opportunity tounch another attack.


    Leon frowned. It looked like the Fire Shield of Beginner Apprentice level could hardly help in the current battle of such magnitude. Even an ordinary Lava Hound could break it with just two rounds of attack. Presumably, if he was facing with stronger Fire element creature, this Fire Shield wouldn''t be stronger than a soap bubble.


    Yet, the Inferno Shield had proved itself to be the upgraded version of Fire Shield, as its defensive strength was at least five to six times stronger. Leon remained standing where he was, letting the Lava Hound continuouslyunch attack after attack. The Inferno Shield took nearly ten rounds of attacks before its energy was depleted to a stage of near copse.


    Through his experiences from the battle, Leon modified some necessary parameters of his strategy. After that, he had no mood to keep ''ying'' with this Lava Hound anymore. An element core was tossed out, and a gigantic Rock Snake, nearly upied half of the space in this cave, immediately poked its head out from the ground.


    Looking at this new intruder who appeared out of nowhere, the Lava Hound still leaped forward without caring about its own safety, wanting to defend its own territory to thest drop of its blood. But too bad, when facing against the Rock Snake, who had the advantage of a bigger body, the offensive ability which the Lava Hound was proud of was just a joke. Before it could bite off a few chunks of rock from the Rock Snake''s body, its body had fallen by the brutal bite of the Rock Snake, resulting in total disintegration of its body.


    After the Lava Hound''s body fell apart, from theva rocks that scattered around, Leon picked up a Fire Stone that was still burning violently. This, was the only valuable thing he could find from the body of this Lava Hound!


    Leon stayed at where he was and examining the Fire Stone, while the Rock Snake continued its way and slithered towards the remaining me Imps.


    A shower of Fire Arrows fell onto the grayish green head of the Rock Snake, only managing to leave behind holes the size of a chicken egg. For the Rock Snake whose entire body made from hard rock, a damage like this could even bepared to a gentle tickle. It slithered in front of them, using its huge mouth to chomp, its long tail to m, and its body to crush. Very soon, most of the me Imps were eliminated.


    Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the rest of the me Imps quickly dove into the scorching me dancing above the boilingva pool, disappeared without a trace. Soon, the entire cave had finally be quiet!


    ...


    2276 Words

 Chapter 127 Deep

    Once peace and quiet returned to this ce once again, those disturbing Fire element creatures had long left the scene.


    Dragging its heavy and long body, the Rock Snake was slithering around the outer perimeter and on high vignce. Meanwhile, Leon took off all his clothes and while fully naked, walked into theva pool step by step.


    The boiling moltenva quickly flooded to his ankles, then to his calves and then his thighs. Whenever a bubble stirred up by his movement broke, steaming hot airflow with the temperature of at least few hundred degrees would burst out from it. And yet, it seemed like Leon couldn''t feel anything, as he continued to march deeper into the pool, allowing the sticky and scorching hotva to devour his body, and eventually, his head.


    Following the injecting of the frightful high temperatures into his body at a steady pace, Leon felt as if every single cell in his body was cheering and rejoicing. However, though the Fire element energy inside of his body was soaring at an incredible speed, he couldn''t felt the same pleasure he hadst time, where both his body and Spirit were improving at the same time.


    As if... as if thisva pool wascking a fundamental element that allowed his Inferno Body to progress.


    Leon stood up from theva pool, wonderingly, he ran his eyes around the area. Finally, he couldn''t hold on anymore and asked out his question, "Chip, give this situation a thorough analysis. Tell me what is the reason that is preventing Inferno Body from continuing its progress?"


    In next second, countless messages of analysis rolled off his vision, and disappeared at the end, leaving behind only the final conclusion. The most possible reason why thisva pool couldn''t elerate the progress of the Inferno Body was that it wasn''t connected to the volcano core located at the deepest level. Thisva pool was just a small region of leftoverva after all theva had subsided to the underground, and it had lost direct connection to the core of theva.


    Seemed like it was meaningless for him to keep visiting the outer perimeter. Only by traveled deeper underground and finding thevake that directly connected to the core, would this trip be well worthwhile.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nevertheless, it didn''t mean by having a bath in thisva pool brought no benefit to him. Leon sent out his spirit and prated through the sticky and scorchingva, and very soon, he discovered some strange objects underneath the pool.


    Leon walked into the direction of South East within the pool, using Inferno Force Field he pushed away the surroundingva, exposing the red-hot pool wall. He passed the Fire Lord''s Scepter to his left hand, while gathering some violent Fire element energies on his right hand. Then, he forcefully pierced his right hand into the spongy pool wall.


    When he pulled his right hand out from the wall, a chicken-egg-sized rock was seen tightly gripped in his palm. Following the injecting of raging Fire element energy, the outeryer of the rock started to melt like hot wax, eventually, revealing a dazzling red glow together with a sizzling heat wave.


    An underground Fire Diamond!


    It had only been the size of a human thumb. Judging from its color, it was merely an intermediate quality Fire Diamond. However, just an ordinary Fire Diamond like this could be sold at a hefty price of 120 magic crystals in any arcane shop. Also, for all Apprentice Mages who visited deep into the volcano, they just needed to submit five simr Fire Diamonds, and they would be considered as fulfilling the portion of resources required by the mission. As for any other things they harvested, they could be treated as personal rewards for the apprentice.


    Since this ce brought him no significant help, Leon had no intention of staying any longer. He hurriedly put on his clothes, took the Rock Snake and rushed to the next destination with a high density of Fire Elementiums.


    One hourter, there was still not a single soul in this underground cave, but, bizarrely, a light sound of footsteps suddenly echoed out.


    A momentter, a vague figure with the shape of a human was revealed within the boiling heat wave right beside the edge of theva pool.


    This was a young male with a long brown hair hanging loosely on his shoulders. He had a somber and stern face. Mystical and profound magical runes were seen fully drawn on his exposed neck, giving him a touch of wickedness.


    He was one of the visiting Pseudo-Mages who Leon paid special attention to previously.


    He seemed startled right when he arrived at the cave. As a Pseudo-Mage, he always acted alone, as he felt disdain to be in the same group as those rookies. Relying on his strange ability of invisibility, most of the Fire element creatures in this ce couldn''t find any trace of him, allowing him to avoid most of the unnecessary battles, eventually arriving at this cave smoothly.


    However, from the burning fragments ofva rocks left over by the Lava Hound, and the volcanic ashes of the me Imps, together with the traces found on the ground left behind by somerge crawling creature from the surface, he came to a conclusion that this ce was visited by someone else before.


    Quietly, Tamora stood at the edge of theva pool with his back straight, using his spirit to give the surroundings a quick scan. He found nothing. It looked like even if there were creatures here, they had be the war trophies of the person who hade before him.


    How could it be possible that someone was faster than him? Could it have been the other Pseudo-Mage?


    Having his mind filled with questions, Tamora had no choice but made ast-minute change to his route. He didn''t want to follow behind another expert and feast on the crumbs from the table. He had three months of time, and it was more than enough for him to dig out sufficient magical crystals to support his two years of consumption.


    ...


    During the second half of his journey, Leon had stopped behaved timidly like he had previously, and became bold and enthusiastic.


    Sitting high up on the body of Rock Snake, he let it crush through one after anotherva tunnel like a bulldozer. When a tunnel wasrge enough, they would charge through it. When a tunnel was too small, once the Rock Snake squeezed through, it would be big enough.


    Anyhow, with the self-repairing speed of Rock Snake, the mild scratching and damage on its body could cause no real damage to it.


    Throughout their journey, when they encountered some smaller sized Fire element creatures, the Rock Snake would simply crush them. If it were some middle-sized creatures, it would first forcefully mmed and break the creature''s body, then continued by crushing over it. As for the desperate counterattacks put out by these Fire element creatures, they could barely bring additional tiny wounds onto the Rock Snake''s body, let alone stop it from pushing through.


    Leon didn''t even bother toe down and pick the Fire Stones or broken cores that fell out from the bodies of these Fire element creatures. He just let the Rock Snake swallow them straightaway, and only when he needed to organize them in future, would he sort through and filter them slowly.


    Also, for every ce with a high density of Fire Elementiums, basically there would be a big or small sizedva pool. The only thing Leon needed to do was using his spirit and prate through the sticky and scorchingva, and find out those Fire Diamonds buried deep inside of rock stratum or covered inside some of the hard rocks.


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    Of course, asionally, he would discover some other magical gemstones or unique metal ores.


    Then, in the course of marching forward at great speeds, Leon saw anothermon Fire element creature.


    Fire Spirit was considered the natural spirit that numbered the greatest in this world of volcano. Usually, they took the form of a humanoid me that stood over one meter tall and could walk around freely. They didn''t have any eyes, ears, mouth, nose, or internal organs. Their bodies were totally made up of steaming hot fire, and they couldn''t be too far away from ava pool.


    For these fellows who had no corporeal body and were just a collection of Elementium, the Rock Snake could easily crush them just with its heavy and rock solid body, saving the time of putting out an intense fight. And, from penniless vagrant like these, Leon would never find anything useful.


    Fire Lizards were a type of Fire element demon beasts. They did have flesh and blood, and simr to those ordinaryrge-scale lizards, they liked to hide in the dark and sneak up on their enemies. However, these underground Fire Lizard had rough skins and thick muscles, and they also possessed the ability to spit out mes from their mouth. Not only that, they also had excellent fire resistance. They had a habit of lurking at the edge of ava pool, waiting for Fire element creatures to fall into their snare.


    The Fire Stones with a high density of Fire Elementium and the conscious cores found inside the bodies of Fire element creatures were their favorite food.


    Before came to this underground world, Leon already had an initial understanding about this world of volcano. In order to save the maximum amount of time, he had decided not to leave this ce until the end time of the mission. With that, the issue Leon needed to solve urgently was regarding food and water.


    As for water, besides having a water sack in his storage waist belt, Leon could always collect it by gathering Water Elementiums. Although his element affinity was Fire and he was in a volcanic environment, which could be extremely tough to summon his Water Elementals, he could still solve his water issue easily.


    So, the next issue he needed to solve was food!


    The food Leon brought with him could onlyst him for one week. No matter how much more food he brought, it would be really difficult to keep it for a long time in such an extreme environment. Also, as Leon couldn''t consume fire as his food like how those Fire element creatures could, searching for a new food source in this underground world had be an inevitable task.


    Yet, in this world of volcano, only Fire Lizards who were made up of flesh and blood could be used as a food source. Nevertheless, the meat of Fire Lizards was tough and tensile, and its blood had a stinky odor and was hot. If not for the fact that the Fire element energy contained within would bring a tremendous benefit to his body, Leon would never torture his stomach with this nasty food.


    Basically, these middle and small sized Fire element creatures couldn''t pose any threat to Leon. But, those Magmakins and Guardian of mes who had a stronger overall strength were difficult to handle.


    Both Magmakins and Lava Hounds were actually two different creatures with the same foundation, it just that one of them took the shape of a human, while the other looked like a hound. When facing a Lava Hound, a Rock Snake could tear it apart with just a powerful m and a ferocious bite. But when facing a Magmakin, the same tactic waspletely useless!


    Magmakin was a humanoid monster who possessed an intermediate intelligence. The outeryer of its body was undergroundva stone of all sizes, ordinary offensive magic spells could hardly prate thisyer of extremely tough rock armor. Also, they were extremely cunning creatures, and would never act like the Lava Hounds who couldn''t even judge the overall strength between itself and its enemy.


    The Magmakin liked to tenaciously defend theva pool it took it as its home, and would never allow any outsider took a step into its territory. Also, its offensive methods were rather simr to that of a Fire element Mage. For example, it would use an endless shower of spells ¨C Firestone Throwing, Ignite, mestrike or some other simr spells ¨C when it fought. Frequently, it would use these Fire element spells that blotted out the sky and turned theva cave into a sea of fire.


    When Leon bumped into a fellow like this who hid in a far distance and keptunching long-range offensive magic spells, he had no choice but tomand the Rock Snake to charge into theva pool and engage the enemy in a melee fight. Though both Rock Snakes and Magmakins were Advanced Apprentice level creatures, as the Rock Snake had the advantage of a bigger body, it had a stronger strengthpared to the opponent.


    A fierce melee battle would always break out within theva pool. Eventually, the final victor would always be the Rock Snake, who had a bigger body, a greater strength, and a better Physique.


    Nevertheless, whenever an intense battle was over, the burly body of Rock Snake would always be slimmed down. After all, it was just an Earth element golem, thus, when fighting against the same grade opponent, in the opponent''s territory, just soaking its body in theva pool would bring a huge damage to itself.


    Therefore, every time after it killed a Magmakin, the rounded and thick body of Rock Snake would always slim down by at least three times.


    The Rock Snake could defeat these Magmakins after a fierce fight, but when facing the Guardian of mes, the oue would be near impossible to predict.


    ...


    2305 Words

 Chapter 128 Lava ocean

    If the appearance of Magmakin could still be considered human-like, then the Guardian of mes would be purely a Fire element creature who had reincarnated from an evil creature.


    It had a tall and ferocious stature. Countless sharp rock peaks or spikes had covered the entire surface of its body. It had a strength simr to that of the Rock Snake, hence, when it wielded its huge rock fists and fought against the Rock Snake, the entireva cave would shake and sway violently.


    Two huge monsters shed against each other, rolling on the floor and punching each other fiercely. The massive activity and noise produced by them was not weaker than a remarkable battle between two world-ss monsters. Even Leon was forced to step back, so that he could avoid the flying debris and rocks that kept falling off from above.


    After nearly ten minutes of violently battling, the Rock Snake finally showed slight signs of defeat.


    After all, the rocky body of Rock Snake was temporarily molded using ordinary underground rocks. Inparison, the Guardian of the mes'' steel body was made up of hard ore and special steel rocks it gathered from different ces, when it was wandering in this underground world. Hence, when the Rock Snake lost its advantage in body size and strength, there was no way it could withstand attacks from a relentless opponent like this.


    For Leon, however, he always scored his victory through numerical superiority of his golems. Since he couldn''t defeat the enemy with one golem, then he could just send two of them together!


    As the result, a momentter, the second Rock Snake made its debut with a loud rumble.


    Following the debut of the second Rock Snake, the previously brutal and oppressive Guardian of mes was defeated swiftly.


    What to do? No matter how brutal and violent it was, there was no way it could withstand its body coiled up and trapped by one Rock Snake, while the other focused on biting at its head ferociously. Each Rock Snake had a clear task of their own, with their ingenious teamwork, they cut off the control this Guardian of mes'' conscious core had on its body with one blow.


    A man would die when he lost his head; a snake would lose its direction when lost its head!


    Though this Guardian of mes had the overall strength of a Pseudo-Mage, once its conscious core was pulled out from its body, its gigantic body made from steel rock instantly became a mere skeleton and tumbled down within split seconds.


    Recently, Leon had been collecting Pseudo-Mage level Fire element core. However, it seemed pretty difficult to find something that could satisfy his requirement. One of the main reason was the toughness of these Fire element creatures!


    Taking this Guardian of mes who he had just killed as an example. It owned an absolutely intrepid body made from steel rock, which ordinary magic spells could not harm at all. Along with that, it also possessed an array of powerful Fire element abilities and melee skills that brought despair to its opponent. When both of thembined together, even if a human Pseudo-Mage bumped into it, he would have to find a way to bypass this Guardian of mes and wouldn''t waste his time and energy to risk his life and fight a fruitless battle.


    Therefore, when facing a frightening fire monster like this, excluding an official Mage who had the ability to kill them surely and steadily, among all Apprentice Mages, only those Pseudo-Mages who stood at the pinnacle could defeat it after suffering a mild degree of losses. Also, within the body of this Guardian of mes, the only valuable item would be the Pseudo-Mage level conscious core. If these human Pseudo-Mages didn''t kill it swiftly and quickly with a thunderous approach, then it would be end up being a miserable event, as they usually would obtain a broken conscious core.


    All in all, because of these factors, the Pseudo-Mage level Fire element core had be scarce.


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    However, with the help of two Rock Snakes, Leon had just obtained one smoothly. The joyful emotion in his mind had made his face melt into smiles.


    Currently, besides making a great effort in expanding his knowledge regarding magic spells, he had used the rest of his time to craft a team of golems that were loyal only to him, trying his best to standardize, quantify and systematize them.


    The most vital advantage of a team of golems was their numbers, then only came theprehensiveness of their types and the cultivation of elite fighters. When having battles in different kinds of terrain, thebative ability put out by different types of golems could differ greatly.


    Like when he fought the Fairy in the Underground Cave regionst time. If Leon only had Rock Snake, then even if he summoned a couple dozens of them, he wouldn''t be able to bring any harm to that Fairy who could fly in the sky. Thus, in a situation like that, the Lighting Giant had used its high-speed movement to its advantage and had put its fierce long-range firepower into y.


    But in today''s situation, no matter how powerful the Lightning Storm and high-voltage electricity of the Lightning Giant was, most probably, it also couldn''t prate the thick skin of the Guardian of mes which was made from steel rock. Once element magic spells were useless against the enemy, the effect a peak Pseudo-Mage level Lighting Giant could bring wouldn''t be able topare to that of a Rock Snake''s, who only had the overall strength of Advanced Apprentice.


    Thus, predictably, when he had to fight with an enemy on the surface of the ocean, the golems who could bring the maximumbative abilities would be those Water Elementals.


    For this reason, increasing the number of golems and diversifying their types had be the direction that Leon was arduously working on going towards recently.


    Leon already had a certain number of backups for Earth, Wind and Water element golems, and only the team of Fire element golems took forever to build. The main reason was theck of Pseudo-Mage level Fire element cores. But after obtaining this Fire element core today, Leon had seen the light of hope in constructing his future army of Fire element golems.


    Therefore, under the deliberate control of Leon, two Rock Snakes slithered everywhere in the undergroundva tunnel, one behind the other. When they came to an ordinaryva pool, they would just skip it without taking a second look, never wasting their time on those ordinary Fire element creatures, instead, they were focused and determined to hunt for Guardian of mes.


    As the result, along their way of traveling deeper, besides obtaining two Fire Diamonds, seven Fire Stones and arge pile of different gemstones and ores, Leon also found himself four Pseudo-Mage level Fire element cores. And this, was the thing that made Leon go wild with joy!


    After running around madly for two days in this world of volcano, Leon merely passed through the shallow region of this ce and set foot into the core region of this underground volcano for the first time. From this moment on, Leon couldn''t be as bold and as wild as before, because he hade to the habitat of those Molten Giants. Once he provoked them, even with the help of a team of powerful golems, the torture would be more than Leon could ever stand.


    Basically, a Molten Giant who had just been born would possess the overall strength of an Advanced Apprentice, while those adult Molten Giants were mighty existencesparable to human Mages. If not because their survival solely depended on the endless supply of Fire element energy from the underground volcano, perhaps there would be another species of Mages that would appear on the Mage Continent.


    Undoubtedly, there was an Mage level Fire element core found in the body of an adult Molten Giant, which was a rare treasure coveted even by Leon! But, dealing with Molten Giants wasn''t as simple as dealing with the Guardian of mes. Though Guardian of mes had a strongbative strength and a smart mind, they, after all, were living in the wild and were always alone. Thus, it was pretty easy for a group of apprentices to beat them in a group.


    Yet, the intelligence of these Molten Giants was not weaker than human Mages, and they had inhabited the core regions of the volcano in the form of a big n. So, if any one of them was attacked, it would immediately attract a group of Molten Giants who came to help.


    At that point in time, it would not be the golem team who was beating the Molten Giant in a circle, but instead, them being circled by a swarm of Molten Giants!


    Whenever the vision of such terrifying scenes came into his mind, Leon just couldn''t help but tremble with fear.


    Upon entering the core region of the volcano world, the first thing Leon saw was a boundless ocean ofva. As if an enormous empty space suddenly opened up in the underground world, and the matters that filled this empty space was the slow-moving, sticky and glowing red hot moltenva.


    Throughout his journey in this ce, Leon had witnessed countlessva pool of all sizes, however, this was the first time he saw ava region where a vast amount ofva formed a boundless ocean.


    To be honest, when Leon took his first step out of the tunnel and saw the quiet, red hot ocean ofva, he nearly forgot how to breathe.


    Inside an enormous space stretched as far as eyes could see, an ocean made from steaming hotva of ck and red color was moving slowly. There was over one hundred meters of distance between the surface of theva ocean and the cave ceiling, those thick me jets frequently burst out, brightening the entire space, casting an unchanging tone of red in this ce.


    Inside of thisva ocean, besides the moltenva which was at an astonishing temperature, there were also some rock blocks with peculiar shapes floating around. Some only was the size of a washbowl, some were the size of a house. They bobbed up and down in the moltenva like inds.


    Yet, on top of these big and small inds were numerous rock pirs with strange gemstones of different colors mounted in them, shimmering like stars in the night sky. Many of them were actually Fire Diamonds the size of a human fist. One could even find Fire Diamonds the size of a human head.


    As far as the eye could see, thisva ocean was virtually a massive magical treasury vault, lying quietly here, awaiting for one to visit.


    Nevertheless, the environment here was exceptionally dreadful.


    ording to the Chip''s reading, the temperature at the border region of thisva ocean had approached one thousand degrees Celsius, yet the temperature at the inner region had reached a jaw-dropping two thousand degrees Celsius. In an environment such as this, once an apprentice lost the protection of his magic spell, even a Pseudo-Mage would face the fate of turning into a pile of charred bones in an instant.


    For Leon, he was relying on the double protection of his Fire Lord''s Scepter and Fire element affinity, only then was he able to survive in this harsh environment. Or else, not only would he be unable to dive into thisva ocean and cultivate, it would also be extremely tough for him to even get close to the region.


    Leon waved his hand and dispersed both Rock Snakes, then he picked up the two golem cores and put them away. After giving the surroundings a thorough examination and making sure it was safe, he hid all his equipment and clothes behind a pile of rocks. Then, with his jaw clenched tightly, he dove into theva ocean.


    Painful... a pain that went straight into his heart!


    Right when he stepped into theva ocean, the terrifying high temperature had brought a pain that nearly killed Leon instantly. It felt like his body was stabbed by hundreds of thousands of steel needles at the same time, the severe pain had clouded Leon''s conscious immediately.


    Like a fresh steak was ced on top of a frying pan, his skin and flesh was made sizzling noises inside of the boiling hot moltenva. Leon''s entire body was fuming with dark smoke and a burned smell started to linger in the air.


    Contrary to the torture his body was facing, Leon''s Spiritual Domain had shown an unprecedented activity. Like the flood that had just breached the dam, Fire element energies kept injecting into his body violently, washing and cleaning his body at a constant pace and at the same time, improving his Spiritual Domain bit by bit.


    Apparently, there were some mysterious, unidentified, and tough to capture elements that had entered Leon''s body together with the Fire element energies. They were strengthening Leon''s innate talent in the Fire element and forging a brand new me Body for him. This method of injecting energy was usually used by those Element Mages after they sessfully advanced into the Mage realm, as once they had a powerful Spirit to control their body, only they could withstand the violent process of body modification.


    And this, was the inevitable course for an Element Mage to transform his body into Elementiumpletely. Only when his body and spirit were at the same frequency and essence, could hey a solid foundation for the future, which was transforming his spirit into Elementium.


    So, when Leon, with the weak overall strength of an Apprentice Mage, tried to set foot in a territory that only official Mages could handle, it was inevitable that he had to suffer some torture!


    ...


    2329 Words

 Chapter 129 Enhancement

    Only by facing cmities could a person truly grow!


    At the edge of thisva ocean filled with infinite and copious fire energies, what Leon obtained was not only being able to gather the Fire element energy. His innate talent affinity to Fire element was like a stranded fish put back into the water, allowing him to sense the progress of his Inferno Body at every single second.


    If not because deep in his mind, the real-time data transmitted by the Chip was refreshing the progress of his Inferno Body continuously, perhaps Leon would have long given up and back off from theva ocean, as he couldn''t endure the severe pain that made him feel like he was being cooked by the raging mes.


    Under the impact of an even more violent Fire element energies, the Inferno Body, which had stopped its progress since Leon had left the World of Deep Red in Underground Cave Region and had been stuck in the progress of 17%, started to skyrocket, cing him in both a state of pain and of joy!


    18%...


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    19%...


    20%...


    ...


    ...


    The strengthening of his Fire element innate talent had also spurred the self-evolution of his corporeal body. Under the scrubbing from the raging Fire element energy, some internal organs, flesh and tissues that didn''t match with his Fire element innate talent were baked into coke and incinerated into ashes. Meanwhile, with the support of the powerful energy, new body parts had quickly regenerated, recing the position of those old ones.


    Originally, this was a chaotic and disorderly process, and was basically carried out automatically by body instincts. However, with the refine control the Chip had over the body, Leon was able to ovee the severe pain he felt on his body, and focus his spirit on the bnce between the speed of the Fire element energy entering his body and the speed of regeneration on his body parts.


    No doubt having both Spirit and body evolving at the same time was a good thing, but it had to be controlled to an appropriate rate. Without a strong Physique, no ordinary apprentice could withstand this overly violent modification of body. Hence, only after soaking his body in theva ocean for two minutes, after the progress of Inferno Body increased from 17% to 23%, Leon had no choice but to grit his teeth and get out.


    When he climbed out to the shore filled with rubble, the boiling hot half-moltenva was rolling off his body, making the volcanic rocks underneath his feet burn and produce sizzling noises. When all theva left his body, an ugly body of ck and red was revealed.


    The darkened part was his skin that had turned into coke and started to peel off within the mes of frightening temperatures. The red part was his newly regenerated flesh, the crimson tissue was exposed directly under the high temperature and heat, but clearly, they possessed a higher resistance and endurance toward the deadly fire.


    Though, the body in the past was part of Leon, but obviously, it wasn''t fitted perfectly for his Fire element energy. Now, after going through the modification as the result of having copious Fire element energy injected into his body, together with the help from his powerful flesh-regeneration ability, it had formed into a brand new body that perfectly matched with his innate ability.


    However, a body modification like this couldn''t bepleted in one go!


    After all, Leon''s Physique was still very weak. Doing it in one go would be an overly brutal process, and it was very easy for the bnce of the body to copse. That was why he only scratched the surface of it. When the Chip detected his body had reached the limit of his endurance, it immediately gave him the warning, which led him to halt the cultivation of Inferno Body at once.


    Right at this very moment, his body looked slimmer than before, however, it had be dapper. Nevertheless,pared to the glorious look on the outside, all his internal organs, bones and tendons were now fully filled with cracks and wounds of different sizes. Before he could fix all these injuries, he had to temporarily stop this overly violent body modification.


    He had given himself a brief moment to rest at the shore, once he finally got used to this body, Leon put on his clothes, squeezed into one of theva tunnels in the wall without looking back.


    At a ce half an hour distance from theva ocean, Leon found himself a half-istedva cave. After modifying it slightly, he had turned it into his temporary base camp. Perhaps, within this period of time, he would have to dwell here days and nights, waiting patiently for his body to recover.


    He summoned a Rock Snake, using its thick body to block off the only entrance to the cave. With that, he wouldn''t have to worry about enemies sneaking up on him when he was sleeping. After all, the Rock Snake''s body was made up of rock, as long as it coiled up its body, and reduced the frequency of its consciousness, it could disguise itself well as a rock wall.


    Leon took out a small pile of Fire Stones and ced them inside a small hole located at the center of the cave, using them as his fuel, he started to cook a magical energy meal set himself. As his ingredients were the flesh of a Fire element creature, it only required a simple roasting. After he was done, Leon immediately wolfed down to heal his hunger.


    It was worth to mention, following the improvement of his Physique and Strength, those meats of demon beast which were overly tough and sour to him in the past, had be one of the recipes of his diet. Though every time after he finished eating them, his cheek would hurt for quite a long time. However, whenever he sensed thefortable energy slowly released inside of his body, he thought that the torture wasn''t that hard to endure at all!


    When he finished eating the magical energy meal set, Leon poured another gallon of clean water into his mouth, only then he satisfyinglyid down on a soft nket ced beside and went into deep slumber. This time, he didn''t perform his meditation. His broken body could no longer withstand any more changes, and only the soundest sleep would bring him into the state of worried-free, which was the thing he needed the most now!


    While indulging in a sound sleep, little to his knowledge, right at this moment, within theva ocean, something rted to him was happening.


    Not knowing which time of the day, an extremely bizarre battleship had drifted into thisva ocean.


    Why was it described as bizarre? Because this battleship was modified from a floating rocky ind. The rugged and rough rocks made the ship look tattered. There weren''t any sails on the ship, and vaguely, there were some tall and burly figures onboard.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was a group of tall rock men that looked rather like rock golems. Their bodies were entirely pieced up together with granite of high hardness. Numerousrge cracks could be found on the surface of their bodies which stood four-meters-tall, high-temperature mes could be seen leaking from these cracks, forming into balls of frightening mes which took different colors.


    For those adults, the mes protecting their bodies were the color of gold, while the juveniles had a crimson color me.


    They had the body and limbs that looked exactly like those of a human, and had rugged heads. However, their facial features weren''t arranged in a regr and neat pattern like those on a human''s, but more like messily ced rock formations.


    At the position of their eyes were two deep holes, vaguely, one could see the gleams of magical gemstone shining from them. Their nose and ears looked exactly like ck beehives, while their mouth was simplyrge rifts that stretched across their faces. If they were fully opened, they could easily swallow a wild boar in one bite.


    This mysterious battleship was swiftly sailing through the sticky moltenva, avoiding those big chunks of floating inds on its way. As for those smaller rocks, they simply crushed through them, smashing them into pieces and turning them into debris that floated on the surface of theva ocean.


    From time to time, the tall giants on the ship would bow down on the side of the ship, poking theirrge palm into the high-temperatureva, and scoop up one after another magical gemstone or metal ore that emitted a unique element rhythms.


    For these guardians who were patrolling theva ocean, not all things could meet the fancy of their eyes. Whenever they scooped up one object, they would bring it in front of their face and give it a careful examination and would only toss those with excellent colors into ship''s deck. The entire deck of the massive battleship had been fully filled with a thickyer of war trophies.


    As for those magical gemstones or metal ores of ordinary colors, the tall giants would toss them back into theva ocean, let them eventually melt down and became part of the vastva ocean.


    Theva ocean was like a super gigantic furnace, sinking all the waste and sediment to the bottom, yet pushing the most beautiful treasures to the surface, waiting for the arrival of these Sons of the ming Ocean.


    As the Sons of the ming Ocean who had lived their entire lives in this world of volcano, the Molten Giants were the natural rulers of this realm. Not only did each of them possess a formidable overall strength individually, each also had a high intelligence and rtivelyplicated social structure.


    There were seven Molten Giants onboard this battleship ofva rock. Two of them were at Mage level, while five were at Pseudo-Mage level. This also meant that the basic deployment for ava rock battleship was two adults and five juveniles.


    The nest of these Molten Giants was located on a ring-shaped reef at the heart of thisva ocean. In order to avoid the intrusion of human Mages, they had organized four to five patrol teams who spent all day patrolling this vastva ocean.


    During ordinary times, when the volcano was at its erupting phase, their life would be rather calm and peaceful. But once the volcano entered its resting phase and the waterline in theva ocean reduced, numerous tunnels that led to their nest would be exposed. And whenever this period of the year arrived, it was also the time those human Mages sent their minions into this world of volcano.


    Those countless Fire element creatures found at the outer perimeter were actually intentionally driven out by the Molten Giants, to use as the cannon fodder to block off the path of Apprentice Mages. But there were many times, some fearful humans would still intrude into their home, stealing the supreme quality delicacies they had gatheredboriously (Supreme Fire Diamonds), and killing their juveniles that hadn''t reach their mature phase.


    Hence, whenever the resting phase of the volcano arrived, it was also the time when these Molten Giants underwent a lot of stress, as it was the dangerous period when they would increase the frequency of patrol.


    But for this time, when thisva rock battleship was slowly sailing forward along the shore of theva ocean, a tall Molten Giant, who was standing at the bow of the ship and kept sniffing with its nose, before suddenly letting out a loud roar.


    "Halt... halt... I can smell a human! Quickly stop the ship and check it out!"


    With the work put in together by all Molten Giants, theva rock battleship stopped near a pile of rocks on the bank.


    A few tall, heavy figures jumped straight onto the shore, starting to seek the trace of the scent left over by a human and any other clues.


    Soon, the ce where Leon dove into the ocean and the spot where he hid his clothes were identified by them.


    "Arghol, it looks like some human had intruded into our world again! What should we do now?" In a low, muffled voice, a juvenile Molten Giant asked.


    One of the adult Molten Giants was seen touching its chin with itsrge palm. A pondering expression emerged on its face. Finally, in a resolute manner, it said, "Send someone and report this to the Elder, ask the elder to send more help here. Three of us will stay here and search for traces of that human. Since he could bypass the blockade of Fire Beasts in such a short amount of time, he is surely a guy with bad intentions. We can''t allow him to keep wandering in our world!"


    Another adult Molten Giant agreed, so he said, "Then let me bring two little ones and bear the task! It had been many years since those human Mages invaded theva ocean, and this time, it is highly possible he is just an Apprentice Mage. I can handle an intruder like this!"


    After obtained the approval from Arghol, the leader of this group of Molten Giants, the second adult Molten Giant raised its ming arm in the air, with a soft voice, it read, "In the name of the Mighty Lord of Lava Rock, my servants, awake now!"


    Following with its loud roar, not far away from them, theva ocean started to roll and rock violently, over thirty strong and vigorous Lava Hounds made their debut by squeezing out from the surface of theva ocean, and gathering in front of the Molten Giant.


    "Go now, my servants, and help me find that damn human!"


    Upon hearing themand from this Son of the ming Ocean, these Lava Hounds threw their heads back and let out loud and sharp howls, pressing forward and sprinting into theplexva tunnels.


    Without Leon''s knowledge and sense, a great hunt targeted at him had begun!


    ....


    2360 Words

 Chapter 130 Worlds

    Leon was awoken with a start by a noisy mor.


    Outside of the cave, amotion had broken out. Even the Rock Snake, who was supposed to guard the cave entrance, had poked half of its body out and was ferociously attacking something, only blocking off the entrance with its thick tail.


    When Leon packed everything and walked out from the cave, the battle outside had ended.


    Within the not so spacious cave, seven broken Lava Hound bodies were scattered on the ground and red-hot half-moltenva was running freely everywhere. For the Lava Hounds, if rocks were their body, then the moltenva would be their blood.


    Since there was so much of their ''blood'' flowing everywhere, the chances of their survival were rather slim!


    Why were there so many Lava Hounds? Could the small cave Leon upied be their nest?


    A bunch of questions appeared in Leon''s mind, but very soon, he rejected them.


    Yesterday, when he was looking for a ce as his temporary shelter, Leon had put in quite a lot of effort. He had avoided most of the areas of activity for Fire element creatures. Under such circumstances, why was he still attacked by this pack of Lava Hounds? Also, the order he gave the Rock Snake was to defend and fight back only when it was under attack. This meant that it was the pack of Lava Hounds who had initiated the attack!


    The more he thought about it, the tighter Leon''s brows became. He had a feeling, this was not an ident, but...


    Indeed, after the Chip performed a quick search, from the description of Molten Giants, Leon saw their ability to summon andmand Fire element creatures.


    And just as he made up his mind, the noisy howls of Lava Hounds could be hearding from a fewva tunnels. Judging from the volume of noise, there was arge pack of Lava Hounds sprinting towards him.


    Damn it, the enemy hade to him! He just wondered if there was a Molten Giant in this group of approaching enemies.


    With no time to ponder further, Leon turned around and jumped into therge mouth of the Rock Snake, quickly squeezing into the tunnel that led to the upper level of the volcano. No matter where the enemy came from, the further he distanced himself from theva ocean, which was the imed home of the Molten Giants, the better!


    Moving its thick and long body, the Rock Snake forcefully squeezed into a rather narrowva tunnel. The protruding rocky scales on its body brushed across the rock wall and produced a lot of sparks, sending broken stones flying in all directions. After its entire body squeezed into the tunnel, the Rock Snake swung its tail with a tremendous force. In an instant, the entrance of theva tunnel copsed and the falling rocks quickly sealed off the entire entrance.


    At the same time, tens of Lava Hounds leaped out from nearby tunnels, yet they were blocked from going any further by the falling rocks. Like a bear with a sore head, the Lava Hounds immediately let out furious roars. While arduously digging at the piles of broken rocks, they sent out a warning to their master, who was at a far distance.


    A momentter, an adult and two juvenile Molten Giants came to the scene with heavy steps. What could they do? As their bodies were overly huge, they just couldn''t squeeze through the ordinary and narrow tunnels. Most of the time they could only travel through therge tunnels produced by the erosion of undergroundva. As for enemies who hid in narrow spaces, the Molten Giants could only rely on their Fire element creatures to chase them out.


    Upon seeing the copsed tunnels, a suddenprehension struck them.


    Under the orders of the adult Molten Giant, Alexios, the remaining Lava Hounds gave up the decision of digging a path, turned around, and leapt into a few nearbyva tunnels which were still in a good condition with the intention of intercepting the enemy by taking a circuitous route.


    Alexios turned around and gave its order to the two juveniles of its n. "There is only one enemy, and he is a mere human Apprentice Mage, so there is no danger ahead. Bring my message to Arghol: he needn''t bbor our people. I''ll hunt him down myself."


    Having finished saying that, it turned around and walked towards the tunnel that had beenpletely sealed off. Following its striding, a scorching hot me of extreme temperature burst out from its body. And, right in front of it, the once rock solid piles of broken rocks started to soften and melt, and eventually, turned into boilingva that flowed all over the ce.


    Unobstructed, using the fearful me, Alexios had melted a human-shaped tunnel in front of it, allowing it to keep striding forward at high-speed. Yet, it left a path full ofva behind, so no outsider could follow.


    However, at that time, Leon had fled to some five miles away.


    Nevertheless, in this underground world filled with twisting and winding tunnels, although he had fled for five miles, if it was measured in a straight line, it might just be a distance of four to five hundred meters. Also, the Fire Elementium contained in the rock strata here was extremely high. If the Rock Snake wished to travel through the ground like it did in the Underground Cave, it would have to consume a jaw-dropping amount of Earth Elementium.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Therefore, before reaching the most critical moment, Leon didn''t want to waste the Rock Snake''s energy.


    The pursuitsted only an hour before it ended, and it was the Molten Giant who gave up the hunt. It was as if there was a clear-cut line in their mind; once the fleeing enemy crossed that line, they wouldn''t take the risk and continue the pursuit beyond that boundary. Explore stories on empire


    Sensing the intense source of Fire chasing behind him was departing, Leon finally breathed out a long sigh of relief. He was pretty sure that it must have been an adult Molten Giant of Mage level. If he was forced to fight with a big fellow like this, even if he summoned all his golems, he would end up with a miserable defeat.


    Hecked a big guy of Earth element that could stand up against this Molten Giant, and he didn''t own any element golems that could provide maximum power in this volcanic environment. It looked like there was still a huge gap before he could construct a fully fledged golem army.


    Moreover, he could tell the Molten Giants showed great care for the younger generations of their n. With his senses, he discovered that two little Pseudo-Mage fellows hadn''t participated in the hunt and they didn''t travel alone. Undoubtedly, this increased the difficulty of capturing one of them.


    After all, with Leon''s current overall strength, he didn''t have the courage to n anything against adult Molten Giant of Mage level. Yet, there was some hope for the little guys of the Pseudo-Mage level!


    Since he had been driven off from the core region of theva ocean, Leon had nothing else could do but wander around the upper region. While waiting for the full recovery of his body, he was searching for a new route that led to theva ocean. After all, for years, this enormous volcano had been corroded by the undergroundva and hundreds of thousands ofva tunnels had been formed and interconnected like aplicated spiderweb. Thus, nearly all of the tunnels would point to the miraculous and profound world ofva. It was impossible for the Molten Giants to block off every single route.


    Without wasting any more time, when his body had fully restored to its best condition, Leon once again snuck into theva ocean. This round, he doubled the time he spent soaking in it and the progress he achieved surprised him.


    The modification progress of his Inferno Body had skyrocketed to 37%, from the previous 23%. Yet, Leon''s body had once again gone through great torture, as 1/7 of his flesh was burned off. But his booming Physique had stimted the quick regeneration of new flesh and blood.


    His body was like a factory that kept being pushed down and rebuilt. Every time, the delicate bnce constructed by the regeneration of his flesh would be broken by the strengthening of his Fire element innate talent. And when everything was pushed down, new internal organs and flesh would regrow slowly, so that they could match thetest state of his Inferno Body.


    And, within the progress of this seemingly endless loop, those modifications, that perfectly matched with his Inferno Body constitution, remained. And yet, the temporary unfitted modifications would be ced in line, waiting to be modified again.


    Initially, Leon wanted to let the Chip to participate in this process of body modification and reconstruction. But after a few small scale experiments, he had no choice but to give up the idea. Due to the constraint of his experience and vision, it was impossible for the Chip to predictively leave appropriate room for the future strengthening of his Fire element innate element. Yet, it was marvelously achieved by the instincts of his own body, amidst obscurity and out of chaos.


    Also, under the instruction from the instinct of his body, many tiny changes made to his organs were determined as useless or redundant by the Chip. However, after going through another couple rounds of body modification, to Leon''s surprise, the portions which had been deemed useless and redundant actually turned into the wless foundations for thetest modification.


    If such discovery only happened once in awhile, Leon wouldn''t be so surprised. But, following the Chip''s overall monitoring of his entire body, a simr discovery could be found in almost every modified part of his body.


    At this point, Leon was forced to stop the Chip from meddling in the process and let the instinct of the body lead the entire process. The Chip would be a general observer, recording the entire process with detailed and urate data.


    The more he observed the process, the deeper he pondered it. And that brought Leon more understanding about the ''Will of the World'' he always heard from Mages.


    The world Leon was staying in right now was just arge-scale ne inside of the enormous multi-verse. Yet, a boundless world with abundant resources like this was merely a tiny grain of sand within the depths of the vast ocean of stars.


    If Earth, and the universe where Earth was located in Leon''s previous life, was referred as a world of low-magic, then in this life of his, the ne of Mages and the multi-verse would be referred to as a world of advanced-magic. Countless energy tidal waves fully filled every inch of space in this world.


    Influenced by the copious energy tidal waves, ultism itself had transformed into a frightening force. Any world, any ne, any human, could unleash fearful power far beyond the limit of their own ability. And all this could be put together under the scope of mighty ultism!


    Back on Earth in his previous life, if someone imed that the Earth had its own conscious and possessed its own will, it would simply be a joke that made peopleugh their heads off! Because the mass of the Earth was too huge; for a massive object like this to produce its own will, it was far from enough just to rely on the materials and energy contained within itself.


    Therefore, in the world of low-magic, it was impossible for a to produce its own will!


    But... but Leon was living in a world of advanced-magic. The mighty energy tidal wave was everywhere. And this had given a solid foundation for the to give birth to its self-conscious. Of course, in this multi-verse, there weren''t anys, only nes!


    At all times, one after another, floating continents covering the insides of ne barriers were soaking in immense energy. Using their own body of boundlessnd, they carried massive amounts of dirt, sand, rocks, trees, woods, forests, mountains,kes, oceans, metal, mines, minerals, andst but not least, hundreds of thousands of living creatures of different species. No matter if it was just an ordinary rock or a mighty Mage who stood at the pinnacle of the world, they were all part of the ne.


    Innumerable materials, millions upon millions of living beings of different species, together with the immense energy tidal wave; all of these had provided a solid foundation for the birth of the collective consciousness. Perhaps the prime form of the Will of the World was this collective consciousness, as it was the grand fusion of the countless living beings and elementary materials found within its body. But, as time went on, the ne became stronger, and a vague, incorporeal conscious of the ne was born, virtually.


    ...


    2179 Words

 Chapter 131 Cemetery

    With the massive scale of a ne, the Will of the ne born within could never be as nimble and as witty as a human brain, which answered to every single plea it received.


    Nevertheless, the basic likes and dislikes were no different from a normal human!


    Every single individual who lived in its bosom, regardless of if they were living beings with consciousness, or rocks and woods without any consciousness, they were all humble existences that formed the entire Will of the ne. If a ne waspletely sealed off and the resources and living beings contained within maintained at the same volume, then the Will of the ne would lose its opportunity to evolve and be stronger.


    Only by diligently keeping what it owned and seizing the resources required for its growth from outside of its own body could the Will of the ne continue to grow stronger. Eventually, this would allow it to awaken and be an even mightier existence.


    As a major scale ne, obviously, the Mage Continent had long given birth to its own mighty conscious that solely belong to itself, which had then transformed into the Will of the World that perfectly matched the Mage Continent.


    And, after the birth of this Will, the only method to control this ne was using the Hand of Principle that took no shape and was nothingness. Thus, every single material and living being that existed in this ne was bound by the power of countless principles.


    Wood could produce fire, fire could melt metal, metal could chop down trees and break rocks, while earth bore the weight of everything, dirt gave birth to life, and water nourished and cherish all things... yet all of this was just the surface of the world. The ultimate hand that controlled and guided everything behind was the ubiquitous invincible Principle of the ne.


    Even the supreme Mages, who imed they could conquer every ne and were formidable enough topete with deities, couldn''t ignore the existence of the Principle of the ne and act wantonly.


    Therefore, the stronger an Mage became, the deeperprehension he had for the Will of the World, while weaker living beings would only have a vague feeling towards everything. Just like the evolution of Leon''s Inferno Body, at a given time, the Will of the ne had shown its existence.


    There was no God nor Deity here, but a selfless Will of the ne hiding in the depths of the ne, quietly but surely pushing the course of the world in an orderly fashion. Any behavior that was of benefit to the evolution of the ne would receive positive feedback from the vague Will, which eventually improved the individual''s degree of mastery and control toward the Principle of the ne.


    As for the behavior which defied the Will of the ne, it would attract ''its'' dislike, and thus make the individual a target that was hated by every single living being of that particr ne.


    And yet for Leon, it was through the monitoring of and analyzing the overall data of his body that he noticed that there was a huge, invisible hand who controlled everything inside of the ne. Otherwise, if he had really thought this was just an unconscious behavior that was put out by the instinct of the body, it would be an insult to his intelligence.


    And if an Apprentice Mage wished to be an official Mage, it seemed that one of the thresholds he had to step over was the understanding of the Principle of the ne. Otherwise, why was there such a huge gap between a Pseudo-Mage with 20 Spirit and an Mage with 21 Spirit?


    His mind filled with questions, when Leon finished soaking his Inferno Body, he hurriedly left theva ocean to avoid being caught by the patrolling Molten Giants.


    After rushing to the safe zone in one go, Leon found himself another ce as his temporary shelter.


    After some time, the food and water he had brought were nearly depleted. Having no other alternative, Leon had to live a primitive life of eating raw meat and blood. His food source were the Fire Lizards he hunted, while the water came from condensing it using magic spells and Fire Lizard blood.


    In order to make the best of his soaking time, every two days, Leon would change the location of his temporary shelter. With that, the time and location he appeared at theva ocean would bepletely different. Using this method, he managed to avoid several ambushes and traps set by the Molten Giants, making them really angry. But there was nothing they could do about it.


    Through the countless times he municated'' with the Molten Giants, even though they had never met face to face, Leon had quickly figured out his enemies'' way of thinking and acting. Also, through the countless probes and results, he finally broke through the blockade of the Molten Giant patrol team at the outer perimeter, and sessfully drew close to their nest ¨C the Ring-shaped Reef.


    Although it was referred to as Ring-shaped Reef, it was in fact, a chain of interlocking huge rocks floating on the surface of theva ocean. Using a thick alloy chain, the Molten Giants had tied them together, forming into arge floating ind anchored right at the center of theva ocean.


    The nest of the Molten Giants was ced on top of these floating inds.


    So to speak, from the womb to the tomb, a Molten Giant spent nearly its entire life in this boundlessva ocean. This resulted in the fact that though they had the overall strength of an Mage and high intelligence, they didn''t own the advanced wisdom that matched it.


    In brief, they were smart, but hadn''t reached the state of ''cunning!''


    That was the reason why, though they had such formidable overall strength, they were thrown into unrest by a mere ''Advanced Apprentice,'' Leon.


    Of course, an Advanced Apprentice who was like Leon was rather rare toe by.


    Through secret observation of the Molten Giants, a thief-like thought arose in his mind. He actually intended to rob the Molten Giant''s n treasure vault. The Molten Giants were born and brought up here, and they had been patrolling theva ocean every single day. Nearly all the advanced magical gemstones and top grade magic spell materials that one could find in the underground volcano had to be piled up like a mountain in their treasure vault.


    If he could rob a n treasure vault of this magnitude, Leon felt that he wouldn''t have to worry about harvesting resources himself for the next few hundred years. Just doing it once was more than enough to fill his need to the maximum!


    However, after a few more times of careful survey, Leon was discouraged once again.


    As expected, the Molten Giants attached a very great importance to their treasure vault. Not only had they built the treasure vault on thergest floating ind, it was ced right next to the residence of their elders. Also, round the clock, two elite level Molten Giants guarded its entrance with high vignce to make sure there would be no leakage of any kind.


    Leon had the Chip design him countless ns, but still he couldn''t find a safe and sound method that allowed him to sneak into the treasure vault under the watchful eyes of two elite level Molten Giants.


    Nevertheless, during the fruitless course of finding his path to the loot, unintentionally, Leon made another discovery.


    He discovered the graves of the Molten Giants!


    Although Molten Giants could live more than 2000 years, as time went by, unavoidably, they still had to face their deaths. In order to give their deceased people a ce to rest forever, the Molten Giants had built a graveyard on one of the floating inds amidst the Ring-shaped Inds. Whenever a Molten Giant was facing its own death, it would enter this graveyard and wait there quietly for its death toe.


    Once they were dead, their huge and ming hot bodies would cool down gradually, and eventually solidify into a stone statue that stood quietly. Hence, in this graveyard stood great numbers of stone statues, and many of them were the dead bodies of formidable existence that stood seven to eight meters tall.


    No doubt the Molten Giants had put a heavy guard on their treasure vault, to stop any human Mages or some Fire element creatures from sneaking into it and stealing their treasures. But for the n graveyard, Leon didn''t find any real safety precautions.


    Actually, this was understandable. After all, no one or creature would have improper thoughts toward a lifeless stone statue! But when the Molten Giants were met with Leon, an expert who could even squeeze oil out of stone, their n graveyard was facing great peril.


    Leon was after the element core that remained in the dead bodies of the Molten Giants. Of course, the element cores which had been dead for a long time had no soul aura and couldn''t be used anymore. However, among the element cores from Molten Giants that had been dead for less than one hundred years, Leon might be able to find some which could be used as the conscious core for his golem.


    After all, the Molten Giants who had the right to enter their n graveyard were all old fellows, so the lowest level element core he could find would be of that of Mage level. If he was lucky enough, perhaps... perhaps he might even find a Second Grade Mage level core.


    Whenever Leon thought of owning a golem of such level, his heart raced and he couldn''t hold down his emotions. He wished he could just bolt into the Ring-shaped Inds, crush all of the giant dead bodies, and seize all of the element cores into his arms.


    It was a pity that such thought would always remain a mere fantasy. If he really put it to action, he would face his death, as the Molten Giants would definitely skin him and swallow him alive!


    Approximately, there were over two hundred Molten Giants living on the ind. Around seventy of them were juveniles of the Pseudo-Mage level, yet more than one hundred forty of them were adult Molten Giants. In this environment where they had no natural enemy and no worries about food, their defensive mechanism wasn''t considered too strong.


    If it weren''t for Leon''s level being too low, the stupid giants who only possessed arge body and strong overall strength would definitely be his best prey. But as for now, even if it was just a juvenile Molten Giant, Leon would have to put in huge effort in order to defeat it.


    Hence, if he wanted to pull chestnuts out of the fire, the only way would be to fish in troubled waters.


    After he tentatively drafted out his n, he wasn''t in a hurry to provoke the Molten Giants. Instead, he became quieter than before. Every day, he only traveled and hunted at the outer perimeter of the volcano world, took a bath at the border of theva ocean every three to five days, and stealthily scurried away.


    Relying on this regr mode of action, Leon sessfully deceived the Molten Giant patrol teams, causing them to loosen their vignce and not consider him as an enemy that could pose any threat to them. Although the hunt for Leon was still going on, it was more like a routine activity; every couple of days, the game of cat and mouse would be carried out.


    Of course, Leon wasn''t in a hurry.


    The duration of his mission was three months, and if he wanted any progress in his Inferno Body, he needed time to umte the energy. What he needed to do now was wait for the breakthrough of his Inferno Body. When the day came, that would be the moment he put his n into action.


    Finally, two months after he entered the volcano world, the Inferno Body he had anticipated for long made the breakthrough.


    When the progress projected into his mind by the Chip jumped from 99% to 100%, Leon felt a tremendous transformation suddenly happen to his body.


    Everything had be different from the past!


    me Body!


    He had finally stepped over the stage of Inferno Body and owned a me Body of his own!


    ...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    2081 Words

 Chapter 132 Apprentice Mage (Pseudo-Mage)

    There was a huge difference between Inferno Body and me Body.


    If with Inferno Body, Leon''s body was still considered flesh and blood, then now, after having evolved into me Body, he could be considered truly immune to fire. Even without relying on his Fire Lord''s Scepter, he could now swim freely in theva ocean anytime he wanted and he wouldn''t be hurt by the high temperature.


    After all, the so-called fire immunity cast externally could only spare him from lower grade Fire element damage. Once an element me went beyond a certain degree, he would still bear some damage caused by the me. Previously, during the strengthening process of his Inferno Body, his body was easily damaged by the brutal modification performed by the Fire element energy. The strength of the Fire element energies had gone beyond the maximum endurance limit of his fire immunity.


    Now, after havingpleted the modification of his me Body, he could transform parts of his body into Elementium any time he deemed it was necessary, which gave him immunity from all Fire element damage. In the future, even if he was facing a Second Grade Mage, he wouldn''t be hurt by an element fireball cast towards him. However, such damage immunity was limited to only the Fire element. If he was attacked with a mutated Fire element magic spell, he would still be hurt by it.


    For example, a Magma Fireball, which was a magic spell thatbined the damage of both the Fire element and physical damage. Although Leon would be immune from the Fire element damage, he could not escape from being hurt by the physical damage. Yet, a mutated Fire element magic spell like thatposed more than half of all magic spells, as it was amon counter measurement employed by Mages so that their element attack would not be totally ignored by their enemy.


    Previously, if Leon had gone too deep into theva ocean, he would have had to face the possibility of being hurt by the me. But now, with his me Body, any region with dense Fire Elementium would be his home. No matter how high the temperature of an element fire, he would not be hurt by it anymore. In fact, they became the biggest tonic for him.


    With theva ocean, the topographical advantage of Molten Giants had evened out!


    For the Leon of the past, if the controlling of element fire was a superb magical skill, then the same ability had now be an instinct. From now onwards, he didn''t have to dive nakedly into a sea of fire, because he was fire, and fire was he. Thus, under his control, no element fire could burn off his clothes anymore!


    In addition to that, the biggest advantage brought by me Body was Focused Fire Element. All of the offensive strength of Fire element magic spell doubled, casting time reduced by half, and the cost of Spirit halved as well. In any region rich in Fire Elementium, the recovery speed of his Spirit would double, and the me Body would self-heal the damage on his body.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But, there was a trade-off for this!


    It was not all benefits brought by the me Body. At least, if Leon was hurt by Water or Ice element magic spell, the damage would double. Also, when he was in a region rich in Water Elementium, the recovery of his Spirit and self-healing would also be repressed.


    Nevertheless, Leon knew this in advance, so he didn''t feel surprised at all. Currently, he was more concerned about his overall strength. After the Chip performed a thorough scan of his body, thetest data of his overall strength was projected into his vision.


    Name: Leon


    Race: Human (Half-Elementium)


    Attribute: Strength ¨C 9.24 (+1), Agility ¨C 7.87 (+1), Physique ¨C 13.22 (+1), Spirit ¨C 20.


    Profession: Apprentice Mage (Pseudo-Mage)


    Health Points: 62/62 (Healthy)


    Experience: 927/1000


    Skills: Scroll Copying, Spell Reading, Golem Crafting (Intermediate), Focused Fire Element.


    Personal Abilities: me Body (Passive), The Burning Hand, Fire Arrow, ming Spear, Fire Shield, Fire Damage Reflect (Proximity Passive), Inferno Force Field.


    Magical Equipment: Fire Lord''s Scepter, Storage Waist Belt, Secret Scroll of Voodoo, Boots of Speed (Agility +1), Talisman of Force (Physique, Strength +1), Wand of Dispel, Wand of Healing, Wand of Prophecy, Green Spirit (Curse Resistance +5), Screaming Tree Branch.


    Upon reading thetest body statistics produced by the Chip, even if Leon had a steady and resolute mind, he couldn''t hold down his surging emotions. He had finally be a Pseudo-Mage! From now onwards, he was no longer a rookie apprentice whose fate could be freely decided by anybody!


    However, it was a pity that since his Spirit had skyrocketed from 16 to 20, the Circlet of Nobility that brought +1 to his Spirit and the Purple Ioun Stone of +2 Spirit had lost their effect. His Spirit had now reached 20, which was the maximum Spirit for an Apprentice Mage. If he wished to increase it more, then he would have to gain understanding in the force of principle and aided with the ceremony of advancement.


    No doubt this had toeter. But as for now, the most important thing about bing a Pseudo-Mage was that he could finally put the n he had plotted for a long time into action!


    After obtaining the me Body, the human aura on his body had faded. So long as he carefully disguised himself, with the harsh and cruel environment of theva ocean, it would be extremely difficult for those Molten Giants to find any trace of him.


    Leon returned to the shore and equipped himself with all of his magical equipment. Then he dove into theva ocean once again, disappearing without a trace.


    ...


    Over thest few days, Elder Nimr had felt ill at ease.


    As the leader of the surviving Molten Giant n, Nimr was obliged to use its intelligence and life to safeguard and continue the existence of the Molten Giants.


    This world didn''t belong to them!


    Although Molten Giants had arge body and formidable individual overall strength, as a special race that couldn''t survive outside of the volcano world, they could only firmly stay entrenched in their own environment, avoiding any intrusion from outsiders.


    This was a world that belonged only to human Mages.


    With regards to this, even the first Molten Giant born from the depths of the earth core had realized it. The human Mages tolerated the existence of their unique race so that they could enve them and loot their treasures.


    The volcano world belonged to them, yet they belonged to the Zuber Family.


    Bonded by a 1000 year old magical contract, the mighty n of Molten Giants had be special miners who worked for the local human Mage family. Every five years, they had to hand in a long list of resources. Yet, even they, who were Sons of the ming Ocean, had a headache over the required numbers of resources on the list.


    As a powerful and proud race, they did try to revolt. However, the power of human Mages was not something they could stand up against. Without experiencing it personally, no one could imagine how frightening the ability of a Third Grade Mage was. As a direct result of their rebellion, 1/3s of their n members had been wiped outpletely. It was a severe loss that took them nearly four hundred years to recover.


    Before the rebellion, though the human Mages had treated them cruelly and harshly, they wouldn''t enter their territory. However, for the past few hundred years, the Zuber Family had been pushing them more and more. Frequently, when the volcano entered its resting period, they would send some Apprentice Mages to train down here.


    It might just be training for the human apprentices, but for the Molten Giants, the apprentices were actually ughtering their enved beasts. Not only that, sometimes they even besieged a juvenile Molten Giant who had been leaving them alone. This further attracted the anger of Molten Giants.


    However, though Elder Nimr had negotiated a few times with the Third Grade Mage of Zuber Family, it was always warned not to randomly hurt the Zuber Family apprentices who had their training here. But visiting apprentices were excluded.


    But too bad, in the eyes of the Molten Giants, human apprentices were nearly impossible to differentiate. Hence, they had no choice but to swallow insult and humiliation silently, organizing their own patrol teams to prevent any human apprentices from getting close to their habitat. Fortunately, the human apprentices who came for training weren''t too strong. Also, by intentionally driving Fire element creatures towards the outer perimeter, thereby forming a blockade, someone disturbing their life in theva ocean was rare.


    Nevertheless, this year''s situation was obviously different from the past.


    This time, there was a mysterious guy among the human Apprentice Mages who had breached the borders ofva ocean several times. It seemed like he was researching some kind of unknown magic spell. Due to his treacherousness, they had failed to intercept him even after sending a couple of patrolling teams. Therefore, Nimr could only order his n members to heighten their vignce and ban their juveniles from leaving their habitat alone.


    In order to avoid any outsiders from casting their covetous eyes on their harvested gemstones and materials, Nimr even deployed two more formidable fighters to safeguard their treasure vault. But from time to time, even when it wasfortably soaking in ava pool, a feeling of fear still surged up in its mind, as if it had missed something really important.


    Nimr was an enormous Molten Giant who stood at seven meters tall and was the oldest member of their n. It had turned 1815 years old this year, and its overall strength had reached the pinnacle of Molten Giant. If it was converted into the hierarchy of human Mages, it had the mighty overall strength of at least a Second Grade Mage.


    But, as a special race who relied on their strong bodies and innate talent when fighting, it had mastered less than ten powerful Fire element abilities. Yet, the same grade human Mage could have nearly one hundred incredible magic spells, which they could use freely.


    Theycked the profound umtion of knowledge with the history of over hundreds and thousands of years like human Mages,cked the endless bizarre magical equipment which human Mages owned, and did not have the massive numbers of minions who could be called for freely. By just relying on the powerful innate abilities gifted by the Will of the ne, the Molten Giants would never escape their fate of being enved by human Mages!


    With the overall strength of Nimr, so long as that frightening Third Grade Mage of Zuber Family didn''te personally, in its home of theva ocean, it never feared, even when faced with an opponent of the same grade. But, for the past few days, a frequent chill had been flowing through its mind, as if something bad was going to happen to its n.


    For this reason, it felt uneasy even when eating and sleeping. Every single day, it urged its n members to patrol every region and inspected all the inds regrly, causing everybody to be busy and tired. But it felt rather relieved, as after this restless period, the three month resting phase of the volcano was approaching its end. Upon sensing the rumbleing from the earth core that became louder gradually day by day, its mind calmed down slightly.


    But as the ending of resting phase approached, the more its fear grew. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    Yet today, the uneasy feeling in Nimr''s mind had reached maximum level, so that it could hardly sleep in theva pool within its cave. It couldn''t stop itself from walking out from its residence, cing itself at the edge of the ind that it had taken as its home, and quietly watching any surrounding activities.


    ....


    2006 Words

 Chapter 133 Profane

    The inner ocean, which was enclosed by the Ring-shaped Ind, covered an area of five miles in a straight line. While Nimr stood at the edge of its own ind, it could barely see the outline of the ind to its opposite. It threw its nce over to the inds one after another and could see the busy figures of its n members everywhere, yet it saw more juveniles who were swimming in the innerva ocean, ying and chasing with each other. Though it was a little bit noisy, it actually made the n look more lively and full of energy.


    Right as it was about to shut its eyes, trying to sense the possible direction where the danger mighte from, far at the Southeast border of the Ring-shaped Ind, an unprecedented explosion suddenly broke out. A rock wall of nearly one hundred meters in circumference shattered into pieces, shooting countless rocks fragments and debris like a shower into theva ocean and causing a massive me and dust pir to rise up.


    Nimr sprinted with big steps. One after another floating ind flitted across under its feet. In less than fifteen minutes, it had arrived at the floating ind located nearest to the explosion. Standing at the edge of the floating ind, half of its body was submerged in the boiling hotva. Using its right palm that was asrge as a coach, it scooped up a huge pool of moltenva and poured it onto its body, while reciting a series of profound, obscure and strange incantations. After finished with that, an enormous Eye of the me appeared right in front of it.


    "The mighty Spirit of Fire, please show me what happened at that ce?" Using its deep and hoarse voice, Nimr spoke out its request.


    Supported by the powerful Fire element energy, the Eye of the me trembled, soon, the scene located dozens of miles away was projected in front of it.


    "These damn intruders! It must be them who are destroying our home and profaning our holy ocean! Elders, follow me to banish them from ournd!"


    Nearly one hundred strong giant fighters saw the scene as well, and the air filled with their furious roars. After greeting each other, they quickly boarded one after another primitive lookingva rock battleship and sailed towards the ce of the explosion at top speed.


    Elder Nimr was controlling the Eye of the me and kept watchful eyes on any activities happening in the region afar. Though there was a hugemotion, but it just couldn''t find any traces of the intruder. This... no doubt had made Elder Nimr more worried!


    What exactly did these intruders want? Could it be merely an act of vandalism?


    With the understanding Nimr had toward those Human Mages, regardless of what they did, they were all well-targeted with hidden motives. It was rare that they would meaninglessly destroy something, just to vent their anger!


    If their true motive wasn''t to destroy theva ocean, then...


    A shudder struck Elder Nimr''s mind. It turned around and roared at the remaining n members, "I want a total locked down on the entire ind! All adult giants must act right now..."


    Before it could finish its word, a huge dust pir suddenly arose from an ind located at the Northwest corner of the Ring-shaped Ind, as if something with a gigantic body was rolling on the ground and wreaking havoc.


    That ind... that ind was their n graveyard!


    "Damn it, those foul humans should be devoured by the Spirit of the mes, how dare they make trouble at the ce where our ancestors are sleeping! Quick... hurry up... I want everyone to go there right now!"


    Hearing the roar of their Elder, all the remaining Molten Giants immediately strode in the direction of the graveyard in top speed. At the same time, some giants who possessed the ability of Fire Teleportation were even seen slightly squatting down and immediately disappeared within a towering fiery explosion. And a momentter, at a distance of two to three hundred meters, a simr fire pir appeared, revealing the body of the same giant.


    After pausing for four, five seconds, once the surrounding Fire Elementiums was back in its control, the giant would initiate Fire Teleportation once again, bringing it three hundred meters closer to the destination.


    Although Molten Giants owned an intrepid body and physique, agility was never their strong point. Those giants who possessed the ability of Fire Teleportation could still put out a considerable speed, as each time when their body flickered and reappeared, they always drew themselves closer to the ind destination. Yet, those ordinary giants could only run past ind after ind using their feet, causing a greatmotion along their way.


    And, right at this very same moment, Leon''s eyes shined brightly, while busily looting the mighty war trophies that he dared not imagine in the past.


    This was an ind with an irregr shape that upied nearly one hundred acres ofnd. The shore of the ind was fully filled with rocky peaks and stone pirs arranged in a crisscrossing pattern. On the empty field within the ind, nearly forty dead bodies of Molten Giants who hadpletely solidified into stone statue were seen standing quietly.


    If it was ording to Leon''s initial n, he woulde to this ind stealthily without alerting anybody. But too bad, though the n was well-designed, when he finally swam his way to this graveyard of giants, he realized that it was extremely difficult to harvest everything here without making any noise.


    When alive, these Molten Giants had been known for the hardness and high-density of their bodies. After they died, the Fire Elementiums inside of their body would fade away, and their conscious core would be tightly trapped inside of the stone statue who served like a super thick armor. These rocks were the toughest steel rocks or granites found in the underground, and they even mixed with ck Iron, Wrought Gold, and Mithril which had the hardness beyond one''s imagination.


    Not only a stone armor like this possessed a fearful strength in physical defense, it also carried an excellent resistance against magic spells. Hence, since Leon came to the ind stealthily, he had broken three enchanted longswords but failed to even crack a stone statue.


    Looking at the precious treasures that spread out everywhere over the hills and dales, yet unable to make them his, had nearly driven Leon insane!


    Also, the practical environment didn''t allow him to spend a long time to slowly chisel away the hard shell of the giant. Once those giants who went out patrolling returned after hearing the news, perhaps he, a mere Fire element Pseudo-Mage, would be skinned alive and swallowed by over three hundred giants.


    Left with no alternatives, Leon summoned six Rock Snakes in one go, using their savageness to put out a show of ''hit, m, rob'' that shook the heaven and startled the earth in this graveyard of the giant. Six Rock Snakes pulled out all tricks in their bag, either using their rock solid body to crazily m, or coiled up a stone statue and kept smashing it onto the ground. In short, they resorted to the most violent methods they had and used the craziest manner to achieve their goal!


    So, the huge dust pir Elder Nimr saw just now, was actually the result of the violent actions put out by the team of Rock Snakes!


    While directing the Rock Snakes to restlessly destroy the dead bodies of the giants, Leon kept running his eyes nervously at the surroundings.


    Due to the fact that this ind was the n graveyard, rarely anyone chose to live on the surrounding inds. Also, the massive explosion that happened previously had attracted most of the giants to the other side of the Ring-shaped Ind. Hence for time being, this ce was still considered safe.


    However, following the huge dust clouds and noise caused by the activities of Rock Snakes, the figures of giants who were running wildly at top speed could now be seen at the far side of the Ring-shaped Ind. Yet that was not the most frightening part. A dozen of Molten Giants who stood over five meters tall were driving on mes that kept leaping up and approaching to the graveyard at incredible speeds.


    It was an enormous Molten Giant with the height of seven meters that led the pursuit. The powerful Fire and Earth element energy contained within its body had reached to a dazzling stage that could blind anyone''s eyes just by staring into it.


    Damn it, damn it... this was a Second Grade Molten Giant!


    While calcting the enemy''s'' speed, Leon kept urging his minions of Rock Snakes to make the best use of their time and work harder. After all, for those who were eligible to enter the graveyard of giants, the weakest would also be the mighty existence of that Mage level and many of them were even Second Grade Molten Giants.


    In a treasure vault like this, even if he spent one more second in it, and grabbed one more handful of treasures, it would be the mightiest opportunity for his future debut!


    While throwing an examining look at the enemy''s besiege, Leon kept crazily mming and smashing the rock statues. His heart was racing so fast it almost jumped out of his mouth. Even with his Physique, cold sweat started to exude from his palm and back.


    "Beep..."


    Upon hearing the dangerous warning tone sent out by the Chip in his mind, without the slightest hesitation, Leon turned around and jumped into the mouth of one of the Rock Snake, brought his dismantling team and dove into theva ocean in lightning speed. Then, each of them simply fled into different directions on their own.


    Naturally, the Rock Snake who carried Leon was the only one with all the war trophies. Once it entered theva ocean, it immediately sunk deeper into the half-moltenva that hardly flowed, swaying its body and bolting toward the nearest escape route. Meanwhile, the other five Rock Snakes were swimming on the surface of theva ocean, creating a huge uproar and fleeing in different directions.


    A moment ago, it was a calm and peaceful world of me; a momentter, it had transformed into an explosive ocean that rocked violently.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    When they were hiding inside the graveyard of giants, these Molten Giants dared not attack them using violent long-range abilities, fearing that they might destroy this holy ind of theirs. But once they left the ind, these Molten Giants wouldn''t be easy with them anymore. While getting closer to them in high-speed, they kept crazilyunching long-range Fire element abilities to attack at the Rock Snakes.


    ming Storm!


    Lava re!


    Fire Stone Shower!


    Hellfire Pulse! Experience tales at empire


    ...


    ...


    One after another Fire element abilities of massive power had stirred theva ocean into a rocking sea of fire, and a violent explosion of energies immediately swept across the entire space. Elementium storm visible to naked eyes quickly spread out on the surface of theva ocean and soon covered all Rock Snakes who were fleeing.


    Though a Rock Snake had a thick andrge body and its Strength and Physique was considered superb among all element golems, when it was facing a tyrannical and brutal attack that saturated every inch of the space like this, the body made up of hard rocks still melted like hot wax.


    The bodies of two Rock Snakes were broken into half from the middle and were swept up into the sky by the Elementium storm like a whirlwind that swept away scattered clouds. The broken bodies flew high up above the sea of fire. And in next moment, more raging energies had rolled them up like a mat.


    At the same time, though the bodies of the other three remaining Rock Snakes were badly damaged as well, they still desperately fled towards the outside of the storm. However, before they could run to a far enough distance, a series of fire explosion came into the scene, which brought a Molten Giant who had a tall and mighty body beside them. Upon making its debut, it raised its huge stone fist and simply punched the Rock Snakes'' bodies.


    Sensing the conscious nodes that died off one after another on his back, Leon''s heart was pounding violently. He hadpleted half of his n, and what was left would be how he could make his escape!


    In the beginning, Leon''s existence wasn''t noticed by any of the Molten Giants. But following the annihtion of the Rock Snakes and the help from its Fire Sense, Elder Nimr who possessed a formidable overall strength had finally discovered the Rock Snake that had hid deep inside theva ocean and was fleeing at top speed.


    But right at this moment, Leon had fled some seven miles away.


    The miserable situation of their n graveyard hadpletely infuriated this group of Molten Giants. Whether they were sailing onva rock battleship or swimming in theva ocean, they used all their efforts to chase Leon. In addition to that, each giant had summoned arge group of Fire element creatures and organized them into an army of fire that consisted of an insane number of soldiers, vowing that they would capture the foul human.


    But too bad, due to the disadvantage in their speed, they were extremely furious and helpless at the same time.


    The little human thief who had robbed their n graveyard, had smoothly escaped theva ocean and rampaged his way towards the outer perimeter of the volcano world.


    The greatly angered giants no longer stayed within the restraints of the contract they had signed with the Human Mages. Riding on the rockingva they stormed into theva tunnels, following that little human thief and pushing their way to the upper level of the volcano. Yet, on this route, there were many human apprentices who came here for training, and wasboriously searching for magical gemstones and underground materials that had been washed up to the upper level by theva.


    As the result of being caught unprepared, these apprentices had suffered a great deal.


    A dozen of Advanced Apprentices failed to escape in time and were killed by the besiegement of Fire element creatures who flooded them like a tsunami. The other apprentices put out every single skill and approach they knew and only managed to miserably escape this world of volcano which had gone on a rampage.


    ...


    2444 Words

 Chapter 134 Outworld

    As for what had happened exactly at the depths of the volcano, no one really knew.


    Nevertheless, the volcano world which had gone fully rampage was no longer a ce suitable for treasure hunting, and it was a fact that everybody knew. Hence, Leon too, mixed among all other visiting apprentices and expressed his anger, before submitting his required portion of mission item and leaving Palmyra Town without alerting anybody.


    When Leon returned smoothly to the Magical Swamp with his brand new status as a Pseudo-Mage, a massive storm immediately broke out in the entire Swampy Tower.


    Once upon a time, Leon was just a nobody among the apprentices of the Swampy Tower and many people hadn''t even realized his existence. But now, following his mighty rise, those experts who Leon used to look up to had been ditched at his back and became the group who had the most dejected emotions.


    And right when a portion of apprentices was still doubting on the authenticity of the news, Mage Keoghan, who represented Sarubo Family had visited Swampy Tower once again and had a meeting with Leon at the fifth floor of the tower. As expected, Leon''s decision was exactly same as Bleia''s ¨C he chose to serve Sarubo Family ten years in exchange for the resources required for his level up.


    Of course, if Leon had the confidence to find all resources required for the official Mage Advancement Ceremony by himself, then he could always choose to leave Sarubo Family and be a wanderer. However, with the current development situation of Zhentarim Association, they had employed a rather hostile and oppressive policy towards any wandering Mages and apprentices who didn''t belong to a family. Thus, if Leon wished to spend his apprenticeship smoothly, unavoidably, he had to join an Mage Family.


    As for the Byron Family''s chest badge that Leon had obtained at the Underground Cave, it only meant the Byron Family was willing to protect him at the Dagon region, as he hadn''t sign any magical contract and officially joined the Byron Family.


    After meeting with Mage Keoghan, Leon was immediately dragged into Bleia''s room, by the vampire girl who had heard the news of his return.


    "Tell me now, what had you done during the mission? How is it possible that you made the breakthrough and became a Pseudo-Mage?" With Bleia understanding of Leon, this guy could neverplete a mission smoothly, as every time he would create big troubles halfway.


    Leon responded with a big smile on his face, but said nothing. However, after he stroked his hand across the tabletop, he left behind one big and four small, a total of five mysterious, dark red gemstones.


    "What are these?" Curiously, Bleia stretched her hand toward the biggest gemstone, but right when her little hand touched the mysterious gemstone, she retracted it instantly.


    A light crackling noise was heard, as a small me ignited on top of the gemstone and ferociously burned her fingers.


    Even with Bleia''s body constitution of vampire, her fingers which had touched the gemstone had turned dark. But she wasn''t bothered by it, with a gentle wave of her palm, the burn marks immediately disappeared and her fair and delicate fingers had returned.


    Bleia didn''t act recklessly this time, but stood still and pondered for a moment.


    Obviously, the me wasn''t controlled by someone, and it wasn''t the result of some magical arrays. It was a defensive mechanism initiated by the instincts of the gemstone. It was like as if... as if it possessed its own consciousness!


    "What exactly is this?" Bleia asked the question once again, but this time, she wore a fierce expression on her face and revealed a pair of her sharp fangs. She had a look as if to say that if Leon didn''t give her the answer, she would leap onto him and gave him a brutal bite.


    "Second Grade Core!" A weird smile emerged on Leon''s face, as he spoke the answer one word at a time.


    The juicy red lips of Bleia murmured the same answer a few times, before she came to a rude awakening. "Second Grade Core? Did you kill a Second Grade demon? Where is the corpse? Did you extract its blood? Hurry up... tell me quickly!"


    "Ugh..." Leon spread his arms and expressed his speechless at Bleia''s response. "If I really meet with a Second Grade demon, do you think I can stille back alive?"


    "You''re right!" Bleia smiled slightly and felt surprised for losing her cool just now.


    She just couldn''t help it. She was at the most important transition period throughout the entire life of a vampire, and the fastest method for increasing her overall strength was being fed the blood of experts. With these two reasonsbined, it was more than enough for Bleia to be nervousness enough to lose her cool and be restless and passionate upon hearing news about a powerful creature!


    Of course, in the eyes of Bleia, the current Leon could barely be considered an expert. Nevertheless, no matter how much Bleia tried to convince Leon until the roof fell down, Leon would never agree to let her suck his blood. Because ording to the Chip''s analysis, any individual who had his blood sucked by a vampire, would always suffer from a different degree of decay in his overall strength.


    And, this decay was most likely the key to why the vampire could evolve by sucking blood!


    To put it simply, if Leon allowed Bleia to suck his blood, most probably his attribute would drop, and it would effect his Physique and Spirit, which were the attributes he cared about the most. With regard to this, Toril, the Bloodline Apprentice they met at the Underground Cave, was the perfect example.


    Originally, that guy had reached the pinnacle of his apprenticeship, and was about to hold his official Mage Advancement Ceremony. However, he was miserably defeated by Leon''s golem team. Such injuries would only take him one to two weeks of resting to fully recover. However, from the news from his family, the Pseudo-Mage Toril had experienced a decay in his Spirit. Though it hadn''t dropped below 20 points, it was more than enough to affect him from advancing normally.


    Hence, after summarizing from so many bloody examples, Leon had reason to believe that through sucking the blood of others, the race of vampire could extract the bloodline factor of the host and use it to strengthen themselves and weaken the enemy. Try to think about it, under such circumstances, how could Leon let Bleia suck his blood?


    After exchanging thetest developments of each other, Bleia rushed back to the Mission Hall, continued searching for apprentice missions that suit her the most. As for Leon, he returned to his own room and started listening to the briefing of the goblin merchant, Snox.


    During the three months that Leon was not here, following the injecting of information and resources from the outside world, the Swampy Tower had be livelier, no longer a ce of stagnancy and dead quietness like how it was in the past. With Bleia''s backing, Snox had opened the first Goblin Store in the tower.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    There weren''t many items avable to buy in this little store, yet they were all rare resources that could hardly be found in the outside world. Also, recently Snox had put its eyes on those Beginner and Intermediate Apprentices and had started to purchase magical materials and ordinary resources that they wouldn''t be using for now.


    Nevertheless, in order for such a little store to operate in full scale, it needed an endless supply of high-grade items, or else, it would be pretty tough to attract these apprentices.


    After finished listening to Snox''s briefing, Leon nodded his head satisfyingly. Then, he casually poured out arge pile of magical gemstones and materials from his storage waist belt, and most of them were Fire Diamonds. After all,pared to those apprentices who spent all days wandering at the outer perimeter of the volcano world, Leon had ventured into the depths of theva ocean countless of times and the chances of him finding high-grade magical gemstones were much higher.


    Also, those Fire Diamonds and magical gemstones were mostly washed out from theva ocean during the active periods of the volcano. And, after going through the filtration of Fire element creatures, the leftover would be all of that lesser quality materials. Yet, the Fire Diamonds Leon brought back from theva ocean were at least supreme grade Fire Diamonds, the size of a human fist. Leon even tossed a huge human skull-sized Fire Diamond over to Snox, asking it to find someone to craft it into the shape of a jade pillow.


    With that, when Leonid his head on top of it and meditated in the future, the result would definitely be better!


    After Snox left happily with a packed waist pouch, the smile on Leon''s face gradually subsided. He started to ponder seriously on some very important information.


    During his absence of the past three months, Mage Eclivel had actually publicly announced that he would take Worm controller ke as his disciple. And ording to what Snox told him, nearly every day of these past three months, ke had dwelt in the fifth floor of the Mage Tower, and no one knew what he and Mage Eclivel were doing up there!


    Facing two enemies who might have joined forces, Leon''s feeling of joy after bing a Pseudo-Mage immediately vanished in a sh. Once again, he felt the pressure of time that waited for no man. Though, after he made the advancement and became Pseudo-Mage and managed to obtain the protection from the family preventing Mage Eclivel from harming him openly, it was still possible the Mage would have nned something treacherous in the dark.


    And by getting so close with Worm controller, could Eclivel use ke to deal with Leon?


    Leon let out a bitterugh.


    Since the day he had a thorough understanding of the conflict of interest between Mage Eclivel and Bleia, he knew sooner orter, he would be hated by Eclivel. He just didn''t think that the enemy would move so quickly, so pressing against the time!


    In the eyes of these treachery and cunning Mages, all apprentices were merely a bunch of materials who knew how to walk by themselves. If not for the fact that the top management of the Mages had put a constraint on their behavior, perhaps these selfish fellows would never allow the rising of new Mages, who would stand up and fight for rare resources against them.


    Nevertheless, no matter what the enemy was nning, as long as the speed of his progress went beyond their expectations, any dangers and traps would pass away like a cloud, and none of them could shake the direction of his progress.


    After giving the current situation a thorough analysis, Leon immediately drafted out a long working n for the time toe. Under his arrangement, perhaps for the next half year, every single day would be filled with numerous tasks and no time for leisure.


    In this mysterious world, in order to keep his life safe, Leon had poured all his energy and time in the learning and researching magic spells.


    ...


    Inside Snox''s room.


    Aftering back from its master''s room, Snox had been indulging in an enthusiastic stage.


    Every time when it took out a magical gemstone from its waist pouch, it would always dance with joy, repeatedly kissing and stroking it, before using its magical probing stick to verify the element and quality of the gemstone.


    Staring at the pile of gemstones which was getting taller and taller, Snox''s heart was filled with wild excitement. At this time, it just wished it could run back to its master and passionately kiss his shoes. Perhaps, only by doing this it could let its master experience the passion and loyalty of Snox!


    But, during this delightful process, a small setback had struck Snox.


    Within the pile of gemstones its master had given it, Snox discovered a mysterious, white stone the size of a human fist. No matter what method it used to verify the stone, it just couldn''t find out its element, and couldn''t confirm whether it was a magical gemstone, material or egg of demon beast!


    Even after using its magical probing stick to test it, the message it got in its mind was a simple ''unknown item from Outworld''. Since the magical probing stick confirmed it was an item rather than a living being, it also meant it wasn''t an egg of some demon beast. Yet, its master had included the white stone in the pile of gemstones, it told Snox that this was an item of great value.


    The info Snox concerned the most was the word ''Outworld''.


    Could this white stone be a mysterious gemstone from another ne?


    Snox scratched its head and had no choice but to put the mysterious white stone back onto the table and turn around and continue to organize the rest of the gemstones.


    ...


    2193 Words

 Chapter 135 Giant bloodsucking bug

    Right when Snox was busy settling therge quantity of Fire Diamonds and gemstones brought back by its master, Leon had also started to seriously go through the loot he had brought back during the trip to the volcano.


    A Second Grade Crystal Core of Molten Giant, four First Grade Crystal Cores of Molten Giant.


    Perhaps, even an official Mage would felt jealous of a loot like this!


    However, with Leon''s current ability of golem crafting, he still couldn''t work on this Second Grade core. After all, any external modification would mean damaging the core itself and the self-defense mechanism initiated by this Second Grade core alone was enough to give Leon a huge headache. It was impossible for him to focus all his attention on controlling the alchemy station, while keeping a lookout on the rampaging behavior put out of the core itself.


    If anything unexpected happened during the critical moments, it was highly possible this hard toe by supreme treasure would be destroyed!


    As a result, before he could improve his overall strength to another level, he had no choice but to put this precious core aside and only work on it once he had the confidence to do so in future.


    As for the other four First Grade cores of Molten Giant, they were the focus of Leon''s work.


    Using the most primitive method, Leon meticulously and carefully scanned every single aspect of each core into his mind. The data gathered by the Chip included the hardness of each core, the tness of each side of the core, the direction of every single thread of crystal grown into and the distribution of their thickness... and it put the utmost focus in scanning the surface area of each core that it could useter.


    Using thisplicated and vast statistical data, the Chip would design the most appropriate three-dimensional magical array for each of the core, then through multiple optimizations, make the arrays able to fit perfectly onto the core.


    As Molten Giant was a double-elements magical creature of Fire and Earth, no doubt, by only utilizing one of the element would be a huge waste. Therefore, in order to dig out their potential to thest drop, the Chip would need a long time to calcte and analyze beforeing out with the best solution.


    After handing this tedious task to the Chip, Leon spent all his time busily working on learning Fire element magic spells. Since his body transformed into me Body, the time took Leon to learn these Fire element magic spells was cut into half. In the past, it took him one to two months to learn a new magic spell, but now, his list of personal skills was refreshed with a new skill on a daily basis.


    Nevertheless, for magic spells which could give him multiple effects and required different magical knowledge, Leon still needed to put in a huge amount of effort in order to master them.


    During his previous trip to the volcano world, Leon''s newly constructed team of Earth element golems was nearly wiped outpletely, and it would take him some time before he could restock the loss of five Rock Snake''s cores. As the Swampy Tower didn''t carry the huge resources of core Leon needed, hence he could only ask Bleia to buy some when she was out for her mission.


    But, this could at most bring him Pseudo-Mage level cores, and each of them cost a hefty price. After all, Leon had a higher requirements about the quality of the cores. And, though he hoped to find some Mage level cores at the apprentice market, it was merely wishful thinking!


    ording to the normal system of administrative, if Leon needed any high-level Mage resources, the most convenient way would be through the help of Mage Eclivel. But too bad, it was obvious that Mage Eclivel was just a selfish guy, as he only concerned on his own magic spell experiments and would never show concern to any of his Apprentice Mages.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As the result, bypared to apprentices from other Mage Towers, the apprentices of Swampy Tower were so much weaker.


    ...


    On the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower.


    In the depth of night, Acteon came to this ce once again.


    Inside therge stone hall, a huge magical array was seen drawn on the rock solid surface of the floor. It was an array constructed from numerous strange and profound magical runes and lines. No matter how hard Acteon tried to recall his knowledge, out of so many runes, he could barely recognize a couple of runes that he felt familiar with.


    They were all mysterious runes rted to bloodline, souls, and fusion. As for their specific usage, it was sad that with the knowledge of an Apprentice Mage, there was no way he could decipher any further.


    In addition to that, what really startled Acteon was the strong scent of blood inside of the magical array, and the dark blood stain on the floor that couldn''t be washed away. All this was the direct evidence to the torture he had suffered in the past few months. If not because he was supported by a crazy will of bing stronger, even with his body being half-bug, he wouldn''t be able to withstand the process of bloodline quenching and fusing that went on repeatedly.


    d in a dark Mage robe, Eclivel was seen adjusting the magical array. His lips moved as he murmured, his ghost-ws like fingers streaking through the air in a mysterious manner, and with that, one after another profound magical rune emerged out of nowhere and kept merging with the magical array lying quietly on the floor.


    As the result, all energy nodes of the magical array lit up in an orderly fashion.


    "Take off all your clothes and stand in the magical array!"


    The order from Mage Eclivel was straight and clear, but his words carried an undertone of authority that allowed no one to disobey.


    With a pale face, Acteon followed his orders.


    After the robe d on his body was taken off, exposing in the air was a twisted, fearful looking body that was half-bug!


    On his body, the part that belonged to human was rare to see, as most of his body part portrayed the obvious characteristics of bugs. A pair of colorful, hue-shifting eyes, countless tinypound eyes surrounded his pupil, ayered, lotus-shaped mouthpiece, a ck hard shell that formed ayer of protection on his entire body, and the pair of sickle shaped arms that folded on the side of his body...


    Since he transformed himself into a bizarre look of half-human, half-bug, Acteon had never revealed his body in front of anyone. Put it bluntly, anyone who had the privilege of witnessing his true form had been devoured by him, became the nourishment of this body of half-bug.


    But for today, he was forced to expose his body, in the most humiliating manner!


    The gruesome and shivering air, the icy cold stone floor that sent a chill down his spine, all made him felt extremely ufortable. Yet, he still stood with his back straight in the center of the magical array, inside a magical ring that could only be upied by a single person.


    "Good... excellent..." Within the spacious hall, the cold voice of Mage Eclivel sounded out like the curseing from the misty void. "Although the function of your body has decayed slightly, the result of bloodline infusion ising along well! Kid, if you can survive this round of magical experiment, you''ll definitely be the one and only one giant bloodsucking bug in this world!"


    Hee hee hee...


    Following the near insane howl let out by Mage Eclivel, the surging energy within the magical array started to gather toward the magical ring at the center of it. The bright glow of the intense magical energy even illuminated Acteon''s body, making it half transparent and allowing anyone to see his internal organs and bones. Within the intense light, a vague, incorporeal yet broken figure of soul emerged out of nowhere, standing right at the position where Acteon was at, throwing a nk look at the surroundings.


    At the same time, right above the magical array, a crack was broken out on the ceiling, and a human fist-sized, crystal clear Soul Diamond was seen gradually making its descent. With the help from the strong glow emitted by the circting of the magical array, one could even see through the Soul Diamond and see a glittering and translucent crystal of crimson rolling within the core of it.


    Step by step, Mage Eclivel controlled the Soul Diamond, making it attach to Acteon''s forehead slowly. In an instant, a burning smell filled the air, as the Soul Diamond radiated a high temperature and scorched Acteon''s forehead, burning it and producing dark smoke. Finally, the Soul Diamond sessfully socked itself onto his forehead.


    The crimson crystal was revolving swiftly. For each turned it revolved, it would shot out a tiny crimson thread. Guided by the Soul Diamond, this tiny crimson thread merged into Acteon''s body slowly. At the beginning, the transformation wasn''t that clear. But following the merging of more of these threads with him, Acteon''s body started to turn dark red and crimson demonic runes could vaguely be seen on the surface of his body.


    No doubt, for Acteon, such degree of body modification was frightfully torturous. His half-bug body which had taken a deep root in the control would never allow his bloodline to be contaminated by any external bloodline. At the depths of his bloodline, a ce where no outsider could ever take a peek of, a battle of life and death had broken out, and the situation could be described as intense and severe!


    Suppressed by the magical array, the home advantage of half-bug bloodline was reducing at a constant speed. On the other side, supported by the endless energy from the Mage Tower, the weak vampire bloodline was doing its job with ease, as it kept expanding its territory inside of Acteon''s body, seizing one part at a time.


    His body had be the battlefield of life and death between two bloodlines. Right at this very moment, Acteon was like an ordinary mortal who had all his mysterious and powerful abilities stripped away, the cold air of the hall even made him tremble, as he could hardly endure the cold temperature.


    Both bloodlines had shown the same overbearing manner, and both had regarded the other as a contaminant, making it impossible for either one of them topromise and co-exist with the other. Whenever a bloodline became weaker, it would find a way to invade those body factors, and produce more peers by contaminated them, bringing in more soldiers into the battle.


    Yes, it was a battle! A battle fought for dominance between half-bug bloodline and vampire bloodline! Unless one sidepletely defeated the other side or the body of the host was too weak for the battle to continue, the battle would continue like this forever.


    Following the progress of the battle, ck, pungent and sticky liquid started to ooze from Acteon''s eyes, ears, mouths, nose, and all parts of his body, flowing across his skin and dripping onto the floor.


    The liquid was actually his life factors that were killed in the battle of the bloodline.


    Meanwhile, Acteon''s life aura had started to turn lifeless.


    Upon sensing the body of the host had be extremely weak and could die at any time due to the battle that happened at the depths of bloodline and soul, both mutated bloodlines had finallypromised. They retreated to their own source territory, slowed down the speed of pressuring the host''s body and put out a high vignce at any movement of the enemy bloodline.


    Using the Queen Bug as its base, the half-bug bloodline retreated and hid in Acteon''s brain, while the mutated vampire bloodline had modified Acteon''s heart, and ced its home there. Although the initial nning of having both bloodlines merged as one didn''t happen, but having them co-exist had worked out smoothly.


    Mage Eclivel, who had been focusing all his attention on watching every activity happened inside of Acteon''s body, finally let out a long sigh of relief. With a thought of his mind, he shot out a hidden spiritual ripple.


    Taking the opportunity when Acteon''s soul, body, and bloodline were all at their weakest moment, a soul contract hidden inside the Soul Diamond had snuck its way into Acteon''s body.


    "You..." After all, Acteon did own the Spirit of that Pseudo-Mage level. Though he was weak now, he would still notice any danger that came to him. However, before he could n his counterattack, the soul contract had seared deeply into his soul.


    As the result, in next second, the naked Acteon had be as obedient a puppet.


    "Waiting for your order, my great master Eclivel!"


    Upon hearing the expected response, Mage Eclivel couldn''t control himself anymore and let out a loudugh. The entire hall was filled with cruel and high-pitchedughter that sounded like cries of the night owl.


    ...


    2200 Words

 Chapter 136 Goblin Empire

    Snox was very upset!


    And, the thing upset the optimistic Snox was actually that mysterious white stone.


    Since it couldn''t figure out the actual usage of the white stone, Snox had put it aside and continued busying itself with its Goblin Store. It just had no time to find an expert to identify what it was.


    But unexpectedly, after spent two busy days, it suddenly discovered the white stone was glowing.


    The white stone was lying quietly on the wooden table near the window. Under the shine of the fading moonlight, it was emitting with a faint white glow.


    Yes, it was a glow emitted by the white stone itself and not the reflection of moonlight. Snox was certain about this!


    Step by step, Snox drew closer to the white stone, and carefully, it touched the stone with its hand. It was neither warm nor cold. The white glow wasn''t caused by a heat source, but from some kind of mysterious magical energy inside the white stone. Based on the fact that the stone could absorb moonlight and transform into energy of its own, Snox determined it was possibly a special magical equipment that came from another ne.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Once it had reached this conclusion, merely for experimentation, Snox took out a magic crystal. To its surprise, when it ced the magic crystal near the white stone, the white stone actually dismantled and transformed. After a series of dismantling and assembling movements that dazzled Snox''s eyes, a mysterious magical machine that looked simr to amunicative mirror was unveiled in front of its eyes.


    A mechanical arm stretched out from this magical machine, mped onto the magic crystal and ced it onto a hole located at the lower part of its body. Right after that, a strange mechanical voice echoed out in the room.


    "A mutated entry level energy crystal is detected. It can be used as energy source. Magical Kernel serial number 03768, estimated recovery of function reached 17%. Initiating now..."


    After that, following a series of peculiar noises, this Magical Kernel transformed from the white stone actually stood up, tilted a screen that was located at the top part of its body and pointed it right at Snox.


    A violent distortion of images shed through the screen, and suddenly, an enormous ss eye appeared on it, followed by a noisy and hoarse voice.


    "Peculiar... this is peculiar... why did a Magical Kernel that had not show any activity for more than two hundred years suddenly activate? Hey, little guy, are you the one who activated this Magical Kernel?" Snox was certain that thenguage spoken by the voice came from the Magical Kernel was something that it had never heard or learnt before.


    "Who are you? How did you squeeze into this tiny object? This... what is this... what exactly is this object?" The naturally timid character of Snox had struck again. Judging from the size of the eyeball, Snox bet it must be a terrifying and enormous giant. If it jumped out from this tiny object, how could Snox escape from its death?


    Right at this very moment, Snox was seized with remorse. Why hadn''t it mentioned this discovery to its master earlier! Perhaps, only that miraculous master of its could save it from the giant mouth of this giant.


    Right as a fierce mental struggle was going on inside of Snox''s mind, the ssy eyeball on the screen backed off some distance, and eventually, allowed Snox to get a clear look at the appearance of the giant.


    Fancy that! The ''giant'' was actually someone with a near identical appearance and build like Snox! It had a simr height of around one meter tall and had green skin, a pair ofrge ears, a long and pointy nose, and disheveled, fluffy, short yellow hair. The enormous ssy eyeball that Snox saw just now was actually a special goggles.


    Yes, this fellow was actually a goblin too!


    The goblin on the other side was d in a dirty white coat, a drawing pen was ced in one ear, and it was wearing a high-power magnifier on its eyes. That was why it looked so strange. However, no matter how strange it looked, Snox was certain that this fellow was a... goblin!


    After bent over the screen and spending some time looking left and right, obviously, the goblin on the other side never expected it was also a goblin who had just sent a request formunication from a far distance ne. Therefore, after murmuring someints for some time, it finally became friendlier, andmenced a warm interaction with Snox.


    "You... are you a goblin too?" Snox asked timidly.


    "Little guy, you are now meeting with the greatest chief inventor of the Goblin Empire, Duke Gazlowe. So, before you ask any question, you better add in the proper honorifics!" On the other side of the screen, the yellow-hair goblin was seen waving its arms dissatisfied and speaking in a threatening manner.


    "Oh, the Great Duke Gazlowe, could you tell me what exactly is this object? Also, why is that I can understand your words?"


    "Damn you #%@£¤%... it looks like you this little guy had not understand anything yet." The yellow-hair goblin crazily cursed, before it exined to Snox with a helpless expression. "What you''re looking at right now is the Magical Kernel I invented: the Super Long Distance Magical-Mechanical Communication and Transmitting Machine. To put it simply, it is a little equipment that allows two goblins tomunicate and transmit items across a super long distance.


    As for why you can understand my words, it is because you''re a goblin too! As long as you''re a goblin, no matter which ne you are living in, it is natural that you can understand the Goblinnguage, as it is one unique to Goblins!"


    Snox''s eyes went wider and wider, as it hardly believed what it had just heard.


    "If this machine was invented by you, why was it stranded in this ce?" Snox asked wonderingly.


    "Since this machine is called Super Long Distance Magical-Mechanical Communication and Transmitting Machine, it is of course used to carry out trading of items between nes! When I was young, I produced a few hundred of them at one go, and randomly tossed them into different ces in the multi-verse. So, when the local experts picked up this machine, they could be my customers. If my memory served me well,st time, it was a powerful Molten Giant who used this machine with the serial number of 03768 tomunicate with me. But too bad, that giant was really poor, and didn''t own any good stuff that met the fancy of my eyes!"


    "You... you are actually a Mighty Transnar Merchant?" The greedy-in-nature, keen on receiving petty advantages Snox had its eyes pop out instantly. For Snox, obviously,pared to the status of Chief Inventor of the Goblin Empire, the yellow-hair goblin''s status of a transnar merchant was so much more respectable.


    "Certainly! As the greatest engineer, inventor and transnar merchant of the Goblin Empire, I, Duke Gazlowe, am well-known throughout the entire multi-verse!"


    "You''ve mentioned many times about Goblin Empire? This... what is it then?" Snox asked curiously.


    Gazlowe said out loud with a proud voice, "Goblin Empire is, of course, the empire of Goblins! It is a kingdom built by us, Goblins, after upying an entire ne. In this kingdom, we, the Goblins are the true master of the ne. Since you''ve asked this question, presumably, in the ne you''re living right now, goblins have an inferior status?"


    Hearing what it said, Snox clenched its fists tightly in excitement, while both of its eyes were filled with tiny sparks of envy. However, it soon recalled its current situation and couldn''t help but lower its big ears dejectedly.


    Gazlowe sighed silently.


    It had seen many situations like this. In most of the material nes, Goblins were discriminated against and lived miserable lives being bullied by everybody. They didn''t possess any ability in fighting, and they didn''t have any extraordinary innate abilities. Even among all demons, their ce belonged in the bottom of the food chain.


    Nevertheless, with regards to this goblin who had identally activated the Magical Kernel in another ne, Gazlowe expressed its extreme curiosity. After patiently questioning Snox, it was told that this dejected little goblin was actually a ve who served a mysterious Mage.


    And when Gazlowe couldn''t bear itself and suspected that Snox was just a penniless vagrant who owned nothing, the angry Snox opened up its waist pouch and revealed all its treasures to Gazlowe.


    Human fist-sized Fire Diamonds; Sapphire, Ruby, Green Agate, Topaz, and Beryl which sent forth a powerful aura of magical element, and rare Night-Eye Stones, Pyre Stones, Crimson Spinel Stones and other treasures which could only found in certain nes...


    A little, seemingly insignificant goblin actually took out so many rare gemstones in one go, this had made Gazlowe nearly dropped its eyes out. It paid no attention to those elemental gemstones, because at the ne where it was living, it could find plenty of them easily. However, the Night-Eye Stones, Pyre Stones, Crimson Spinel Stones and few other special gemstones and materials that Snox took out thest were something it had never seen before, and it took a great interest in a few of them.


    In the Goblin Empire where it came from, the one single most powerful creation was all kind of magical machines. And, the energy that drove these magical machines would be a huge amount of energy crystals and distinguished magical gemstones. If it could bring all these special magical gemstones back to the Goblin Empire, figured out the mode of existence and the method of sharing the special energies, no doubt it would bring a tremendous help to the development of the magical machine.


    Thus, the more this two goblins talked, the friendlier they became with each other. By the end, they actually reached a trade agreement, nning to carry out a transnar barter trade in secret.


    The trade list drafted by each of them was extremely long.


    For Snox, it had listed every single magical gemstone, magical materials and some unique Mage resources it heard or seen before in the World of Mage. As for Gazlowe, its listprised all sorts of powerful yet dangerous magical machines and some local resources produced in the Goblin ne.


    While browsing through the trade list provided by the other party, when one of them was interested in some random item on the other''s list, it would offer a price and started the negotiation process. Sure enough, Goblins deserved to be generally regarded as a race that cared about nothing but profit, and they were also the greediest race in the world.


    When it came to the price of the item, this pair of Goblin brothers who were happily chatting with each other moment ago immediately turned into someone as mean as a miser, fighting over the smallest trifles. Because of a difference in one or two magic crystals, they would rage at each other, cursing loudly all the familial rtives of the other goblins, and portray a fierce look of ''take it or leave it''.


    Therefore, Snox didn''t sleep for the entire night, spent all its effort and more than twenty hours fighting with Duke Gazlowe, who was a greedy, stingy, shameless, selfish, narrow-minded... goblin. In addition to that, it also paid no attention to hygiene and carried a pungent body odor. As for the result? Two transnar deals that were worth less than five magic crystals.


    And yet, in order to maintain the smoothmunication, Snox had literally spent three magic crystals in just one night.


    But with regards to this, none of them actually felt strange. Snox was dancing in joy as it was able to negotiate a discount of one single magic crystal for the deal. On the other side, Gazlowe was seen roaring furiously, cursing Snox as the most shameless and despicable green-skinned goblin it ever met.


    Finally, both ended their firstmunication in such ''friendly'' atmosphere!


    ...


    2020 words

 Chapter 137 Infusion

    Three monthster


    When Leon woke up from a long period of meditation, he couldn''t help and have a worried expression on his face.


    "Chip, how efficient is this meditation?"


    "Calcting... Spirit has increased by another 0.007. ording to the current progress, in order to reach the maximum of 20 points, an estimated 139 days will be needed."


    The muscle near the corner of Leon''s lips twitched.


    His body had turned into me Body and he had also used his authority in the Mage Tower to make himself a room with abundant Fire Elementiums. In addition to that, his daily meals were all magical energy foods that would bring great benefits to his body and Spirit. Evenbined with the Fire Diamond pillow and Deep Sea Flower, he had actually just gained an increment of 0.007 in a day. Compared to the past, where he could easily gain 0.05 increment in every meditation, Leon felt it difficult to adapt to the situation.


    Since he had be a Pseudo-Mage, Leon had discovered that the increase in Spirit brought by basic meditation and studying magic spells was not as significant as in the past. Because he had the help of the Chip, he was able to detect the increment of his Spirit on a daily basis. Yet, for those Pseudo-Mages who didn''t own such ability, their productiveness was ten times lower than his. What was the thing that they relied upon in order to go through this painful period?


    Leon closed his eyes and pondered for a brief moment. Only then did he realize something.


    It seemed like those Pseudo-Mages rarely stayed in their own rooms and meditated days and night. Instead, they spent most of their time bustling about, training themselvesboriously through different missions. In the past, Leon had thought they did this for the sake of getting more resources. Now, looking back and pondering deeper, it was more likely that due to the slow progress in their Spirit, they were pushing themselves to the brink of death as a method of stimting their Spirit.


    This might not be a bad idea!


    "Chip, you spent quite a long time doing analysis. Have you found out why there''s such a slow progress for Spirit?"


    "Beep. The modeling of the mission has beenpleted. The result shows that during the period of apprenticeship for humans, the primary task is to arduously increase the density of Elementium in the body and strive for a qualitative change thates from quantitative umtion. The ultimate goal is to rise and be a magical creature: Mage.


    After entering the grade of Pseudo-Mage, the increase of Spirit bes slower because the umtion of element energy is approaching its bottleneck. Due of theck of traction from a vital core, and because of the characteristics of elements, the energy umted in the early state will cause an unpredicted distraction to the energy thates inter. This causes the efficiency of energy umtion in theter state to weaken significantly."


    The Same-Element Attraction and Universal Repulsion of element energy?


    Both of them were elementary theories of elemental magic spells that had long been known by all senior Mages. To put it simply, among the different types of Elementiums, it was easier for the Elementiums with the same element to gather together and produce a homogeneous region. The Mages referred to this phenomenon as Same-Element Attraction!


    However, there was a limit to such aggregation. Once it reached or exceeded this limit, Mages had discovered that it would be extremely difficult to bring in more Elementium of the same element. It was as if there was a powerful repulsive force between those Elementiums of the same element which caused them to reject each other. As a result, Mages had referred to this phenomenon as Universal Repulsion.


    The characteristics of Same-Element Attraction and Universal Repulsion existed within all Elementiums at the same time. The key was the regional density of the Elementium. If the density was lower than the limit, they would portray the characteristics of Same-Element Attraction, but when it was higher than the limit, they would show the characteristics of Universal Repulsion. The Mages didn''t know the details and exact theory for this phenomenon, or perhaps they did have a conclusion but magical knowledge of such an advanced degree was not something Leon had the right to know right now.


    "Chip, do you have any workable methods that can solve the current problem?"


    "Beep. Data analysisplete. There are two workable solutions:


    Solution number 1: Core Transnt.


    The Spirit of Apprentice Mages is scattered, as it is not bound by a vital core. Transnting a Fire element core into the brain can reduce the repulsiveness between Fire Elementiums.


    Pros: Able to solve the issue of having Spirit increase at a slow rate, and eventually increase the sess rate of official Mage Advancement Ceremony.


    Cons: The transnted Fire element core cannotpare to the Element Core formed by oneself and it will restrict the possibility of future development.


    Solution number 2: Stimte the Spirit.


    Bypass the weak stimtion toward the Spiritual Domain which is caused by the umtion of Elementium. Instead, use a more direct approach which can stimte the source of the Spirit, using the method of reducing the tenacity of the Spirit to obtain increments of the Spirit''s maximum limit."


    Leon knitted his brows in a tight frown.


    Ugh, restricted to the knowledge mastered by the Chip, Leon didn''t like either of the solutions it provided. The first solution was a method that attended to the superficials and neglected the essentials; it was the lousiest approach that could destroy his future totally, and was only useful to those Pseudo-Mages who had no more hope of bing an official Mage. As for the second solution, it wasn''t too dependable either. It was still unknown whether this method could really cultivate an official Mage, but it for sure could give birth to a freak.


    Since the crooked ways weren''t feasible at all, Leon had no choice but to focus all of his attention on the source of Mages.


    Spirit!


    The reason for human Mages to set 21 points of Spirit as the basic threshold of breaking through the limits of humans and bing official Mages was most probably because 20 points was the maximum limit of Spirit a human''s body could ever achieve!


    Once they stepped over this threshold, there would be some essential differences between a human Mage and an ordinary human, as the human Mage would be more like a magical creature. Therefore, the reason why there was such a huge gap in the overall strength between an Mage of 21 points Spirit and a Pseudo-Mage of 20 points Spirit was most probably because the basic data of their bodies had be totally different!


    With the aid of so many outside advantages, without the need to participate in any life and death training, Leon could still achieve an increment of 0.007 in his Spirit on a daily basis. If this was known by any other Pseudo-Mages, for sure they would be extremely jealous. For Leon, however, it was still very slow!


    Because... because the recent transformation of Worm controller ke had made his heart tremble!


    Initially, he had thought his progress had gone beyond all other people. Thus, catching up or even suppressing ke was just a matter of time. But, after he had identally bumped into ke in the Tower a few days ago, such thoughts had be rather inconclusive!


    That Worm controller nearly had a new transformation every single day and his massive Spiritual pressure had be more visible. After having the Chip perform a scan on him, Leon knew that it was highly possible Worm controller''s Spirit had gone beyond the half-mark of a Pseudo-Mage. That meant his Spirit must have reached beyond 20.50. Yet, he had only be a Pseudo-Mage less than half a year ago!


    This proved that the increase rate of Worm controller ke''s Spirit was not weaker than Leon''s.


    Of course, it might be the result of ke visiting the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower every couple of days. From the scan results of the Chip, it was highly possible that Mage Eclivel was performing a bloodline infusion experiment on ke, because the Chip had detected the familiar scent of blood from ke''s body.


    Although the smell of blood was rather faint, with the Chip''s gene detection approach that scanned up to the cellr level, it was still detectable and was presented in front of Leon. He was really angry with such a discovery, as the source of the bloodline factor was actually pointing directly at Bleia.


    This meant that the blood sample Bleia had given Mage Eclivel was being used on Worm controller. Having two different bloodlines that kept fighting each other inside of ke''s body was no different than cing him at the brink of life and death every single day. No wonder his Spirit was increasing at such an incredible rate.


    There was no room for reconciliation between Worm controller ke and Leon. And yet, there was one thing that worried Leon the most. If ke was able to stand at the pinnacle of Pseudo-Mage before him, then it was highly possible that something he didn''t want to see would happen.


    From the information publicly avable in magical books, he knew that the sess rate of bing an official Mage in the Zhentarim region wasn''t that high. Basically, out of ten Pseudo-Mages, if two or three of them could be official Mages, that would be something worth a grand celebration. During an official Mage Advancement Ceremony, though the innate talent of an apprentice yed a big role, arge part of the sess rate was actually pure luck.


    Indeed, a Pseudo-Mage with a powerful innate ability would have a higher sess rate than those Pseudo-Mages of that weaker innate talent, however, it was not absolutely certain. Even a Pseudo-Mage with extraordinary innate talent would still have to face the possibility of failing when advancing into the realm of official Mage! Yet, for some fellows with lousy innate talent, if they were lucky enough, they might take the leap and rise to be the master of this world ¨C an official Mage!


    Therefore, in the Mage Continent, every single Pseudo-Mage felt nervous during the official Mage Advancement Ceremony, fearing they might miss their steps and became a total failure for their life. After all, once the advancement ceremony was failed, there would be a significant decay in the Pseudo-Mage''s Spirit and the sess rate of next advancement would drop by 50%.


    Hence, except for those favored children who received special attention from big families, no Mage Family wanted to pour another round of new investment into a Pseudo-Mage who had failed once.


    And this was what worried Leon the most!


    If... if ke reached the top of Pseudo-Mage first, he would only have to tell those Mages who were in charge of the advancement ceremony that his sess rate of advancement was 100% if he could devour Bleia. Then... what kind of oue would happen?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    On one side was a Pseudo-Mage who had signed an Mage contract with the family, and on the other side were two Pseudo-Mages who had only signed the servicing contract. One had a 100% sess rate of advancement, the other side had two Pseudo-Mages who had an uncertain sess rate of advancement...


    If it was that situation, together with the involvement of Mage Eclivel, Bleia would face a life-threatening situation!


    Leon hadn''t told Bleia about this. Before he had a method to solve this situation, telling the situation to the irritable Bleia would be no help at all. Unless Leon could capture tens of Mage level demons at one go and give them all to Bleia as a supplements, he would have to depend only on himself in order to change the situation.


    Leon lowered his head and looked at his right palm. On top of it, there were two ck fragments of bugs. Through his powerful Elementium Vision, Leon could barely see some constantly changing Musta scripts on top of the fragments. On one of the fragments, he read ''save me,'' while the other was ''devour Bleia.''


    The two fragments of bugs didn''te to him at the same time. The first one had arrived during the night, one month ago. When he had been meditating, a fingernail sized ck bug had crawled through the window into Leon''s room. It had exploded upon touching on Leon''s wooden table, leaving behind only a bizarre shell covered with words. As for the second one, it had appeared one week ago.


    It was only because of the clues brought by these fragments that Leon had drawn the conclusion that ke had the intention of devouring Bleia. Otherwise, no matter how profound his intelligence, there was no way he could have thought of such an absurd conclusion.


    ...


    2165 Words

 Chapter 138 Slave

    No doubt, the bugs had been sent by the Worm controller ke himself!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Save me?


    Could he really be pleading for help?


    Devour Bleia?


    Why would he leak his best workable n to Leon?


    After posting a bunch of questions to the Chip and having it analyze the possible answers, a terrible plot was soon discovered, and it simply left Leon chilled to the bone!


    Most probably, Worm controller had been totally controlled by Mage Eclivel until now, and that had forced him to seek help from his enemy, Leon. As for how a Pseudo-Mage who was under the total control of an Mage was able to deceive his master and retain his soul consciousness, perhaps that had something to do with his unique bug body!


    Though he was fortunate enough to retain his self-conscious under the evil plot of Mage Eclivel, obviously, there was no way he could escape from the control. Therefore, he used the method of leaking their treacherous plot in exchange for Leon''s interference.


    However, even though Leon knew all this, was there anything he could do about it?


    Should he lodge aint with Mage Keoghan, who was also an Mage from the Sarubo Family, and tell him about the impudent behavior of Mage Eclivel? That might make Mage Eclivel suffer some punishment, but it wouldn''t change the situation at the root, as ke would be still under his control. And if Eclivel made it clear that he was willing to give up the right of control, perhaps the Sarubo Family would take over the control of a family Mage who obeyed all their orders, wholeheartedly.


    If that happened, Bleia still wouldn''t escape her tragic destiny!


    Defeat and kill Eclivel? This was simply something impossible to achieve!


    If all of the four formidable golems anticipated by Leon were ready and he could lure Mage Eclivel to some pre-set ce, together with the help from Bleia and ke, they might have a slight chance of killing him. However, the sess rate for a n like this would never exceed 12%, ording to the Chip. Leon would never take such a huge risk!


    In the past, whenever someone had mentioned how powerful an Mage was, he had only had a rather vague and general idea. But through the training he had gone through in the past half a year, Leon finally had a basic outline in his mind.


    Take Beginner Apprentices as an example. Their bodies were nearly identical to a normal human; the only difference was that they had mastered one or two magic spells of average power, and that was a really low number. With this grade, if an apprentice went to carry out a mission, they usually hired some human mercenaries to protect them from being hurt by ordinary humans, such as damageing from arrows, flying daggers, traps, and other simr weapons.


    Once they had managed to be an Intermediate Apprentice, the power of an Apprentice Mage would start to show up. At this grade, either they had chosen their direction of future development or they possessed some approach that would bring them strong power; no ordinary human couldpare anymore. Even the militia organized by themon cities would not provoke anyone from this group of fearful existences. However, so long as they employed an appropriate approach, the possibility of ordinary humans killing Intermediate Apprentices still existed.


    But, once an apprentice entered the Advanced Apprentice realm, then even a mortal army would not be able to defeat him anymore. Imagine this, a person who possessed the vigorous vitality of a wild buffalo, was able to run as fast as a cheetah, and could put out the formidable strength that was no weaker than a burly adult. For an existence like this, even without using any magic spells, they would be able to wreak havoc within the mortal army. If he was aided with magic spells, annihting an army of two hundred men would be like cutting through butter with a hot knife.


    Of course, if a human noble was willing to pay a huge price to equip an army of fearless soldiers with the finest weapons and armor, it was still possible to defeat an Advanced Apprentice by sacrificing the lives of over three hundred soldiers.


    But once an Apprentice Mage became a Pseudo-Mage, then the army of an ordinary human noble would lose any effectiveness. If this Pseudo-Mage was shameless enough to conduct guerri warfare, he might even be able to copse some small kingdoms. In order to deal with a Pseudo-Mage, it would need the life of at least 1000 elite soldiers. As for whether could they kill the Pseudo-Mage, it would purely depend on their luck during the battle!


    Of course, theparison of overall strength mentioned was derived from a situation where the mortal powers weren''t aid by any mysterious forces. Yet currently, throughout the entire Mage Continent, if a kingdom didn''t seek protection from an Mage Family, there was no way it could survive. Many Kings or Grand Dukes of human kingdoms were actually agents sent by Mage Families, random mortals who were experts in managing and running a territory, or Apprentice Mages who had lost all hope of advancing further.


    In brief, mortal power was always a tool for Mages, and the rtionship was never reciprocal.


    So, in order to deal with an Mage, mortal forces would never be dependable.


    Only an Mage had the possibility of killing another Mage!


    This true saying had been deeply engraved into the bones of all mortals. No human nobles, big and small, who were protected by Mage Families would want to offend any Mages, even if the one in question was the lousiest Mage. After all, the power of an Mage was extremely dreadful!


    Therefore, after estimating the overall strength of both sides, Leon quickly gave up the stupid idea of fighting Mage Eclivel face to face.


    Although Mages were dangerous and fearful, so long as one could find the right way, an Mage was rather fragile!


    Every year, there were a bunch of Mages who identally died in magical experiments and there was also many of them who ventured deep into a savage forest and never came back. But most of them actually died in the conquering warfare of the Mage Families.


    Sometimes, it was the war for territory between different Mage Families of the original ne, sometimes it was the conquering and colonization warfare the Mage Family conducted in the other nes. In brief, if Leon and others became official Mages, they too would probably have to participate in many bloody wars.


    However, sitting back and waiting quietly for Mage Eclivel to kill them was an absurd thought. With the nasty character of Mage Eclivel, where he would spend years dwelling in the Swampy Tower and never go out, one could easily tell that he was a research type Mage and not an expert in battling.


    But even so, Leon still didn''t want to fight him face to face!


    Since he had no intention to fight head on, then the only option left would be scheming.


    Therefore, during this period of time, aside from spending all day arduously improving his overall strength, Leon also quietly nned and prepared for something. However, because the target of his scheme this time was an official Mage, Leon had to consider carefully before making any decisions. After all, if ke wished to reach the pinnacle of the Pseudo-Mage stage, it would take another three months, so Leon still had some time to plot his scheme.


    ......


    Inside Worm controller ke''s room.


    It was dark and wet like the true nest of a bug. White cocoons could be seen all over the floor. Some of them were broken, with numerousrvae crawling out from these broken cocoons and their body covered in sticky, yellow slime. Whenever a rune was lit from within a magical array engraved on the floor, bright light would shine upon the intact cocoons, turning them transparent, and one could even see countlessrvae inside of the cocoons.


    There was the mutted dead body of a wild buffalo on one corner of the room, and traces of bug bites could be found on top of it. The ck blood of the buffalo oozed from the dead body and spilled all over the ce, sending forth a pungent and foul smell.


    The air within the room was extremely filthy. It smelled like strong acid mixed with blood and a rotting scent. Yet, it was as if ke never noticed it. He was sitting on the floor, both legs folded, his body bent forward and stock still. Though he didn''t move his body, subtle movement could be seen within the gray robe on his body. From time to time, it would bulge for a brief moment before returning to its original shape.


    This was a sign that within his seemingly calm body, it was not as peaceful as the outside indicated.


    Since he hade back from the bloodline infusion ceremony carried out by Eclivel, most of the time, ke would sit quietly like a dead man, not moving at all. Yet, inside of his body, a bloody war without any physical expression had juste to a temporary stop.


    Every day, the Half-Bug Bloodline, lead by the queen of Carrion Beetles, and the Vampire Bloodline, lead by the Heart of Bloodthirsty, would use his body as a battlefield and fight an intense war. Both parties wished to devour the other and use the other as nourishment to strengthen themselves. Hence, in this war of bloodlines where the winner would survive and the loser would die, neither of them was willing topromise and co-exist with the other.


    If two mutated bloodlines could be fused together easily, there would be plenty of Bloodline Mages in this world. Why would there be still so many Mages who dwelt deeply in dark and wet towers, carrying out frightening experiments that mostly yielded no results?


    If the potential of two separate bloodlines was imbnced, then the inevitable oue would be having one devoured by the other. Yet, if the potential was bnced, it would end up with both being losers and cause the body of the host to disintegrate. All in all, in order to make two ipatible bloodlines coexist harmoniously, it seemed like a key neutralizing agent was missing, which meant that the Mages couldn''t create the results they wanted through any bloodline experiments.


    If the development followed such trend, ke would eventually face the miserable oue of being killed.


    Initially, the Half-Bug Bloodline had upied the home advantage in his body and had had the absolute advantage in the war with the Vampire Bloodline. However, whenever the Vampire Bloodline was going to be defeated, Mage Eclivel would always call him to the secret room located on the fifth floor of the tower and inject a new dose of the source blood into his body.


    It was all because of this endless supply of new blood that the Vampire Bloodline was able to contaminate a vital organ of ke; it had modified ke''s heart into the Heart of Bloodthirsty. With the aid of the Heart of Bloodthirsty, the Vampire Bloodline had gained the upper hand in the war of bloodlines for the first time. The obvious symptom of this was that ke''s bug body had deteriorated and his skin had started to turn dark red.


    ke''s head had sunk to his breast. Even when the battle of the two bloodlines caused a significant decay in his vitality, making him stand at the gates of death, he still didn''t move. However, right at this moment, in the depths of his Spiritual Domain, on top of the source of his soul, an even crueler and brutal battle was happening.


    The conscious seal formed by the soul contract was deeply seared on the source of ke''s soul. But strangely, some cracks surrounded the part of his soul which bore the soul contract, and it seemed that part of his soul had almost departed from the entire source of the soul.


    By hiding most of his consciousness in the queen of Carrion Beetles'' body and escaping from the control of Mage Eclivel, ke was able to barely maintain the independence of his own consciousness. At this point in time, he dared not let his primary consciousness to return to the source of the soul. Once it made the return, the fact that he still had an independent consciousness would be sensed by Mage Eclivel through the soul contract.


    Therefore, currently in his body, Mage Eclivel was only controlling his secondary consciousness, which he had broken up earlier. But his primary consciousness was hiding inside, waiting for the perfect opportunity to seize back the control of his body.


    It was extremely tough to escape from Mage Eclivel''s control just by relying on his strength alone. That was why he had secretly sent a few of his bugs to seek help from the enemy he hated the most. But too bad, both distress calls he had sent were like stones dropped into the sea, producing no response at all. With that, ke couldn''t bear it and became restless with anxiety.


    ...


    2210 Words

 Chapter 139 Confession

    The third floor of the Swampy Tower, inside of the Alchemy Laboratory.


    After upying the highest standard Alchemy Laboratory alone, Leon had made it his home and hadn''t stepped out from it for three days and three nights.


    The first day, he hadn''t done anything. He had just held the core of the First Grade Molten Giant, which would be the target of his experiment, and turned it round and round for careful examination, allowing the Chip to finish its final molding and design.


    Through the powerful see through ability provided by Elementium Vision, he could see every single crystal that formed the entire crystal core, every single thread of crystal, from the direction of where they stretched to the distribution of Earth and Fire Elementium, together with each part''s hardness; every single detail, every single node, was stored in his mind without leaving out anything. The gathered information was then turned into groups of data and eventually transformed into a three-dimensional and detailed virtual model.


    After finishing with all that, without saying another word, Leon simplyid down on the floor inside the Alchemy Laboratory and went into deep slumber. He only woke up early morning of the next day. He stretched his back and yawned, standing up from the floor.


    He washed his face with some fresh water summoned using a magic spell and tidied himself up. When he felt his Spirit had freshened up again, Leon once again stood in front of the Alchemy Station with a solemn expression.


    After going through so long a period of preparation and brewing, the design of a brand new golem was deeply engraved in his mind. Today, he would turn them into reality.


    He curved the corner of his lips upward a little bit, giving himself encouragement with a brief smile. Gradually, the hesitation and worries in Leon''s eyes faded away and were reced with resolution and confidence.


    Without hesitation, Leon waved his hand and activated the Alchemy Station.


    A brand new golem with a brand new design concept. In order to exert the power of this double-element core of Earth and Fire to the fullest, the Chip had specially designed a brand new three-dimensional magical array for them. Five Energy Gathering Arrays, three Elementium Strengthening Arrays, two Elementium Switching Arrays, two Energy Force Field Arrays, one Lava Armor Activator, one Summoning Runes Array, one Elementium Life Granting Array, several energy nodes and circuits...


    The Beginner Apprentice level y golem only had seven magical arrays. While the Lightning Giant employed the decentralized approach of a three-dimensional magical array, it only had nine magical arrays on top of the priBleia core. Yet, for this core of a First Grade Molten Giant, which was only the size of a chicken egg, Leon nned to carve sixteen magical arrays in one go. Not only that, he also needed to connect them together and eventually make them into one massive andpact entity.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Back on Earth in his previous life, he could let the smartputer control and finish such microscopic carving work on the molecr level. However, in this miraculous and mystical world, the only thing Leon could rely on was the guidance and assistance of the Chip, and he had to personallyplete all of the tasks himself.


    Throughout the entire three hours of the rune carving process, not a single careless mistake or ck behavior was permitted. If the carving of any rune deviated from the original design, even if it was just the distance of a single crystal thread, it would cause significant influence on the finished golem. Yet, if the deviation went beyond the distance of two crystal threads, it meant that the Mage level core he had obtained by risking his life would be destroyed.


    In addition to that, during the carving process, he needed to maintain a stable and constant output of his Spirit. If the output was too low, it would affect the circting efficiency of the Elementium energy and if it was too high, it might poke through the surface of the crystal core and damage the inner core. As for stopping half way during the crafting process, it was a huge taboo. He had toplete the entire process in one go, and had no room for any hesitation.


    In order to make the crystal core unleash its full power, it must be matched with sufficient magical arrays. Yet, more magical arrays meant there was little room for mistakes during the crafting process, as any slight mistake would cause the crystal core to be destroyed. Therefore on the Mage Continent, anyone who could carve more than ten magical arrays on top of an Mage level crystal core was regarded as a Master Alchemist. Meanwhile, only a Grandmaster of Alchemy could carve sixteen magical arrays on top of a single core in one go.


    Therefore... naturally, the first Mage level golem crafted by Leon was a total failure!


    During the carving process, the heat beam controlled by Leon''s Spirit had stopped at a spot for an additional 0.7 seconds. It poked through the surface of the crystal core and when the internal core was touched by the heat beam, it instantly exploded and disintegrated.


    A crystal core worth more than 4000 magic crystals was destroyed just like that!


    With no time to feel upset or regret and no time to sigh with emotion or indulge in sorrow. Leon simply threw away the residues of the broken crystal core in his hand and waved his arm to shut off the Alchemy Station,id himself on the floor, and sunk into deep slumber once again.


    If time were with him, he could have performed this task after bing an official Mage. At that point, with the help of his Spirit which would have multiplied many times, it would be easier and more rxed than now.


    But time was pressing on him!


    The feeling of urgency had forced him to reinforce his overall strength as soon as possible. Yet, trying to challenge a task at the Mage level with the ability of Pseudo-Mage, he faced unimaginable risks. However, he had no alternative but to choose now.


    Seven hourster, after freshening his Spirit, Leon stood back up, once again in front of the Alchemy Station bravely.


    But too bad, just two hourster, the second crystal core was still a failure.


    This time, Leon didn''t rush toy down. He sat on the cold stone floor with his leg folded, took out some food, and ate it quickly. When he finished his meal, heid t on the nket and sank into a deep sleep. Two teardrops rolled off his face silently, but he wasn''t aware of that.


    Ten hourster, right after his Spirit had been restored to its maximum level, prompted by the Chip, Leon opened his eyes. Inside of his ck and crystal clear eyes, there was no hesitation or helplessness, or even any remorse or regret. There was only tenacity and perseverance with no chance of turning back.


    After thirteen seconds, Leon once again stood in front of the Alchemy Station.


    Perhaps it was because no difficulty was insurmountable if one set his mind to it, or maybe everything woulde easy at the right time, the third crystal core waspleted just like that!


    Leon didn''t roar out loudly and he didn''t cheer with tears bursting out from his eyes. As calm as ever, Leon carefully ced the crystal core in a safe ce. Then he once againid down on the nket and went into a deep and sound sleep.


    Fifteen hourster, the fourth crystal core was a sess too!


    Not until thest magical rune was carved, the entire set of three-dimensional linesposed into a perfectly intact and closed magical array, and the Elementium energy absorbed from the air started to flow freely in the magical rings, did Leon''s rigid face start to have a slight expression.


    He couldn''t tell whether he felt joy or heartache and couldn''t tell if his mind was filled with pleasure or sorrow. The repeated process of having his Spirit depleted and refilled multiple times had long wearied him.


    After cleaning up everything in the Alchemy Laboratory, he shut down the Alchemy Station, walked out from theboratory, and returned to his room. Upon reaching his room, Leon simply let go of everything and fell into a deep sleep.


    He was asleep for a full day and night before he could get rid of the fatigued feeling and escape from a dark nightmare where he kept falling off a cliff into a bottomless abyss. But before he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the delicious aroma of food.


    He opened his eyes and saw that a familiar face was bowed over the bed, looking at him. The pretty face disyed confusion and bewilderment, but most of it looked thoughtful. She carried a wooden tray in her hands. A te of beef fillet dressed with juicy gravy and a few sweet, fluffy white buns could be seen on the tray, along with a te of assorted fresh fruit.


    "Are you hiding something from me?" Bleia asked slowly.


    Though the man in front of her looked only 16 or 17 years old, he actually possessed a staid and tactful temperament, which even many adults didn''t have, and he always had a look of perfect calm, as if he could aplish any task with ease. Although a man like this could bring confidence and a feeling of dependability to his peers, she just felt that the man had buried his true feelings very deep.


    The current exhausted look was rare for the man. Every time he looked like this, it meant that they were facing a tough issue that was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.


    What kind of tough issue had forced him to this degree of exhaustion?


    Bleia was greatly puzzled.


    By rights, now was the period they had the most freedom and leisure! Since both of them had be Pseudo-Mages, many restrictions that had shackled them in the past had vanished like mist and smoke. Even Mage Bleia had been solicitous and be friendlier.


    As long as they followed the current path and walked steadily, relying on their innate talent and potential, stepping to the pinnacle of the Pseudo-Mage stage was just a matter of one or two years. At that point, if they tried their luck, they might even have the possibility of bing noble Mages who could control their own fates!


    When that moment came... it would be when they could always keep each otherpany, like birds flying and nesting together, and the moment they officially became spouses!


    Since everything seemed so beautiful, Bleia was greatly puzzled about why Leon was still working so hard. With her knowledge about Leon after spending so much time with him, she was sure that there must be a new crisis of a great magnitude ahead, and it was a crisis that she couldn''t sense at all. Otherwise, there was no way this man would work like there was no tomorrow!


    Of course, with Bleia''s temperament, she would straightaway ask anything that came to her mind.


    Leon let out a wry smile. He took the meal tray from Bleia, staying on his bed, and polished off the foods.


    After he finished his meal, his face filled with a bright smile, Leon grabbed Bleia''s tiny palm and started asking about her training. However, secretly, he quickly told Bleia everything through Spiritual Whisper.


    Since Bleia had noticed something, Leon had no intention of keeping her in dark anymore. He would need her to participate in many things toe, so it was vital to tell her early so that she could mentally prepare.


    Initially, after telling her everything he knew at one go, Leon had prepared to use force to prevent Bleia from going on a rampage. But unexpectedly, after learning everything through his Spiritual Whisper, Bleia, who supposed to blow a fuse, was actually rather calm. She even... even stared at his face with an interesting expression.


    Could the Bleia in front of him be fake?


    Just as Leon started to suspect that he was talking to a dummy, Bleia finally chuckled and asked, "You did all this just because of me? They just want to im my life. Why are you making such a desperate effort?"


    Although she was talking about a topic concerning her life, looking at her face, which was melting in smiles, it was as if she wasn''t concerned at all.


    Did she know exactly what they were facing? Why wasn''t she showing any concern over her own life but wandering from the subject and talking about something else?


    Leon startled for a brief moment, speechless, and said, "You... because I want to Rape you and impregnate you with my dirty sperm forever.."


    Before he could finish his words, a pair of sweet, juicy, and soft lips had locked onto his lips.


    ...


    2172

 Chapter 140 Again

    The man was masculine and hearty and the girl was seductive and charming; a grand show of eroticism was about to ur.


    But the two performers didn''t throw themselves into the show enthusiastically, and the words quickly exchanged between them would make anyone who heard them speechless.


    "Hey, that thing on your body is so hard! You''ve hurt me..."


    "Hmph! If you dare to bite me, I''ll blow you away from here!"


    "Alright, alright! Don''t be mad... anyhow, the smell of your blood is getting sweeter, I just can''t help but wish to taste it!"


    Bleia was now kneeling and sitting intimately on top of Leon''s body, while he was sitting half way up from the bed. Her juicy lips had just left his shoulder and she was touching her pair of tiny fangs andining about the pain. Meanwhile, a small Fire Shield that had suddenly burst out was hovering on top of Leon''s shoulder; the fierce mes had just subsided.


    One of Leon''s hand was gently stroking Bleia''s back while the other hand was pressing against her lower abdomen. Both hands were now glowing faintly with red light. With a single thought, the explosion of Fire Elementium could blow Bleia away from his body.


    "Leon, the smelling from your body is getting tastier! Couldn''t you please let me taste just a little bit? Just one tiny little bite will do..." Bleia brought her tongue to her lips. She couldn''t bear it and kept trying to enchant the man.


    But too bad, Leon had long be immune towards her tactics.


    "Hmph. I''m sorry, I don''t have the luck to enjoy it. You female vampires are simply too terrifying! I''m scared that if I really received an ecstatic kiss from you, by the time I stepped down from this bed, I would have dropped back to Advanced Apprentice from Pseudo-Mage! Do you know the situation right now? Don''t be ridiculous!"


    "I just can''t stop myself!"


    "Ugh... this vampire race''s illness of biting someone when they get excited has really gained a deep root in you..."


    "Alright, let''s call a stop for now. Since we still have some time, I''ll need to improve my strength as well!" After she finished saying that, a pair ofrge leather bat wings spread out from her back. Following a gentle swinging motion from the wings, she gracefully leapt into the air, flying backward and out from the narrow room.


    She gave Leon a beautiful smile before turning around and leaving.


    As Bleia disappeared from his sight, Leon finally breathed out a brief sigh of relief.


    He couldn''t help it. The power of Bleia''s charm was getting stronger and she had better learned how to use her innate Natural Charm. Although Leon had confidence that she wouldn''t hurt him, the habit of female vampires where they would simply bite someone when they were aroused really made Leon''s hair stand on end.


    Although both he and Bleia were Pseudo-Mages, once he allowed Bleia to bite through the protectiveyer of Fire Shield, the sharp fangs would release a frightening hallucinogenic agent upon contact with his blood. It was a hallucinogenic agent that even he as a Pseudo-Mage did not have immunity for. That was the reason why the fellows with weak resistance factors in their body couldn''t struggle, even as they were killed by Bleia''s bloodsucking ability.


    Leon also didn''t have confidence that he could survive the ecstatic kiss of a Pseudo-Mage level female vampire!


    Even though they were having fun just now, the information Leon wished to tell her had been transmitted into her mind using Spiritual Whisper. Yes, Bleia was a hot-tempered person, but when she was faced with a life-threatening situation, she still showed prudent behavior. If during normal times, she behaved like a hot-tempered and irritable person, it was because she believed she could solve everything with her sharp fangs and ws, and therefore, she was toozy to employ any treacherous plot or scheme.


    However, when her enemy was an official Mage, the profound knowledge and life experience she had umted during her apprenticeship would instinctively tell her what to do. This was also a must-have survival skill for every single Apprentice Mage!


    When fist and fireball could solve everything, using force to break through the tough situation was the easiest approach! And when fist and fireball couldn''t crack the nut, the smart brain of an Apprentice was something that no one could underestimate!


    Leon stepped down from his bed and walked slowly to the living hall. He recited a short incantation and summoned a smooth mirror of water. He took a few slow turns in front of the mirror, giving his own body a serious look.


    After he had gone through the washing in the undergroundva ocean, his current body waspletely different from the past. The tall and burly body was now d in a simple long robe; by putting out slight force, bits of lean muscles would poke right out. He had dark red skin, long dark red hair, and there was even a ring of tiny dark red spots surrounding his ck pupils.


    Flowing under the tough muscle was a copious amount of bodily strength. With his current muscle strength, he could fight face to face with an Iron Rhinoceros. With his Physique and the toughness of his muscle, he could resist the piercing of some small sharp weapons. Taking the super high resistance and personal protection of his me Body into consideration, he could even take a walk naked in the Magical Swamp and only a handful of demons could hurt him.


    And that was not because the level of demons in the Magical Swamp was not high!


    Although he was only 17 years old, his two meter tall burly body and the glossy skin hardly anyone would believe that he was just a teenager who hadn''t reached adulthood. Both the firm muscle and the dark red skin tone had given him an impressive touch of evilness and charm.


    Just as Leon was admiring his near perfect body, a chuckle that spoiled the pleasure suddenly broke out from the side.


    "Eh, I never know you had such a hobby? You''re growing into a narcissist now!"


    It was Bleia!


    Leon rolled his eyes. Only Bleia could enter his residence freely and never knocked the door before she came! Also, she could move at high speeds and lightly; on many asions, even the Chip could hardly detect her until she drew very close.


    Embarrassed, Leon waved his hand and dispelled the water mirror. Then, with a shake of both arms, all of the magical equipment scattered over the floor flew back onto his body, armoring him rapidly.


    "I thought you had gone for training? Why did youe back?" Leon asked grumpily.


    As he had just gone through a few days of painful torture, he was nning to give himself a half day''s break so that he could just rx and enjoy the happiness and joy brought by his skyrocketed overall strength.


    "Hmph! Do you really think I like to watch how you pose yourself in front of a mirror? Your old friend is here; that''s what I''m here to tell you about!"


    "Old friend?"


    "That Lucy who was defeated twice by you. She is now standing right in front of the Swampy Tower main entrance and is demanding to see you in person!"


    Leon drew in a cold breath instantly. He had just begun to feel the beauty of the life, but now he was struck with a headache.


    ...


    At the main entrance of the Swampy Tower.


    d in a long princess dress, the petite doll-like Lucy was standing right in front of the main entrance, expressionless. Even though she didn''t express any emotions, there was an oppressive and low-pressure force field that kept emanating from her tiny body, pressing against the two Advanced Apprentices in front of her and making them furrow their brows.


    A Beginner Apprentice, Nn, who used to be rather ''familiar'' to Leon,y in pain at her feet. Both his arms were twisted like dough. If he didn''t go through a full healing, it would likely be extremely tough to recover.


    Though it was Super Girl and Fatal Shot Evan who blocked Lucy, they showed no intention to attack the little girl. It was because they actually sensed a Pseudo-Mage level spiritual ripplee from the ''petite and cute'' Lucy.


    This was the only kind of spiritual ripple that made them hate with gnashing teeth!


    Because... because in just the short period of half a year, they had repeatedly sensed it at least three or four times!


    Damn it, since when did the Pseudo-Mage stage became so easy to achieve? How were there so many new Pseudo-Mages appearing in front of them!


    To be honest, Super Girl and Fatal Shot had no opinion with regards to any outsiders who became Pseudo-Mages. However, when, one after another, ''familiar'' people around them suddenly became Pseudo-Mages, yet it had been so long for them and they had hardly obtained any critical breakthroughs; this was the main reason why they hated and were jealous to their bones!


    Just as they joined forces and barely held up the brutal and violent spiritual pressureing from Lucy, they heard footstepsing from inside the tower behind them. It was Leon and Bleia who walked out side by side.


    Lucy suddenly retracted her spiritual pressure. Then she threw her cold nce onto Leon''s face like a razor-sharp de. Super Girl and Fatal Shot, who were struggling miserably from the pressure, instantly felt the burden lift. Without hesitation, they quickly moved backwards and gave way to Leon. Though their hearts were filled with hate, when the two Pseudo-Mages, Leon and Bleia, made their appearance, they couldn''t help but breathe out a sigh of relief.


    The spiritual ripples of Lucy and Leon collided in midair. Then they retracted it at the same time.


    She had be a Pseudo-Mage!


    He had also advanced into the realm of Pseudo-Mages!


    An astonishment of unknown sentiment surged up in both hearts at the same time.


    Compared to the past, both of them had significant changed, from their outward appearance to their temperament. However, there was no way they could fake their spiritual ripple. Therefore, just through brief contact, they immediately realized the transformation of their opponent. Of course, what had changed and what remained the same was still obvious, as always, which made both of them gnash their teeth in hatred!


    "Are you here to have another fight with me or are you here to fulfill your pledge?" Leon crossed his arms on his chest, touching his clean chin with one hand. Following the improvement of his overall strength, his self-confidence had taken a leap; together with that, his personal charisma had increased significantly as well.


    "I''m here to, of course, I''m here to... to..." Initially, Lucy, who hade with an imposing manner, had intended to unt her prowess. However, when faced with Leon, who was not any weaker than her, for some unknown reason, she actually lost some of her confidence. "Last time was just an ident, this... if you can defeat me this time, I''ll be sincerely convinced!"


    "Are you sure this is thest time? And there won''t be a fourth time, or fifth time..." Leon tilted his body forward slightly, so he sent forth a stronger sense of pressure.


    "Bullsh... Nonsense! You only defeated me once... the first time I was defeated because of the sneak attack that came from that rascal female vampire. That didn''t count..." Though she realized her oppressive air was weakening, Lucy still clenched her fists tightly, wanting to fight for her honor. "Also... also if I defeat you this time, I''ll not kill you... I''ll spare you once too, and give you a chance to seek your revenge..."


    After she finished saying that, she once again held her head high and snorted coldly at Leon.


    "It seems like you lost to me in the previous fight. Why should I use my own possessions to bet with again?" Leon let out an evilugh, with a weird expression of flirting a little loli.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hmph! I knew you would say this!" Lucy said, like she was disdainful and refuting Leon. She reached her hand into the air and pulled out a magical scroll that emanated with a startling magical ripple. "Not long ago, you visited the territory of the Zuber Family and wreaked havoc, nearly destroying their resource site. If not for Granny Endor helping you stop this crisis, do you think you could have escaped from the revenge of the Zuber Family? Their Second Grade Mage almoste here to strangle you! Do you really think they are just a bunch of idiots and cannot figure out the trouble you caused underground?"


    The expression on Leon''s face became rigid.


    True enough, he had been rather thoughtless in what he did, as he had only concentrated on how to strengthen his overall strength. He had neglected the possible reaction of the Molten Giants. He had gone too far by destroying their ancestor''s graveyard!


    "So, what do you want?" Leon now spoke in a milder tone.


    "So long as you ept my challenge and fight another round with me, we, the Northern Witches, will assume part of your responsibility in causing that trouble. Now, sign this magical scroll. With that, it will make sure we fulfill our pledge!"


    "Is this all you want? Since you''re so eager to defeat me and get rid of the pledge you made before, don''t tell me you are from the n of Destiny Witches?" With the aid from the Chip, Leon knew nearly all of the experts from the different powerful ns throughout the entire Mage Continent. That was why he could sense something from Lucy''s eager attitude.


    "That is none of your business! My only question for you is whether you want to sign it or not. Sign the contract and we''ll have a new bet. If you win, I''ll still be your ve, and we''ll bear the responsibility. If you lose, we''ll still help you, but all previous pledges between us will be voided. I''ll not kill you, but grant you the opportunity to seek your revenge. So, are you going to sign it or not?"


    "I''ll sign it! Of course I will! You''re going to suffer from this!" Leon burst intoughter.


    As his words left his mouth and rippled through the space, the magical scroll suddenly broke out into fierce mes.


    ...


    2435 Words

 Chapter 141 Leon and Bleia vs Lucy

    When the Chain of Principle merged into their body, indicating that the contract had taken effect, the dust for the new bet finally settled down and there was no way they could alter anything.


    However, before either party could say anything in response, thick ck smoke suddenly burst out from a sea snail pendant hanging at Lucy''s waist. After that, it condensed into the wrinkled and aged face of the Poisonous Witch, Endor.


    "Lucy, what mischief are you getting up to again? I thought I just asked you have him revoke thest pledge? Why is there suddenly a new bet on the contract?" As the lips made from smoke moved, a dreadful, hoarse, and deep voice, like the hissing of a poisonous snake, echoed out into the scene.


    "Granny, please don''t interfere. I''ll definitely defeat him this time! Could you have forgotten that I''m a Pseudo-Mage now? Besides... I''ve learned that skill..." Putting away her previous fierce and stern manner, Lucy spoke with that Poisonous Witch using a sweet and fawning voice.


    Obviously, Endor too was very confident in Lucy''s overall strength. When she saw Lucy''s resolute attitude, she couldn''t help but waver a little from her stance. But when the smoky face of the Poisonous Witch turned towards Leon, her eyes immediately went wide, and she cried out with an unbelieving voice, "What is going on? This is absurd! Why is he a Pseudo-Mage too now? No way, I''d definitely not..."


    But too bad, before she could finish her words, Lucy gently patted on the sea snail, using spatial force to iste it from the outside world. Without the support of the magical equipment, the smoky and incorporeal head of Endor immediately vanished into thin air.


    "Alright, now there is no one that can interfere with us. Come, let''s find a ce and begin our fight!" Apparently, Lucy had made up her mind, regardless of if she would be punished by the Poisonous Witchter.


    After saying that, Lucy turned around, and with a brief swaying movement of her body, she disappeared from where she stood. When she appeared again, she hovered in midair some 300 meters away.


    A slight frown appeared on Leon''s brow.


    This Lucy indeed had extraordinary talent with Spatial Magic. She had shown her ability to use Spatial Teleportation smoothly, without causing the slightest ripple and not even showing any sign prior. Leon was going to fight a tough battle today, as he was faced with an opponent who had total control of every inch of the space within the battlefield!


    Leon dared not underestimate her. He waved his hand and tossed out a few element cores. Within a split second, they transformed into his once strongest fighter: the Lightning Giant. Upon its debut, all the apprentices of the Swampy Tower who had clustered around were extremely shocked. Their eyes were instantly filled with an awestruck expression that could not be hidden. Super Girl and Fatal Shot had a more direct feeling, and the look in their eyes was much moreplicated.


    They could sense it vividly. Not only Leon, even this elemental golem he had summoned possessed a terrifying overall strength that could torture them easily.


    Leon again took out a bottle of the advanced healing potion he had brought back from the Underground Cave, gently tossed it over to Nn''s side. He was now lying on the ground and not moving even a tiny bit. Leon nodded his head slightly towards the wounded apprentice. After that, the Lightning Giant leaned forward and grabbed Leon with its huge palm and a fierce wind suddenly blew by as it transformed into a whirlwind, streaking through the air, following closely behind Lucy.


    Bleia snorted coldly. She didn''t morph into a bloodsucking bat like in the past. With a shing movement of her body, she leapt into the sky. Her tall and graceful body stopped in midair for a brief second before a pair of huge bat wings spread out on her back and then started to p in a violent manner, giving her incredible speed as she chased behind the duo.


    Since she had be a Pseudo-Mage, she had been able to perform partial morphing. Never again would she have to face a situation where she couldn''t fly when she was in a human form, yet couldn''t use any Blood element magic spells when she morphed. The present Bleia was considered as having truly mastered the bat morphing ability of the vampires.


    Using their own distinctive methods, the three Pseudo-Mages rushed through the sky like three shooting stars and left the Magical Swamp, heading toward a wilderness not far away.


    When they were inside the boundary of the Magical Swamp, every act and every move was under the surveince of Mage Eclivel, so it was tough for them to put all of their skills and tricks into y. As a result, without prior arrangement, they had chosen a wilderness where no one was around as their battlefield.


    After the three Pseudo-Mages finally disappeared from their line of sight, all of the remaining apprentices had their face filled with all sorts of expressions. Some looked like they had lost all hope, some were beaming with joy, some sank into deep ponderings, some had mixed feelings of jealousy and hatred... Super Girl furiously mmed her huge sword onto the ground; the iron sword, even without sharp edges, immediately sunk a few inches deep into the stone ground.


    As the veteran apprentice experts of the Swampy Tower, they had actually fallen to the status of bystanders who these few fellows had never paid attention to. The significant psychological gap had given them a depressive emotion. They exchanged nces, trying their best to hold back the bitter taste in their mouths. They didn''t even have the mood to talk with each other, simply turning around and returning to the tower with their hearts filled with disappointment.


    Meanwhile, at a ce some twenty miles away from the Magical Swamp, with just a slight sh of her body, Lucy appeared in a wilderness that covered arge piece ofnd. The ce was fully grown over with withered and yellow weeds that reached waist-height; under the constant blowing of the shivering and dry wind, they leaned from side to side, giving the ce a touch of destion.


    No one knew what kind of ability Lucy had obtained after she became a Pseudo-Mage, that it actually gave her such strong confidence. Nevertheless,pared to her, Leon too had explosive self-confidence, and showed a look of eagerly wanting to fight.


    When he saw Lucy hadnded and was waiting for his arrival, Leon controlled the Lightning Giant and soared up high into the sky. Using his special Elementium Vision, he gave the surroundings of the battlefield a quick scan. Once he confirmed that there weren''t any traps, he returned to the ground with a flicker.


    At the same time, Bleia, who was d in a red dress, also rushed her way to the battle site with the help of her ck wings. Shended not too far away from the center of the battlefield.


    "Hmph, since both of you are here, then I''ll fight both of you at the same time!" Lucy was standing under a crooked tree, wearing a face of disdain and arrogance.


    The feverish and hot-tempered Bleia''s blue eyes turned bloodshot instantly. She spread her wings and bared her fangs, ready to leap at the arrogant little girl at once. But in the next second, a sudden thunderbolt struck from the sky above, casting out a violent electrical web and blocking her from going further.


    "Don''t fall into her trap! If you really fight her now, I''ll be considered as viting the contract. At that point, even if we defeat her, most probably she will use this as an excuse to tear up the contract." Leon walked down from the Lightning Giant''s palm, looked at Bleia, and shook his head.


    "Hmph! Such impudent thoughts can onlye from someone as despicable as you! With your lousy skills and pathetic innate talent, what makes you think you canpare to me, the great Lucy? You''re merely a little vampire, and you won''t make any difference at all. If you don''t want to see this guy die in an awful manner, you better fight together with him!" Lucy scolded angrily, with her hands on her hips, portraying a look of disdain towards Bleia.


    If it were in the past, the impulsive Bleia would have already dashed forward without thinking twice. However, it was obvious that she had gained a greater control over her bloodline innate talent. Hence, when faced with Lucy''s provocation, though her fangs were bared and she had a threatening look, her bat wings flipped and slowly brought her body backward, leaving the battlefield for the duo.


    Unknowingly, Bleia''s trust towards Leon was approaching blindness. In her opinion, Leon never fought a battle unprepared, and since he had dared to ept a challenge from the arrogant and cocky Lucy, he must have a method to deal with her.


    As the result, with regards to Leon''s battle, she wasn''t worried at all!


    Upon noticing that the female vampire wasn''t provoked and had simply left the battlefield, the doll-like Lucy furiously vented her anger by tearing the weeds around her, murmuring in her mouth like she was cursing viciously.


    "That''s enough. There aren''t any other people here, so you don''t have to keep wearing that cute mask of yours. An apprentice who can be a Pseudo-Mage at such a young age, I''m sure you must be a wicked girl with a ck-hearted and vicious approach. Since you wish to defeat me to prove your overall strength, show me what you have!" Leon taunted with a disdainful expression; he had no intention of taking pity on the weak.


    "I''ll show you what I have, and you''ll definitely regret your decision today!" Lucy gnashed her teeth furiously.


    When the conversation is disagreeable, saying even one word more is a waste of breath!


    Though they were both Pseudo-Mages, true respect always came after a real fight.


    Nearly at the same time, both parties'' eyes flickered with a stern look. Without saying another word, they initiated their attack.


    Swift of foot like a wind, quick like a greased lightning; these descriptions were nothing in front of Lucy''s Spatial Teleportation. Relying on this ability allowed her to move anywhere she wanted, and any opponent''s movement was like a still image in her eyes.


    Nearly right after both of them decided to attack, Lucy appeared less than five meters from Leon. Yet, her body suddenly came to a halt as a half-sphere shaped, frightening electrical web descended from the sky andpletely covered Leon. If she took a half-step further, the high-voltage current slithering over the electrical web would instantly burn her body.


    Meanwhile, inside of the electrical web, it had turned into a world of leaping me.


    The Ring of Fire bursting out from that damn rascal''s body nearly covered every single inch of the space inside; not only the grass and dirt on the ground, even the seemingly empty air started to burn. Yet, the cocky guy just gave Lucy a smile before his entire body merged into the fierce mes.


    Seeing that its master hadpleted his Fire element defense, the Lightning Giant, who was hovering in midair, dispelled the Electrical Barrier. After that, the gigantic body, made up of countless greenish gray vortexes, instantly transformed into a sharp arrow, dashing ferociously towards Lucy.


    At the same time, from within the Ring of Fire, which had exploded into a massive sea of me, three Fire Balls shot out, rushing through the air and hurtling towards Lucy''s petite and fragile body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though she was faced with a joint attack from top and bottom, no fear could be seen on Lucy''s face. With just a sh, she disappeared from where she stood and reappeared on the other side of the Ring of Fire. Right after she reappeared, she performed a pulling and tearing gesture with her hands and a deadly Spatial Crack appeared between her hands.


    It was a mystery about how she could control it; the spatial crack actually produced an enormous pulling force. All of the Fire Elementiums swimming within the Ring of Fire were immediately pulled into the spatial crack like flying moths darting into me, disappearing without a trace. In less than three seconds, the part of the sea of me closest to her was sucked dry, exposing the charred surface of the ground and the grass ashes flying around in the heatwave.


    During this brief moment, the Lightning Giant once again leapt towards the enemy. Before it arrived, a dazzling Lightning Chain streaked through the air and approached the enemy.


    She teleported a few times, but every time, she could only attack for a few seconds before the hateful Lightning Giant tracked her down and came towards her. In the aspect of high-speed moving alone, the Lightning Giant''s Lightning Jump was not much weaker than Lucy''s Spatial Teleportation.


    After several attempts, Lucy finally grew angry again.


    With a Spatial Teleportation, she jumped to a high altitude some 200 meters away. Lucy had stopped trying to attack Leon; instead, she loosened her hair and started to recite a mysterious magical spell in a loud voice. When the Lightning Giant once again tracked her down and approached her, using her tiny hand, Lucy pointed at it angrily.


    "Ammitten... Rosa, Spatial Seal!"


    A silver beam shot out from Lucy''s tiny finger, piercing through the air at top speed to hit the space right in front of the Lightning Giant. Right after that, countless silver chains made from runes stretched out from the space, coiling and tightly tying the Lightning Giant''s body instantly.


    At the same time, at the spot where the silver beam hit, a spatial hole suddenly opened up and the silver rune chains dragged the Lightning Giant into it before disappearing.


    In the next second, Leon lost track of the position of the Lightning Giant!


    ...


    2352 Words

 Chapter 142 4000oC

    Within the depths of the ming ocean.


    A cluster of leaping me suddenly twisted and transformed, revealing Leon''s face, which had a rather shocked and startled expression.


    For golems, who were a kind of elemental summon, seals or expelling magic was their biggest enemy. Of course, it was impossible for either type of magic spell to cause any damage to the golem itself, but they were capable of temporarily banishing the golem from the battlefield.


    With Lucy''s achievements in Spatial Magic, even if the Lightning Giant struggled with all its strength, it would still have to stay in that isted spatial for more than fifteen minutes. During this period of time, Leon would lose any aid from this formidable fighter, and would be forced to step out and face the aggressive Lucy personally.


    A gentle ripple spread out in the space.


    Lucy appeared in front of the massive ming ocean that covered nearly one hundred meters in circumference. Her face was beamed with a sweet and cute smile.


    "Big brother, where are you? Are you ying hide and seek with Lucy? Then you better hide properly! Lucy ising for you..." The voice was sweet and enchanting, but the shivering gleam shooting out from the depths of her eyes would make anyone who saw it tremble.


    Leon''s face quickly reappeared from the other cluster of me. Looking at Lucy, he let out a cold smile and said, "It seems you have learned something new. I certainly didn''t expect you to have learned a Seal Magic Spell. I''m hiding inside the me. Catch me if you can!"


    Right after he finished saying that, the face faded away and transformed back into a soaring me that sent forth deadly heat. Meanwhile, using his home advantage, he teleported himself to hide on the other side of the me field. Within seconds, tworge spatial des in an x-pattern streaked through the ce where he had showed his face previously.


    The me shattered, bursting into a devastating heat wave.


    If he hadn''t run quick enough, he would have been wounded by the frightening Spatial Cut Lucy unleashed.


    This was the defensive tactic Leon had designed for himself.


    After he had seeded in turning his body into a me Body, both his elemental resistance and his physical resistance had improved hugely. However, he still couldn''t change the weakness of his ''short-legs''. Within all his body attributes, currently his Agility was his biggest weakness and his slow speed had be his deadliest impediment.


    In order to close up this breach, Leon had utilized the Inferno Force Field and me Body to create a massive me field. After that, relying on the copious amount of Fire Elementiums gathered by the me field, Leon had finally been able to move at high speeds without any issue. From time to time, he could also use the Elemental Nodes found in the Inferno Force Field to fulfill his dream of short-distance Fire Teleportation.


    This also meant that if enemies couldn''t destroy his me field, they would have to hold back their anger and chase behind him as he disappeared and reappeared randomly, suffering all the while from the endless fire attacks he unleashed.


    Faced with Leon''s provocation, Lucy''s smile became even sweeter. Casually, she created a zigzagging spatial crack and tossed it into the me field. She twisted her body and dodged a huge dreadful hand made up from fire, and then, with a sh, she appeared at another ce of the battlefield.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Lucy wasn''t rushed, so she just teleported herself to a new spot after each attack. Every time, she created a half-meter long spatial crack and tossed it towards a random ce within the me field. As time went on, gradually, aside from being filled with steaming heat waves, the me field was now packed with countless seemingly insignificant, yet slow moving, spatial cracks.


    These spatial cracks kept devouring mes that drew too close to them. At the same time, any object that shed into them split apart without making any noise. Their sharpness wasparable to top grade magical equipment. The few times that Leon shed with them while moving inside the ocean of fire, if not for the fact that he was protected by Inferno Shield, just his me Body wouldn''t have been enough to withstand the cuts from the deadly spatial cracks.


    Whenever Leon touched a random spatial crack, in the next second, the spot where he had stood would be covered with a swarm of spatial cracks. That damn Lucy actually could shrink so many spatial cracks and toss them out like marbles.


    When faced with this kind of broad attacks, Leon had no choice but to rely on short-distance Fire Teleportation to dodge them.


    However, with the increasing number of spatial cracks that were wandering around in the me field, the number of nodes that he could use for a safe teleportation had be very small. Leon was like a lone wolf being cornered by several hunters; his heart had started to fill up with frustration and anger.


    Earlier, he had tossed out the Demon Alligator Hunter to distract Lucy''s attention. But too bad, upon revealing itself, the Earth element golem, who had gone through some good times with him, was immediately riddled with countless spatial cracks unleashed by Lucy and nearly became scrap.


    Following the improvement of Leon''s overall strength, the enemies he faced had also be stronger. The Demon Alligator Hunter, who merely had the overall strength of an Advanced Apprentice, could now only y the role of cannon fodder and could no longer be the main character of the battlefield.


    After being invaded by countless of Lucy''s spatial cracks, the me field unleashed by Leon was shrinking; many regions within it had their Fire Elementium sucked dry. As a result, Leon was forced to reveal himself!


    At this critical moment, Leon swung the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his hand, summoning a tall Fire Deity from within the sea of me, and used it to block off the shower of spatial magic spells cast by Lucy.


    For the first time since the battle had begun, Lucy set foot into the boundaries of the me field.


    Though Lucy was unbridled and arrogant, she was not silly! Before the me field was destroyed, she would never step into a field that wasn''t controlled by her.


    But as the me was shrinking, the area upied by the sea of me had shrunk to less than half of its original size and it was filled with many empty regions where mes had vanished. Hence, faced with an enemy who had lost his ability to fight back and with the idea of humiliating the guy face to face, Lucy finally stepped into the outer area of the me field.


    Under her feet the soil was charred and ck, all of the grass had turned into ashes floating in the air as a result of being covered by the deadly high-temperature me. The air was filled with high-temperature traps and spatial mes, and no breathable air existed inside of the me field. If Lucy had been a mere mortal, she would have long been toasted into a dried corpse by the high temperature and then burned into a charcoal by the deadly me.


    Yet she was like a cute little girl taking a happy stroll in the royal garden, holding the end of her skirt gently, walking on tiptoe half a meter above the ground. It was as if there was apletely transparent path underneath her feet, sparing her from touching the thickyer of ashes on the ground.


    Just like that, Lucy moved step by step like a fairy in a merry mood and drew closer to Leon, who had retreated to the center of the me field.


    Leon was finally hurt!


    While he had been moving in the me field, he had identally mmed into a wandering spatial crack. When the Inferno Shield, which had suffered from terrible damage, shed with the spatial crack, it instantly exploded into sparks and res and shot in all directions. It was toote to dodge and the spatial crack brushed over his left arm.


    Without a sound, the flesh on his arm vanished. Even his arm bone had a cut of shining gold. It was a jagged cut, as if it had been bitten by a ferocious beast.


    Bright red blood burst out from the wound, quickly flowing down from Leon''s arm.


    However, there were swaying res attached to the top of the blood, which made it look like a tiny fire serpent slithering on his body. After his body had transformed into a me Body, even his blood had changed and be different from others.


    Hiding some three miles away and watching the battle, Bleia couldn''t bear it and lightly licked her juicy lips. She felt a pain in her heart as she watched thatrge concentration of ming blood go to waste. As for the dangerous situation Leon was facing now, she paid no attention at all.


    After being together for so long, she had a very good understanding of the ''crafty'' little man. He would fight desperately to profit at other people''s expense and would rather die than suffer any losses. This was the true motto of his life. Since he currently looked like a masochist, then he must have a powerful approach that could defeat the enemy.


    Simr to Lucy, who liked to stand facing the enemy and enjoy the despairing look in their eyes, Leon also loved to create misconceptions for his enemies and make them feel like they were standing at the pinnacle of their life. And yet what happened next would be the fearsome process of him using his strongest approach and bringing his enemies down from the pinnacle, sending them into a bottomless abyss!


    First step, second step...


    Third step... fourth step...


    As Lucy approached slowly, both of them finally stood face to face at a very close distance.


    Fifty meters! For the two formidable Pseudo-Mages, it was a super close distance where they could touch each other just by stretching out their hand and they could hear each other''s breathing!


    "So, are you giving up your struggle? Without those elemental golems, with just your pathetic strength, how could youpare to me, the great Lucy? Keep on struggling! Let out your miserable cries! I want to rip your disgusting face into pieces... hahaha..."


    As sheughed frantically, Lucy pulled the silver chain in her hand. Behind her, the Fire Deity, who was tightly tied by hundreds of thousands of rune chains, immediately copsed with a loud boom. Its entire body exploded into falling res that nketed the sky.


    This gave a touch of ruthlessness and savageness to her aggressive manner.


    Yet Leon, who had all of his retreats blocked by silver rune chains poking out from the spatial cuts, was still wearing a bright smile on his face as he looked at the little loli, who was enjoying the pleasure of finally getting her full revenge. He suddenly pointed behind Lucy with his finger.


    "Look behind you... look behind you... hurry up and look over your shoulder!"


    Lucy tilted her head up and let out a pleased, piercingugh into the sky. "What? Don''t you have any other approach? How could you use such a boring approach and try to sneak..."


    Before she could finish her words, a fierce wind suddenly approached from behind her, blotting out the sky and covering up the earth. With tremendous momentum, it nketed the area she was standing in within a split second.


    The temperature of the air climbed up with terrifying speed; within the time it took to blink an eye, it approached nearly 4000oC. Out of nowhere, countless pure white mes emerged in the space and burned through every single inch of the area. It even caused the spatial structure that Lucy could freely control to be unstable.


    Lucy turned back, shocked.


    A great menacing ming Giant was stooping like a cloud, stretching out a gigantic ming hand, trying to grab her!


    "Ahhhhhh!" An ear-splitting screech echoed from the battlefield as Lucy mmed through the spatial cut in front of her, hiding in the boundless void she was familiar with.


    The gigantic ming hand roared over the ce where she had stood. Five deep trenches were immediately carved out on the ground, and they slowly filled with charred ck soil.


    ...


    2080 Words

 Chapter 143 Win again

    Lucy couldn''t escape very far!


    In order to stop her from shing around and fighting with guerri warfare, Leon was willing to take some damage so that he could scheme her into his trap. Strictly speaking, if Lucy could put away her proud attitude and didn''t care if the scene turned ugly, she could be near invincible among all of the Apprentice Mages!


    Even though he owned the Lightning Giant, who was a Pseudo-Mage level fighter, and even aided by an elite warrior like the Fire Deity, Leon still didn''t have the confidence to defeat and capture Lucy. It was all because Lucy''s innate talent in spatial magic was simply heaven-defying!


    When you just poured in all your effort and unleashed a great attack, she simply teleported to a far distance and watched you act like a fool. When you rxed a little bit, she would teleport back in front of you. Faced with an opponent like this, even if one''s overall strength was stronger than hers, perhaps he would be tortured into bing half-insanity by her.


    Since today was the debut of his brand new golem, the Fire Lord, Leon had no intention of turning the scene into a lowedy of lions hunting for flies. Hence, he had put in a huge amount of effort, and even went into the battle personally, with the goal of luring Lucy into the me field that he had prepared for her.


    With the help of the chaotic me field, and together with the Elementium turbulence that distracted one''s spiritual sense, Leon was able to sneakily bury the core of his brand new golem into the soil and wait patiently for Lucy to arrive on the battlefield he had prepared.


    He had guessed that, with Lucy''s character, if there was a chance that she could humiliate him face to face, the treacherous little loli would never let it slip away from her.


    In order to improve the mightiness of his brand new golem, together with the core, Leon had also buried a few supreme quality Fire Diamonds and Fire Stones he obtained from the underground volcano. When Lucy set her mind at ease and came daring to the predetermined position, Leon had finally summoned his trump card: The Fire Lord.


    Fire Lord. Mage level element golem, arge-scale and double-elements creatures of Earth and Fire. Basic body attribute: Strength ¨C 14, Agility ¨C 8, Physique ¨C 16, Spirit ¨C 21. Element magic spells mastered by it: Lava Armor, Shroud of me, Fire Core Explosion, Firestorm, Meteor Shower, Earth Quake, Elemental Summoning, Fire Teleportation, Fire Cage.


    Aside from the Earth Quake being a pure Earth element magic spell and the Fire Teleportation and Firestorm being pure Fire element magic spells, the rest of them were all mixed magic spells of Earth and Fire element. More importantly, the Fire Lord had also mastered the skill of Elemental Summoning, which was the best ability for a gang fight.


    At fifteen minute intervals, the Fire Lord was able to randomly summon twenty Fire element creatures from the Fire Element ne. From a Fire Deity of a Pseudo-Mage level down to Fire Bats of Beginner Apprentice level, who answered the summon and came through the space was based on pure luck!


    Yet, what Leon used to deal with Lucy was the only imprison type magic spell the Fire Lord knew, the Fire Cage. Using the double-element characteristics of Earth and Fire, the magic spell could produce a near isted space in a particr region. Using this magic spell, the Fire Lord could force some opponents to fight a melee battle.


    Right after Lucy broke through the space, and before she could get far enough, she was forced out from theyer of space by a hugeva pir thaty in front of her. When she was once again returned to the material ne, she was shocked to find that she had been trapped inside of a gigantic ming cage, 30 meters in width and length.


    Each of theva rock pirs constructed in the ming cage had a diameter of half a meter and there were huge gaps between these pirs. With her body size, she could easily squeeze through them. However, before she could put this thought into action, bright red res started to burst out from between theva rock pirs and clusters of scorching hot me had filled the gap. Soon, the ming cage waspletely sealed.


    Any creature that tried to get close to the pirs would have to withstand 8 points of fire damage every second!


    Meanwhile, the six meter tall Fire Lord was running toward her from behind her with heavy steps that shook the ground.


    The look of the Fire Lord was rather simr to a Fire Deity, yet it was stronger and more ferocious. The human-shaped body waspletely made up of materialized fire and was covered with ayer of Lava Armor filled with dark red patterns.


    The entire body was enshrouded in leaping me and flowingva. Wherever it stood, the ground would be toasted dry by the extreme heat. The dark soil and sand would start to soften and became glowing red, eventually melting into a substance that looked likeva.


    The color of the me outside of its body was bright red, yet the me inside of its body was pure white. One could even see a shade of gold at the core of it. It had a pair of gigantic palms made from condensedva. Ferociously high temperature res and me were emanating from their cracks, making them into a pair of deadly palms covered in violent me.


    The space within the ming cage wasn''t big. It was surrounded by ming fire pirs that no one could get close to and there was a Fire Lord who crazily punched and attacked the enemy. From time to time, it would raise both hands high up in the air and unleash an AoE Fire Core Explosion or Firestorm.


    Abination like this instantly drove Lucy to desperation.


    Lucy kept teleporting herself crazily and running for her life within the confined space of the cage while trying her best to search for the weak point of this isted space. But it was a pity that the ominous environment didn''t allow her to halt even a brief second, hence she wasn''t able to focus her attack at the constantly moving weak point. Instead, the dreadfully high temperature and the me that filled every inch of the space had worn away at her Protection Barrier, making it as thin as a piece of paper.


    The Spatial Cut she unleashed did slice through some of theva rock pirs and shattered them, causing me and sparks to leap everywhere. But too bad, following the cirction of a red glow on theva pirs, all damage done to them was instantly repaired. As for attacking the Fire Lord directly, Lucy had also tried that, yet all of her hard efforts had yielded no result.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After all, Fire Lord was a real Mage level golem and it had cost Leon 18 points of Spirit to summon. If the me Body hadn''t been able to reduce the cost of all Fire element magic spell to half, it would have been impossible for him to deploy it and Lightning Giant at the same time.


    Nevertheless, the debut of such formidable golem always meant catastrophe. With Lucy''s current overall strength, she could only flee at the mere sight of the oing attack and there was no possibility that she could fight it head to head. If the ming cage hadn''t existed, with just a teleportation, Lucy could have always escaped from the attack range of the Fire Lord. Then she could have just fled without turning back.


    But now...


    What would be the consequences when a person was ced in a cage together with a fierce lion?


    No matter how crazily Lucy dodged, the me in the air still burned through her Protection Barrier. Her dress was kindle, her long hair started to curl up, and one after another blisters started to appear on her delicate skin... Wherever she went she would be greeted with me; the air was filled with scorching hot res and everywhere had a deadly high temperature. Where could she run?


    Even under such a miserable and tragic situation, even if Lucy''s voice turned hoarse as a result of constantly letting out pained shrieks, and even if her face was washed with tears, she still clenched her jaw tightly and didn''t want to bow her head and admit defeat to her damn enemy!


    If she was defeated once again today, she would rather be killed instantly in this ce, a ce that brought her despair!


    Finally, the fire poison that existed in every inch of the air invaded her body, turning her feet heavy so that she could barely move and her vision started to sway and blurr. Eventually, through her tear-filled vision, thest image she saw was the frighteningly gigantic hand of the Fire Lord grabbing toward her and filling up her entire line of sight.


    Losing all her strength, Lucy rxed her tensed mind and her consciousness immediately sank into a vast darkness.


    ...


    She had no idea how long she had lost consciousness for.


    When a stream of pure and sweet water flowed into her dried and cracked mouth, Lucy finally regained her conscious.


    She choked on the water and kept coughing, yet she still swallowed, in her mind, the most refreshing and sweet dew, with big gulps. When her belly was bloated and could no longer swallow anymore, only then did she stop this nearly insane behavior.


    She was in a simple and neat apprentice''s residence. She couldn''t find a magnificent andfortable bed, no luxurious furniture, and no glittering magical crystalmps. The only thing she saw was a simple wooden bed, a wooden table, a chair, and some experimental equipment, like jars and bottles that weremonly seen among apprentices.


    In front of the bed stood a man holding a water-skin and staring at her silently. Of course, the man was none other than the man she hated with gnashing teeth, Leon.


    Right at this moment, Lucy finally realized that she waspletely naked!


    Her princess dress had been badly burned, it had be rubbish not better than a pile of ashes, and all her magical equipment was ced on top of the wooden table. As for herself, she was now stripped naked and all of her various burn wounds of all sizes had been covered with a thickyer of pungent ck medicinal paste.


    Originally, her body had been covered with a thin sheet, but following her sudden movements of sitting up and drinking water, the nket had slipped off, exposing her delicate, budding body.


    Lucy was twenty-six years old this year, but her body had been locked forever at the stage she had been at when she was seven years old, the moment she had awakened her innate spatial talent!


    There was no screaming, no bursting into tears; Lucy just kept staring at Leon''s face, emotionless. She didn''t even pull up the nket to cover her naked body.


    "Why can you control an Mage level element golem?" She asked with a hollow and faint voice, as if she was a puppet who had no soul.


    There was no need for her to verify the fact she had been defeated by the rascal in front of her, she could feel it vividly. Because... because the magical contract she had personally drafted was currently tightly tying her to this rascal. She was now a possession of this guy!


    Hmph. You didn''t kill me because you don''t want to lose a precious fighter, eh? Also, I suppose you don''t want to offend those frightening Northern Witches! Lucy thought pensively. At this moment, her thoughts and mind had be unprecedentedly clear and incisive. Looking back at what she had done during this period, she looked at an arrogant girl who was courting for her own death, a fool who ran further into the path of her own peril.


    Since when had she be so stupid? Damn it, I pushed myself to a dead end!


    From the moment she had been defeated, it was like Lucy had changed into someone else. She had be totally different from the crazy, extreme, and treacherous little loli in the past.


    Starting from the moment she had woken up, Lucy had begun to walk on the dark path of self-salvation.


    Lucy''s eyes stared straight into Leon''s pupils, which were ck with shades of dark red. She didn''t find any lust in them. When she looked out of the corner of her eyes, she didn''t find any trace of that female vampire.


    What is this? Stripped me naked and personally applied medicine on me? Is he trying to soften my grudge and pull me into his camp? If he really wanted me to serve him, why didn''t he ask that Bleia to apply medicine? Isn''t that a better way to win my heart?


    Could it be... could it be he had an improper desire for the body of a loli?


    ...


    2204 Words

 Chapter 144 Servant

    Right as Lucy was staring expressionlessly at Leon, her mind filled with various fancies and conjectures, a green-skinned goblin suddenly poked its head from behind the man, throwing a puzzled and alert nce over at her.


    "Alright, Snox, this is the Lucy I told you about. From today onwards, she will be an exclusive servant-girl for me. Your task is to teach her the proper manner of a servant-girl, I hope I can see her carrying her duty as soon as possible. Now, bring her with you!"


    What he said was like a sudden thunderbolt out of a clear sky that struck right into Lucy''s mind and caused her to feel giddy, as sparks flew before her eyes. Was this guy serious? He really nned to make a Pseudo-Mage who possessed a rare innate talent of spatial his servant-girl?


    A moment ago, Lucy had tried her best to keep a calm exterior, yet her face was blushing right now, as she fiercely gazed at this bumptious... master.


    "What''s wrong? Do you have any opinions of your own, Lucy?" The smile on Leon''s face bing weirder and weirder. "Before we agreed to our bet, you had said it clearly that you''ll make me your master. So, don''t tell me you can''t even carry out the duties of a servant-girl?"


    "You... fine..." Lucy spewed out a few words from her tightly clenched teeth, furiously pulling the nket and covering her body, before stepping down from the bed.


    When her feet touched the floor, Lucy felt a severe paining from every part of her body. This had made her lose her bnce and stagger her steps, nearly falling to the ground. However, though she was a little loli with the pretty face of an angel, Leon wasn''t moved a tiny bit at all and didn''t show any signs that he was going to stretch his arms out and help her stabilize herself.


    After all, Lucy was a Pseudo-Mage who took the element path, thus her Physique was far weaker than that of Leon, who had his body transformed into Elementium. So far, Lucy''s Physique hadn''t reached more than 10, and this had even caused her ability of body recovery to be inferior than those of Advanced Apprentices who had a high Physique.


    Gnashing her teeth and holding the severe pain, Lucy left Leon''s residence, and came to Snox''s room located next to Leon''s.


    Upon entering Snox''s room, all her expressions of pain, resentment, and mortification immediately disappeared from her face. They were reced by the same old arrogant and overbearing look. Even her frail and weak appearance was gone, as if the injuries and pain all over her body couldn''t even affect her a tiny bit.


    "I need some better healing medicines and Asun Water which can remove scars. Also, I''m hungry, get someone prepare me a set of mushroom trout fish rolls, golden roasted goose and Schiffman tea. Remember, the trout fish must be those devil trouts caught from the Abyss of Darkness, and can only have three whiskers below its jaw... also, the honey applied on the skin of golden roasted goose must be from the Snow Bee''s honey from the East Coast, in addition to that..."


    As the true owner of the room, Snox had its mouth opened wider and wider. In the end, it was so angry that it simply jumped to its feet, waved its fists and let out a furious roar. "You''re dreaming! You wildly arrogant little human! This ce is the territory of the great Snox, and you''re just a servant-girl newly recruited by the master! I came here before you, and you must..."


    Snox hadn''t finished its lecturing, because Lucy had ripped open a tiny spatial crack and kicked it inside.


    Nearly ten minutester, when Lucy reopened the spatial crack and let Snox out, the robe d on its body had turned ripped like those wore by street beggars, and its skin was covered with scratch marks as a result of being attacked by some sharp fangs and ws. From the other side of the spatial crack, one could even hear the savage howls of wolves.


    Just looking at the wounds that were only found on the Snox''s back, Lucy had instantly drawn a conclusion to its character. She casually dismissed the spatial crack and with a cold voice, she said, "Now you should know who the boss in this room is, eh? If the pack of Carnassial Tooth Wolves just now can''t satisfy you, I can always send you into the nest of Two-legged Flying Dragons!"


    Though Carnassial Tooth Wolves could only be considered as Beginner Apprentice level demon beasts and didn''t possess formidable offensive strength, but for Snox, a goblin who didn''t own any offensive ability and could only escape by relying on a handful of disguising abilities, they were no doubt dreadful monsters. If thrown into the nest of Two-legged Flying Dragons, a type of demon beasts who had an incredible sense of smell, it would be impossible for it to make its return!


    In next second, Snox simply went down on its knee, hugging Lucy''s silky smooth legs and crying out loudly, "Boss! Boss! Boss! You''re the boss here... I''ll obey everything you tell me to in future..."


    Lucy gave it a kick in disgust, furrowed her brows and said, "Go now! Prepare me some clothes, foods, and healing medicines. When I''m having my mealter, I want you to tell me everything between you and that ras... that guy!"


    The bacshing from the magical contract imprinted in her soul made Lucy halt for a brief second, she had no choice but to change the way she addressed that ''rascal'' into ''guy'', a rather neutral way of addressing him. If she didn''t do that, even if she was a Pseudo-Witch, she too couldn''t be immune from the severe pricking she felt at the depths of her soul.


    Only the heaven or ghost might know why it happened. In order to have a better control over that ''guy'', she specifically picked a magical contract with the best binding force from the private treasures of her granny. But now... she had actually trapped herself into this awful situation, and it simply made Lucy feel frustrated and furious!


    Only by gaining a better understanding of the enemy, could one defeat the enemy with the minimum cost!


    Lucy had made up her mind, from now onwards, she would never underestimate that hateful rasca... ouch... guy. She would take her time in patiently and meticulously understanding everything about that guy, after that... hmph, he better not has the wishful thinking of using a rubbish contract to confine a great... ouch, ouch! Pain, it was really painful!


    As the loser of the bet, every word and action of Lucy was restricted and bounded by the powerful magical contract. Once a disrespectful thought or intentions of hurting her ''master'' arose in her mind, her soul would have to suffer from different degrees of bacsh by the magical contract. If such bacsh urred too rapidly, it could cause a frightening and irreversible damage to her soul.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    At that point in time, her future path as a Witch would have toe to a premature end!


    ...


    Unavoidably, the spiritual ripple happened on the other side of the contract had also affected Leon.


    It had been less than fifteen minutes since that little girl left his residence, yet he had sensed seventeen strange ripplesing from the magical contract. Most of them were mere ripples of curses or disrespect, so Leon had simply handed over the executive right of the contract to the Chip, then he had just cut off the spiritual connection between him and the contract.


    With the arrogance and wild pride of that little girl, if she wasn''t taught a hard lesson, she would never stop from continuing to do what she did. Therefore, the order Leon gave the Chip was to have a full feedback to all the spiritual ripples, any disrespectful thoughts would be punished through the contract, no dy was allowed, and no indulgence would be given as well.


    Right when he finished settling that nasty little girl, a fragrant scent wafted from behind, before a warm, soft body cuddled onto his back.


    "Leon, why don''t you hand me that Lucy and let me teach her? I promise I''ll make her into an obedient servant-girl and guarantee it''ll be more effective than that magical contract." The seductive and charming voice of Bleia resounded beside his ears, it was even mixed in with a subtle nasal voice of moaning.


    Aww, here came another one!


    Leon nearly couldn''t hold onto himself and rubbed his forehead.


    "Bleia, let me give you a grave warning, you better give up the idea of turning Lucy into your blood ve!" Leon said solemnly. "The true identity of Lucy is still a mystery, but I''m certainly sure that she is connected with those witches from the North. Although you can have a strong binding force to those blood ves created after you ''embrace'' them, but it doesn''t mean there is no weakness at all. As long as the source of the bloodlines is killed, which is you, your control over Lucy''s soul would vanish. So, if this Lucy does have a serious background, then you''re just asking to get killed!"


    "I Understand, I understand! I''ll not be that silly and fight a girl with you. But..." Bleia licked her red lips excitedly, continuing to say, "I don''t think it will be a big problem if I suck a little bit of her blood?"


    Leon sighed softly.


    "Don''t tell me you can''t see it? This Lucy must have just be a Pseudo-Mage, and she couldn''t wait any longer so she came straight to fight with me. She didn''t even nurse her body and Spirit to the best condition. If you suck her blood now, perhaps she would drop back to the level of Advanced Apprentice immediately. Don''t be silly, we need to cultivate her properly! Her abilities y a very vital role in my ns!"


    "You just don''t let me suck anyone''s blood! Then how am I going to improve my overall strength? No way, I need to find a suitable apprentice mission, I have more freedom outside than I do in this ce!" With Bleia''s hot-temper, she meant what she said. She turned around and left Leon''s residence, rushing to the Mission Hall.


    Leon sighed again, turned around and took out a magical spell book, ced it on the table and started to read it quietly.


    ...


    On the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower.


    Inside of a dark and gruesome secret room, Eclivel waved his hand and dispelled the magical mirror in front of him. A pondering and hesitant expression was on his face.


    "Mage level element golem? How did that kid do it? In my memory, there is never an Apprentice Mage that could bypass the threshold and control an Mage level golem or magical beast. If anyone tried to do it by force, perhaps just the requirement of summoning would instantly draw all his Spirit to thest drop, turning him into an idiot who had all his brain power depleted. Yet, that kid had done it with ease! Maybe, I should find an Automata Master and get him to verify if there is anything special on his summoning cores?"


    After pondering for some moments, Eclivel waved his hands again in front of his face, revealing a mirror that showed him the image of another secret room.


    It was a magical secret room that was nearly isted from the outside world. Countlessplicated runes and secret magical arrays were carved on the floor at the center of the room. They consisted of numerous strange symbols and characters which looked like tadpoles, and many of them were in the mysterious knowledge that never appeared in the outside world.


    Although the magical array lookedplicated and mysterious, but all the runes, arrays and magical rings were pointing to the three core nodes. At these three core nodes, one could see three objects that looked rather simr to a torture chair.


    Judging from the overall design and structure, this should be a vicious magical array with the mixed functions of official Mage Advancement Ceremony and vitality extraction. The two torture chairs ced at the outer perimeter were the source of energy that drove the entire magical array, and it seemed they were prepared for ke and Bleia. As long as they forcefully advanced into official Mages with the help of a special magical ceremony, then the magical array would extract all their vitality and injected the energy into the center magical ring.


    At that moment, with the nourishment from the flesh, blood, and innate talent of two new Mages, it was highly possible that Eclivel could breakthrough the threshold that was holding him back for a long time, and eventually, make him into a formidable Second Grade Mage.


    ...


    2170 Words

 Chapter 145 Eclivel

    It had been more than 300 years since Eclivel had be an official Mage!


    Due to his timid and prudent disposition, he hardly participated in any conflicts or battles among the Mages. As a result, the improvement of his overall strength was very slow. In thest 100 years, he had even fallen into the terrifying situation of having his overall strength nearly stopped from progressing.


    But a new round of the family''s internar warfare was going to begin soon. ording to statistics obtained from analyzing all of the previous data, the minimum fatality rate of First Grade Mages in internar warfare was 50%. For an Mage like him, who was not good at fighting, the rate would be even higher. Therefore, in order to bring his overall strength up another grade before the warfare began, Eclivel had no choice but to take the risk and cast his evil eyes on to the few Pseudo-Mages under him.


    Initially, the magical array had only been prepared for ke and Bleia. But following the debut of Leon and Lucy, Eclivel felt like he might need to give the magical array some modifications so that he could include thetter two in his evil scheme.


    By devouring three Pseudo-Mages cultivated by the family in one go, even if Eclivel seeded in making an advancement, he would still receive punishment from the Sarubo Family. However, as he would be a Second Grade Mage at that point in time, so long as he was willing to give up more of his rights, presumably, the punishmenting from the family would not be that severe.


    After all, anyone could easily tell the difference between the value of a Second Grade Mage and three Pseudo-Mages.


    Currently, the only high-end Mages owned by Sarubo Family were one Third Grade and one Second Grade Mage. If they could have a new Second Grade Mage, the overall strength of the family would definitely take a huge leap. With that, their position and interests in the Zhentarim Association would also rise ordingly.


    Under such circumstances, who would really take action against the wrongdoings of a Second Grade Mage?


    After he finished checking the magical secret room, Eclivel wasn''t tired, so he continued by checking on the situation of ke, Bleia, and Leon. As he was the highest authority in the Swampy Tower, he could examine and observe every single nook and cranny within the tower and within a three mile radius of the tower. In addition to that, the subject of his surveince would not notice his presence at all.


    By relying on this method, Eclivel was able to get a detailed grasp of the recent developments among those few apprentices.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Despite that, Leon entered his line of sight only once in awhile, so Eclivel understood him the least among all three Pseudo-Mages of the tower. For the sake of safety, Eclivel felt that he should just devour ke and Bleia.


    As for Leon, once Eclivel gained control over his body, Eclivel would force him to make an advancement. If Leon managed to breakthrough, he would be one of Eclivel''s food items. If he failed, then he would be given to Bleia and she would suck his blood, increasing the sess rate of Bleia''s advancement. ke was aided by a huge amount of Bleia''s source blood, which had greatly increased the sess rate of his advancement. Though Bleia''s overall strength would suffer major decay because of that, with the nourishment from the blood of Leon and Lucy, she too would have the possibility of making a breakthrough.


    If necessary, he could even throw Intermediate and Advanced Apprentices over to Bleia, making them her tonic!


    In addition to that, what he needed from them wasn''t a normal breakthrough. At that point in time, he could just use some prohibited magical medicine to stimte them, causing their Spirit to boom, and the sess rate of forced advancement would be at least 80%. He just had to devour their blood and flesh before they were killed by the bacsh of the magic spell. The path of advancing into Second Grade Mage was still bright and dazzling!


    Trying his best to hold down his restless excitement, Mage Eclivel repeatedly pondered every single step and flow of his plot for advancement, thinking carefully about any possible event that might happen during its execution and arduously patching up the loopholes.


    ording to the news leaked by Master Herbert, the Second Grade Mage of the family, in just one year the founding ancestor of the family would open the door of the ne, sending all the family''s Mages, including Eclivel, into the war zone. Therefore, he was only left with a short half year!


    Through the mirror, Eclivel covetously ran his eyes over the images of all three Pseudo-Mages, who resided in different locations within the tower. He moved his dried, thin lips and murmured under his breath, "Work hard and grow stronger, my fruits! Once you reach your mature stage, you''ll have the right to merge together with me... hehehe..."


    ...


    The day after Lucy had her bet with Leon, the Poisonous Witch, Endor, once again appeared in front of Leon.


    Leon was pretty sure that if killing him would release Lucy from the bounds of the magical contract, he would be a dead man already!


    After Endor gave Lucy''s soul a thorough and detailed examination, her face became so dark that one could even squeeze out some ck water from it. Under the restriction of that powerful magical contract, Lucy had virtually be Leon''s contracted ve and she was the one who was being controlled.


    More importantly, Lucy was a descendant of the Northern Witches and the blood flowing through her body was from the n of Destiny Witches. The attention this n attached to a contract was heavier than all the other few ns of witches. Hence, the matter had be rather tricky to solve.


    In the center region of the Mage Continent, when one was referred as a witch, she was usually a female Mage. But in the northern region of the continent, where the heart of the Northern Witches was situated, the title of witch usually referred to those mysterious existences who owned the bloodline inherited from the ancient era. Every single one of them possessed extraordinary power from their bloodline, and the source of their bloodline would always trace back to Salem, a Ninth Grade Witch, and the first existence who had stood at the pinnacle of the Mage World.


    With regards to this Ninth Grade female Mage of the Mage World, she wasmonly referred to as the Witch Queen. Since she had left the Mage World, she had left behind thirteen different witch ns among her descendants. And through the historical changes of more than ten thousand years, many of them had withered away. Currently, only seven of them remained in the territory of the Northern Witches.


    As for the six ns that had withered away, under the influence of the mighty Will of the World, they wouldn''t vanish totally. Every once in awhile, some random descendant of the witch would suddenly awake with some special powers, and was able to revive the witch ns that had nearly vanished from the world.


    ording to some rumors, the reason behind this was because the Witch Queen Salem had an agreement with the Will of the Mage World. The overall strength of someone like a Ninth Grade Mage was too formidable and she was able to cause tremendous distraction in the normal function of the ne. Therefore, in order to kick these ''burdens'' from the Mage World, the Will of the World had no alternative but topromise to their requests.


    Since then, anyone who became Fifth Grade Mage or above would be ''squeezed'' out of the Mage World. In return, the Will of the World allowed these Mages to include part of their own principles in the functioning system of the Mage World.


    Although the Witch Queen had left, she had also left behind thirteen World Principles in the Mage World, all of which carried her unique mark. With that, as long as the system of the world kept functioning properly, it was impossible for her followers to vanishpletely! Even if some formidable Mages killed off all of her descendants, as long as the World Principles still existed, as time went by, when a suitable vessel was found, the principle that carried her mark would still light.


    Therefore, in the Mage Continent, the Mage Family that possessed a principle inherited from the ancient era was a monument that would never copse!


    Lucy belonged to the n of Destiny Witches. A few thousand years ago, due to some unique reasons, the n had withered away. However, in thest few hundred years, arge group of witches from different ces around the Mage Continent had awakened with special innate talents. As a result, the leader of the Northern Witches had dispatched many of her subordinates to bring these witches back to their sacrednd.


    With regards to these newly awakened, some witches took them as a new hope and some looked at them as troublemakers, and neither side coulde to a mutual aLeonent. Because of this, the task of bringing them back had be a rather awkward situation.


    The Poisonous Witch Endor came from the n of Dark Witches, and this n had a very good rtionship with the n of Destiny Witches. That was why, when Endor discovered that Lucy had awakened the bloodline of Destiny Witches, she took initiative and assumed the responsibility of Lucy''s return ceremony.


    But too bad, before the ceremony was prepared, Lucy had be a contracted ve of someone else. If it was any other witch, perhaps she would have long strangled Leon to death. Even if it might kill Lucy at the same time, the witches would never allow the bloodline of a witch to be contaminated by any outsiders!


    Nevertheless, considering the bloodline abilities of the Destiny Witches possessed by Lucy, Endor felt that it was an omen given by the Force of Destiny, which led her to give up the idea of killing Leon. Instead, she dragged him into a secret room and carried out an in-depth discussion.


    Endor gave Leon a warning. If he wanted to bind Lucy to his side, the only way was to make her bloodline abilities grow as quickly as possible and bring her to the territory of Northern Witches within ten years, so that she couldplete her baptism of destiny. During this round ofrge scale awakenings, Lucy had not been the only one who had possessed the bloodline of the Destiny Witches, but only one of them could survive after going through the baptism.


    If Lucy couldn''t make it to the ceremony, once another witchpleted her baptism and became the Destiny Witch, then, under the influence of the World Principle, Lucy''s power would be a sacrificial offering for that particr witch. In the end, Lucy''s existence would bepletely wiped away by the Will of the World!


    For no apparent reason, Leon had been dragged into an unnecessary conflict, from which he felt tremendous pressure. But, considering that he would need help from Lucy in the uing mission of self-rescuing, he had no choice but to ept this ''hot potato'' while sighing.


    Yet, when he vaguely hinted at the situation with Endor and asked if he could borrow her power in solving a ''small problem'' of his, Endor simply turned around and left!


    Though Endor didn''t embrace Destiny, she still held reverence toward Destiny.


    It was because of Leon that Lucy was able to be a Pseudo-Mage smoothly. This also meant that the Force of Destiny had tightly tangled both of them together. Before she could tell whether her help with Lucy was positive or negative, Endor would never get involved in the natural selection of a Destiny Witch.


    With regards to the exnation from this ''Poisonous Witch'', inwardly, Leon just gave her two huge middle fingers to express his despisement. If you don''t want to help, just say so! Why are you giving me such a ''refreshing'' reason in order to shirk the burden? Leon couldn''t help but admire her excuse!


    Therefore, drawn by the mighty Force of Destiny, this future ''Destiny Witch'' hade to Leon, like she was supposed to, and be the fourth member of Leon''s camp!


    ...


    2080 words

 Chapter 146 Curiosity

    It was like thest calm before a major storm, the atmosphere within the Swampy Tower was rather strange.


    The Swampy Tower was just a small resource site owned by Mage Family, and it only had a total of 49 Apprentice Mages. There were even three Beginner Apprentices who had just learned how to meditate.


    Yet, in this group of apprentices whose overall strength was on the low side, four famous Pseudo-Mages had made their appearance without a proper ground. In addition to that, among the poption of all Pseudo-Mages, any one of these four alone could be considered an outstanding existence. This was an abnormal situation, no matter where it happened, people would shout at its bizarreness.


    After all, it took a huge amount of resources to cultivate a Pseudo-Mage. And in order to be an Mage, besides hefty resources, they also needed some luck. With the current situation of the Swampy Tower, it would take extreme fortune to cultivate a single Pseudo-Mage, let alone produce all four of them at the same time.


    Perhaps, it was because of the existence of these four Pseudo-Mages, Sarubo Family had paid more attention to the Magical Swamp. In addition to the Mission Hall, the Arcane Hut of Clute, the Popoli Merchant, the Dephene Association of Delicacy, the Fenrir Pet Shop... all these shops and merchants who focused on apprentices had opened their businesses in the Swampy Tower.


    Mixing amongst them, the Little Shop of Goblin opened by Snox had flourished in business.


    Different from other businesses, from time to time, there would be one or two items that could be rated as that of premium quality that appeared in Snox''s little shop. They were either magical gemstones or magical materials or magical equipment. In short, no matter what sort of items, they would always attract arge crowd of Intermediate and Advanced Apprentices rushing to purchase them.


    As for that honorable Snox who didn''t have an impressive appearance, it actually had an exalted rank amongst the apprentices of the tower, which was something hardly matched by any outsiders. The reason was simple, just with the three Pseudo-Mages standing behind it, nobody in this Swampy Tower had the courage to provoke it.


    Since Lucy had be a part of the Swampy Tower, initially, she had thought that Leon would ask her to do all kinds of tasks every day. But to her surprise, since that day, she had never met her nominal ''master'' again. She didn''t expect that Leon was actually a nerd who rarely stepped out from his residence. Every day, he was either dwelling in his room and reading books or locking himself in the Alchemy Laboratory, doing some secret experiments.


    All his meals were sent into his residence by Snox, and he never showed himself during normal days. Although this had spared Lucy from feeling embarrassed when meeting him, but it actually made her feel a little bit angry as she was being treated coldly.


    Utilizing the few days of free time she had, Lucy questioned Snox repeatedly. From its mouth, she managed to dig out every single thing Leon had achieved since he had made his debut until now. In addition to that, using her status as an Pseudo-Mage, she too had an understanding about Leon''s behavior in the early days from the mouth of a few apprentices in the tower.


    Put it this way, the more Lucy understood, the more confused she became!


    If a person was shaped by all the events he or she encountered throughout the entire life, then the trail of Bleia''s life was clear at a nce.


    The apprentice career of Bleia which was worth mentioning had all started because of that magical experiment. Before she became a vampire, there wasn''t anything significant in her life. But once she became a vampire, she started to soar high up into the sky, taking a leap, jumping from a Beginner to an Advanced Apprentice, and eventually giving her all the glory of bing a Pseudo-Mageter.


    Therefore, the event that changed Bleia''s life was that bizarre magical experiment carried out by Mage Eclivel!


    From this information she obtained, Lucy could clearly see the pattern of development for Bleia, and ording to Bleia''s behavior, she could also have an estimation of the potential height Bleia would attain in her life. Everything was so vivid and straightforward!


    Yet, when applying this theory on Leon, it just didn''t make any sense!


    The turning point in Leon''s life happened almost at the same time as Bleia''s. It was as if he suddenly possessed some kind of mystical power overnight. This had led Lucy to suspect, could it be at the same time that Mage Eclivel was carrying out an experiment on Bleia, he too had done something to Leon? Or else, his transformation in theter stage was simply incredible!


    Within the period of mission thatsted for three months, he had grown into an Advanced Apprentice from a mere Beginner Apprentice, and even skipped the stage of Intermediate Apprentice. The secret to all his victoriesid on the powerful element golems. As for himself, it was obvious that he took the path of an Element Mage.


    With regard to those element golems owned by Leon, they were still fresh in Lucy''s memory. As both her miserable defeats were all caused by those hateful element golems!


    Of sufficient numbers, great variety, and each was extremely powerful and well-directed!


    This was the personal review Lucy had for these element golems.


    By right, for golems such as these, if they were controlled using the method of Elemental Summoning, not only it would require a special magical ceremony, the summoners himself also had to bear a tremendous burden on his Spirit. It would never be like Leon''s case, where he had handled them with suchposure and ease.


    Lucy also noticed, every time when Leon summoned his element golems, he would need an element core as the magical material, and the surface of the crystal core was always fully engraved with runes, portraying the look of going through a thorough modification. With this finding, she drew a conclusion that the deepest secret of Leon''s mightiness must be hiding inside of these crystal cores.


    Because of this, she had the intention of getting closer to Leon, so she could find out more answers from him to uncover his secret. But too bad that Leon was a nerd who rarely left his room, this had made her, the nominal servant-girl of his, became totally unused.


    As a result, after holding herself patiently for seven days, Lucy snatched over the meal te from Snox, took its ce and stood in front of the door to Leon''s residence. That hateful Bleia was the only person who could freely enter Leon''s residence, even Snox had to obtain Leon''s permission every time before delivering the meal to him.


    Not long after that, Leon sensed Lucy''s spiritual ripple, and he finally disarmed the defense mechanism on the door.


    Lucy stretched her arm and pushed open the door and strode into the residence, carrying the meal te.


    The room was still as simple and crude as before.


    Yet,pared to thest time, it had be even messier!


    Though it was daytime, the illuminating crystal ced on top of the wooden table still shone with a bright and soft light. This made Lucy puzzled, could this guy have been working sincest night, without resting during the course?


    The floor was fully filled with scrapped goat-skin scrolls, some were curled up, some were spread out, and some were crumbled into small balls... each of them had extremelyplicated runes and mysterious magical arrays drawn on them. As Lucy didn''t have any knowledge of magical arrays, hence, she felt a headache upon looking at this mysterious knowledge which required a professional to understand it.


    Walking on her tiptoes, Lucy carefully skipped over the mess on the floor and came in front of the wooden table.


    The wooden table was also messy like the floor, books were opened and ced all over the tabletop, stacking on top of each other and nearly flooding the entire table. Leon was now leaning against the table silently, using a pen brush to draw something on a goat-skin paper.


    But obviously, his progress wasn''t smooth.


    Half-way through the drawing, he brought the goat-skin paper in front of his face and gave it a careful examination. Soon, he shook his head, cursing under his breath and crumbled the paper into a small ball, and tossed it over his shoulder.


    Lucy tilted her head so she could dodge the paper ball that had came to her face. Angrily, she ced the meal tray on top of the table with a rather strong force. Due to her ''carelessness'', the tall stack of books had finally copsed with a loud noise.


    Ugh... What was going on?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Leon raised his head, confusingly, and ran his eyes around. His sulky eyes were immediately met with the vision of Lucy, who was looking at him in a provoking manner.


    "Eh? When did youe here?" Leon rubbed his forehead, as he felt a prickle in his brain.


    Since his overall strength skyrocketed, Leon had discovered many benefits brought by a high Physique.


    He had been awake for three days and three nights. If it was in the past, perhaps he would have been extremely exhausted by now. However, besides feeling a slight tiredness from consuming too much of his Spirit, his body was as healthy and vigorous as it was three days ago.


    "The purpose I came here today is to ask you a question: what are you going to do with me? Are you going to let me live like I am now, spending all my days boringly strolling around in this filthy and broken ce? The magical facilities here are just too obsolete and behind on times,pared to other ces, this ce is simply a deste desert of the Mage World!" Lucy stood with arms akimbo,ining angrily at Leon.


    One could tell that she had had enough of staying in this Swampy Tower.


    She couldn''t find any higher grade magical potions, she couldn''t enjoy a slightly normal delicacy, she couldn''t obtain any of the advanced magical materials required for her magical experiments, and her residence was simply like a sheep pen... In this backward and dpidated ce, Lucy just couldn''t imagine how Leon and the others managed to survive!


    If not because of those merchants or associations who recently came into this ce, bringing some changes to the Swampy Tower, Lucy felt like she was going to rot in this dark and wet Magical Swamp.


    Faced with a hard working ''subordinate'' who took the initiative and toe to him for work, a gratifying smile emerged on Leon''s face. He casually took a white bread from the meal tray and ced it into Lucy''s hand, and said with a smile on his face, "If you want to find something to do, why don''t you show me your abilities first? Can you toss this thing over at Snox''s head?"


    Right after he finished his words, the white bread in Lucy''s hands had disappeared.


    She pped her palms and rubbed off the bread crumbs, throwing a disdainful gaze over at Leon and portrayed a look of ''just try me''.


    Leon opened his mouth slightly out of surprise.


    He quickly readjusted his mentality, picked up another piece of bread and ced into Lucy''s hand. This time, he snapped his fingers and activated all the defense mechanisms of this magical residence.


    Lucy curled up her lips in disdain, grabbing the bread with both hands and gave it a rub. A strange spatial ripple was sensed in the air, before the bread disappeared once again.


    Leon''s expression became even more dignified.


    After he gave thest piece of bread over to Lucy, not only had Leon activated every single defense mechanisms of his magical residence, he also focused his mind and unleashed a light red force field that covered the entire room.


    Right now, Lucy was residing within fouryers of element defense or magical force fields, if she could still...


    But too bad, before the thought could fully form in Leon''s mind, he saw Lucy waved one of her hands, as a small spatial ck hole emerged in front of her. After that, she quickly stretched the other hand with the bread into the ck hole. When she finally pulled her hand out, there was nothing left in her palm.


    Meanwhile, the spatial ck hole had disappeared instantly!


    ...


    2105 Words

 Chapter 147 Union

    A few momentster, three pieces of intact white bread were delivered back by Snox.


    But Snox had a pretty unsightly expression!


    To be honest, no matter who was hiding in a secret room and happily admiring and counting his treasures, to be suddenly hit on his head by two pieces of white bread, he would have the same unsightly expression. And besides, thest time a tiny female hand had suddenly appeared in midair and tossed a piece of white bread over to its face.


    No body, no arms, it was just the fair, tender, little hand of a female... Snox was frightened out of its wits because of such terrifying scene. If it had not received the Spiritual Whisper from its master on time, it would definitely think that it was haunted by some evil female ghost!


    Leon picked up all three pieces of white bread one after another. Using the exact scanning and see-through vision of the Chip, he once again confirmed their integrity. The teleportation just now hadn''t altered their material property, nor did it destroy any of their material structure.


    Leon again ced the bread into Lucy''s hand. With a smile, he said, "This time, send them into my hand!"


    After he finished saying that, a leaping me burst out from Leon''s body. The high-temperature force field instantly covered his entire body. After going through a period of hard training and closely working with it, Leon could now easily manipte his own fire element.


    Even when he had the me spread all over his body, he never caused any harm to the wooden chair underneath him or the booksying around. But if the clothes on his body hadn''t been protected by magical power, they would have been burned off by the fierce me.


    A slightly disdainful expression emerged on Lucy''s cute face, which still had a little bit of baby-fat. Displeased, she asked, "Do you really think my Spatial Teleportation can do anything you ask? If it could prate your Elementium Protection, do you think you could have still defeated me?"


    "Give it your best shot. I want to see what kind of results it can achieve!" Leon encouraged the little girl while stretching out his right arm, enshrouded in steaming hot me.


    Looking from afar, it was as if the me was burning directly on Leon''s skin. Yet, when looked at a close distance, there was actually a thinyer of crimson Elementium film attached tightly on the surface of his skin, which separated his skin from the element fire.


    This was actually a product produced from merging me Body and Inferno Force Field!


    Some day in the future, when Leon eventually became an official Mage, and when he totally transformed his Spirit into Elementium, this thinyer of film would disappear, and eventually make him into a type of elemental life form. When the time came, even though his vitality would not be endless like genuine elemental life forms, it would still sufficient for him to slowly explore the boundless multi-verse!


    Under Leon''s attentive gaze, a ripple starting to appear in the space near his ming right hand. Obviously, the bread sent through the space by Lucy couldn''t prate the dense and tough Inferno Force Field and was forced out from the interyer of space by its force.


    When it lost the protection from the force of space, the white bread was instantly turned into ashes upon contact with the defensive me.


    Later, Leon retracted the defensive me and Inferno Force Field, but it was too bad that Lucy still couldn''t teleport anything into his hand. Though he felt that it was a pity, it was in fact, a reasonable situation. If Lucy''s Spatial Teleportation could freely travel through the target''s element defense, then under the heaven, what kind of opponent that had the same rank as her could stand up against her?


    She could totally transfer a bottle of explosive potion into her opponent''s heart or plunge an explosive fireball into the enemy''s stomach... Just thinking of such scene made one tremble with fear!


    After several failed attempts, finally Lucy ran out of patience. "What exactly do you want me to do? Are you just going to ask me to teleport this thing over and over again?"


    "What I need from you is very simple: during a special asion, I want you to teleport something I need into my hand!" Leon once again unleashed his Inferno Force Field, covering both him and Lucy; only then did he seriously tell her his motive.


    Lucy nced around, looking at thisyer of force field which was obviously used to prevent any outsiders from peeking or overhearing their conversation. Not saying any words, she nodded her head as if she understood something. But right after that, she rested her arms on her hips, and said in a disdainful manner, "Why should I listen to you and do something that is totally impossible to achieve? This brings me no benefits at all. Don''t think that I''ll help you!"


    Leon smiled. With a flick of his wrist, an element core emanating a powerful element wave appeared in the palm of his hand. When Lucy saw its dazzling appearance, looked at the crystal clear material, and sensed the rhythmic element wave that felt like a tidal wave... she couldn''t contain herself and swallowed a lump in her throat.


    It was an Mage level crystal core! This was the true form of that frighteningva monster who defeated her! However, when she looked at it, not only did it not bring her the slightest feeling of fear, it actually carried a vague magnificence and perfection!


    "Are you going to give it to me?" Right at this very moment, Lucy nearly stopped breathingpletely; her eyes went wide as she held her breath, waiting for Leon''s answer.


    "I can''t give it to you right now, of course!" Leon answered grumpily. "But, within a month, if you can teleport anything into my hand, I''ll let you own it temporarily!"


    Lucy was dejected for a brief moment when she heard Leon''s answer, but soon, her face was beaming with high spirits again.


    "Will you keep your promise? Rest assured, as long as I double my effort and keep practicing, I can definitely do it. But, I''ll need to examine this treasure of yours first, give it to me now and let me y for one night!"


    Leon hesitated, but eventually he nodded his head and agreed. But before he ced the summoning core of Fire Lord golem into Lucy''s spread palm, he earnestly warned her and said, "You can have some fun with it, but you can''t damage the summoning core. Also, when you summon it, remember to protect yourself properly!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As he said that, Leon purposely pointed at the ceiling with his finger. Lucy nodded her head, expressing her understanding.


    This ce was the Swampy Tower, and they were inside of Leon''s personal residence. Yet, even when he was talking, he had to cover himself with his own element defense and didn''t take the magical defense mechanism of the residence into consideration. Just this point alone was enough to tell her something!


    Judging from this, it seemed like the rtionship between Leon and the stationed Mage of the Swampy Tower wasn''t that harmonious. It might even be at the stage of diametrical opposition. Considering that her life was now tied to Leon''s, Lucy had no alternative but to start thinking for this small team.


    Although Leon didn''t mention it explicitly, Lucy could still guess. The request he had expressed was very important for him and it might even reach to the level that could affect his life and future!


    Hmph, I''ll just help him for once! Or else, if he died, I''ll die as well. Also, his request sounds pretty fun. If I can include it in my offensive approach, perhaps it will be quite a breakthrough.


    Filling her mind with fanciful thoughts, Lucy casually shoved the summoning core into an opened spatial hole before she turned around and left Leon''s residence.


    Compared to Leon, Lucy had never needed any magical equipment like a waist pouch or storage waist belt. She only needed to find herself a safeyer of space and open up an isted space which bore her conscious''s seal; she could store all of her personal belongings in it. However, with her Pseudo-Mage Spirit, this isted space only had a maximum size of five meters square.


    After Lucy left, Leon appeared to be the sole person in the room. But, he still didn''t retract his Inferno Force Field.


    Right at this moment, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly came out from his body. "So, this is your n? I don''t think it is a good idea! Are you sure you can keep that Eclivel from finding out?"


    A creeping movement was seen on the cloth near Leon''s chest; a thumb-sized ck bug crawled out from underneath it and stopped on his shoulder. The voice came from this ck bug.


    "Hmph, ke, what''s the point of you saying such sarcastic remarks now? If you had note to a dead end, you''d nevere begging for my help!" Leon refuted with a cold voice.


    "Hehe, we''re just using each other for our own benefits!" The beetle that Leon referred to as ke vibrated its wings, producing some noise that sounded like the chirping of insects. "Can''t you tell that from the information I gave you? Not only does Eclivel have his eyes on me and Bleia, recently, he has started to cast his evil gaze on you and this little girl. If we don''t do something, perhaps all of us will be thrown into a pot by that Eclivel and our blood and flesh will be the foundation of his advancement!"


    Leon became as silent as a stone!


    With regards to this point, ke had urate judgment. From all of the intelligence they had gathered so far, this Eclivel was indeed an insane Mage who would devour someone to the point of not even spitting the bones out. In order to improve his overall strength, he was preparing a horrible sacrifice of blood and flesh.


    Once the preparation came to its conclusion, most probably, this Swampy Tower would immediately turn into a massive graveyard as every single one Apprentice Mages who lived here would be unable to escape from bing part of the offering for his ritual. The lower grade apprentices might just be the fuel used to heat the cauldron, and they, the Pseudo-Mages and Advanced Apprentices, would be the main ingredients for this sacrificial ritual of blood and flesh.


    Thus, during this critical moment, any selfish behavior of paying attention to oneself without thinking of others would be stupid!


    Perhaps it was because he had realized this reality that ke finally gathered up his courage and transferred his remaining consciousness into this beetle,ing to Leon to discuss working together towards amon goal.


    As for escaping from the Swampy Tower and never returning, Leon never even considered it at all.


    He lived in the Mage Continent; nearly all of the territory upied by the human race was under the tight control and surveince of Mages. If Leon wished to escape without putting up a fight, Mage Eclivel would just need to use a sly approach andbeled them as apprentices who turned renegade and escaped; with that, no matter how high the sky and how vast thend, there would be no way of survival for them!


    As a matter of fact, he could easily tell this from the Fallen Mages and Fallen Apprentices he had met at the Underground Cave.


    Therefore, when faced with this Worm controller ke who had solelye for help, Leon could only suppress the disgusted feeling he had in his mind and tentatively reach a strategic cooperation with him!


    They would unite to fight against that frightful Eclivel!


    ...


    2000 Words

 Chapter 148 Rune

    Trying to confront a veteran Mage who had be an official Mage for more than 300 years with the status of a Pseudo-Mage, such thought was no doubt as mad as a hatter. If not because he really didn''t have any other alternative, Leon would have nevere up with this idea!


    Leon counted on his fingers, at the very most, his team only consisted of three good fighters.


    The actual body of Worm controller was now under the total control of Eclivel. Although the beetle which hosted the primary consciousness of ke guaranteed that he could seize back the control for a very short period of time, such statement didn''t contain any elements worth trusting! Hence, inwardly, Leon had been treating ke as half a Pseudo-Mage. At the critical moment, it would be considered fortunate if ke didn''t turn his back on Leon and helped Eclivel. Leon would never ce the hopes for victory on this guy.


    On the contrary, Bleia was a helper whom he could count on. But unfortunately, her vampire bloodline was the work of Eclivel himself, If Eclivel didn''t leave any contingency measurement in it, Leon would really have to despise Eclivel for being an ipetent Mage.


    Knowledge is power!


    A true wise Mage would always defeat his enemies using his brain and knowledge.


    Therefore, with regards to how to use Bleia in his n, Leon had his nerves on tenterhooks. Simr to Worm controller ke, when counting on the overallbative strength of his team, Leon could only take Bleia as half a Pseudo-Mage.


    In this iron triangle of resisting Eclivel, two of them actually couldn''t be totally trusted. It was imaginable how depressed Leon was feeling right now in his mind and how tremendous the pressure he was enduring at the moment was!


    It seemed that at the most critical moment, perhaps only he himself could stand out to resist the enemy!


    As for the enemy they had to face, the First Grade Mage Eclivel, if ording to the calctions derived from the Chip, he possessed thebative strength of at least eight to ten Pseudo-Mages. This also meant, even taking away the aid he received from the Swampy Tower, and the amplification he had from additional magical equipment he owned, just Eclivel alone would be able to easily withstand the besiegement from eight to ten Pseudo-Mages at the same time.


    Of course, if they really did have ten Pseudo-Mages, most probably they would be able to force Mage Eclivel to give in. It was a pity that they didn''t!


    There were simply too many uncertainties from Worm controller and Bleia. Once the war started, the possibility of them turning into burdens was higher than bing his strengths. If not because he really had run out of methods, Leon would never willing to form an alliance with such teammates who might betray him at any time!


    With that, once the war started, it was possible that most of the pressure would be shouldered by Leon alone.


    Meanwhile, since the birth of the Fire Lord, Leon''s personal overall strength had gone through a significant transformation. Currently, he could be considered a qualified Pseudo-Mage. No matter whether it was his defensive or offensive abilities, he was nowhere weaker than any ordinary Pseudo-Mage. And if he poured in all he got, he could even support two Fire Lords in the battlefield at the same time.


    It could be said that from thest battle between the Fire Lord and Lucy. Thebative strength that an Mage level Fire Lord could bring into y was equal to at least two to three Element Pseudo-Mages. Thus, even taking the maximumbative strength from two Fire Lords was only equivalent to six Element Pseudo-Mages.


    With abative strength like this, together with Leon, ke, and Bleia, they merely had thebined strength to fight that Eclivel. As for who would obtain the final victory and who would be defeated? The chances of victory for Leon''s team was, in fact, less than 10%!


    And even for this 10% of chance, it was based on the situation that all Leon''s plots were sessfully executed and that Mage Eclivel didn''t have any too much of an incredible preparation.


    Just because of the overly low sess rate, Leon had no choice but to arduously increase every single advantage he could on his side, while trying his best to eliminate the advantage on Eclivel''s side!


    Strictly speaking, Leon''s team actually did had some hidden approaches. The biggest piece of good news was that Worm controller could constantly supply them with the intelligence of the enemy. As the saying goes, know the enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat! In Leon''s scheme, he had to get to the bottom of Mage Eclivel''s plot and n, then came out with well-directed countermeasures and counter-attacks, as this would be the safest strategy.


    On the other side, there was a super expert hiding in Leon''s camp: Lucy. Although the rtionship between her and Leon was rather stiff, when her life was in an endangering situation, presumably, she would also be one of the main fighting forces in Leon''s team. In Leon''s mind, at least this Lucy was much more dependable than ke and Bleia!


    In order to increase the odds of winning the battle, even if it was just a small advantage that was not worth mentioning, Leon would still give it a meticulous and detailed consideration, altering and perfecting his n and strategy. Even Snox was included in his n and had undertaken some very important tasks.


    While plotting his counter attack, Leon was also working hard to improve his survival abilities.


    Imaginable, once things turned ugly between both sides, Leon, as the leader of their camp, would definitely be the primary target who Mage Eclivel focused his attacks on. Therefore, currently, it was more important for him to improve his survival abilities than train hisbative abilities, as it would be more beneficial for him in the uing warfare!


    After going through arge number of filtrations andparisons, there weren''t many methods that he could master in a short period of time to improve his ability quickly. However, the drawing of Magic Runes was definitely an exception.


    ording to the records found in some magic books, the origin of magic spells actually came from observing and copying natural magic runes found on demon beasts by the ancestors of the human race. Most of the time, these demon beasts and demons didn''t have any knowledge of magic spells, and they didn''t understand any theories of magic spells at all. Yet, relying on thebination of their own innate abilities and the world around them, they could always master some mysterious abilities without being taught by anyone.


    Although these magic runes were rather simple and primitive, they actually pointed to the very core of the World Principle, and they were the specific representation of ne Principles for some lower tier nes. Therefore, it allowed them to possess some bizarre abilities that left one speechless.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Initially, the ancestors of the human race hadn''t known anything about it. However, the human race had proved themselves to be the species good at learning and creating. Some wise people among them had observed these natural magic runes and copied them, and had drawn them on their own body, which eventually became man-made magic runes.


    And this was the origin of the magical array!


    Later, as the ancestors of human race mastered more and more magic runes, they extracted the best, and through a continuous effort of reorganizing and restructuring, they eventually gave themselves a new power that never existed before. And, these unique runes extracted from natural magic runes were in fact, the magic spell runes that every single Mage had to learn and master today!


    Put this way, ancient Mages were actually a group of ordinary humans. They used a unique paint and drew all kinds of peculiar and bizarre magic rune patterns on their body, allowing them to possess some strange abilities that was simr to demon beasts or demons.


    Through the historical changes of more than hundreds of thousands of years, this group of humans who kept studying on the arcane knowledge had eventually freed themselves from the status of ordinary humans and became the leaders and protectors of the entire human race. They no longer drew any magic runes on their body, instead, they had them engraved on top of their weapons or some special equipment, turning them into frightening magical weapons and magical equipment.


    They even learned how to meditate, using progressive methods to modify themselves into magical creatures simr to demon beasts. They also studied and analyzed the ne Principle, ultimately, leaving the conscious seal that belonged to them in the functioning system of the ne.


    As for now, Leon really wished he could borrow the help from these magic runes, so he could quickly improve his basicbative strength. Those scraped goatskin papers Lucy saw in his room were actually the magic runes array Leon specifically made for himself.


    Initially, Leon thought it would not be a difficult task. After all, he was a Grand Master of Automata who could carve seven magical arrays on top of a thumb-sized crystal core. The only difference now was the working area had shifted over to his own body, and the area had expanded to at least few hundred times, supposedly, it should be an easier task!


    But too bad, when he really gave the task over to the Chip, and after the Chip ran through a thorough scan and analysis of his body, he was shocked to find out that on a human body, the area that could draw with magic runes was actually less than 1/7 of the total surface area. Yet, these areas were scattered everywhere on the body, and they were overly broken and in a disordered manner.


    ording to the distribution of these magic runes area, Leon came to the conclusion that the magical energy area on the surface of the human body was mostly interconnected with the vital organs. For example, the heart, brain, and lower abdomen, these were the ces with dense magical energy, while the limbs and the edges of the body were the regions with thin magical energy.


    Each region were interconnected with different vital organs, therefore, the magical energy they could support had slight differences as well. In order to better utilize them, he really needed to gave them a thorough and detailed examination and a huge amount of calctions and statistical analyses of data.


    This was also the reason why Master of Magic Runes was a rare upation and why it was also very expensive to draw a magic rune!


    ording to the information Leon had learned, if an ordinary apprentice wished to draw a magic rune on his body, even if it was just an Array of Agility (Agility +1) on his leg, the lowest fee he needed to pay a Master of Magic Runes was 1000 magic crystals. As for having an Energy Gathering Array (Doubles the speed of Elementium gathering) drawn on his chest, the lowest price was 3000 magic crystals.


    Yet, for a magic array which could bring the ability to see through to the apprentice''s eyes, the cost of having it drawn was a hefty 5000 magic crystals.


    Looking at the list of expensive prices, Leon felt his heart jerking spasmodically. Maybe, when he had nothing else to do in the future, he could consider bing a Master of Magic Runes!


    As Leon hadpleted the transformation of his me Body, the regions of magical energy on his body wererger than those on other ordinary apprentices''. Therefore, how he could make a good use of these magical energy regions had be a hard nut to crack. As the result, during this period of time, Leon had locked himself in his room, repeatedly examining the characteristics of the different regions on his body, using the Chip to construct the perfect magic runes drawings for him.


    By carrying out thisborious task himself, Leon now knew why despite meeting with so many Mages, rarely had he seen anyone of them have magic runes drawn on their body. In order to draw a magic rune on the body, the Master of Magic Runes had to fully understand the body attribute of the target. Try to think about this, would any Mage willing let an outsider learn every single detail of the secrets found in his body?


    Therefore, this probably was one of the most important reasons why magic runes were not popr!


    After going throughprehensive and detailed calctions, the n to draw magic runes that Leon had drafted for himself was unprecedentedly humongous andplicated.


    ording to his n, he would need to draw an Energy Gathering rune array at the bottom of both feet, both palms and wrists would need to have a Precise Strike rune array (Instantly enhances the output of Elementium, causing element damage to be doubles), a Major Elementium Strengthening rune array on his chest, a Major Elementium Defense rune array on his back, and a Light of Spirit rune array on both his forehead and temples (able to directly transform Spirit into offensive Fire Element magic spell).


    Each and every single one of them was tailor made for and by Leon himself!


    ...


    2244 Words

 Chapter 149 Cat and mouse

    Etching magic runes on one''s own body was not something that could be easily aplished!


    It required special magic rune ingredients, a Master of Magic Runes who possessed peculiar innate talent, exclusive drawing experience and skill... and not a single requirement could be omitted. However, Leon didn''t have even one of them.


    Inside of the Alchemy Laboratory of the Swampy Tower.


    The radiance from dozens of illuminating crystals had made theboratory as bright as day; not a single shadow could be seen. Unlike in the past, Leon didn''t stand in front of the Alchemy Station. Instead, he was lying down on top of the Alchemy Station. Today, he was both the operator and the target of the operation!


    He didn''t have any of the special ingredients required for the drawing of magic runes, so Leon could only use the method of crafting golems to carve the magic runes; he couldn''t hire any professional Master Magic Runes, so Leon could only do it himself, drawing on his own body; he didn''t possess any of the experience and skill in drawing magic runes that were passed down for generations, and he was solely depending on the optimizedbination and simted experiments carried out by the Chip in his Spiritual Domain...


    Today, it was destined that Leon would be a bull in a china shop, as he would throw every single pot and bottle that represented all of the previous expectations and rules onto the ground and then break a new path that belonged solely to himself.


    In a normal process of magic runes drawing, the Master of Magic Runes would usually need the aid of some medicines, so that he could reduce the recovery ability of flesh and blood in a particr region. Every single rune array that functioned properly wasposed of hundred and thousand of runes and magical lines. If the target of the drawing was someone with high Physique, before thest line of rune could be drawn, the first line of rune would havepletely self-healed.


    This wouldpletely destroy the entire process of magic rune drawing!


    Using a special medicine to anesthetize and repress the recovery ability of blood and flesh on a particr region of the target''s body, and using the magic rune ingredients meticulously concocted to etch the corresponding magic runes on the skin of the target, and finally, interconnecting them with the magical energy organ inside of the target''s body. This was the elementary theory that let magic runes stimte the human''s body, which could make the target unleash a special ability.


    It was because of this tedious andplicated process that the importance of a Master of Magic Runes was so significant. There had been some fellows who wished to save the hefty amount of magic crystals that one cost, and fancied that they could use the simplest method of drawing magic runes on themselves. They thought such magic runes could bring them some effects for a short period of time, and following the self-recovery of the body, every external change made to their bodies would eventually fade away.


    And very soon, they had realized that they were just drawing water with a bamboo basket ¨C it achieved nothing. Not only would the magic runes not be solidified forever, it also cost them a dearly expensive amount of ingredients.


    Unfortunately, the magic rune suit of the me Fiend that Leon was custom making for himself was an example of that mentioned above. Nevertheless, relying on his extremely high control over his me Body, the process of losing effectiveness would definitely be slowed down. Also, he had never had the hope that the magic rune suit could be used forever; so long as it could support him in making his way through this ''cmity,'' it would be enough.


    Leony t on top of the Alchemy Station. Using his Spirit, he activated the alchemy equipment.


    As the needle-sized heat beam hit his body, Leon started to smell a pungent burning scenting from the burning of his muscle and fat and he heard the hissing sound of boiling fat. The heat beam moved slowly across the surface of his body, scorching his skin and turning it ck, leaving behind lines like shallow trenches.


    Expressionless, Leon silently endured the burning from the heat beam. At the same time, he had to pour in all his effort to repress this me Body''s instinctive defense and counterattack against the heat beam. In addition to that, he had to hold down the regeneration speed of his flesh. Before those shallow trenches could recover, Leon controlled the other alchemy arm, using it to inject the filler that he had prepared beforehand into them.


    The strange hissing sound of the heat beam burning his flesh, the pungent stinking smell that came from the filler slowly corroding the muscle of a human body... the weird sound, the strange smell, both filled the entire Alchemy Laboratory almost immediately. It would make someone feel like he hade to a dark, ugly room of torture!


    Leon was trying to draw a rune arrayposed ofplicated, hard to understand runes, and full of numerous winding lines onto a random part of the body. At the same time, the core nodes of the rune array had to perfectly ovep with the magical nodes found on the body itself. During this process, any slight deviation would cause the total destruction of the entire rune array.


    Therefore, even though the severe paining from the surface of his body kept stimting his nerves, Leon still retained the same expression and focused his vision on the tiny light beam that kept jumping over his skin. With an attentive gaze, he watched the entire process as his skin turned red, softened, copsed, turned dark, and eventually, became coke.


    There would be a total of fourteen rune arrays drawn on his body, each of them an independent entity, and all possessed the effect of stimting the body function of that particr region. But when they were interconnected and activated, they would create an extremelyplicated, profound and mysterious magic rune suit ¨C the transformation of a me Fiend.


    And this was the direction of advancement Leon had set for his Fire Element magic spell!


    The me Fiend was a dreadful creature of the Abyss that came from the lower tier ne. They usually possessed a huge and menacing body, however, theirbative strength actually came from their terrifying me ability that was beyond anyparison. Once they flew into a rage, their entire body would ignite, turning them into a horrible ming humanoid. Any living beings that got too close to their body would have to withstand a constant fire damage.


    Without high fire resistance, ordinary enemies didn''t even have the qualifications to fight a battle with it, and would be turned into coke by the constantly burning me. As for the enemies that had the qualification to stand face to face with the me Fiend, they would have to deal with raging Fire element magic spells that blotted out the sky and covered the earth, and the hand-to-handbat skills of the me Fiend, which were not weaker than those of ordinary demons.


    me Fiends may not be the strongest creatures among all of the experts of the Fire element, but they were definitely the creatures that stood out from the rest who practiced Fire element magic spells. That was why Leon had drawn fourteen rune arrays on his body; he wanted to use them to fully arouse his potential and mimic part of the me Fiend''s abilities.


    This was also the main reason this magic rune suit was called ''the transformation of a me Fiend!''


    Of course, all of this was based on Leon''s first and earliest assumptions and spections. If he really wanted to transform into a true me Fiend, the best and most straightforward method would be to pay a visit to the lower tier ne, ughter, and dissect a real me Fiend himself. As for now, he could only mimic and improve his design.


    The process of drawing the magic runessted for one whole day and night, until noon of the second day. Only then did Leon drag his exhausted body back to his residence. Meanwhile, Bleia, who had juste back from outside, had been waiting for him in his room.


    When she saw that Leon waspletely exhausted, yet still trying his best to keep up his spirit, a saddened expression emerged on Bleia''s pretty, travel-worn face.


    After she helped Leon lie t on his bed, Bleia gently touched his face and softly said, "Sleep well! I''ll guard you right here!"


    Leon was barely able to give her a smile before he sank into deep slumber.


    ......


    Inside another room.


    Within the faint, transparent force field of a barrier, Lucy could hardly tear herself away from the Mages level element crystal core; she kept turning the summoning core over and over in her palm. The fist-sized, transparent crystal core was emitting an enchanting glow that could grasp the soul of one who looked at it.


    With each turn and new angle, the transparent crystal core reflected another gorgeously bright and colorful, yet extraordinarily beautiful halo. Lucy''s gaze rested on it, and her face had an expression of obsession; for a very long time, she couldn''t pull herself away from such emotion. With her vision, of course she could peer onto the surface of the crystal core and see the mysterious magical arrays that were as tiny as cow hair, but extremelyplicated and profound.


    No matter how you looked at it, it was no doubt a great work of art produced by a skillful Grand Master.


    Relying on the exceptionally designed magical array, the unique power stored within the element core was guided and unleashed; bybining this power with the vast element energy gathered from the outside world, it gave birth to a frightful Mages level element golem that was capable of causing a major catastrophe!


    Whenever she recalled the fact that she was miserably defeated by this crystal clear, extremely beautiful, little object, an indefinable me of anger immediately surged up from the bottom of Lucy''s heart. But immediately after that, the me of anger would melt away bit by bit under the strange, fantastic elemental halo of the element core.


    Oh right, I had promised that rasca... ouch... master one thing. It looks like I need to make the best use of my time and practice!


    While rolling about on her bed without care over her own image, Lucy slowly stretched out her Spirit. Through the slight spiritual sense brought to her from the magical contract buried deep in her soul, she quietly confirmed the current location of her master.


    That... he was in his own room now, and he hadn''t fully activated all of the defense mechanisms. Also, it was obvious that his Spirit was on the low side, and he had sunk into a deep state. He should be sleeping now. Wow, isn''t this a great opportunity? As long as I can teleport one object into his hand, then I''ll have this precious thing apany me for a few more days!


    Her mind filled with a restless excitement, Lucy stretched out her hand and drew a magic rune in midair. After that, she took out an earring and tossed it over. The magic rune was covered by an extremelyplicated magic ring; when the earring traveled through it, it was like prating ayer of transparent water mirror. Within a split second, it disappeared without a trace.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Meanwhile, inside the other room, some enshrouding runes suddenly appeared on Leon''s right palm. Following the vibration of these runes, an elegant earring slowly prated through the spatial distortion; in the next moment, it would fall into Leon''s palm.


    Pap! Bleia stretched out her hand and swung gently; the earring was instantly pped into the corner of the room.


    "What a nuisance, it must be that little girl again! Hmph, trying to secretly give her earring to Leon, I knew she was up to something bad!"


    As the earring was pped away, Lucy immediately sensed it. "Eh, what happened? It is obvious I''m going to seed this time, why was it pped away suddenly? Could it be some kind of new defense mechanism? No way, I have to give it another try!"


    It wasn''t an ident; the second time, the third time... all of Lucy''s attempts were interrupted by some kind of unknown defense mechanism. Instead of giving up, it actually aroused her anger. "What''s all this about? It is obvious that guy is sleeping now. Why there is still such a strange defense mechanism? You''re the one who forced me now!"


    Gnashing her teeth in anger, Lucy started to move both her arms quickly in midair. She actually unleashed a total of four spatial magic runes at the same time. However, before she had the time to teleport anything through them, all four spatial magic runes that had appeared on different part of Leon''s body vanished at the same time.


    Damn it, you''re challenging me right now!


    Lucy, who had herpetitiveness evoked, immediately started continuous and endless attempts, but to no effect. Unsurprisingly, every attempt was interrupted by something or someone. This made her even angrier, and she poured in more effort to try harder.


    At the same time, inside of Leon''s room, Bleia was seen yawning and stretching her back while moving her fingers to quickly poke the air. Whenever a new spatial magic rune was formed, before it could establish a stable minor spatial tunnel with the other room, it would be instantly broken by Bleia''s finger, which had been injected with Blood element energy.


    Therefore, unknowingly, Lucy had started to y a game of ''cat and mouse'' with Bleia!


    ...


    2313 Words

 Chapter 150 Insects

    Within a dark, wet room, a bloody magical array loomed in front of one''s eyes.


    It was a mysterious magical array drawn using the mixed blood of seven different species of demons. All the runes and magical lines thatposed the magical array were drawn using fresh blood. The fresh blood was warm and the lines carried a slightly crimson hue; they looked bizarre and evil.


    In a corner of the room, there were countless dried bodies of demons from the Magical Swamp, all thrown messily in a pile. Each of them looked extremely miserable; anyone who saw them would be struck with shudders instantly.


    A previous member of the three strongest apprentices in the tower, Fatal Shot Evan, now sat with his legs folded inside of a magical ring, which was drawn right in the center of the magical array. His body was fully covered with the pungent and stinking blood of the demons. Meanwhile, outside of this magical array, Super girl stood, holding her huge de. It seemed like she was thinking about something.


    In the next few moments, following a weird murmuringing from the magical array, countless crows with ck feathers and red eyes flew in from the opened window and leapt straight into the crimson magical array.


    Every single red-eyed crow who had leapt into the magical array exploded into tiny pieces of flesh and blood that shot in all direction. Countless ck feathers floated through the air, but before they could touch the ground, they turned into wisps of smoke and vanished into thin air. Their flesh turned into countless skinless bloody snakes, whose bodies clustered outside of the magical ring that Fatal Shot sat in.


    When there were enough bloody snakes gathered around the magical ring, Evan''s body flickered as he removed himself from the center of the magical ring and reappeared beside Super girl.


    "Alright, the magical array has started to function. It is your turn now!" Evan nced around at everything inside of the room. Then he nodded his head, satisfied. A hideous and dreadful smile emerged on his face.


    Though it was thest moment, Super girl still hesitated. She couldn''t help but ask, "Evan, are you sure this Blood Sacrifice magical array can really stimte my Physique and make it grow stronger? But why I can sense a slight smell of danger from it?"


    Evan replied, with a hideous smile on his face, "At our current stage, keep dreaming if you want to obtain significant growth in your overall strength without paying any price! Dangerous? Tell me, what magical array is not dangerous? This is the only Blood Sacrifice magical array that is within our ability and is also the only one that can help you! If this magical array wasn''t only focused on improving Physique, do you really think I would be so generous and give away the opportunity to improve my overall strength to you? Remember, once you be a Pseudo-Mage, you must help meplete that mission!"


    A determined expression shed upon Super girl''s savage face; she no longer hesitated. Some loud *doom* noises were heard, as she finally removed the thick and heavy magical armor on her body, removed her inner dress, and revealing her lean and perfect body. Naked, she stepped into the magical array.


    When she sat with both legs folded in the center of the magical ring, a shivering gleam flickered in Evan''s bloodshot eyes, before he let out a deep, hoarse cry.


    As a result, more and more red-eyed crows started to leap through the window, and more and more bloody snakes clustered outside of the magical ring. Countless snake heads were poking around and their crimson bodies stacked,yer uponyer. Anyone who saw this would tremble in fear.


    In the center of the magical ring, Super girl immediately felt a raging crimson tidal wave swarm into her body. Stimted by this crimson tidal wave, the body factors which had been stagnating for a long time once again filled with vigor and vitality; they started to grow slowly yet steadily.


    Super girl purposely held back the repelling force of her body from these external energies and allowed the crimson tidal wave to sweep across every single part of her body.


    However, while her overall strength was increasing, Super girl had a vague feeling that something was not right.


    While the crimson tidal wave was stimting her Physique''s potential, it seemed like it was also slowly corroding her nerve system, which resulted in significantly decreasing her control over her body.


    This... why was this process a little bit different from how Fatal Shot Evan had described?


    Super girl struggled, sat up straight, and opened her mouth, wanting to ask Evan about this. But when she opened her mouth, only then did she realize that all of the nerves on her face had be paralyzed, as she couldn''t let out any voice at all. Yet, when she tried to stand up from the floor, she felt as if every single part of her body had been dislocated and would never respond to her will.


    Super girl''s heart started to race. Taking the opportunity before she lost all her strength, she poured in all her effort and turned her head. Only then was she able to see Evan.


    Evan stood at the edge of the magical array, wearing a weird smile on his face and staring at her. His once bloodshot eyes had transformed into a bright green. As he opened his mouth, a bizarre looking bug head poked out from it. It had a ferocious mouthpiece and a pair of dreadful lookingpound eyes. Anyone who looked at it felt their flesh creep. Discover hidden content at empire


    Perhaps sensing that the time was right, the scorpion pushed with its razor sharp legs and leapt out from Evan''s mouth. It then crawled quickly across the floor, climbing over the creeping bloody snakes, until it got to Super girl''s feet.


    The magical ring which had blocked all of bloody snakes on the outside had no effect on this scorpion. It moved and swayed its body at top speed, climbing up Super girl''s burly body to her mouth. Super girl tried her best to clench her jaw, but the paralyzed nerves prevented her from doing so. Using its front legs, the scorpion opened up a tiny slit in her lips. Then, without hesitation, it simply squeezed through the slit.


    The raging and furious Super girl understood everything in an instant.


    Worm controller ke! It was him behind all this!


    The raging me of anger burnt her body and mind. Using her strong will, bit by bit she expelled the crimson energies in her body. But too bad, when she had nearly seeded in seizing back control of her body, her body started to tremble violently. Itsted for quite a long time, before everything calmed.


    Quietly and calmly, Super girl rose to her feet. When she suddenly opened her eyes, deep within her pupils, one could see a slightly bright green hue.


    When she stood to face at Fatal Shot Evan, both of their mouths opened at the same time, revealing the hideous, dreadful, and ugly looking head of a bug.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    At the same time, in many dark corners throughout the entire Swampy Tower, some fearful looking and ugly scorpions were hidden quietly. They were either hidden underneath the bed inside of an apprentice''s residence or hidden in the darkest corner of the room. Silently and motionlessly, they kept watch over each and every move of all of the Apprentice Mages.


    If any apprentice sank into the deepest slumber, they would move noiselessly. Crawling along the bed-leg and over the soft nket, inch by inch they moved closer to the target. Once there was an opportunity, they would leap forward immediately, with their quickest speed, and jump into the mouth of the apprentice.


    Frightened and hoarse cries, together with the sound of struggling and retching, were heard from many of the apprentices'' residences. None of that made any difference to the matter. Their throats swelled up and a small lump dug quickly through them. In just a short amount of time, the apprentices who had put up such a furious struggle would calm and lie back on their bed, continuing their sleep.


    Meanwhile, inside their body, the head of bug was vaguely seen swaying its feelers happily!


    ......


    Inside of the bloody, stinking bug nest of Worm controller, ke.


    ke, still d in the same thick, heavy ck robe, bowed his head and sat quietly in the center of the secret room. Though the clothes on his body were seen moving, he didn''t look like a living being.


    So long his master, Eclivel, didn''t give him any orders, he would always remain in the same posture and behavior: eating, resting, multiplying, and growing mechanically. All of the scorpions were the result of his own multiplication and fission, and it happened right in his huge abdomen, which looked like a pregnant woman''s. Countless tinyrvae kept splitting and multiplying. Then they would cluster together, ughtering and devouring each other.


    Only the scorpions that were strong enough could devour enough of their peers to leave ke''s body and join the swarm of bugs that were in the secret room.


    In a corner of the secret room, a swarm of scorpions had clustered together and formed a new wave of bugs. There were now two groups of distinctly different bugs and they never mixed together. In the heart of this new wave of bugs, the bizarre bug that hosted ke''s primary consciousness constantly let out a faint chirping, keeping a secret spiritual connection with all of the bugs that had divided from it and now hid in different parts of the Swampy Tower.


    Within its senses, one after another, Apprentice Mages in different parts of the tower had fallen into its control. This had allowed it to spread its spiritual tentacles wantonly to every single remote corner of the ce.


    However, this army of its didn''t go the expedient route and invade every single individual. Instead, it only targeted the Apprentice Mages who possessed basicbative abilities. As for the human ves who lived in the lowest tier of this poption, it disdained to waste its energy on them. In addition to that, it also purposely avoided a few specific targets in this invasion that had spread throughout the entire tower and so didn''t capture all the apprentices in one.


    Leon, Bleia, Lucy, and Snox the goblin: this four unique individuals had be the exceptions who mixed among the group of bug-infested humans and hadn''t detected any changes to their surrounding environment.


    Meanwhile, ke''s primary consciousness, which was hiding behind the scenes and remotely controlling everything, now quietly umted and conserved his energy. Once the dreadful moment arrived, the individuals whose soul consciousness he controlled would be his fearless fighters. Although he had reached a strategic agreement with Leon, even though they were working together with amon effort, he still wished to keep some final trump cards that could allow him to turn the situation over at thest moment.


    ......


    Snoxy on its stomach in the Little Shop of Goblin, bored.


    Recently, things had seemed to be rather strange. All of the apprentices in the tower had been behaving weirdly.


    A few of the Beginner Apprentices who used to gather in its shop had gone missing; the Swampy Tower, which had just turned lively and restless, had once again be deserted and quiet.


    It was as if all of those apprentices had suddenly gone into a hibernation, dwelling in their own residence and rarelying out. asionally, it would bump into a few of them in the corridor, but they just brushed past it expressionlessly, without even giving it a greeting.


    After suffering a few days in such a bizarre atmosphere, Snox had started cking. It simply closed the shop, returned to its residence, and started to arduously practice its Camouge spell and Partial Transformation spell. For some unknown reason, its master had secretly given it a mission a few days ago. In order to it to achieve the goal set by its master, it would need to pour in more hard work!


    After it returned to its residence and activated all the magical defensive mechanisms, Snox carefully took out its magic wand, pointed at its own body, and cast a Camouge spell. Influenced by the magical energy, its body started to transform slowly.


    The ugly and short body stretched a little bit taller, bing simr to the target of its practice. The green skin also gradually turned fair and delicate. More importantly, it''s ugly and withered face started to twist and turn; vaguely, the look of a cute little girl appeared.


    Standing in front of a mirror and examining its looks, Snox shook its head, dissatisfied. It then stretched out the slim and fair hand that gripped the magic wand and kept waving and pointing at its body. Every time the magic wand touched its body, a small Partial Transformation spell transformed that part of the body closer to the image found in its mind.


    After an hour of tedious and hard work, the ugly, stupid Snox disappeared. Standing inside of the room now was the proud, arrogant figure of Lucy.


    ...


    2224 Words

 Chapter 151 Apocalypse

    The Magical Swamp was still the same as always, wet and dark, like a pond of stagnant water that exuded a stinking smell.


    However, under the surface of this filthy and troubled water, a terrible undercurrent was brewing.


    For the Probationary Apprentices, who spent days and nights on the first floor of the tower, their minds were always filled with envy whenever official Apprentices walked past them proudly. Yet, little did they know, a deadly storm, more than enough to destroy everything, was blotting out the sky and covering the earth while sweeping towards their direction.


    In this massive storm, those whocked preparation would not be able to escape death by sheer good luck.


    Another ten days passed in this harsh environment. Finally, the frightful day arrived!


    It was early in the morning of a gloomy and overcast day. Most of the apprentices were still indulging in their sweet dreams. However, the devilish Mage Eclivel had justpleted the construction and modification of his mysterious magical array.


    After he came out from the specifically isted inter-space, Mage Eclivel quickly connected his Spirit with the controlling core of the tower and brought all the tower''s information into his mind.


    Continue reading on empire


    He had been busy working in the inter-space recently, so he didn''t have aplete understanding regarding any changes in the outside world. But as he was the highest authority in the Mage Tower, nothing that happened within the tower could hide from his senses and examination.


    Perhaps it was a response towards his spiritual prying, but one after another, the spirit of a few Pseudo-Mages turned lively, as if they had been startled from their dreams.


    Hmph. Since all of the intended targets were here, there was no need to choose another day. Today would be the day for his n to be executed!


    The skinny, wizened Mage Eclivel wore a pointy Mage hat on his head and was d in a gray Mage robe. He stood quietly in the controlling hall of the tower. Both of his arms moved in the air, drawing and forming one dazzling rune after another. The runes disappeared immediately after they emerged, and their disappearances caused the tower to tremble slightly.


    Under the control of Mage Eclivel, the entire Magical Swamp was now tightly nketed by a denseyer of fog. Even the few eye-catching entrances had dissolved into it. With the slight vibrations of the tower, the outer wall of the tower was brightly lit.


    When the raging element energies flowed past the augite stone used to construct the tower, it immediately lit with a cold and dreary magical glow. The Spirits of Death and Wandering Souls that normally hid in the depths of the swamp came swarming in, hovering and swirling around the tower, and kept letting out ghostly howls that could take one''s soul away.


    All of the frightening demons, who had signed a magical contract with the Swampy Tower and inhabited in different parts of the Magical Swamp, started to be restless. One after another, they left their nests, gathering around the tall tower with high vignce for any possible visitors.


    Layers uponyers of magical halos hovered on top of the tower. Countless magical traps and magical defense mechanisms activated. All magical secret doors and passages leading into the towerpletely sealed; even all of the windows in the tower were covered up by countless invisible air barriers.


    Nearly at the same time, every single apprentice of the tower was trapped where they were; none of them could move even a little bit.


    " ke, bring all of them here!" Eclivel gave his order coldly.


    Following his order, Worm controller ke, who had been sitting in the secret room like a dead man, suddenly raised his head. Two bright and zing mes of soul ignited in his eyes. He shouted,manding the army of countless scorpions that swarmed out from the secret room and instantly flooded the entire corridor.


    Every single residence of the apprentices, which used to be protected by countless magical defense mechanisms, were now wide open. The army of scorpions came sweeping by like a fierce tsunami and carried all of the apprentices from their room and into the corridor, one after another.


    With the aid of this army of countless scorpions, ke sent all of the apprentices of the tower to the fifth floor, a high-level floor that none of these apprentices had ever stepped in before.


    In the spacious and well-lighted magical main hall on the fifth floor, the scorpions moved in and out, bringing all the apprentices of the tower. Leon and the other three Pseudo-Mages were the first ones who had been brought here. They were now trapped and tightly tied up with half-transparent air chain like mummies. Their eyes were shut and they had lost consciousness.


    In order to avoid any unnecessary trouble, Mage Eclivel had used the power of a Sleep talisman and made all the apprentices sink into a deep slumber.


    Once all of the personnel had taken their ce, only then did Mage Eclivel drift through the air ande into the main hall. He lowered his head and looked at all of the apprentices of the tower who were now sleeping. A hideous smile emerged on his lips.


    "Stop pretending that you''re sleeping. Do you really think I can''t sense your restless spiritual wave? When you''re facing an Mage, any petty tricks are useless!"


    Upon hearing what Eclivel said, all three Pseudo-Mages opened their eyes at the same time.


    "Respectable master Eclivel, can you tell us what are you trying to do? Please don''t tell me you want to kill all the apprentices of the tower in this ce? If that really happens, how are you going to answer to the Sarubo family?" Leon struggled a few times. When he realized that there was no way he could escape from the shackles, he angrily threw his questions towards Eclivel, who was hovering in midair.


    "Hmph! Family? Once I use your blood, flesh, soul and break through my shackles, I''ll be a mighty Second Grade Mage. At that moment, the Sarubo family will do their best to maintain a good rtionship with me. Do you really think they will question my wrongdoings for you, a group of mere Apprentice Mages?"


    "What? You really want to kill us all? I..."


    Toozy to hear the pathetic cries of a dying sheep anymore, Eclivel pointed with his finger. A Silence rune immediately fell onto Leon''s body, causing him to lose his voice instantly.


    Bleia and Lucy were also struggling with all their might, but they just couldn''t escape from the shackles on their body.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Mage Eclivel gently pointed his finger again. In an instant, the storage waist belt left Leon and fell into his hand. He closed his eyes and gave the item a careful examination. A few momentster, a joyful expression came to his brows. He flicked his palm, revealing a crystal clear golem summoning core emanating powerful elemental ripples in his palm.


    Even among all of the official Mages, such a finely made element golem was a rare item. If he could remove the consciousness seal left by Leon, perhaps he could bring himself an additional free ve. He casually waved his hand a few times, sealing up this Mage level crystal core with a simple method. Only then did Eclivel ce it into his pocket with a big smile.


    He gave the surroundings another quick nce, and when he felt there was nothing amiss, Mage Eclivel raised both hands high in the air. An intense spatial ripple swept across, so that the entire main hall was covered in a soft white light. When the white light faded away gradually, they were no longer on the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower, but in a secret magical room located at an unknown location.


    The secret magical room was a pretty big space; it covered an area of nearly three football fields. Right in the center of this secret room, a strange, triangle shape altar had been built. It was not a big altar, but was divided into three levels. Each level had a height of around two meters and they were connected with a ten step stair.


    On the stone wall of each level of the altar, countless carvings of human faces could be seen; they had different shapes and expressions, some were painful, some were howling, some were crying, some had a sorrowful look... none of them had the same look. Nevertheless, they all looked real, as if they were made by real living humans. Anyone who saw them felt a shiver run down their back!


    Eclivel flew above the highest level of the altar, hovering steadily in midair. As a hard to understand, profound incantation echoed throughout the heavens and earth, this secret magical roompletely sealed off with a loud booming noise. The connection between it and the outside world was nowpletely cut off.


    This was actually a precautionary measure of Eclivel''s.


    In order to avoid any distractions from the outside world, he had temporarily shut away this piece of space. Before his blood sacrifice ritual waspleted, no one could escape from this space. Perhaps, at the same time of tomorrow, the person who reopened this space and walked out with head held high would be a brand new Eclivel, a Second Grade Mage!


    At that point in time, all those who used to look down on him would have to lower their heads when faced with his dazzling glory, their minds filled with fear, and submit their respects to Eclivel. Meanwhile, the news of the birth of a new Second Grade Mage would be sung throughout the entire region under the Zhentarim Association!


    While envisioning a beautiful future, Eclivel leaned forward and ran his eyes over the Apprentice Mages who were now lying messily on the floor. He waved his hand and dispelled the Wind Chain on Bleia''s body.


    The first moment she was freed, Bleia moved with lightning speed to leap in front of Eclivel. Her hand''s crimson sharp ws struck at his throat with a speed no naked eye could see.


    If it had not been for that invisible barrier which appeared in a peculiar manner, perhaps Bleia would have had the opportunity to hurt Eclivel. But it was a pity, as she was facing a veteran Mage who had been an official Mage for more than 300 years, no matter how fast Bleia''s surprise attack, it would never be faster than the speed of Eclivel''s thoughts.


    Countless w marks continuously appeared on the invisible barrier. Bleia clenched her jaw tightly and keptunching attack after attack, but she just couldn''t break through the thinyer of the protective barrier.


    Using the entire Swampy Tower as his background support, the endless supply of pure magical energy that came through space and reached this isted space kept being injected into the invisible barrier outside of Eclivel''s body. To injure him, Bleia''s attack had be powerful enough to break this barrier with one single strike, or else, with the supplement of this endless energy, it was absolutely impossible for her to deplete the Wind element energy on this barrier.


    "My beautiful, elegant personal guard and servant, stop pressing down your true savage and wild nature. Give up your meaningless resistance, and from now on, continue to bow under the feet of your great master, Eclivel..."


    As Mage Eclivel, hovering on top of the altar, murmured under his breath, in the middle of a frenzied attack, Bleia''s body suddenly trembled and her bloodshot eyes instantly turned pale white. Unconsciously, she stopped her attack.


    "Yes, that''s right! Go now, go... Under the altar are the countless sheep I prepared specifically for you. Go now and taste their blood; let their boiling hot, fresh blood warm your cold body once again..."


    A slightly pained, struggling expression appeared on Bleia''s beautiful face. But unfortunately, under the restriction of Mage Eclivel''s talisman, her will was unworthy of mention. In less than three seconds, her primary consciousness was toppled by the raging instinct of the vampire.


    Some cracking noises came from Bleia''s throat. Her body flickered as she jumped off the altar,nding on top of the Apprentice Mage closest to her. A pair of razor sharp vampire fangs poked through her lips and impaled the arteries on the apprentice''s neck. Startled from slumber, the apprentice cried out loudly in pain, but too bad, his cries and struggle made no difference. In just a brief moment, his voice petered out.


    When Bleia left his body and leapt toward the next target, a sweet smile could be vaguely seen on the face of this apprentice, whose blood had all been sucked out. It was as if he was still indulging in some sweet dream of happiness.


    ...


    2147 Words

 Chapter 152 The Plan

    Inside of Snox''s room.


    Arge lump of ck beetles was seen creeping at a corner of the room. Using their great numbers, they drew out the vague outline of a human.


    When the tower becamepletely silent, the pile of ck beetles suddenly exploded with a boom. In a messy state, Lucy squeezed out from inside of this pile of insects.


    Using her hands, she swiped away some beetles remained on her shoulder, dress, and hair. And while pinching her nose and wearing a disgusted expression, she crushed a few of them who were running around her feet. Only after done with that, did she close her eyes and start to sense the current situation of the tower.


    At this moment, the tower had bepletely empty and no aura of life could be sensed anymore. All the Apprentice Mages located on the second floor and above had vanished, and the only humans remained were those juvenile Probationary Apprentices. They were all lying t quietly on their wooden bed, and had stopped breathing.


    It wasn''t tough to tell that Mage Eclivel had burned all his boats and didn''t leave any leeway for himself.


    If during this time tomorrow, he failed to turn himself into a Second Grade Mage using the blood sacrifice ritual, then he wouldn''t be able to escape from the punishment from Sarubo family. ording to the rules of Zhentarim Association, any fellow who used the method of blood sacrifice ritual to improve their overall strength would have to be punished.


    If he was able to advance into a Second Grade Mage smoothly, and was willing to continue his service with the family, then presumably, Sarubo family would be happy to cover up what happened in the Magical Swamp for him. By just simply making up a story of demons outbreak or magical experiment leakage, they would be able to wipe clean everything that happened in this ce.


    Therefore, though Mage Eclivel portrayed a confident look and behaved like everything was under his control, once he failed in the advancement, the only consequence waiting for him would be to be forced to sign a life-long contract with the Sarubo family, in which he had to give up all the rights of being an Mage, and serve the family obediently for the rest of his life!


    As for putting him to death? Hmph, no Mage family would waste such a precious resource!


    Even if he was a human being!


    Lucy flying in midair along the emptied corridor, the wave of ck beetles was following closely behind her. Their destination was the controlling main hall located on the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower.


    Although Mage Eclivel had brought all the apprentices and teleported into that mysterious magical secret room, but this unmanned tower still followed his order, not only it had totally shut off any ess to itself, it also kept transmitting the powerful element energies into that mysterious ce.


    If they didn''t find a way to cut off the connection between Mage Eclivel and this tower, then Leon''s team would be facing with a formidable Mage who supported by an endless amount of elemental energies. When faced with an enemy like this, even all of them poured in whatever they got, perhaps it would be near impossible to withstand even a casual strike unleashed by Eclivel.


    Lucy went through the quiet long corridor, continuing her way up the narrow and steep stone staircase. Soon, she came to the intersection between the fourth and fifth floor. She was stopped by a half-transparent energy barrier. Any action of touching it would immediately trigger the defense mechanism of the tower and she would have to face a ferocious counter attack.


    Although it had lost the real-time control from the stationed Mage, once the overall strength of an Mage Tower hiding under the surface of the water revealed itself, it was still not something an ordinary Apprentice Mage couldpete with.


    Lucy clenched her teeth, without even a second thought she forcefully leaped into the energy barrier.


    Behind her, the swarm of ck beetles had also rushed towards the barrier, instantly flooding the entire spiral staircase.


    Right when Lucy stepped into the corridor of the fifth floor, the emptied corridor immediately turned gruesome and dreadful. The wall on both side suddenly transformed into a thinyer of sticky and tough diaphragm and rose up and down, as if countless of monsters were trying hard to break through it ande into the corridor.


    One after another, the ferocious, frightful heads of monster were showing on the stone wall, which had now turned as thin as the wings on a cicada. While struggling desperately, they kept roaring savagely at Lucy.


    Two crystal clear popping sounds were hearding from the other end of the long corridor. From either side of the stone wall, two monsters had managed to escape from the trap and fell onto the cold, gray floor with strange fluid sshing around from their body. Their appearance was like a signal, within the next few seconds, a session of popping sounds started to ring through the ce, as one after another monster made their escape from the wall. In an instant, the long corridor had been fully filled with these nasty monsters.


    Magical Beasts!


    They were all magical beasts!


    These were all frightening beasts modified using magic spell by the stationed Mage. Each of them possessed the overall strength of an Advanced Apprentice, and they came in great numbers. If all of them came forth in a rush, even though Lucy was a Pseudo-Mage now, she would still fall in the waves of besiegement.


    Lucy''s face turned dark, yet she dared not hesitate. She let out a shriek and dashed into this group of savage beasts.


    She was faced with a tough situation, indeed. However, it was most probable that Leon and the other were facing with the situation ten times, or even hundred times tougher than hers! Instead of standing in front of that frightful Mage Eclivel, who had revealed all his sharp ws and fangs, Lucy would rather stay here and fight a fierce battle with these magical beasts which had the number hundred times more than hers!


    Two huge Spatial Cuts broke through the passage, thrusting into the swarm of magical beasts in an instant. They swept away all obstacles in the way, slicing through flesh and bones, sending sticky fluid all over the ces... After all, these were just magical beasts who had received magical modification, though their body had turned near invincible against the attack of ordinary swords and des, when faced with the Spatial Cut that was extremely sharp and capable of destroying anything, they could only let out miserable howls, while their limbs were ripped apart, and theirs head were removed from their bodies.


    Yet, as there were too many of these magical beasts, a dozen of them had managed to dodge the attacks and came rushing in front of Lucy, crazily they started to m, bite, and rip the paper-thin Protection Barrier.


    Lucy tried her best to hold back the ufortable feeling of staring so close to these magical beasts, who were ugly, wizened, and had their bodies covered in sticky fluids. Clenching her jaw tightly, she kept unleashing Spatial Cuts in top speed. In front of her Spatial Cut magic spells, any flesh and blood was like a ball of rotten meat, like a hot de slicing through the butter, they cut through everything on their way, noiselessly.


    Lucy was hovering in midair, any magical beasts came in front of her looked like they were jumping into a meat grinding machine. They had instantly been ripped apart, their flesh and blood sshing in all directions. All sorts of broken limbs kept flying past in front of her eyes, there was even a half broken head of magical beast that suddenly flew into her direction, fell onto the Protection Barrier, before slowly rolling off onto the ground.


    Meanwhile, the ground underneath her feet had turnedpletely into a ughter house. Countless broken bodies were scattered around, each had an extremely miserable look. The purple and green color blood had stained the entire wall of the corridor, and unknown fluid was dripping down from the ceiling.


    The cute little face of Lucy had turned stiff, her eyes filled with a severe murderous look. At this dreadful moment of life and death, she had given up pretending to be a cute and harmless little girl, and had totally revealed her true nature of being treacherous and brutal.


    It was a corridor of less than 30 meters, yet it took Lucy a full fifteen minutes to reach the other end. Behind her, was a hell on earth that no one had to guts to take a second look. Continue your journey at empire


    When she used the Spatial Wave and shook away all the colorful blood and intestines that stuck to her Protection Barrier, and countless debris of flesh that no one could tell where they had originally belonged, in front of her was another long corridor.


    There were many colorful oil paintings hanging on both sides of the wall. Some were beautiful sceneries, some were finely painted portraits. But it was a pity that all these paintings had their main object missing, no exception. Yet, inside of this corridor, she saw arge crowd of incorporeal, vague figure of souls and spirit, and many demonic nts, which had twisted and deformed bodies. They were either lingering around aimlessly, or climbing the ceilings.


    Undoubtedly, Lucy''s appearance had attracted their attention. All souls, spirit, and demons stopped their movement, turned their heads and looked towards Lucy. Under the dimmed light of the corridor, countless crimson ghost mes and greenish glows were ignited, one after another.


    Lucy''s face turned dark in an instant.


    Every single one of these bastards had the overall strength of a Pseudo-Mage!


    "Leon, I hate you...!"


    The furious and shrill shriek of Lucy echoed throughout the quiet long corridor, lingering in the air for a long time, just like how much she hated that guy!


    ......


    Within the secret space.


    Standing on top of the terrifying altar, Mage Eclivel closed his eyes as he tried to sense something. A surprise expression was brought upon his face.


    "I never expect that you had left a helper on the outside. Since Lucy is outside, then this one here must be a fake!"


    Eclivel pointed out his finger, unleashed a dark beam and shot it into the ''Lucy''s'' body, which was now lying quietly on the floor. After a brief moment of twisting and transforming, the ugly, short and green body of Snox had showed up in front of him.


    "Not bad, not bad at all! You do have aplete and thorough n." Eclivel''s expression turned dark, but he didn''t look panicked at all. Instead, he showed a regretful expression on his face. "Since you had hidden someone outside in advance, I''m sure you must have taken precautions against this. And the only way for you to obtain this information would be..."


    Eclivel paused, and suddenly, countless Wind Chains stretched out from around ke, who was standing quietly beside the altar and tightly tied him up.


    However, although Eclivel''s action had shown a serious hostility, ke didn''t put out any resisting behavior. He still looked absolutely submissive toward Eclivel.


    "Not him?" Eclivel cast a few spells in a row and threw them into ke''s body, he didn''t find anything worth suspecting. The blood contract in ke''s soul was still intact, showing no sign of being touched by someone else before.


    Pondering hard and with no results, Eclivel decided to give up.


    "If I have to give up one Pseudo-Mage, so be it! As the matter of fact, just the three of you is enough for me to break through the threshold of Second Grade Mage. But I''m curious, since you cane out with the idea of arranging someone on the outside, then what is your n in fighting against me? Don''t tell me that you are going to fight me with just you few Pseudo-Mages? If that truly is your n, I''ll really feel sorry for yourughable, naive ideas!"


    Mage Eclivel rested his shivering gaze over at Leon.


    Despite being tied up by Wind Chains and lying on the floor, Leon still maintained the same sneer on his face.


    "Even though we had be Pseudo-Mages, we still cannot get rid of the status of Apprentice Mage. Indeed, wee short in fighting against you! But, what if we are reced by a few Mages?"


    The look in Eclivel''s eyes became even more stern and cold.


    ...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    2116 Words

 Chapter 153 Brandons end

    "Aren''t you afraid that I''ll kill you right now?" Eclivel roared with rage.


    Hearing what he said, Leon smiled. "You''re wee to do anything you want! I''ve given up resisting now, and you can just kill me straightaway. But... if you do that, how are you going to execute your n of bing a Second Grade Mage? You have brought so many apprentices here, I''m afraid that only by turning a few of us into official Mages then it will be the help for you to make your breakthrough. If you are afraid of our resistance, why don''t you just kill all of us now? Then, tomorrow you can wag your tail at the messenger from Sarubo family. Perhaps you''ll still be the same Mage Eclivel, but your dream is destined to be shattered!"


    "Since you''ve told me about your n, do you think that I''ll allow you to destroy my n?"


    "Does it make any difference if you know about our n? One way or another, you have to make us into Mage today; then you''ll devour us. This is the path you''ve chosen for yourself, and it is also the destiny that none of us could escape! We''ve arrived at this moment and it is impossible for you to simply change your n. As for us, we can only put up a desperate fight for our own survival!"


    "If that is the case, you''re not supposed to be so straightforward, so honest with me! Don''t tell me that you still have some backup ns?"


    "Haha... what kind of backup ns could I have? Today, right at this ce, I only have threepanions. You weren''t being serious when making that puppet ve of yours, so you actually allowed him to save his primary consciousness. But it seems like he is not here with us; it looks like he has made me into his cannon fodder. If that is the case, why should I cover for him?"


    "I knew it was him! Hmph, I''m surprised; that half-bug body does have some incredible abilities, as it actually escaped from the binding of a soul blood contract. Besides this, is there anything else?"


    "Of course! My only helper, Bleia, has now be the chip held in your hand. Taking everything into consideration, it seems that I''m the only one who can risk my life with you! I hope you can be more carefulter!" After he finished saying that, Leon closed his eyes,pletely ignoring Eclivel.


    Eclivel became silent. He stared at Leon''s face, which was now showing a determined expression. His mind was filled with surprise.


    He had never expected this; a little guy who had borne patiently under him for seven years, an apprentice who he had never paid attention to before, actually possessed such a wild and unyielding attitude and was courageous enough to challenge him face to face.


    If this had happened one month ago, if Leon had dared to be so arrogant and unbridled, Eclivel would have definitely countered him with even crueler and fearsome approaches. He would have used the dreadful reality to teach this little kid a lesson; in this world, an Mage was the true master who controlled everything!


    But it was a pity, during the recent months, he hadn''t done anything but pour most of his time into the modification of this bloody altar. Three Pseudo-Mages, three key nodes of blood sacrifice; not a single one could be omitted. Only when everything was functioning perfectly ording to his will, could he obtain the perfect result he had longed for.


    As for the foreign Pseudo-Mage, Lucy, because Eclivel wasn''t sure of her background, he could only treat her as a backup sacrificial offering. But things had gone a little out of his control; the surviving consciousness of his puppet ve had leaked his n and had caused all these sacrificial offerings to prepare in advance.


    Lucy hadn''t entered the secret space, which meant that he couldn''t afford to lose any one of the three Pseudo-Mages who served as his sacrificial offerings. Or else, the ritual of blood sacrifice wouldn''t be able to function properly.


    Once the ritual of blood sacrifice began, the first stage would be extracting the life, soul, blood, and flesh of all the Apprentice Mages and use them as sacrificial offerings to boost the three selected Pseudo-Mages. Pushed by this evil and twisted life force, they would have at least 70% to 80% odds in bing an official Mage.


    And once they became Mages, the second stage of blood sacrifice ritual could begin. At that moment, the powerful and surging blood, flesh, forces of soul from three newly advanced Mages would be his tonic, helping him in breaking through the shackles and bing a Second Grade Mage in one go.


    Leon had expressed his n explicitly; his counterattack woulde during the moment after the first stage of the blood sacrifice ritual ended and before the second stage began. No doubt, it was the perfect time tounch his counterattack, if he still had the ability to do it!


    When faced with a fearless young Pseudo-Mage, Eclivel only responded with a savage smile. Using one hand, he drew something in midair. A ck rune appeared, before it vanished instantly. A dark shadow underneath Leon''s body suddenly came alive.


    The dark shadow didn''t have tall stature and it was as thin as a sheet of goat-skin paper. However, it exhibited extremely dexterous movement. Like a paper-man, it crawled and climbed onto Leon''s chest, pulling out a dagger from its tiny paper-like body. Ferociously, it thrust the dagger into Leon''s chest.


    Leon let out a muffled grunt because of the pain. His blood burst and sshed all over the paper-man''s body.


    Like a real living being, the paper-man stuck out its thin, tiny hand and touched Leon''s flowing golden blood, brought it over to its body, and evenly smeared it onto its body. Once it hadpleted the task, a soul ripple identical to Leon suddenly emanated from the body of this paper-man. Immediately after that, it smiled hideously, climbed over to Leon''s mouth, pried open his tightly clenched jaw, and disappeared into the depths of his throat.


    Even though he had estimated all of the possible approaches of Mage Eclivel, when faced with such bizarre scene, Leon was still struck with chills and had his flesh creep. He was the meat on someone''s chopping block now. Although he had known that the opponent would use some kind of mind-control method, when it really happened, Leon was still shaken by the bizarre approaches of Mages!


    Before the thought could fade away from Leon''s mind, his body started to struggle and tremble violently. The Wind Chains were so tight that they cut into his flesh, every single one of Leon''s muscles stiffened, and his blood vessels, thick as earthworms, poked up under his skin. These were signs of how violent and intense the battle of consciousness happening inside his body was.


    Too bad, with his Spirit of an Apprentice Mage, there was no way he could fight against a veteran Mage. In less than five seconds, his held up body was once again mmed back onto the ground; cracking noises kepting out from his throat, but he couldn''t say a single word.


    After a few momentter, Leon finally becamepletely calm. He nowy t where he was, motionlessly. If his chest had not still been moving up and down slightly, he would have looked exactly like a dead man.


    "Hahaha... all your consciousness and soul are in my control now. So, with what are you going to resist meter? Hmph, just another pathetic fellow who tried to imagine the frightening abilities of Mages through some crude books and mere legends! If you had just a little bit more understanding of the mightiness and approaches of an official Mage, you would not have behaved so arrogantly in front of an Mage! The world of Mages is not something you, a mere chicken, could ever imagine! Hahaha..."


    It was not the end after Eclivel gained control over Leon''s consciousness and soul. He stretched his arm and beckoned, every single magical equipment and strange object found on Leon''s body and emanating with elemental aura left his body, flying in a row, like a long snake, towards the altar. Among the magical equipment, Eclivel was attracted by a unique object.


    It was a magic spell book Leon had tied around his waist with a silver chain. Under Eclivel''s control, it left Leon''s body, but before reaching ten meters away, it flickered and escaped from his control and then reappeared back on Leon''s waist.


    Eh, a Soul Gear? Eclivel couldn''t help but feel extremely curious about Leon now. Judging from the behavior of this book, it should be a Soul Gear recorded in ancient books and was a piece of magical equipment tied up with the soul of the owner.


    Frequently, Soul Gear like this possessed tremendous power that went beyond any ordinary magical equipment. However, each and every single Soul Gear had a very strict external requirement for their growth. Without nurturing them with a huge amount of resources and effort, the Soul Gear would not be able to unleash its full potential and would just behave like an ordinary magical equipment.


    To a certain extent, they could provide some unique approaches! Yet, when faced with an official Mage, the approaches employed by these apprentices could not be more frightening than the bite of a mosquito!


    Though he had found a rare Soul Gear, Eclivel simply had no time to further study the secret hiding in it. Now, he could only cast a simple energy seal and let it continue hanging on Leon''s waist. He had no other choice, as every single Soul Gear had the same behavior! Before its owner waspletely killed, no one could separate it from its true owner.


    After he settled Leon, Eclivel finally moved his nce over to Bleia.


    Currently, Bleia had crazily sucked all of the blood from four apprentices. Her lower abdomen had bloated, her eyes had turned bloodshot, her fangs had poked out, and her face was fully stained with blood.


    Eclivel shouted out with a low voice, "Come over here!"


    Bleia''s body trembled suddenly upon hearing his voice. A pained and struggling expression emerged on her face. On one side, a messageing from a consciousness seal hiding deep in her soul was asking her to obey the order, on the other side, within her subconscious mind, the wild and restless vampire instinct was resisting the order.


    Noticing the effect of consciousness seal had be weaker, Eclivel''s face started to turn dark.


    In order not to obstruct the possibility of evolution for the vampire innate talent, Eclivel hadn''t wiped off Bleia''s instinctive consciousness. It was true that Bleia had grown quickly into a satisfying sacrificial offering, but after she had advanced into a Pseudo-Mage, it had also caused her to no longer be under his total control.


    But, as Eclivel increased the strength of his conscious wave, eventually Bleia reluctantly walked in front of him.


    Eclivel swiped his hand in the air and a cut was immediately made on Bleia''s neck. An arrow of blood shot out from the cut. Before the blood could touch the floor, it was collected by Eclivel using a magic spell.


    As Bleia was attacked, she immediately started rampaging. She took a few steps back, bared her teeth, and showed Eclivel a threatening look. Still, she didn''t have the courage to leap at him.


    Eclivel was in an agitated mood now, so he became really angry with Bleia''s behavior. He cast a Wind Vortex and sent Bleia high up into the sky. When she finally struggled out from the vortex full of sharp wind des while letting out miserable shrieks, her body was like it had just been pulled out from a grinder. Her skin was filled with countless cuts of all sizes; there were even some deep cuts that exposed her bones!


    The severely wounded Bleia immediately let out a sharp and miserable cry. Like an injured puppy, she rushed far away at top speed, crouched on the floor, and gently licked her wounds.


    "Suck his blood and heal your wounds!" Eclivel used his long staff and jerked up an apprentice, throwing him over to Bleia. Then, coldly he warned, "This is a warning for you. Remember this next time. I''m your master! If you dare to show me disrespect again, I''ll drain all of the blood in your body!"


    The apprentice jerked up by Eclivel was none other than the new Apprentice Leader, Brandon. However, right at this very moment, he could only watch helplessly as his body flew toward the frightfully savage demon. With a leap, Bleia caught Brandon in her arms. Without hesitation, she bowed her head over his neck and gave it a ferocious bite.


    Although Brandon had a sound mind, his body was totally not under his own control. He could feel two cold, sharp fangs poking into his blood vessel noiselessly, then his head started spinning. In a trance, he saw a dazzling glow right before his eyes, and he suddenly came to in a magical hall packed with people.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Familiar and unfamiliar apprentices and Mages were lined up on both side of a red carpet, their face filled with smiles, and staring at him. Thunderous apuse and cheers deafened his ears. And he was d in a luxurious and noble Mage long robe and held an exquisite and splendid Mage long staff in his hand. He was smiling and nodding his head at the crowd while walking step by step toward the magnificent stage, where everybody was looking at...


    On the lofty stage, a gorgeousdy in red was looking at him with a sweet smile on her face.


    Who is she? Oh right, she is my intimate lover who swore to walk the rest of our lives together! Upon thinking about this, Brandon couldn''t help but hasten his pace, wishing he could reach the stage quicker and hold the fair, delicate hand of his lover.


    But, somehow, it was as if the red carpet underneath his feet kept stretching longer and longer. No matter how hard he tried to run and shout, the distance between him and the slender hand of his beautiful lover grew and grew...


    Finally, the scene around him distorted, and his conscious grew dim and faded.


    As Bleia''s creepy sucking continued, Brandon''s arm finally drooped!


    ...


    2430 Words

 Chapter 154 Sacrifice

    On top of the bloody altar.


    Three torture chairs besmeared with blood were ced in a triangle shape on top of it. Leon, ke, and Bleia were now sitting in these chairs. They had a nk look on their face, as if they were waiting for something to happen.


    Below them, on the first and second level of the altar, all Apprentice Mages were messily ced and piled up. A huge bloody hole could be seen on each and every single one of these dead bodies, blood was gurgling out from them. The magical runes on the altar had absorbed these fresh blood and became full and started to light up one after another.


    A bloody mist gradually diffused from the altar, giving it a touch of mysteriousness and evil.


    When all the evil runes on the altar were lit, a faint murmur of souls begun to linger in the air. Immediately after that, countless wraiths and spirits made their appearance in this ce, flying and hovering in a circle around the altar. From time to time, their vague, incorporeal visage would transform into beautiful girls with splendid outlooks or transformed into a dreadful ghosts with withered faces...


    A creepy, ghostlyughter incessantly lingered on.


    Within this evil and bizarre scene where angels and demons kept shifting like the clouds, the dead bodies of apprentices lying t on the altar quickly withered. It was as if all their blood, flesh, and soul were extracted by some external beings. Very soon, they shrunk and turned into messengers of death which looked simr to Ghouls.


    The red glow on the altar became more striking!


    If someone tried to perform a blood sacrifice ritual in a material ne with a tight andplete principles, he would immediately attract the strong bacsh from the Will of the ne. It was especially true for the Mage World, which was a major scale ne, as it was highly possible that the master of the ritual would evoke a deadly bacsh.


    Mage Eclivel had spent a huge effort in constructing this bloody altar. And obviously, he was able to divert the bacshing from the Will of the ne into three nodes of the ritual. As the result, when the blood sacrifice ritual wasmencing, Leon, ke, Bleia, all three of them were tightly strapped onto the torture chairs, and their bodies were shivering violently.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    It was not fear that caused them to shiver, but because they were locked down by an unspeakable Will of Vastness from a remote space. Through theyer of principle, it kept sending forth its anger over into these three apprentices. Pressured by this Will of Vastness, blood starting to burst out from their mouth and nose, while a flow of blood also seening down from the corner of their eyes and ears.


    Yet, these damages to their corporeal bodies could not bepared with the severe injuries inflicted on their souls. If not because the bloody altar kept extracting the life force of those apprentices and replenishing their consumption, perhaps right at the very moment when Leon and the other two got in touch with the Will of Vastness, they had already vanished into thin air.


    But even so, during the continuous collision between their own will and the consciousness of the ne, their soul had been riddled with a thousand gaping wounds and became extremely weak and fragile. Although such wounds on their soul could be fixed using the fragments of soul sent over by the altar, it was rather easy that these foreign souls would contaminate their own soul.


    In addition to that, these fragments of soul extracted by the altar were stained with a huge amount of negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, fear, sadness, which was thest thing that filled those apprentices before they were killed.


    By letting so many negative emotions surge into their minds, for an ordinary soul, no doubt it was something extremely frightening. Judging from this point alone, that Mage Eclivel simply never cared whether the three of them could truly be an Mage or not. He was using the method of blood sacrifice to repeatedly stimte their soul and potential of their body, using the approach of ''help the shoots grow by pulling them upward'' to overdraw their vitality and Spirit.


    When their entire body and soul were brewed to the maximum, strongest moment, perhaps it would be the moment their Spirit crossed the line of qualitative change that came from quantitative umtion, thereby using the huge amounts of negative emotions as the core and formed into their own conscious core. As the matter of fact, many books of magic called this process of Pseudo-Mage advanced into Mage as ''Crystallizing the Spirit Consciousness''.


    Only when a Pseudo-Mage could smoothly,pletely, and steadily formed his own conscious core, his advancement ceremony was considered a true sess. What Mage Eclivel prepared for Leon and the other two was actually an immature, unstable ceremony of Mage Advancement.


    Affected by the power of blood sacrifice, the trio might be able to improve their bodies, souls, and Spirits to the lowest requirement of advancing into the realm of Mage in a very short amount of time, and eventually, form their very own conscious core. But once the power of the blood sacrifice faded away, under the condition where they didn''t have a stable understanding of the Principles, sooner orter, their conscious core would disintegrate and cause irreversible damage to their souls.


    Nevertheless, Mage Eclivel didn''t care anything about this. What he wanted was the brief moment when the trio entered the period of qualitative change!


    He just had to take the opportunity of that brief moment when the trio became official Mages, using them as the sacrificial offerings and performed a second blood sacrifice ritual. With that done, he would only have to withstand a little amount of bacsh from the Will of the ne and would be able to instantly devour three conscious cores which had just formed into shape. At that moment, he would have 30-40% of chances of breaking through the bottleneck that had been holding him back for many years and bing a Second Grade Mage who would be highly sought after in the Zhentarim Association.


    At the thought of a magnificent future waiting in front of him, Eclivel''s mind started to boil with excitement. But the further he progressed into his n, the lesser room was left for him to rx and cken. Therefore, he forcefully calmed down his surging emotions and payed a close and tight attention to the slightest changes to the trio who were now strapping on the torture chairs.


    By this time, the blood sacrifice ritual had slowly entered to its climax. Three sacrificial offerings were now in the critical moment of forming their conscious cores. If that little kid really did have some special preparation, then this would be the best moment for him tounch his counterattack.


    That was the reason why Mage Eclivel used his powerful Spirit and through different approaches, he put up a high vignce, closely monitoring even the tiniest bit of changes of the trio. Enduring the painful mental suffering, he waited patiently for any abnormal changes that might happen at any time.


    Just as he expected, right at the moment when the force of blood sacrifice on the bloody altar reached to its densest level, the damn change of situation had finally arrived.


    It happened right from that Leon!


    He was now sitting straight on the torture chair. Stimted by the intense life force and soul aura, his entire body had expanded a few timesrger than before. Tiny cracks were seen filled up every single inch on his burly and tough muscle. An extremely high temperature was emanating from within his body.


    It was obvious that he took the path of Element Mage, and was focusing on Fire element. However, within this Mage Advancement Ceremony, there wasn''t any resource avable to support and strengthened his Fire element innate talent. As the result, once the bacsh of advancement urred, among three of them, most probably he would be the one who suffered the most severe consequence.


    It was perhaps he had sensed his own miserable destiny, Leon, who had his body and soul totally controlled by the paper-man, suddenly trembled in a violent manner. An intense Fire element source energy was ignited and starting to burn fiercely within his body, kindled his entire body in an instant, including even his soul.


    Mage Eclivel''s face turned livid immediately.


    Within his spiritual sense, the paper-man hiding inside of Leon''s soul kept letting out shrill cries of dread. However, it was not the paper-man who gave out the order of igniting his body and soul!


    Could it be... could this Leon like that ke, be hiding a secondary consciousness within the depths of his soul?


    No matter how hard Mage Eclivel tried to ponder, he would never understand the Chip''s unique form of existence.


    The Chip had merged into Leon''s genes, and in fact, it was more like an auxiliary brain of his. All the functioning and thinking of this brain was carried out with the method of bioelectric currents, thus it was near impossible for it to be detected from the outside. Even though Mage Eclivel was a treacherous and careful person, throughout the dozens of monitoring he performed, he actually just focused on traces of magic spell and ripples of Elementium and Spirit.


    Through such extraordinary form of existence, the Chip was able to conceal itself from his detection and hid quietly within Leon''s body.


    As the matter of fact, with regard to the possible changes and development of the blood sacrifice ritual, Leon had carried out countless inferences and deductions with the Chip. As long as that Mage Eclivel didn''t go crazy, then before the ritual begun, using a magic spell or method to gain the control over Leon and the other two was a certain choice for him!


    Therefore, at the beginning of the event, Leon didn''t hide anything and straightaway showed Eclivel his trump card. After all, no matter what he said or did, Eclivel would still do what he supposed to do, so, Leon might as well not hide anything from him. And by doing that, he actually stirred Eclivel''s mind and caused Eclivel to be filled with suspicions.


    Actually, Leon really couldn''t stop the bizarre paper-men from invading his body, and was controlled by it using a special method. Fortunately, by predicting all kinds of possible situations that he might face, Leon had drafted out hundreds and thousands of counter measurements with the Chip.


    What the Chip needed to do was, when Leon lost his self-consciousness, and right at the most critical moment of the blood sacrifice ritual, it would just have to select a most suitable solution and execute it. After all, in the aspect of controlling the body, the paper-man could never bepared to the Chip, which was part of Leon''s body.


    And the solution picked by the Chip was: Self-burning!


    The Chip had no idea about what kind of form the paper-man existed in. Nevertheless, it had just known one thing: the paper-man was not a Fire element creature!


    Burning himselfpletely, ignited himself thoroughly, from his body to his blood and flesh to his soul, anything that could be burned was now covered in fierce mes.


    Sitting on the torture chair, Leon''s body kept trembling violently. He threw his head back and let out a long, painful groan into the sky. A me jet of extremely high temperature burst out from his nose and mouth. Amidst this deadly me jet, the paper-man was struggling and roaring furiously in pain. But very soon, it was kindled by the fierce me, starting to burn, and eventually, turned into a pile of ashes and vanished into thin air.


    Leon had finally freed himself from the restrictions put on his soul and regained his consciousness from the emptiness!


    Right after he was awakened, Leon immediately frowned his brows painfully.


    In a trance, two extremely opposite consciousnesses came from his body and soul made him felt like as if his mind had been broken into two. Or else, why was he sensing two totally opposite yet sharp feelings from his consciousness?


    One of the feelings kept telling him that he was in a perfectly fine condition. The endless supply of life force, fragments of soul that filled with deep understanding of different knowledge, all these things were rushing into his body and soul continuously, kept strengthening and expanding him.


    He had a false impression, that he could keep growing stronger like this without any limit!


    On the other end, the second feeling was totally opposite to the first. An intense crisis of death had wrapped his entire body and soul, causing his soul to turn gloomy and dark. He never felt so weak and small before, it was like a balloon filling with air had reached its limit, and maybe in the next seconds, it would burst with a loud boom and vanished into nothingness.


    Both feelings were so vivid and direct and they both had deeply engraved the strongest feeling into the depths of Leon''s soul, making him believe them without a shadow of the doubt.


    Was he strong or weak? Was he walking toward the pinnacle of his life or still lingering at the brink of death?


    In an instant, Leon was perplexed by the feelings he felt!


    ...


    2256 Words

 Chapter 155 The Wizard

    Though Leon might be perplexed, the Chip would never be!


    The Chip was dynamically monitoring every single piece of data within Leon''s body; it could detect or even predict the uing transformation through the movement of its graphs for all of the functions in his body. If he continued to receive the endless supply of mutated energy that had no filtration and sorting, perhaps he could form a random and unknown conscious core.


    But once the mutated energy supporting this transformation faded away, he would suffer a devastating fall. It wouldn''t even matter if the conscious core shattered, because at that point in time, even his soul would not be able to escape from the dreadful bacsh that came from failing in advancement.


    It was time for the counter attack! He couldn''t afford to wait until the moment his conscious core formed or he would lose the chance of using his Fire element innate talent as the core to form his own conscious core!


    All of a sudden, Leon put up a violent struggle. But all four of his limbs were strapped by a special rope, and there was even a half-ball shape iron cap covering the top of his head. Any slight movement would immediately trigger a strong reaction from the torture chair. Some bizarre runes emerged on top of the ck rope, scorching his skin and making them produce a hissing noise.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The rope tightened, making it looked like it was sinking into his flesh.


    There were even seven or eight sharp, ming red spines poking through from the inner side of the iron cap and forcefully impaled into his skull, releasing a peculiar wave that would distract the normal thinking of a human. Severe pain and distraction to his thinking, either one of those was more than enough to interrupt Leon''s uing actions!


    Leon had 13 points of Physique; a high Physique like this was enough to help him endure most of the paining from his body. But even so, he found it tough to withstand the unique instruments of torture Mage Eclivel had specifically prepared for him and the other two.


    It was worth mentioning that in order to hold them captive, Eclivel had really put in a lot of effort.


    The rope was made from the skin of a ck Serpent from the East Coast. It was capable of withstanding any Pseudo-Mage level offensive magic spells. In addition to that, among three of them, none was an apprentice with great strength, so it was impossible for them to escape the fetters of the torture chair with only their body strength.


    Together with the distractioning from the Brain Wash Cap of Gnoll, even if all three of them really became Mages, they were in a situation where they didn''t have the chance to absorb elemental energy from the outside world and recover their body. They would be just three delicious dishes who had the identity of official Mages, but not the overall strength of an Mage.


    This ce was a small inter-space controlled by Eclivel, and he was the highest authority. Without his permission, the trio could never absorb even the tiniest bit of elemental energy. Three Mage level sacrificial offerings who had stepped into the realm of Mages, yet only had the overall strength of Pseudo-Mage. This was the grand feast Mage Eclivel had prepared for himself!


    Through the torture chair, the mutated energiesing from the altar still continued prating Leon''s body, pushing him closer and closer to the most frightful abyss. However, even when he was confronted with a crisis of life and death, Leon was still as calm and sober as usual. In fact, his thoughts were far clearer than normal and he could see things far more thoroughly.


    "Lucy, why are you taking so long? If you dy further, it is true that I can''t escape from death, perhaps you''ll have to die together with me too!"


    "It is almost... done.... give me another... ten... minutes... these... damn defenses... of the tower... are really tough... to kill..." Lucy''s conscious wave that came from the depth of his soul was breaking up. Obviously, she was in the middle of an intense ughter.


    "Remember, you only have ten minutes. Now, teleport the thing I need over here first!"


    "Damn it... this is insane... why are you... asking things... at this... moment? Rascal... I... aw..."


    Lucy cursed hurriedly, and judging from herst shrill cry, it was obvious that she had unleashed her most deadly strike: Spatial Shatter. Having temporarily wiped clean the enemy around her, she was finally able to seize the opportunity and teleport over the thing Leon needed.


    Leon felt a slight vibration on his palms. While still strapped on the torture chair, he flipped both palms and saw two micro magical arrays, emitting wave after wave of spatial ripples. When these spatial ripples reached a very dense degree, a tiny spatial tunnel was torn open.


    Two faint noises were heard as two objects traveled through the magical arrays, simr to a short-distance teleportation array, and fell into his palms.


    Over the past month, Lucy had repeatedly tried all sorts of methods to teleport an object over to Leon''s palm, but they were all blocked off by his elementium shield, protection barrier, or some other simr defensive mechanisms. As she was being pushed to a corner, Lucy eventually thought outside of the box and came out with the idea of designing a strange thing: a micro space positioning array.


    The Chip started to work on her idea. With that, a mysterious array, now found on both of Leon''s palms, was produced!


    Relying on the positioning function of the array, it had be simpler for Lucy to teleport objects over to Leon. Most of the time, it was as easy as performing a short-distance teleportation herself.


    The item that fell into Leon''s left palm was the summoning core of his Fire Lord golem, while the item fell into his right palm was his favorite weapon: the Fire Lord''s Scepter.


    He had foreseen that all of the equipment and items found on his body would be taken away by Eclivel, therefore, long before anything else, he had left both of his ultimate weapons, which could help him turn the situation around, with Lucy. When the time was right, he would ask her to teleport them over.


    Now, with his magical weapon and his strongest golem in his hands, it was time to fight Mage Eclivel!


    With a gentle swing of the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his right hand, arge gate of me immediately emerged behind Leon. It was enshrouded with leaping and steaming me, creating an extremely high temperature. Through the smoky and hazy opening of the gate, one could vaguely see the realm of Fire Elementium, a world of terror purely made up of mes.


    Endless Fire Elementium burst out from the ming gate; in an instant, they transformed the surrounding space into a sea of me. Meanwhile, amidst this raging and soaring sea of me, Leon tossed the summoning core of his strongest golem onto the ground.


    In next seconds, a formidable, tall and burly Fire Lord was born amidst the raging sea of me!


    After making its debut, the first thing Fire Lord did was wield its huge, mingva rock hand and crush the torture chair which Leon was trapped in.


    While stretching his slightly numbed arms, amidst the me that spread all over his body, all of the frightening wounds on Leon''s body started to close, healed, and eventually, disappeared without a trace. After owning the me Body, any ce with fire would be his home and he could even conveniently self-heal.


    Mage Eclivel was hovering on top of the bloody altar, staring at that little Pseudo-Mage who stood with his back straight. The emotion of fury and resentment in his mind had reached their maximum degree. Because of that powerful gate of me, the function of the bloody altar had suffered a great distraction. The other two sacrificial offerings on the altar had also started to move and struggle, showing signs of awakening soon.


    Damn it... damn it... damn it...!


    Curses rolled from Eclivel''s tongue. Without hesitation, heunched an attack at Leon.


    Hundreds and thousands of wild and ferocious Wind des immediately rushed towards Leon.


    Without Leon''s needing to confront the attack personally, the Fire Lord, who upied nearly half of the space on top of the altar, took two steps forward and unleashed a Firestorm to throw it over to the iing attack.


    The Wind de and Firestorm collided in midair, instantly smearing the surrounding space with a red hue. Countless raging me and razor sharp wind des were crashing and slicing each other in the air. Very soon, the difference in their power was revealed in front of everyone.


    The energies contained within the Firestorm were overly divided, and their power was far weaker than of those Wind des on the opposite side.


    As a result, sliced by countless Wind des that came whistling in before the Firestorm could bring all of its power into y, all the Fire Elementium was churned and shattered into pieces. And after annihting the Firestorm, the remaining Wind des finally caught up to the body of the ming giant.


    The ming giant was standing aloft; its leaping me armor ofva hadbined the violence of Fire element and the sturdiness of Earth element. Thus, although the surface of the armor was all scratched up, the source of Fire element in its body remained intact.


    Relying on the protection of this ming giant, Leon roared out with a loud voice, and he finally summoned the Fire Deity smoothly. Unlike what he usually did, where he always sent the Fire Deity into the battlefield as cannon fodder, Leon actually departed from his normal behavior. He forcefully poked his hand into the chest of the Fire Deity and pulled out a unique fire stone with some indistinct runes.


    He threw his head back and roared again. Then Leon opened his mouth, ced the ming fire stone inside, and swallowed it.


    It was as if he had just swallowed a mini sun; from his mouth to his throat, and also from his stomach, a dazzling bright light and an intense heat emanated from within his body. It almost transformed him into a transparent and ming humanoid. After such a strong congregation of Fire Elementium entered his body, driven by Fire element energy of the same origin, numerous magic runes engraved on the surface of his body started to light up, one after another.


    Leon kept roaring furiously and loudly. Intense heat and dazzling light were emanating from all over his body. An Elementium meing from the source of his soul had finally kindled his body and soul.


    In the past, Leon had been bathed countless of times in the element of fire, yet those were fires produced from the collision between Fire element energy and his me Body. But right at this very moment, Leon was kindled by the me that diffused from the depths of his soul.


    After a long history of learning fire, ying with fire, and researching fire, for the very first time, Leon had touched the inner principles of Fire Elementium and established a slight connection with the Fire element principle residing within the Will of the ne. And this was the true source that could allow Leon to keep walking further in the path of an Mage.


    "Not enough... this is far from enough! I need more..."


    While letting out a thunderous roar, Leon finally activated the mystical ability the magic rune suit brought to him: the transformation of the me Fiend.


    A ming humanoid far stronger and purer than the ming giant made his debut in the scene. The two-meter tall body kept expanding and bing bigger and bigger after being injected with a vast amount of Fire element energy; soon it reached the height of three meters. Meanwhile, a thick fire pir shot out from the gate of me behind him, injecting an endless amount of Fire element energy into his body.


    Due to this ming humanoid drawing and absorbing the Fire element energy in an overly violent, quick manner, the gate of me nearly couldn''t supply his demand. The me on the tall gate pirs and the gate itself gradually faded away, exposed an ancient-looking stone frame fully engraved with runes.


    Supported by such vast Fire element energy, Leon once again let out a terrifying roar that shook the entire space. Driven by his powerful will, all of the Fire element energies he absorbed rushed crazily into his Spiritual Domain. In that ce, they were repeatedlypressed and tempered, again and again.


    Such degree of fire congregation was no longer something that could be controlled by his mere me Body. For every time his Spiritual Domain shook and contracted, the powerful fire energypressed and tempered by the true form of his spiritual consciousness would bring him devastating fire damage.


    When the strength of the fire damage reached a certain degree, the me Body of that lower grade could no longer provide him any resistance toward the damage!


    Every time his true form of spiritual consciousnesspressed the fire energy, it was no different than an ordinary human hugging a fire pan that could bring him severe injury. However, there wasn''t any sizzling sound of skin and flesh being burned, the only thing was a severe pain that prated the depths of his soul.


    Amidst the severe pain that kept striking him, Leon''s senses had be blunted. Yet, most of the impurities and useless waste found in the true form of his spiritual consciousness were burned off by the dreadful me. Backed up by the attitude of not fearing pain, and being repeatedlypressed by his spiritual consciousness, the powerful fire energy had finally starting to take its shape. Using that tiny thread of Fire element principal as the core, they crystallized and formed into the conscious core that was required to advance into the realm of an Mage.


    In the middle of a battlefield, Leon had finally advanced and be a Fire element Mage!


    ...


    2376 Words

 Chapter 156 Conscience

    Never once before in his entire life had Leon felt so close to the Will of the World!


    In the past, he was always having trouble differentiating between the consciousness of the ne and the will of the world. He kept having the feeling that they was just two different names for the same matter from two different angles. Yet, at this moment when he finally made the advancement and became a Fire element Mage, only then was he profoundly enlightened by the huge difference between the two.


    A ne was an enormous vessel that carried all living beings, a ce where all things lived, bred, and expanded. At the beginning when a ne was born, basically the consciousness of the ne had also been born with it. After all, it was just a congregation of consciousnesses produced by all living beings and materials within the ne itself ¨C chaotic and unclear. During this period, due to the consciousness of the ne only possessing a simple instinctive response, without developing a clear and direct self-consciousness, it was generally referred as the consciousness of the ne.


    So to speak, most of the nes within the multi-verse only possessed the consciousness of the ne!


    And it was obvious that the will of the ne was more advanced and possessed higher intelligence than the consciousness of the ne. On the foundation where a ne possessed its own consciousness, when this particr ne developed and expanded to a certain magnitude, the consciousness of the ne would give birth to the will of the ne, which was something simr to the soul of a human.


    Thus, most of the consciousnesses of nes were primitive, naive like a babies who just begun to babble. They would respond to any event that might hurt them, but the process was clumsy and slow. On the other side, the will of the world was in fact, a consciousness of the ne that matured and grown up a little bit, and it had given birth to an independent self-consciousness from the chaotic congregation of consciousness. It was capable of using principles of the ne as its weapon to interfere or adjust any event that happening right within its body.


    The rare few major nes in the multi-verse belonged to this category.


    There was even some more matured will of the worlds, which were able to rely on their preferences to influence and guide those individuals who lived under their protection. Those who do something right would be rewarded and wrongdoings would be punished. Using the power of the world principle, they guided themselves to moving towards the direction they anticipated.


    Throughout the entire multi-verse, there was only one world had given birth to a matured will of the world. It was a lower tier realm infested with foul demons and devils ¨C the World of Abyss.


    Meanwhile, the World of Mage where Leon lived in right now was obviously a major ne who had given birth to its own will of the world. Together, millions upon millions of living beings and billions upon billions of materials within the ne had formed and produced a consciousness of the ne that owned a partial self-consciousness. No matter whether it was a stalk of flower, a shrub of weed, a human being, a stone, regardless the level of their status, whether they were a noble or a mere peasant, irrespective of whether they were strong or weak, they were just a tiny part of this powerful will of the world.


    Apparently, this will of the world was simr to those consciousnesses of the ne born in most of the material nes. It was against the blood sacrificial ritual which would cause a great number of souls in its world to vanish and be used as the sacrificial offering for a foreign world. As the result, with regards to Leon''s behavior of directly fighting against the bloody altar, the will of the world had used the power of principle and given him preferential treatment.


    Or else, with the current capability of Leon''s soul, he would have to face a great challenge if he wished to be an official Mage. ording to the Chip''s estimation, if the will of the world didn''t make a concession for Leon, the odds of Leon advancing into the realm of Mage just now was less than 7%.


    ording to the information Leon had, usually Mages would call the process of adapting the principles, using the principles andplying with the guidance from the will of the world in order to obtain personal experience and improved one''s skill, as the ''feedback of the world.'' And as the matter of fact, such feedback was part of the world principle itself!


    Therefore, it could be said that literally because of the power from the feedback of the world, that Leon was able toplete his Mage Advancement Ceremony!


    Since he had advanced smoothly and became an official Mage, he was now freed from the shackles of the bloody altar. However, when he stood up with his back straight and ran his eyes around thispletely isted inter-space, he realized that the situation of the battle was still in the worst condition.


    In less than ten minutes, the Fire Lord was showing signs of defeat, as now it could barely defend against the violent bombardmenting from Mage Eclivel. As for the other twopanions of his, Bleia was strapped on a torture chair ced on the other end of the altar, letting out a painful shriek into the sky. It was obvious that her situation wasn''t good at all. Lucy had just ughtered her way into the controlling main hall of the Swampy Tower and was fighting a fierce battle against two Mage level magical beasts. She was now running around busily, chased by the enemies, hence there was no way she could help create trouble.


    As for that ke, after receiving an order from Mage Eclivel, he had escaped from the torture chair, and was roaring with a deep voice while dashing towards Leon who had just opened his eyes.


    Leon let out a deep and lordlyugh. He stretched his tall and burly stature, moved both arms over his head and unleashed a red force field from his body, covering an area of fifty meters in diameter.


    Right after Worm controller leaped into the red force field, an elemental me appeared out of nowhere immediately coiled up his body. The frightful high-temperature evaporated all the water in his body, which was few in volume, and the scorching hot me jet roasted his body and made it produce crackling noises. In less than three seconds, his formidable half-bug body was nearly toasted by Leon''s Ring of Fire.


    In a speed faster than he came, ke scurried away from this red force field.


    Although he had escaped from it, he had left behind a great number of charred and cracked bug fragments. If not because he ran away in time, even without Leon attacking him personally, just with the Ring of Fire outside of Leon''s body alone would have been enough to roast him into a bug barbecue.


    ke spent a long time strolling around the Ring of Fire. He had no courage to take another step into it.


    After bing an official Mage, a Pseudo-Mage like ke was hardly his opponent.


    Through the Chip''s Elementium Vision which provided him aprehensive and thorough sight, Mage Eclivel, who was now hovering in midair carried by wind vortex, was no longer enveloped in mystery like in the past. From the battle between him and Fire Lord, Leon could vaguely detect some information rting to him.


    "Chip, can you digitize Eclivel''sbative ability?"


    "Beep. The thread of task has been established... Initializing... Beep! Beep! Beep! ... Warning! Warning! Unable toplete the task... An error urred in the digitalization of the target..."


    "Chip, find the reason why we can''t construct the model of the target."


    "Beep. Analyzing of error data has beenpleted... the highest possibility is that the sample temte of the target model is no longer appropriate... the host needs to recollect the data of Mage level targets in order to reconstruct the temte..."


    Leon saw the light suddenly.


    After the Chip was activated, the first digitalization model he built was based on an ordinary human. Using the body attribute data of an ordinary adult as the foundation, the Chip had constructed the scale of overall strength for Apprentice Mage. And since he had be an Mage himself, this basic temte could no longer be used on Mage Eclivel. As the result, the Chip couldn''t construct the digitized model of him.


    "Chip, expand the scope of collecting data, including all data in the database of the Mages I''ve met into the calction. Use Mage level creatures to reconstruct the basic digitized temte."


    "Beep. Task has been established... beginning extraction of data about Mages. The samples included: Eclivel, Sammir, Angus, Flower Fairy, Andre, Endor, Molten Giant... Constructing new digitized temte..."


    Taking the time when the Chip was busy constructing the new temte, Leon moved his feet and appeared beside the ming giant, helping it to block off Mage Eclivel''s attacks.


    In just less than ten minutes, the ming giant''s body had been heavily damaged.


    One after another powerful Fire element magic spells cast by itnded on the elemental barrier outside of Eclivel''s body, causing it to ripple and make the surrounding air to vibrate violently. However, with the endless and constant supply of element energy from the Swampy Tower, there was no way these attacks could break through his defense, and his defense was also enhanced by the tower. The attacks unleashed by Eclivel were also something it could not stand up against.


    An attack was countered by another attack, after the Fire element magic spell cast by Fire Lord was shattered by Eclivel''s Wind element magic spell, the remaining magical energy still riddled a thousand holes on itsva armor. If this Fire Lord wasn''t an elemental creature, perhaps it would have already been defeated by Eclivel''s brutal and savage attack.


    Leon didn''t want his mostpetent minion to be destroyed by Eclivel, so he took the initiative to rece Fire Lord and stood in front of Eclivel, while the Fire Lord turned around and dashed towards Bleia, trying to rescue her from the torture chair.


    "What a lucky kid. You better not think that just because you became an Mage, you have the ability to resist me. Today, I''ll make you realize the huge difference between you and me!" Upon seeing Leon, a frenzied and vicious expression immediately emerged on Mage Eclivel''s gloomy old face.


    As the events developed into the current stage, Eclivel realized that his n had beenpletely ruined. Although there wasn''t any risks to his life, the ns of advancement he had been thinking for more than one hundred years were destroyed by this seemingly insignificant Pseudo-Mage. The resentment and unwillingness of epting such fact in his mind could no longer be described with any words or any spokennguage.


    With his mind filled with a slight thread of craziness brought on by the shattering of his hope, Eclivel rode on a strong wind and unleashed a fierce assault at Leon.


    After just exchanging three rounds of attack, Leon had deeply felt the pain Fire Lord was suffering just now.


    There was absolutely no way he could destroy Eclivel''s elemental defense outside!


    From the strength of element the Chip detected, the elemental defense outside of Eclivel''s body actually possessed a whopping 120 degree of defensive strength. The ''degree'' here was a quantifier fixed by all Mages, it was used to standardize the basic data of offensive and defensive ability. It used the full energy a magic crystal could unleash as the basic unit, which was 1 degree, and using it to quantify all kind of standards.


    Basically, the power of a magic spell cast by a Beginner Apprentice using his own energy was around 1 to 5 degrees. As for Intermediate Apprentice, it was around 5 to 10 degrees, and Advanced Apprentice could have 15 to 20 degrees. As for Pseudo-Mage, their power was between 30 to 50 degrees.


    The power of Eclivel''s elemental defense was as high as 120 degrees. This also meant, if the magic spell Leon cast couldn''t break his defense with one hit, by the time the next magic spell was ready, Eclivel''s defense would have already recovered back to its peak.


    With the energy of Swampy Tower as his support, Eclivel didn''t have to worry about his defense.


    Contrary to that, Leon could hardly withstand the swift and violent attacksing from Eclivel.


    After all, Leon had justpleted his advancement. His Ring of Fire hadn''t merged perfectly with his Fire element innate talent, and his basic defensive strength was only 70 degrees, which was far behind that of his opponent''s.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    In just the time of fewer than ten seconds, Leon had received waves of bombardment from threerge scale magic spells. Part of the power of these magic spells prated through the gap of his Ring of Fire and had inflicted some damage onto his body.


    ...


    2203 Words

 Chapter 157 Blake

    Leon was having a hard time in the battle of Mages against Eclivel.


    It was worth mentioning that as an Mage who just made the advancement,pared to a veteran Mage like Eclivel, whether it was hisbat experience or his ability to cast magic spell, there was a huge gap between them. If you took the support and enhancement the Swampy Tower provided to Eclivel into consideration, this battle had slowly be a one-sided one.


    With just five minutes into the battle, Eclivel had determined hisbative superiority. A raging tornado carried countless wind des and daggers kept breaking through the interception from Leon''s magic spells, spreading the mes of war closer to his side.


    The transformation of me Fiend had given Leon a lofty and burly body, allowing him to own an intrepidly built and near limitless Fire element energy in the magic spell battle. But once he suffered a setback in the battle, the loophole in his defense was actually bigger than normal.


    Leon himself was not a velocity-type Mage who specialized in agility. As a matter of fact, among all the data of his body attributes, Agility was his biggest weakness.


    Therefore, the lofty ming humanoid transformed from Leon was seen simply standing still where he was, the ground underneath his feet had melted into half-moltenva, and the space covered fifty meters radius around him was filled with rolling and steaming mes. Anyone who tried to get closer to him would have to first withstand an endless fire elemental damage.


    It was perhaps this that might have helped him in establishing some superiority when fighting with an Mage who specialized in agility. However, when he was facing an Mage who never needed to worry about defense, an Element Mage who just had to attack with all he had, Leon''s weakness had be apparent.


    The elemental affinity of Mage Eclivel was Dark and Wind Elementium. As the result, though all the magic spells cast by him were mainly using Wind Elementium, they also carried Dark Elementium which brought a strong corrosive effect. A faint dark smoke always enshrouded the wounds on Leon''s body which were cut by those wind des. If he didn''t use a huge amount of Fire element energy to wash and wipe off these Dark Elementiums, even with his high Physique, he wouldn''t be able to heal them quickly.


    This had made this battle tougher for Leon!


    If the situation continued to develop in this direction, even if Leon devoted all his effort, it was still very difficult for him to defend against Eclivel''s assault. And once he was defeated, as they were in apletely sealed off inter-space, there wasn''t any paths that could allow him to escape.


    Leon bowed down and poked his left hand into the floor which had turned into flowingva. When he pulled his left hand out, a big chunk of floor nearly five meters wide was pulled out together, turning into a mingva shield and was ced in front to block him.


    The noise of wind des cutting kept ringing through the scene. Theva shield had blocked off a tornado that swept right in his direction. The wind des that came together with this frightful tornado were like countless spinning steel des, cutting and slicing out a few hundred crisscrossing deep trenches on the surface of the shield in an instant.


    Leon roared and raised theva shield high, both his feet had sunk deeply into the moltenva underneath. Driven by him, the scorching hotva flowed up along his body and resupplied into theva shield in his hands. But unfortunately, before he could patch up the damage, an extremely sharp Wind Spear hit and crushed onto the surface of theva shield, instantly exploded it into countless tiny wind des and vortexes that dispersed into all directions.


    With this hit, the thickness of theva shield was reduced by half, and with the thickness that was remaining, it was impossible for him to defend against the next attack.


    Leon kept waving the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his hand. Assisted by the Secret Scroll of Voodoo, three major Fire magic spells exploded beside Eclivel in a row. It was a pity that such attacks could only destroy the magic spell Eclivel was about to cast, but were unable to prate through his elemental barrier and inflict any damage on him.


    In this situation, actually, a melee battle was more likely to harm to the enemy. However, with Leon''s heavy and slow pace, it was simply a foolish dream if he wished to chase Eclivel who was riding in the wind!


    Leon turned around and let out a furious roar, "ke, I know you are here. Don''t tell me you''re going to wait until I am defeated, then only wag your tail at that ugly fellow? If you still wish to seize back your freedom, show yourself. I need your help now!"


    The target of Leon''s roar was, of course, not that ke who kept wandering around his Ring of Fire and seeking opportunities to strike, but the primary consciousness of Worm controller who had formed a strategic alliance with him.


    Right at this moment, within thispletely sealed off interspace, the situation of the entire battlefield was clear at a nce.


    There was only a handful of people still alive in this ce. Besides Eclivel who was hovering and flying in the air, the rest were Leon, who had made his advancement and became a Fire element Mage, Bleia, who had been freed from the torture chair and was fighting against the ming giant, ke, who had be the loyal ve of Eclivel, and Snox, who had turned invisible and was hiding at the furthest distance from the battlefield.


    At this very moment in time, the only person who could help him was most probably that primary consciousness of Worm controller, who had concealed himself and couldn''t be traced. If he didn''t want to watch the entire battle go in the direction ofplete failure, and lose all hopes of seizing his body back, then he muste out and do something!


    Leon continued shouted for one more round. Right as he was about to give up hope, a strange urrence suddenly happened right on the battlefield!


    Odd noises of bones cracking suddenly were heard.


    Dead bodies of apprentices who appeared to be long dead started to struggle and climb back up, dragging their twisted and deformed body and limbs, staggering their steps and moving towards Eclivel''s direction. At the beginning, their movements were slow and stiff, but just after three to five seconds, their movement suddenly became nimble and swift. They started to run, crawl, leap... moving as nimble as a monkey, they kept climbing up from the bottom of the altar and crazily charged towards Eclivel who had a slightly startled expression.


    Meanwhile, that ke who didn''t put out a great performance since the beginning of the battle suddenly had his body tremble violently. All sorts of beetles and scorpions began to fall out from behind his ck robe. And strangely, these bugs actually split into two distinct groups, forming into two waves of bugs and that started to crazily bite and kill the other.


    Hmph. This guy had finally done something!


    Leon stood still and nced around the battlefield.


    Those apprentices who transformed into bugs-men by Worm controller had been dead for a long time, the thing that controlling their dead bodies now was actually some Carrion Beetles hidden within their body. They were like a group of fighters with no fear of death, clustering below Mage Eclivel and piled up into a small hill of corpses, continuously leaping into the air and attacking with their teeth.


    After all, this ce was an isted space expanded with the power of the tower, thus it could only reach a certain height. As the result, when thirty odd apprentices stacked on each other and formed into a small hill, it seemed they might really able to drag Mage Eclivel down from the air.


    The elemental barrier covering outside of Mage Eclivel''s body could defend against offensive magic spells, and as a result was near invincible. However, when faced with physical attacks at a close-quarter, thisyer of protection became rather ordinary.


    Upon looking at the frightful faces of ugly and twisted bodies kept leaping in front of him, howling andunching attacks, Mage Eclivel furiously tossed out a tornado onto the hill of corpses. The violent wind des and the dreadful vortexes instantly ground them into pieces.


    But in the next seconds, a loud boom exploded from the scene. Countless frightening flying bugs burst out from the broken bodies of apprentice, clustered into a dense dark cloud and instantly flooded Mage Eclivel''s body.


    The assault of such magnitude might cause some troubles for Eclivel, yet would not enough to kill him. Therefore, when Leon saw what happened, an aggressive gleam flickered in his eyes. Without hesitation, he threw out the trump card that he had prepared for a long time.


    Self-explosion of golem!


    After received an order from Leon''s spiritual consciousness, the summoning core of Mage level golem which Eclivel ced in his pocket immediately exploded!


    It was actually a summoning core purposely modified by him. When he was fighting with Lucyst time, he bore patiently and only activate one Fire Lord. Thus, in Eclivel''s subconscious mind, Leon only owned one single summoning core of Mage level.


    As the result, during the period Eclivel had the control over Leon''s body, after he found the summoning core, he had lowered down his guard against Leon. He never expected that Leon had hidden another summoning core on Lucy, while the one that remained with him was a summoning core that had been thoroughly modified, waiting for Eclivel to find it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    And at this moment, taking the opportunity when Mage Eclivel was trapped by Worm controller'' minions, Leon had finally given out the order to the core to explode.


    In the next second, a hugeva pir exploded from within this isted interspace. Extreme high temperatures, deadly heat, raging and violentva, and terrifying me jets shot in all directions, all of which had formed into a world ofva that could annihte every single living being, coiling and spreading towards Eclivel at top speed.


    The swarm of bugs that spread all over the ce immediately suffered from a devastating blow. Among the tens of thousands of bugs, only a handful of them managed to survive. Inside of ke''s body, within the bugs tide that was crazily fighting for the control over the body, a shrill bug cry suddenly echoed out.


    "Leon, you bastard, you..."


    But before his high-pitch curse could be finished, the voice was flooded by a more frightening and savage hiss of bugs.


    Apparently, the battle happening on his side was in a very dangerous state as well, and it was a life-and-death struggle!


    "Serve you right! Who let you use me as your escape goat. I really hate to be used by someone else, take this as a lesson. You better focus your attention on your internal war! And be careful, don''t let that puppet consciousness to devour you. If that really happened, it''ll be really interesting!" Leon sneered in a disdainful manner.


    In the far distance, the figure of Eclivel had been enveloped by the raging explosion of Elementium and turbulences, and no one could peek at what was happening inside. Leon had no choice but to turned around and walked towards Bleia.


    Indeed, the power of bloodline could allow an apprentice to grow up in a very short amount of time. But once the source of the bloodline fell into the hand of enemies, then the apprentice would be a puppet who had nomand over oneself and would be left at the mercy of someone else!


    The current Bleia had turned into a ghostly assassin that went on rampage. She kept leaping and dashing around the Fire Lord at lightning speed, while the crimson longbow in her hand kept bursting out sounds of ''twang''s, unleashing one after another crimson arrow and hitting the vitals of her opponent. It was obvious that Fire Lord only specialized in offensive and wasn''t really good in capturing and trapping. Therefore, after thrusting crazily toward Bleia for a few times, relying on her high Agility, all its attempts were dodged by her with ease.


    Yet, as Bleia was an ''ally'' of its master, the Fire Lord couldn''t wantonlyunch attacks at her. Thus, when Leon was fighting Eclivel with all his effort, the Fire Lord was locked in a tough battle against Bleia!


    At this point in time, Leon came over to their battlefield with his lofty body. When Bleia intruded into his Ring of Fire, the me in the air immediately transformed into ming chains and tied her up tightly, pulling her in front of Leon.


    Although Leon just became an official Mage, but when he wanted to deal with a Pseudo-Mage, he could still handle him or her with ease.


    ...


    2191 Words

 Chapter 158 Energy

    Even Leon''s current overall strength was insufficient to entirely capture Bleia.


    Crimson armor had appeared on Bleia''s body to repel the ming chain and had gained her some time to struggle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This crimson armor had been modified for her by Leon! But now, it had actually be an aplice to help Bleia fight against him. Leon''s mind was filled with mixed emotions.


    However, no matter how hard Bleia tried to struggle, her tall and slim body was still dragged toward Leon, inch by inch.


    In next second, Leon''srgeva palm, spread like a folding fan, grabbed Bleia''s head. The boiling hot, bright redva rock instantly scorched her skin and made it split. The foul scent of roasted flesh suddenly filled the surrounding air.


    Even with such cruel torture, it was still not enough to free Bleia from Eclivel''s spiritual shackles. She bared her pale-white fangs at Leon and portrayed a murderous look, without even the tiniest bit of care towards her face, which had been burnt beyond recognition. She just kept biting crazily at theva hand.


    Leon had a feeling that perhaps with just a gentle squeeze, the vigorous life that kept struggling in his palm, the once beautiful and splendid head would explode like a watermelon that was thrown forcefully to the ground. With that, he would be able to free himself and seriously deal with the wounded Eclivel.


    If he just let Bleia barge around wantonly, even a small soldier could be an important element that turns the entire situation around. In order to solve this problem, he just had to give a gentle squeeze!


    The consequences of his decision had instantly brought Leon into a dilemma.


    However, right at this moment, the raging sea of me at the far side suddenly shrank. A familiar figure was seen staggering out from within.


    Apparently, the golem''s self-explosion just how had inflicted severe damage to Mage Eclivel''s corporeal body. With the naked eye, one could see his body was now fully covered in burn marks after being scorched by fire, and there was even some damage on his face. It was clearly because of the flying ck bugs.


    His left eye was missing; blood kept flowing and dripping down from the ck and gruesome looking hole where it used to be.


    His Mage hat was gone due to the explosion; a few strands of dried, yellowish hair were seen waving above his skinny, shriveled head. A cold gleam, murderous and hideous, shone from his remaining right eye. It stared straight at Leon''s face, portraying an aggressive look of not stopping until death!


    Obviously, the sudden explosion had not been something his elemental barrier could withstand. The long robe on Eclivel''s body had been ripped to pieces and be shreds of fraying cloth that barely covered his body. Bloody wounds of all sizes covered his skinny and bony chest and traces of burns could be found all over his body.


    "Good... you''re very good..." Anyone could hear the enmity in Eclivel''s words. "You really caught me by surprise. Very good... but, a mere Mage level summoning core is not enough to kill me. Now, it is your turn to face your death!"


    While burning in the raging me of anger, Eclivel raised his right hand into the air and loudly started to recite a profound and hard to understand magic spell incantation. In an instant, innumerable dark spears came shooting toward Leon like a heavy rain.


    While looking coolly at this overwhelming attack, Leon murmured under his breath, "Three... two... one... burst!"


    The entire isted inter-space suddenly shook violently; one could even see spatial ripples in the air with the naked eye. Cracking noises were hearding from the loft altar as numerous tiny cracks starting to spread across the stone wall like spider webs. Blood-colored mist burst out from the tiny cracks, like blood flowing from someone who was wounded.


    Even when it had been hit with the self-explosion of an Mage level summoning core, the elemental barrier enshrouding Eclivel hadn''t shatteredpletely. However, for some unknown reason, this time, it started to disintegrate amidst the violent quaking.


    The tight connection between Eclivel and the Swampy Tower was suddenly cut off!


    Mage Eclivel was stunned, and then he suddenly realized something. "Lucy! It is that hateful little girl! I''m going to rip all of you into pieces. Then I''ll use your body and make the ugliest, evilest misshapen corpse, trapping your souls in it forever... all of you deserve to be killed..."


    The me Fiend that was the transformed Leon smiled. Then he said, "You better deal with her first!"


    Right after he finished saying that, a red light shed from Leon''s hand, and a strange magic spell was seen prated Bleia''s head. After that, he brought her up in the air and forcefully threw her towards Eclivel.


    His action was like a signal, for a brand new battle instantly broke out!


    The Fire Lord strode forward with heavy steps, charging toward Eclivel. While it was on its way, it tossed out a series of Magma Fireballs toward the enemy. Meanwhile, Leon was hiding behind it. He stretched out his hand and the Secret Scroll of Voodoo coiled around his waist instantly appeared in his palm.


    As the cover of the magical book unfolded itself, pages within it started to flip quickly. Whenever the goat-skin paper stopped at a certain page, a violent Fire element magic spell would cast out from it and fly fiercely towards Eclivel.


    The pages kept on flipping; one after another Fire element magic spells were activated and flew out from it. Very soon, Mage Eclivel was surrounded and flooded by a raging sea of me.


    ming Storm!


    Chain of Fireballs!


    Explosive Fire Pirs!


    Thermal Shock!


    Venom me!


    ...


    One after another, violent Fire element magic spells almost turned that particr area into a raging ocean of me. They were mixed with physical attacks and venomous attacks, so the enemy could hardly defend against them.


    However, all of them collided right into the Shattering Wave that had been unleashed by Eclivel. The attacksunched by both sides fought against each other in the center of the battlefield. The Elementium turbulence shooting out from the collision brushed and washed through everything in the area, turning everything into tiny bits of debris that couldn''t be seen with the naked eye, and continued pushing and sshing into the far distance within the isted inter-space.


    Eclivel once again barged out from the ocean of me while roaring furiously. Thest-minute Wind Barrier he had unleashed by him broke into pieces with the impact, causing more wounds on his body. Nevertheless, arge incorporeal hand produced by him was now holding a severely mutted human body. Not even a piece of intact skin could be found on the miserable looking thing.


    It seemed he had used Bleia''s body as his shield just now. Only then could he barely avoid thebined attack from Leon and Fire Lord. Without the endless supply of energy from Swampy Tower, Eclivel had also lost his defense, the elemental barrier that could protect his safety. In a situation where he had to face two opponents alone, his tiny bit ofbat experience and spell casting skill were nothing worth mentioning.


    The second half of the battle quickly elevated into an intense situation!


    Eclivel sprung up into the sky again. Riding on a vast wind and flying in midair, he used Tornado Storm, Sound Burst, Dark Dragon Spear, and Wind des to assault Leon. Meanwhile, Leon and the Fire Lord were chasing behind him, using magic spells of even more violence, such as Fire Core Explosion, Magma Fireball, and Firestorm to counterattack.


    Magic spells that emanated intense Elementium ripples kept striking through the sky. They either exploded into fireworks on the opponent''s protection barrier or were dodged and fell to a far corner of this isted inter-space, turning that corner into a small sea of me or deadly tornados.


    Relying on its invisibility, Snox was lying t on its stomach and hiding carefully in a remote corner. While covering its head with both hands, it watched as the frightful magic spells flew over it; the fear in its mind had reached a level beyond words. Whenever a fireball exploded close by, countless dirt and debris would ssh toward its direction, hitting its body and causing it to be covered in bruises.


    But Snox didn''t pay any attention to the injury. Instead, it opened its eyes wide and put all of its efforts in identifying which magic spell might fall onto its head.


    "The Mighty God of Goblins, please give me your blessing and don''t let any magic spell fall on me!"


    Though the isted inter-space looked spacious, it just couldn''t contain the torture wantonly put out by two Mages and one Mage level golem. In addition to that, the target of Snox''s prayer was obviously not a deity local to the Mage World. As a result, no matter how much or how madly it prayed, a Magma Fireball still came straight to it, with a long tail of dark smoke behind.


    "Damn it! I hope you are not deceiving me..."


    While crying out in terror, Snox pulled out a strange round orb from its pocket and threw it forcefully onto the floor.


    After a loud explosive boom, a huge deep pit with a five meter diameter was created on the floor of the inter-space. It was surrounded by numerous tiny cracks arranged in a spider web pattern. In the next moment, the raging fireball hit and a sea of fire immediately coiled up every single inch of space in this area.


    Under an elemental attack of such magnitude, perhaps even a Pseudo-Mage would find it tough to protect himself, while any apprentices below the level of Pseudo-Mage simply had no chance to survive. Yet, after this deadly explosion of Elementium gradually faded away, an invisible energy shield actually appeared inside of the deep pit, and Snox was seen coiled up inside of it with its face turned deathly pale. Its eyes were still filled with the image of blooming fireworks.


    The energy shield didn''tst for a very long time, but it had saved Snox from the attack of a ''stray fireball.''


    Snox patted around few times on its body and felt nothing; then it pinched its thigh forcefully. The pain made it jump up.


    "Gazlowe, I love you! I shouldn''t have doubted you..."


    With regards to this Full Covered Energy Deflection Force Field ¨C Goblin Improved Version 3, Snox had no more doubt. Although it cost ten magic crystals to activate it every time, no matter how much it cost, it would never be more precious than its own life!


    Without hesitation, Snox pulled out another two goose-egg-sized energy shield activators from its pocket. While watching at the center of battlefield where the intense battle was going on, it wore a big silly smile and said, "Come on,e on, I''m not scared anymore..."


    A moment ago, it had feared the stray magic spells in the air like they were some ferocious tigers, but now it actually hoped it could be visited by some of them, so it could give the treasures holding in its hand another test!


    It was worth mentioning, after some time pestering that Gazlowe, the goblin engineer, Snox did find and exchange some strange and peculiar objects. Although all of these objects had names that sounded mighty and incredible and each of them possessed some miraculous ability that could hardly be imagined by anyone, anyone who had experience in dealing with goblins would know that, though they were indeed miraculous, they were also very unstable!


    To perfectly illustrate this, when Snox was eagerly wanting to carry out a second test of this miraculous energy shield, it... it actually exploded by itself. Fortunately, the mini explosion of the energy shield activator knocked Snox tens of meters away, just enough for it to escape another Fire Core Explosion. Or else, even if Snox had survived, it would have suffered a severe injury.


    Snox rolled up from the floor, looking at the activator, which had melted into molten iron in the sea of me. Its legs were trembling in fear.


    "That damn Gazlowe, how dare he sell me a counterfeit and inferior product! Once I return, I''ll settle this score with you..."


    After cursing furiously at the sky, Snox had lost all its courage to be so arrogant. Carefully, it took out its magic wand and cast an Invisible spell on itself before hiding in a remote corner once again.


    ...


    2106 Words

 Chapter 159 A new Mage

    The formidable strength of a veteran Mage was indeed way beyond anyone imagination!


    Even though he had suffered from the impact from the self-explosion of the golem, had the control of main hall in Swampy Tower destroyed, and was besieged by both Leon and the Fire Lord, thebative strength that Mage Eclivel put out was still way stronger than anybody else in this ce.


    And right at this moment, the Chip who had been quiet for a long time finallypleted the damn reconstruction of the temte.


    "Beep. Reconstruction of the target model has beenpleted. Shall I show them to you right now?"


    "Show me! Show me quickly!" Leon replied impatiently.


    "Beep. Below are the data for the target:"


    "Eclivel. First Grade Human Element Mage. Expert in Wind and Dark Elements. Strength ¨C 1.2, Agility ¨C 1.3, Physique ¨C 2.1, Spirit ¨C 8.4."


    "How about my data?"


    "Beep. Below are the data for the target:"


    "Leon. First Grade Human Element Mage. Expert in Fire Element. Strength ¨C 4.6 (1.4) Agility ¨C 0.6 (0.8), Physique ¨C 3.6 (1.2), Spirit ¨C 1.6 (0.9). Currently in the state of Transformation of me Fiend."


    While looking at thetest body attributes of his own, Leon finally understood why there was such a huge gap between an Mage who just advanced and a veteran Mage. He was currently under a special state of transformation of the me Fiend, that was why all of his body attributes, except for Agility, had skyrocketed. Both his Strength and Physique was now stronger than Mage Eclivel''s. However, his Spirit, which was the most important attribute for any Mage, was far weaker than that of the opponent.


    Most probably, if not for the the transformation of the me Fiend, those numbers inside the parentheses were his body attributes'' actual numbers!


    Judging from the data provided by the Chip, Eclivel''s Spirit wasn''t too much greater than his, it was only eight to nine times more! Taking the environment of the battlefield,bative skills and experience of spell casting into consideration, although there was a huge difference between their body attributes, there was still room for Leon to fight against Eclivel.


    Though Eclivel was a research-type Mage and not an expert in fighting, as a veteran Mage, among all magic spells he mastered, he still owned an achievement that no one else''s could everpare to. As his affine elements were Wind and Dark element, therefore, Eclivel had found a way to merge Dark Elementium into all his Wind element magic spells.


    With that, when any Wind element magic spells that he cast hit the enemy, the spells would always bring the double elemental damage of Wind and Dark. As for his personal defense, after losing the aid and support of the Swampy Tower, Eclivel had no choice but to unleash his Wind Barrier to escape from the radiating damage brought on by the frightening Fire element magic spells.


    As for those magic spells he failed to dodge, Eclivel would use Bleia, whom he still held in his hands, as his humanoid shield.


    By doing so, not only could he use Bleia to block off the attack, he could also make that damn kid, Leon, hesitate when attacking, killing two birds with one stone, what was the sense of not doing that?


    Yet, little to his knowledge, on the face of the darkened, charred body that he held in his hand and used as a shield, two tiny slits suddenly cracked open, and a shivering, a crimson glow was seen shining through from these slits. Finally, the spell Leon sent into Bleia''s body not too long ago had taken effect!


    Bleia''s mind was in a whirl. The severe pain came from the surface of her body didn''t mean much to her now. Inside of her body, under an unknown influence, her blood was slowly heating up and beginning to boil. The boiling hot blood was rushing through her dried and charred body at high speeds, passing through a few internal organs which hadpleted the vampire modification and activated them, making them continuously burst with incredible vitality.


    All this was the mutated energies her body had absorbed during the blood sacrifice ritual just now and had yet to be fully digested. As her body was badly wounded now, these mutated energies had transformed into vitality energy by her powerful vampire instincts, using them to repair her heavily damage body.


    The temperature of her blood was still increasing slowly. It felt like as if all her blood vessels were injected with molten iron. Tiny cracks started to appear on Bleia''s charred and darkened skin, the hot air flow kept bursting out from these cracks. Bleia, whose source bloodline was controlled by Eclivel with a consciousness rune, couldn''t bear it anymore and let out a painful groan. Interfered by this powerful external factor, her vampire instincts had finally suppressed the order forcefully implemented by Eclivel.


    The charred body opened up a darkened mouth and exhaled a stream of hot steam.


    Bleia was back again!


    Amidst the intense battle, Eclivel suddenly sensed something was not right in his hand. It felt like the vampire he held in his hands was...


    Before he could ponder any further, the charred body that didn''t move and looked like a dead body moments ago suddenly turned her head around, giving him a cold and frightening smile. From within her darkened mouth, he saw two rows of pale-white teeth that made his heart tremble, while two vampire fangs were growing longer at an incredible speed and protruding from her lips.


    In the next second, the charred body suddenly opened her mouth wide and ferociously, she bit into Eclivel''s neck.


    Eclivel had just used a Dark Dragon Spear and shattered theva armor of Fire Lord and was about to continue his attack by throwing a Wind Vortex into its wound so he could inflict an injury that it could barely recover from. Yet, right at this critical moment, Bleia who had been controlled and held in his hands suddenly betrayed him. The fear that struck Eclivel''s mind could no longer be described with any words.


    A crazy shriek instantly rolled off of Eclivel''s tongue. Using both hands he quickly formed more than one hundred Wind Vortexes which had beenpressed into the size of thumbnails and sent all of them onto Bleia''s body. Each and every single one of these wind vortexes was like a mini sized meat grinder, wherever they passed, no matter how high the Bleia''s Physique was, there was no way she could withstand their slicing and cutting. All her bones, tendons, blood, and flesh were like pieces of cheese that met with a drill head, there just now way they could stop these Wind Vortexes from moving further.


    When more than one hundred of such deadly objects exploded in her body, the frightful damages they brought to Bleia were self-exnatory!


    In the next seconds, Bleia''s chest simply exploded like it had just gone through a thorough dissection. Fresh dark and purple-colored blood, pieces of intestines that fallen apart, and fragments of flesh whose origin could not be recognized, all of them burst and sshed out from inside in one go. They even besmeared Eclivel who was standing close to her into a bloody man!


    With such a terrifying damage to the corporeal body, if it were any other people, perhaps the pain alone would have been enough to kill that person! Yet, Bleia didn''t show any response to it. Instead, all ten fingernails of her started to grow crazily, and using all her strength, she clung tightly onto Eclivel''s body, while sucking and gobbling the sweet and abundant blood.


    The sounds of gobbling were so loud that they could even be vividly heard from a far distance!


    At this point in time, Bleia had lost her shape as a normal human being. From below her neck, the flesh on the front of her body was nearly missing entirely, and there wasn''t anything could be found in her abdomen. The only thing left were the fragments of blood vessels that were falling apart, chunks and slices of minced flesh that barely hung onto her twisted backbone. Except for these, all her internal organs were gone!


    Though she had lost all her internal organs, the blood that flowed down through her throat didn''t disperse and spill all over the ce. It was as if there were some totally invisible organs and blood vessels remaining and guiding the blood that carried with abundant elemental energy through a winding passage within her chest and abdomen, using the crimson-colored bloodstream to redraw the outline and position of all her organs.


    Bleia''s heart was nowhere to be found after the explosion. But right at this moment, a couple dozens and hundreds of bloodstreams converged and interwove together in front of her backbones, and in just a brief moment of three seconds, these streams of blood had formed into the shape of a heart.


    Very soon, the blood on the outeryer of the heart had dried up and coagted, hardened and turned into a bloody, thinyer of diaphragm. Through this half-transparent diaphragm, one could clearly see that more blood was gathering inside and constructing aplete heart.


    A light pumping sound was heard.


    The heart suddenly pumped once ¨C a sign of it starting to perform its duty and responsibility!


    In a very short amount of time, the emptied chest of Bleia had been covered by a thinyer of bloody diaphragm. Underneath thisyer of diaphragm, countless bones and organs were regrowing in an incredible speed, creeping and moving like a factory of flesh that stunned anyone who looked at them. The only thing was, they were using Eclivel''s blood as their raw material, and the end product was a brand new body!


    Compared to the trifling matter of fixing her body, the transformation of Bleia''s spiritual ripple was the thing that was truly astounding. From being just one step away from the gate of death, it became beaming with vitality, and her Spirit started to skyrocket. The changes that happened to her were like riding a roller coaster, and the huge difference of before and after simply made one''s eyes go wide and made them tongue-tied.


    In contrast to Bleia''s skyrocketing presence, Mage Eclivel who was being pushed closer and closer to the gate of death had his flesh and blood vanish quickly, as his body withered and wizened.


    He cast a couple of magic spells in a row, making Bleia''s body riddled with blood, but still couldn''t get her off of his body. Sensing that his blood essence and vitality was fading quickly from his body, Eclivel stretched his trembling right hand and grabbed Bleia''s head, wanting to use a magic spell to shatter the source of his cmity.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But it was too bad, just as his hand reached half way, it was coiled up by a ming whip thrown over by Leon.


    "Bleia, take this opportunity and quickly form your own blood core. Whether you''ll be a dragon or a worm will all depend on this moment!" Leon''s deep shout filled with powerful spiritual force burst within Bleia''s mind.


    Bleia''s body trembled, as if she suddenly realized something. She immediately stopped using the blood of Mage Eclivel she sucked to fix her body, instead, she gathered a great amount of them into the newly formed heart, making them m and rock amongst each other repeatedly.


    Noticing that Bleia was having a hard time in her progress of breaking through into the realm of Mage, Leon stomped his feet furiously. He injected his powerful Fire element energy into the bloody altar, causing the altar which had suffered from a great torture because of the battle to let out itsst cry, and squeeze out thest drop of its energy.


    The raging mutated energy billowed crazily and rushed into Bleia''s body, thrusting into her vampiric heart which had turned into a furnace of blood. If any other Pseudo-Mage was invaded by such a frightening mutated energy during the process of advancing, he would have certainly exploded into a huge firework of blood and flesh. No one could absorb any foreign energy of different element without precipitating and filtering it, yet, the vampire wasn''t scared of this at all!


    The formidable bloodline innate talent of the vampire had given its blood the ability of assimtion. It could turn the blood of any element into its own blood element energy, and any bloodline factor could only be modified into the factor of the vampire. In the history of Mage, there were only records of vampire assimting other people''s bloodline ability, and no examples of anyone seeding in assimting the bloodline factor of the vampire.


    There wasn''t any reasonable exnation to this, as the bloodline innate talent of a vampire was always so domineering!


    That was why Leon was never worried about Bleia exploding due to this mutated energy, instead, he was actually worried if this energy would be sufficient to support Bleia in helping herplete forming her blood core.


    ...


    2195 Words

 Chapter 160 Escape

    After he handed the task of guarding Bleia over to the Fire Lord, Leon finally had some time to clean up the battlefield.


    The spiritual connection with Lucy had broken long ago, and the reason was unknown. Leon had a vague feeling that something was happening in the outside world.


    To prevent him from being at a loss of what to doter, Leon thought it was better to first adjust his condition to the best he could; only then would he leave this ce.


    He had took back the storage waist belt that had been taken away by Eclivel, together with all of his magical equipment. But it was a pity; since he had be an official Mage, this Apprentice Mage level equipment was no longer useful to him.


    At this moment, some rubble not far away started to roll about, revealing a short, vague figure of green.


    "Master, master! You''ve really be an Mage! This is excellent! Congrattions my master..."


    Leon looked at the goblin, whose face was kindled with joy mixed with ttering expression; he couldn''t help but be surprised. During the devastating war that had happened not long ago, the raging magic spells had nearly plowed through the entire isted inter-space. Even the bloody altar, protected by magical arrays as it was, had copsed and disintegrated. Yet, this goblin ve who didn''t have much self-protecting ability actually survived?


    It looked like this fellow also had some secrets that nobody else knew!


    With a smirk, Leon snorted coldly and said, "Go search that ce. Anything left over by those apprentices is yours!"


    "Thank you, master! Thank you..." Snox was so happy that even the voice of its cheer had changed.


    In this major war, although Snox hadn''t contributed anybative strength, just the fact that it had forced itself to disguise as Lucy was worthy of praise. Therefore, Leon waved his hand and gave the right of looting the battlefield to Snox.


    After all, the apprentice level equipment and items were no longer something of significance to him. In addition to that, there was another important task that he needed to attend to right now!


    Leon strode forward, and soon he came to a pile of rubble. An explosive fireball was thrown over, blowing away all of the wreckage and rubble, revealing a dark robe that showed signs of movement underneath.


    "ke, do you think that I''ll forget about you? It is time for us to settle the score between us!" Leon said with a cold voice.


    Since the primary enemy had been defeated, this ''ally'' who had always harbored evil intentions toward him couldn''t be spared as well.


    A Magma Fireball wrapped in raging mes was tossed onto the dark robe. The exploding elemental mes immediately ripped the cloth apart. Amidst the scorching me towering into the air, countless ck scorpions screamed, cried, and eventually burned to ashes.


    Leon focused his mind and sensed around, making sure that he didn''t leave out anything. Only then did he turn around and leave this sea of me which had turned into a miniva pool.


    At the same time, Bleia had long sucked dry thest drop of blood inside of Mage Eclivel''s body. She was now hovering in midair, three meters above the ground, fully naked, with her head buried between her knees and her arms wrapped around them. Tiny threads of crimson waves kept rippling out from inside of her body.


    The dead body of Mage Eclivel was lying t on a pile of rubble. His withered skin was clinging tightly to his bones, and not much flesh could be found in anywhere on his body. He had totally turned into a mummy.


    She had enjoyed Mage Eclivel''s fresh blood all by herself. For a vampire who lived on blood, it was definitely the rarest nourishment. It was especially true when she was at the critical moment of advancement. It had simply be the strongest aid to help Bleia be an official Mage.


    A powerful yet subtle wave of condensed air suddenly burst out from Bleia''s body. At the same time, she unfolded and stood tall, her body still in midair. She threw her head back and let out a crystal clear cry that pierced everyone''s ears.


    Her skin was silky smooth and glittering; her body was curvy and well-shaped; her fair, long legs were slim and slender; she had a pair of crimson eyes that shone like rubies; and her long, bright red hair was hanging loosely down her back... When her naked feet stepped on the ground, a red mist immediately climbed around her body.


    A few momentster, when the red mist faded away, a perfect, luxurious crimson armor had appeared on Bleia''s body. She was giving Leon a dimply smile.


    "I really have to thank you for this time. If not for this, it would have been extremely difficult for me to be an official Mage."


    "Are there any side effects?"


    "Trying to control an Mage is not something easy. When I was forming my blood core just now, I wiped away all of the restrictions on my soul. From now on, I''m considered totally free!" It was obvious that after seeding in bing an Mage, Bleia was in an extremely good mood. After she had a few words with Leon, she couldn''t bear it anymore and started to examine her transformation after the advancement.


    With just a light push of her feet, Bleia started to dash around at lightning speed and in a ghostly manner. While running around, she used her toes to kick gravel asrge as a milling stone into midair, and with a sh of her body she pierced through from the center of it.


    After she passed through it, behind her was a pile of small stones and dust.


    Leon simply picked up a broken piece of gravel and examined it. The edge was t and smooth; obviously, just in offensive strength alone, Bleia had taken a qualitative leap. There was something even more extraordinary. With just a gentle squeeze, the broken gravel shattered and turned into dust that fell to the ground. It was corroded by Bleia''s Blood element energy and crumbled with a squeeze!


    Bleia''s body flickered and shed around. Her soft and agile body actually left behind numerous vague afterimages in the air. Sometimes she would transform into a tiny bat and fly inches above the ground; sometimes she would transform back into human shape and run at high-speed. At the same moment, there were six to seven afterimages of different postures appearing in the scene; each of them looked so real and condensed, no one could differentiate which was real and which was just an afterimage.


    Taking the opportunity, while Bleia was examining her overall strength, a blue light flickered within Leon''s dark eyes. Very soon, he had gathered enough data.


    As a result, thetest of Bleia''s body attributes after bing an Mage were projected into Leon''s mind.


    "Bleia. First Grade Bloodline Mage. Vampire. Expert in Blood Element. Strength ¨C 2.6, Agility ¨C 4.7, Physique ¨C 2.6, Spirit ¨C 0.7."


    While reading through Bleia''s data, Leon''s mind was fully filled with envy.


    Without the help from the transformation of the me Fiend, his body attributes were in no wayparable with Bleia. Although Bloodline Mages only mastered few magic spells, they owned an intrepid body that could perfectly match their magic spells.


    It was fortunate that Leon still had the backup of his golems; or else, if he was to fight Bleia alone, there wouldn''t be any advantage left for him!


    Since Bleia had seeded in her advancement, there wasn''t any real reason to keep staying in this isted inter-space. Leon called Bleia and Snox, held their hands with each hand, and walked toward the edge of this space.


    While walking, a burning hot me started to emerge from Leon''s body. After bing an Mage, Leon was more proficient in controlling Fire Elementium. Under hismand, a glowing red fire pir hit the spatial barrier, and very soon it melted out arge hole that allowed them to pass through.


    Though the fire pir radiated a frighteningly high-temperature, it didn''t bring any harm to Bleia and Snox, who were standing so close to it. Judging from this alone, one could tell that Leon had made significant progress in his Fire element innate talent.


    As for where exactly this iste inter-space was located, none of them had any idea. But presumably, as Mage Eclivel wanted to obtain the enhancement provided by the Swampy Tower, it was impossible for him to build it in a remote ce. It was certainly still within the boundaries of the Magical Swamp.


    When they melted through the barrier and squeezed out from the secret space, they found themselves standing inside of the earth.


    Leon closed his eyes and sensed for a brief moment. Their current location was merely twenty meters below the surface. After telling Bleia about it, Leon''s body exploded into a ming torch and shot right up into the soil.


    Right after they disappeared from the scene, some changes suddenly happened within the emptied and quiet, secret underground space.


    After Leon and others had cleaned up this ce, besides the rubble that was scattered all over the ground, the only thing left was the extremely frightful looking dried corpse of Mage Eclivel. However, right after Leon''s aura disappeared, thergest pile of rubble found in the center of the secret space suddenly copsed. A swarm of ck scorpions burst out from within.


    Compared to when they were at their peak, there were less than one hundred of these ck scorpions left. It was indeed miserable. Right at the heart of these scorpions, on the back of a ck bug who looked bigger and stronger than others, a miniature face of ke actually showed up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Looking at the edge of this secret space starting to copse slowly as the integrity of the structure was damaged, Worm controller ke let out a hateful bug cry.


    "Trying to kill me? Leon, you''ll never seed in your lifetime. Hmph, since you don''t want this dried corpse, it will serve as my war trophy. Once I swallow it and be an Mage, it will also be the end of your happy days!"


    While roaring furiously, kemanded his bugs to cover Eclivel''s remains.


    Soon, the only sound left in the scene was the dreadful noise of biting and crunching!


    ...


    The once mysterious and gruesome Magical Swamp had nowpletely turned into a real death zone.


    Covered by the thick fog, a fireball suddenly soared up high into the sky and exploded from within an abandoned garden located in a remote corner.


    The fireball came in fast, and it faded away just as quickly.


    When the me dispersing in all directions finally vanished into thin air, three strange figures of different heights appeared from the center of the fireball.


    Because it was the first time he had tried the Fire Teleportation, Leon still didn''t have a precise control over the distance. As a result, the position where the trio appeared was ten meters above the ground.


    For Bleia, hovering in midair was a piece of cake; but obviously, it was a different story for Leon.


    Therefore, a faint cry was heard, as Leon took Snox with him and fell to the ground like a heavy rock.


    On the ground, a Baby Demon was dragging its body and wandering around aimlessly, but it was suddenly frightened and startled by the fireball that exploded over its head. Just as it was staring nkly at the few bizarre figures who had suddenly appeared, their bodies started to grow bigger and bigger while moving closer to it...


    The Demon Baby let out a sharp cry as it woke up, and prepared to run away from where it had stopped. But it was toote!


    In the next few seconds, a muffled boom burst out, as Leon fell andnded steadily on the ground, throwing up a huge amount of dust.


    "Garden of Whispers! It is surprising that Eclivel actually built the secret space underneath the Garden of Whispers. Surely he was secret enough!" Bleia gradually descended beside Leon. Her crimson eyes were cast over to the Swampy Tower, barely visible within the misty fog in the far distance.


    As both of them were exchanging nces and puzzled over the quietness surrounding this ce, light and shadow suddenly shed through their eyes and their heads started to feel dizzy. In just a brief moment, they actually reappeared back inside the fifth floor of the Swampy Tower. In front of them was an old man, d in a ck robe, who had a cold and arrogant expression.


    "Both of you have made the breakthrough and be Mages? Where is that Eclivel?"


    Though he didn''t say much, the terrifying pressure of a high-grade Mage instantly startled Leon and Bleia, and Snox simplyid t on its stomach on the floor, trembling violently without being able to stop.


    He was a Second... Second Grade Mage!


    ...


    2185 Words

 Chapter 161 Three Mages

    The three Mages stood silently side by side in the magical hall. With eyes radiating distrust, they evaluated Leon and Bleia, both bound in ce. In one corner of the hall, Lucy, whose connection with Leon had been severed,y peacefully on the floor. She seemed unconscious.


    Leon only recognized the Mage named Keoghan among the three. Clearly, the other two were also Mages belonging to the Sarubo n. In particr, every time Leon cast his gaze upon the elderly man in the ck robe with a grim expression, he felt a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze his sight, even though the man did not emit a particrly strong mental flux.


    "Is Eclivel dead?" the old man in the ck robe asked coldly.


    The other two Mages kept their mouths shut as he spoke, almost as if they dared not speak.


    Leon truly wanted to answer the question. But not knowing how the Mages would deal with him, he didn''t want to say the wrong thing. So he simply nodded in silence.


    "Fools will always be fools! A weakling like him, who didn''t even dare to step onto the battlefield, was killed by the apprentice Mages he trained himself. What a fool!" The elder turned to the side and ordered, "You, go see what''s left of that Eclivel!"


    Keoghan bowed and left to carry out the order.


    If the secret space had been destroyed, it would have been difficult to find. But given that Leon had just melted a massive hole in the spatial barrier, it was easily located.


    After a brief moment, Keoghan returned with Eclivel''s corpse in his hands. To everyone''s disgust, the broken body had beenpletely consumed and transformed into a sack of human skin. Countless ck scorpions crawled in and out of the corpse.


    "What aplete death!" the elder in ck said coldly. "It seems all his preparations ended up benefiting you! Good! Good! Good! Three Mages for one fool. That wasn''t a loss!"


    Leon lowered his head, hiding the shock in his eyes.


    From this Second Grade Mage''s words, it wasn''t difficult to infer that the Sarubo n was aware of every one of Eclivel''s actions, including the blood sacrifice ritual he had secretly organized. If Eclivel''s n had seeded and he had advanced to a Second Grade Mage, these people would have congratted him and signed a new Mage contract with him.


    The cold reality reminded Leon of a horrifying truth. In the eyes of the Mages, the lives of apprentice Mages were merely a resource to be harvested at any moment. It didn''t matter to all the Mage families that the leaders of major Mage factions prohibited such events. As long as it increased the family''s strength, all they needed to do was keep their actions secret.


    If even the Sarubo n had been awaiting Eclivel''s sess... how would they deal with him and Bleia? Damn it! He should have thoroughly checked the secret space. The evil insect ke wasn''t dead! It seemed ke had advanced to a Mage using the remaining Mage powers in Eclivel''s body!


    Despite all the thoughts in his mind, Leon wasted no time resolving them. He held his breath and waited for the Second Grade Mage''s decision.


    Mages were precious assets of any n. There was no possibility they would abandon or waste such resources. Killing them as revenge for Eclivel was out of the question. Most likely, they would face a far stricter Mage contract than the usual agreement. All of this was within Leon''s expectations.


    "Why are you still hiding? Come out and let me see who you are, to be able to devour Eclivelpletely!"


    Countless scorpions emerged from Eclivel''s remains in response to the Second Grade Mage''s coldmand before forming into the horrific half-insect body that was ke.


    Even the grim ke had to be cautious when ced before a Second Grade Mage. He bowed and waited silently for the elder''s judgment.


    Keoghan''s cold eyes lingered briefly on Eclivel''s remains, then on Leon and the others, before turning to ask, "Mr. Fugen, what should we do with them?"


    "Hmph! What''s there to consider? Throw them all into a battlefield in some ne as soon as their contracts are signed. That would have been Eclivel''s work. And since Eclivel is no longer around, let the three of them handle it. They can live and enjoy their status as a Mage of the n or die; only their luck can decide that."


    Hearing this, Leon and the others felt a sense of relief. But simultaneously, their hearts sank.


    What is this battlefield? Why had they never heard of it? Was it really so dangerous there?


    A slew of questions flooded Leon''s mind. Although Leon had calmly organized most of the knowledge and Mage mythology an apprentice could ess with the chip''s help, he still knew almost nothing about nar wars. Even in the books that touched upon these wars, there were only brief mentions without detailed descriptions.


    The fact that this was the case was likely due to the Mages restricting information about them.


    It seems that all information about nar wars was not somethingmon apprentice Mages were meant to ess!


    Following Mage Eclivel''s actions, all apprentice Mages would now rest eternally beneath the earth. The magical swamp resource site waspletely destroyed. Of the three Mages from the n, aside from Second Grade Mage Fugen and Mage Keoghan, the third Mage was here to take over Eclivel''s tower.


    This ce would be repopted in a few years, with an official Mage stationed here to manage it. But Leon, Bleia, and ke could only follow Mr. Fugen back to the n''s outpost and await the beginning of the war.


    In the blink of an eye, Leon''s seven years in the magical swamp became nothing more than a fleeting memory in the long journey of his life.


    ---


    "Sarubo n Outpost, Feidnan City.


    Leon walked through the bustling streets with a serious expression. Silently, he entered an arcane shop.


    This was a Goblin shop specializing in selling all kinds of strange alchemical items. Snox, the shop''s owner, stood on a wooden stool, diligently promoting the incredible pieces of alchemical equipment he had purchased from a certain cunning Goblin merchant to three apprentice Mages¡ªtwo girls and a boy.


    Rocket boots that can instantly propel their owner forward (Note: Make sure there are no obstacles like rocks or shrubs before activation)¡­


    Alchemical bombs that create terrifying noise disruptions (Note: Sometimes¡­ just sometimes, they explode for no real reason, so¡­)


    A magic core capable of creating a dome-shaped energy shield (Note: Break it on the ground once, and the energy shield will activate. If you don''t see a shield¡­ please break it a few more times!)


    A Goblin aircraft that allows free movement among the clouds (Of course, its direction and trajectory will also be entirely "free"!)


    Parachute cloaks to bring you safely and stylishly back to the ground (This seems like an essory for the previous item? Otherwise, how would youe down from the sky? Hmm, freefall seems like a fun option!)


    ...


    Leon frowned as he looked at the various Goblin alchemical devices. All he felt was disdain for these toys, yet he remained silent.


    These items were useless to him now, but for apprentice Mages who had no means of saving themselves, they were fairly decent options. Although the merchandise sold in this Goblin shop might have some issues, they could save lives if they worked!


    Not a single apprentice had requested a refund in the month since Snox started his business.


    That is, of course, if they were still alive to ask for a refund!


    The Goblin Snox immediately abandoned the three apprentices when he saw Leon entering. Instantly, he jumped off the stool and rushed to greet his master. The three apprentices were initially annoyed, but after noticing Leon''s dark red robe, they nervously paid their respects and slowly left the Goblin shop.


    They had long known that the person behind this unassuming shop was a newly-advanced Mage, but this was the first time they had seen him with their own eyes. They held their breath until they were a certain distance away before finally exhaling.


    "That Mage was so handsome! He''s so fit! He''s a whole head taller than Hans..."


    "Yes! Yes! Especially his long red hair and his face. He''s so good-looking!"


    Hearing his two infatuatedpanions talking loudly, the male apprentice couldn''t help butin, "You''re both too bold. That''s a real Mage! Didn''t you hear the senior apprentices? Never look directly at a true Mage when you meet one. If you offend them, they might punish you right then and there. Not to mention, you can''t trust a Mage''s appearance. Even if they look young, they could be a hundred-year-old geezer on the inside."


    One of the female apprentices pouted disdainfully, "Hans, stop being jealous. That''s Mr. Leon. We''ve already asked around. He''s a young Mage who''s not even 20 years old yet. Besides, he advanced to a Mage in some rural area you''ve probably never even heard of."


    "Yes, I heard that too!" The other apprentice couldn''t help but interrupt. "I heard he arrived at the n with two other Mages. In particr, Mage Bleia¡­ she''s totally an idol for all of us apprentices. Not only is she incredibly beautiful, but she''s also really powerful. I heard she defeated Mr. Kiel right after she arrived. Mr. Kiel has been a Mage for several hundred years, you know!?"


    "What? She defeated Mr. Kiel? How is that possible¡­ Mr. Kiel is a renowned Body Refinement Mage across the entire n¡­"


    "Oh, right, did any of you see the Worm Controller? I heard he looks terrifying¡­"


    The three continued chatting as they slowly walked away.


    ....N?v(el)B\\jnn


    1638 Words

 Chapter 162 Preparation

    At this moment, Leon and Snox were secretly conversing in a room behind the Goblin shop.


    "Sir, these are the crystal cores and the information you requested." Snox respectfully offered a leather pouch. Inside, it was filled with the items Leon needed. There was also a knowledge crystal within the pouch¡ªthis was the specific information Leon had asked to be collected.


    Leon lifted the knowledge crystal and ced it against his forehead. The chip''s voice resonated in his mind.


    "Beep, external data port detected. Awaiting host instructions. Allow data transfer?"


    "Allow!"


    "Beep, instruction received. Initiating data transfer..."


    A blue light flickered at the bottom of Leon''s ck pupils. In mere seconds, he had recorded all the contents of the knowledge crystal into his mind. The chip took over the organization and processing of the data.


    Having dealt with the knowledge crystal, Leon opened the pouch. Inside were all sorts of crystal cores of various attributes and grades. From the mostmon Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire cores to rarer attributes like Darkness, Nature, Poison, and Light, everything was there. The grades of the crystal cores ranged from Beginner to Pseudo-Mage. Nearly every type of crystal core could be found inside.


    Unfortunately, the only thing missing was Mage-grade crystal cores.


    Leon had expected this oue. Not surprised, he quickly counted the items before storing them in his bag.


    Apprentice-level golems were no longer as useful to him as they once were, now that he had be a Mage. However, in certain special situations, these low-level golems could still prove extremely powerful. That was why Leon was gradually gathering the knowledge he needed while slowly building his golem army.


    His understanding of Mages during his time as an apprentice had been overly narrow and simplistic. In his mind, pseudo-Mages were apprentice Mages whose Spirit had reached 20 points, and newly advanced Mages were simply casters with 21 points in Spirit!


    But now, after that risky and perilous breakthrough, he too was a Mage. Only now did Leon grasp the stark difference between a Mage and an apprentice.


    Bing a Mage was not just a simple increase in Spirit from 20 points to 21 points. It was a process ofpletely altering the nature of the spirit''s origin. Before his advancement, he had 20 points in Spirit. After the advancement, his Spirit points were drastically reduced to 0.9 points.


    This did not mean his Spirit had decreased. Rather, it signified that the fundamental means of calcting status for a Mage and an apprentice were entirely different. The character and status model for an apprentice was based on the physical data of an average adult, used as aparison point for an apprentice''sbat strength. Mages, on the other hand, were pseudo-magical beings.


    Magical beasts and monsters in nature would form a crystalline substance at the center of their bodies based on their innate talents. This allowed them to control the Elementium floating around them more easily. Mages, in a way, mimicked this process, albeit with some clear distinctions.


    Crystal cores were physical material objects found within creatures. Once killed, these could be retrieved from their bodies. However, a Mage''s consciousness core existed in the spiritual realm. The core was akin to a virtual and abstract form of the Elementium crystal cores.


    Even if someone managed to kill a Mage, they would not be able to obtain a crystal core. Yet the consciousness core was something that undeniably existed. Every Mage relied on it to control Elementium more quickly and easily.


    If the Spirit standard for newly advanced Mages was 1, Leon had not yet reached it. His Spirit was only at 0.9! This was rted to the fact that he had not advanced through the usual advancement ceremony. Given enough time for his vtile spirit to settle, Leon would eventually reach the standard of 1.


    During his month in Feidnan City, Leon repeatedlypared the differences between Mages and pseudo-Mages. If the Spirit limit for a pseudo-Mage was 20 points, then 1 point of a Mage''s Spirit was roughly equivalent to 100 points of a pseudo-Mage''s Spirit.


    Setting aside factors like spiritual intimidation, Mage equipment, Mage knowledge, and casting techniques, this meant that a single Mage could match 5 pseudo-Mages in terms of Spirit strength. Without any limitations, an experienced Mage could easily defeat 7 to 8 pseudo-Mages.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Mages will always be Mages!


    You would remain nothing more than an inferior species in the eyes of Mages until you reached the Mage grade. Most Mages would train and carefully nurture apprentices with potential, adhering to the principle of preserving the source of new Mages. But deep down, they would never see apprentices as their own kind or consider them equals!


    Having obtained what he wanted, Leon didn''t linger in the shop. Instead, he returned to the Mage Tower located on the northern outskirts of the city.


    The Mage Tower in Feidnan City was vastly different from the simplified tower in the swamp. This was the tower of a true Mage. The entire structure had 17 floors, each using a special method to expand its internal space. Its internal facilities wereplete and advanced. This tower was leagues ahead of the Swamp Tower in quality.


    Despite the quality of the Mage Tower, few Mages resided there.


    Apart from Second Grade Mage Fugen, there were three other First Grade Mages from the n. During Leon''s one-month stay, he could count on one hand the number of times he had encountered another Mage due to how few they were.


    All these Mages had stubborn and entric personalities. If they weren''t hidden away in theirboratories conducting dangerous experiments, they were out gathering the knowledge and resources they needed. It was rare to see them casually wandering about. Furthermore, the Sarubo n was preparing for an internar war in six months. Even seasoned Mages risked death if they failed to make adequate preparations.


    Thus, every Mage in the n was exceptionally busy!


    Leon had grown familiar with the concept of internar wars during this period of adjustment and umtion. From what he had learned, these wars were an inevitable choice for any Mage n.


    How does a Mage n rapidly expand? Internar wars!


    How does a Mage n face rapid destruction? Internar wars!


    These wars were both a path to glory and wealth for Mages and a nightmare that could drag ns into the depths of ruin.


    A correct target and a sessful invasion of another world¡ªwhen done right, the mountains of rare resources and precious arcane knowledge from another ne could allow a weak Mage n to rise swiftly to prominence. The n could easily use the resources and knowledge brought back to train and cultivate more and better Mages.


    The new Mages produced from the resources of an internar war would then provide the opportunity and capability tounch a war in an even greater ne. Only through this cycle could a Mage n initiate a beneficial and enviable growth cycle, gradually strengthening and expanding.


    But just as sess lies in these wars, so does failure.


    If a Mage n became bogged down in an internar war, withrge numbers of Mages dying for little to no gain, it would deal a severe blow even to the mightiest ns. Falling into a cycle of slow development would be the least of their concerns. If an opposing or opportunistic n seized the moment to invade, the entire Mage n could faceplete annihtion.


    Hundreds of Mage ns were scattered across the Zhentarim Association''s territory in the central region of the Mage Continent. Through means like marriages, alliances, and mergers, these ns formed various forces, both small andrge, creating aplex politicalndscape.


    Each n, academy, school, or Mage alliance possessed exclusive lower nes.


    The so-called lower nes were, in truth, small- to medium-sized nes still in the process of development. While their resources and overall strength couldn''tpare to a massive ne like the Mage World, they were still material nes withplete world structures and their own power hierarchies.


    It wasn''t out of the question for these nes to be new massive nes if given enough time to develop. However, they would turn intombs for ughter if their nar world was discovered by Mages in the depths of the gxies. There would be no escaping their fate of being invaded.


    The overall strength of the Mage World was at the pinnacle of material nes, as one of the rare giant nes in the infinite gxies. Mages would meticulously assess the overall strength of another material ne whenever they discovered one during their travels through the depths of the gxies. If there were any benefits to be gained, they would return to the Mage World to assemble an invasion force.


    Giant nes rarely waged war against one another. The difficulty of invasion was exceedingly high, and the resources invested would not yield returns for a very long time. Thus, medium- and small-sized nes became the mostmon targets for invasions.


    Strong medium-sized nes required the might of major forces like the Zhentarim Association, the Northern Witches, the Mages'' Association, or the Silver Union to stand a chance of a sessful invasion. However, amon Mage n was sufficient to conquer ordinary medium- and small-sized nes.


    As a result, an important indicator of a Mage n''s strength was the number of nes they had invaded and how many resources they could extract from those nes annually. The coordinates of each enved ne were the most valuable assets of any n. They were guarded as the most critical secrets, never to be revealed to their enemies.


    It was said that the Sarubo n possessed two small lower nes. However, both nes operated under the less profitable regional cooperation model. The returns were much lower than what full envement could provide.


    The regional cooperation model was a system devised by Mage ns thatcked the strength to suppress internal rebellions within the invaded nes. To avoid further losses, the invading n signed agreements with the ne''s natives to trade with each other under the guise of regional cooperation and joint development.


    Although the invading n had to use currency recognized by both parties to purchase resources, once those resources were resold in the Mage World, they still yielded very lucrative returns. The risk of war was significantly reduced by this approach, although it was not as efficient or profitable as outright domination and envement of the ne.


    The Sarubo n was ranked in the middle of all the ns within the Zhentarim Association precisely because of these two small lower nes. The uing internar war was clearly aimed at bringing a third lower ne under the n''s control.


    ...


    1795 Words


    ...


    ...


    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


    - 500 Power Stones = 5 chapters


    - 1000 Power Stones = 8 chapters


    - 3000 Power Stones = 10 chapters


    ...


    Gift campaign!


    - 20 Golden Tickets = 1 chapter


    - Magic Castle = 5 chapters.


    - Spacecraft = 15 chapters.


    - Gachapon = 20 chapters.

 Chapter 163 Half a year

    The altar connecting the two worlds was located in Feidnan City''s Mage''s tower. This was to protect the world coordinates of the lesser ne.


    Half a year was not very long.


    After bing an Mage, the greatest change for Leon was the immense slowdown in the speed at which his powers increased. The meditation technique used by apprentices was meaningless for Mages. Leon''s daily meditation only brought about an increase of Spirit of 0.0001 every time. Even Leon would have suspected his daily meditations to have lost all of its effects had it not been for the chip''s thorough monitoring of his body.


    Of course the Sarubo n had meditation techniques suited for Mages, but unfortunately, with Leon''s current qualifications, there was no chance for him to get his hands on them. Leon could have a chance if he contributed a lot to the n''s ne war this time. Otherwise, he can only silently bear with the turtling speed of his Spirit increase.


    On the surface, Leon, Bleia, and ke were all Mages of the Sarubo n. But in truth, they were the n''s prisoners. The Second Grade Mage Sir F¨¹gen had left a special curse in their mental world. They would instantly be killed by it should they leave Feidnan City at their own discretion.


    Thus the three didn''t dare step a single foot out of the city even though they walked about freely in the City of Feidnan.


    On the other hand, Lucy was mad at the fact that Leon and Lucy had advanced into Mages.


    She kept suspecting Leon had intentionally sent her outside of the secret space, and let Bleia take her ce instead, causing her to lose her chance to be an Mage. As for all the risks and dangers Bleia had to experience in the process, Lucypletely disregarded them.


    Anger makes people lose their rationality.


    Thus Lucy has been clearing missions at an insane ratetely, epting all of the most dangerous missions around Feidnan City. It was hard to catch her in the Mage''s tower with how busy she was every single day.


    As for Bleia. After bing an Mage, she rapidly became far more powerful. Bleia became a terrifying killer on the battlefield with her super high speed, deadly melee attacks and her barbaric eye-for-an-eye style of fighting.


    Even experienced Mages more powerful than her would have trouble facing the wraith-like her if they didn''t have special methods to control her movements. Otherwise, Body Refining Mage Kiel wouldn''t have suffered defeat at the fangs and bow of Bleia.


    But as Bleia was beginning to catch the attention of people, Leon was once again keeping a low profile.


    Most of his prowess previously came from the golems. As the threat of apprentice level golems became smaller and smaller against future Mage level opponents, Leon''s advantage was diminished as well. Leon needed to increase his own powers, as well as find a means of obtaining numerous Mage level summoning cores to regain his advantage inbat.


    The only Mage level golem Leon currently had was the Fire Lord. Besides that, he also had a Second Grade Molten Giant core waiting to be processed. But it was way too hard to deal with an Elementium crystal core of this level with his current skills. Thus in the remaining time, Leon became a hermit, diligently converting crystal cores into battle golems of various attributes.


    He was trying to increase the numbers of the golems, striving to create a golem army with golems of different specialisations, given that he cannot increase the quality of the golems in the short term.


    Besides crafting golems and his daily meditations, Leon also collected other resources, seeking to fix the magic rune suit of me Fiend transformation onto his body permanently. In his remaining time, Leon examined the Scroll of Voodoo that had been soulbound to him.


    Leon had never heard of such a mysterious Mage equipment. Now he was trying to uncover the uses of the Scroll of Voodoo bit by bit based on the information he could find in the library.


    Soul Gear?


    Leon first heard this odd name from Eclivel. With this clue, he quickly found rted information and got an initial picture of the uniqueness of Soul Gears.


    Soul Gears are a kind of magical item! And they were a unique magical item that could grow alongside its soul host!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Besides its ability to return to Leon''s side after a certain distance, its greatest help to him was the six spell storage slots. 6 powerful spells that took a single second to cast. This was more than enough to give him thebat initiative and advantage when facing enemies.


    Leon found a new method of using the Scroll now that he had advanced into an Mage.


    gue Curse!


    Write the name of an enemy onto the Scroll using their blood, and the enemy will constantly be inflicted by the gue Curse. This attack is autonomously done by the Scroll of Voodoo and didn''t require any additional Spirit or energy on Leon''s part.


    Thus, buried in his daily meditations, his golem crafting and his examinations of the Scroll, half a year passed in the blink of an eye. It was now the start of the n''s ne war.


    ...


    Half a month before departure, the Sarubo n''s Mages returned to the tower one after another.


    There were now seven n Mages in the tower!


    It''s important to note that the total amount of First Grade Mages of the Sarubo family was only seven before the addition of Leon and the others. The fact that seven Mages had shown up reflects how important this ne war was for the Sarubo n. They were sending almost all of their active forces.


    The Sarubo n Mages had returned to the tower in the most secretive manner to avoid being discovered by enemy ns. Had they found out about the power vacuum of the Sarubo n, trouble might ur. Their departing location was on the 10th floor of the Mage''s tower.


    The party was led by Second Grade Mage Lord F¨¹gen, which included a total of 7 Mages.


    F¨¹gen looked coldly upon the party as they stood before the teleportation array. Calmly, he spoke:"Prepare yourselves! Later, we will be transported to the ounds, and regroup with the other parties there. This teleportation will break through ne barriers. This is an ultra-long range transportation. Those who have never experienced it should guard their own mental self. Do not extend your Spirit outside of this teleportation array! "


    F¨¹gen drew a magic rune concentrating a terrifyingly cold aura in the air with a single hand and sent it into the array beneath his feet.


    In a series of shes, the Mages within the array disappeared.


    Even though Leon had well expected the terrors of an ultra-long-range teleportation, but as his body was stretched andpressed within the teleportation array, Leon truly experienced the pain and torture of having his spirit origin at the mercy of Spatial Energy.


    Mottled and blurred patches of color took up all of his vision. Everything before his eyes looked like they were obstructed by a thick stained ss. It was all blurry.


    Even worse was the nausea of space flipping up and down.


    Leon had no means of telling the direction with the limited vision he had and the feeling of space bending in his mind. Of course, there was the possibility that there was no such thing as direction during the spatial transfer!


    It was hard to determine how long the ultra-long-range teleportation took. Leon hadpletely lost all sense of time and space.


    When he finally appeared at a teleportation array on another end, he shut his eyes and recalibrated for half a minute before he was back to usual.


    The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the bright and boundless gxy.


    Never had there been such a moment where Leon felt so at peace and his mind and mind so rxed. Above his head, high above the skies, was a thick transparent energy dome. Outside that dome was the boundless gxy and the exhrating energy sea of the multiverse.


    The sky is boundless. The stars are countless.


    Looking at the starry skies without the interference of the ne barriers, Leon felt like his entire being had sunk into the dark but shining night sky. The barrier between man and the world had disappeared. It was all so fantastical and beautiful.


    Leon drew his line of vision away from the night sky with much effort. Only then did he have the chance to survey the teleportation tform he was on.


    This was a massive pseudo-ne floating in the depths of the gxy.


    The inside of the pseudo-ne wasn''t the mostmonly seen continent formmon to the material worlds. Rather, it was a mountain peak so massive it was beyond imagination. Steep cliffs. Forests of stones. There were terrifying peaks everywhere that stood tall like unsheathed swords.


    And the teleportation array where the party was was located on the top of such a peak. Someone had sliced the sharp peak, turning it into a t tform. Looking from atop, numerous holes had been dug in the peaks. Countless flying creatures that looked like two-footed dragons were weaving in and out of them.


    The array on the top of the sharp peak wasn''t the only one. In Leon''s vision alone, there were three to four more teleportation tforms exactly like the one beneath his feet. Teleportation light shed there as well. There were up to three other parties that seemed to consist of Mages as well.


    "Come with me! We need to first regroup with the others! " F¨¹gen called out and took to the air.


    Almost anyone who became an Mage had their own unique method of flying.


    Some summoned flying creatures out of beast-ving rings. Some grew an odd pair of wings. Some called upon the wind Elementium particles to surround them and help them fly..... Leon summoned the Lightning Giant, and had it carry him and follow behind F¨¹gen towards a tform with several other people.


    It was hard to tell how huge this pseudo-ne was, but when they flew high up in the sky, Leon''s pupils couldn''t help but shrink. This...this was a pseudo-ne so huge it could be called a small continent of its own!


    ...


    1737 Words

 Chapter 164 Space with Energy

    The night sky hung low. The countless stars were spotted across it.


    The familiar stars seen from within the ne now hung directly above in the boundless skies, so close it seemed one could just fly up and pluck them.


    But Leon knew that each of these stars represented a ne world that carried the lives of hundreds of millions. Although they seemed really close, in truth, it would take at least a hundred years to cross the infinite sea of stars to reach them.


    The term "sea of stars" was not a metaphor. It was a description.


    Any two nes within the multiverse were separated by an extremely long distance. It is not emptiness that was between them, but rather energy tides so strong and powerful it''s hard to even imagine. Where there were energy tides, there were high tides and low tides. There were times of storms and times of calm seas.


    In this seemingly empty space, chaotic energy flows were everywhere. The first thing any being needs to do when they enter the infinite space is to protect themselves from the damage of turbulent energy flows.


    Space was not empty. Energy reigns there.


    Energy tides flowed aimlessly in space. Sometimes they gathered in a ce, forming powerful and terrifying energy storms. These stormy areas easily extended up to hundreds of thousands of miles wide. Therge ones even went up to millions of milesrge.


    The energy corrosion strength at the eye of the space storm could go up to a shocking 10000 points. Even a Fifth Grade Mage would die if he was pulled into such a storm. Even at the edge of a storm, the strength of turbulent energy flows could reach up to 100 points.


    What this meant for any Mages that breached into an energy storm was that their energy shield had to constantly bear energy corrosion of up to 100 points. This...this was equal to the normal damage of an actual Mage!


    Once the Mage''s energy shield is broken, a First Grade Mage would be minced into tiny particles within seconds by the energy flows. The particles would then be swept away by the energy tides to any corner in the multiverse.


    Thus a First Grade Mage would have trouble surviving in the sea of stars once they left the protection of the ne barrier behind. To rely solely on bodily strength to travel across space, this was something only Grand Mages could do!


    The pseudo-ne slowly drifted in space.


    Sparkling fireworks could be seen everywhere on the world membrane that protected the pseudo-ne.


    That was the result of friction between the turbulent energy flows and the membrane. It looked beautiful from afar, but the strength of the energy contained was no weaker than the strongest attack an advanced apprentice could fire. If someone left the protection of the world membrane and entered the infinite gxies, their protective shield had to constantly bear no less than 50 points of energy damage.


    And this was the energy tides at their most calm.


    Even with Leon could only stay within the infinite gxies for no more than 15 minutes with his current power.


    Leon''s temporary quarters was within one of the exceptionally tall stone peaks. It was a small room dug out of the stone. He has already been here for three days, but there was nothing to do. Everyday Leon could only meditate, stare at the stars or speak with the Mage that lived nearby.


    He had thought the 7 First Grade Mages in the party this time had been all of the Sarubo''s n active forces. But when another three Mage parties appeared before him, Leon realised that the Sarubo had hidden some of its Mage forces. These Mages usually were hidden in those lesser nes.


    This was a need born out of reality.


    Lesser nes were smaller nes enved by Mages through barbaric strength and bloody means. The Mages'' ruling structure would easily be toppled if theycked the necessary numbers to defend.


    Thus, tall Mage''s towers were built in every lesser ne, stationed with numerous Mages. This was to ensure that the exploitation of the lesser nes'' resources would proceed smoothly.


    This was the true core profit that every Mage family needed to protect.


    The n outpost in the World of Mages, on the other hand, was no more than a source of fresh blood to keep training new Mages. Of course, the value of the source of fresh blood could not be reced by any lesser nes. The n could continue to produce new Mages and strengthen itself as long as the n''s roots in the Continent of Mages were never destroyed.


    Thus many Mage ns have extended their reach to all over the infinite sea of stars even though their roots remained in the World of Mages. Every time they found a material world weaker than themselves, they would find a way to invade, and squeeze the sweet sweet nectar out of it, making their roots stronger, making them more powerful...


    The Mages that regrouped with Leon''s party were Mages reassigned from the two lesser nes that belonged to the Sarubo n. If these experienced Mages were the mainbat forces of the Sarubo n, Leon''s party were only a bunch of rookies. A bunch of rookies that haven''t experienced the grind and refinement of ne wars.


    All sorts of unexpected situation could happen in the initial invasion of a new ne. The n''s spine would be shattered if these veterans were lost in such a careless fashion. Naturally, this meant that the best scouts were the Mages such as Leon, the newly advanced Mages.


    Of course, no Mage woulde out and so publicly and explicitly point this out to Leon. This was a conclusion Leon came to through his own evaluation and sorting of various detailed information.


    Their party was a scouting party meant to explore unexplored territory for the n. One mistake and their lives could be in danger!


    Leon could tell this was the case, but there was nothing he could do. After all, this is a process all Mages have to go through. Why else would the n spend a huge amount of resources on them!


    This mostly referred to those Mages of the Sarubo n. Leon, Bleia, and ke, on the other hand, were basically like the bastards of the n. Hardly any resources for them, but a hell lot of work to be done.


    ...N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The fifth day on the pseudo-ne. The day of action had arrived.


    Leon''s party were brought to a well hidden arcane hall under Sir F¨¹gen''s lead.


    There, Leon saw the most shocking scene of his life.


    A single person, a single Mage, sat in the middle of the hall, legs crossed.


    Below his body was a gigantic array Leon had never seen before. Behind him, an odd space vortex was opened in the middle of the air. Tens of thousands of golden chains that were somewhere between solid and nothingness extended out of the vortex, tightlytching on to the body of the man.


    The Mage had a ck robe on his body. The hood was pulled down low, obscuring his face. The gigantic array was continually functioning, helping him resist the corrosion of the mysterious chains.


    Leon could feel a terrifying strength that could shatter space and shake nes around him even though he couldn''t tell the power level of this mystery Mage. From those chains of space, Leon could sense the aura of thews of nes.


    Was this.....the material projection of the strength of a certainw of nes?!


    Leon was shocked into silence.


    He had only understood a small and insignificant piece of thews of mes and it was sufficient to allow him to advance to an Mage. But the Mage before him was clearly grappling with a majorw of a certain ne. How unimaginably terrifying was this!


    Even the cold F¨¹gen became cautious as they approached this ce.


    F¨¹gen didn''t dare to take a single step into the gigantic array. Instead, he bowed at the edge of the hall and greeted the Mage:"Reverent Lord Sarubo, I''ve brought the first batch of Mages to enter the ne. "


    All the n Mages were shocked as they heard F¨¹gen''s words.


    Was this...was this mysterious Mage the person who created the n thousands of years ago? Was this...Lord Sarubo? If it was him, didn''t that mean they were looking at a Fifth.... no, maybe even Sixth Grade Mage!


    Almost instantly, everyone lowered their heads. They no longer dared to stare at this mysterious Mage.


    As Sarubo Mages, the terrifying Great Mage who created the n was a deity in their hearts. Although they could not pray to him and believe him as a true god, they were still deeply impressed by his strength and power.


    First Grade Mage was most possibly the peak of their lives for many of the people here. A Fifth or Sixth Grade Great Mage was well beyond the realms of their imagination! It was a dream that couldn''t even dare to think of!


    When their dream was put right before their eyes, none of the Mages could stay calm. Their mental flux started to boil and bubble, reflecting their excitement.


    The Mages didn''t lift their heads, but a deep andpelling voice boomed in everyone''s mind.


    "I have corroded a wormhole on this ne barrier. A spirit clone split off from my consciousness has found a suitable location on the other side.


    You are all First Grade Mages. The brand of the World of Mages isn''t as strong on you. As long as you remain inconspicuous, the will of this ne will not retaliate too strongly. Your first mission there is to construct a forward operating base, to construct a simplified Mage''s tower.


    Take note!


    Although I have suppressed most of the ne''s retaliation on the other side, you will still need to get used to the newws of the ne on the other side.


    Remember, under the pretext of not exposing your identities to the natives, you must protect this forward base with your lives. You must protect my spirit clone. Your mission is done once I have finished a basic analysis of that ne''sws.


    All of you will receive more than you can imagine!


    Now, prepare! I will send you over immediately. "


    The 7 Mages who were to be the vanguards listened respectfully to the mysterious Mage''s words as they prepared silently. With a wave of his hand, a single gold chain split off from the space vortex. In one swift move, it pierced all the Mages.


    The next moment, all 7 Mages disappeared into the vortex under the powerful pull of the strength of the new. They didn''t even have the opportunity to scream.


    ....


    1816 words


    ...


    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


    - 500 Power Stones = 5 chapters


    - 1000 Power Stones = 8 chapters


    - 3000 Power Stones = 10 chapters


    ...


    Gift campaign!


    - 20 Golden Tickets = 1 chapter


    - Magic Castle = 5 chapters.


    - Spacecraft = 15 chapters.


    - Gachapon = 20 chapters.

 Chapter 165 Travel

    It might not take long to pass through a space vortex, but for Leon and the others, it felt like an entire century.


    The space constantly stretched andpressed and rolled over their bodies...An apprentice Mage would have had their bodies disintegrated, their Spirit shattered and died a painful death in the process. Fortunately, the Mages were supported by a tough Physique and a powerful Spirit after their advancements.


    Even Leon had to try his very best to resist the odd twists of the mutated space.


    The mysterious Mage Sarubo had clearly used a unique means to corrode a tiny wormhole on the ne barrier to avoid alerting the ne''s ne consciousness. Countless space turbulence filled the space vortex. These were the result of Sarubo''s battle against the news.


    With the power of Leon and the others, they would be minced to pieces instantly if they were caught in any of them.


    Fortunately, under the guidance of Sarubo''s consciousness projection, Leon and the others did not get lost in the space vortex. They sped through the vortex, avoiding one after another terrifying turbulence. Soon, they appeared in another world.


    It was a silent valley in the middle of a vast mountain range.


    The ancient trees within the forests wererge and strong. Their branches easily extended to several hundred square meters wide. Tall mountains and vast forests were everywhere around. Ravines were strewn about the valley. The songs of birds and the calls of insects never stopped.


    But a disaster that could tear this entire world apart was slowly brewing amidst this beautifulnd.


    A small hole was opened in the middle of the field. In front of the hole, a ck-robed Mage sat silently, his legs crossed. Many chains were wrapped around his body. One end of the chain disappeared into the body of the Mage. The other end disappeared into the boundless space. It looked bizarre.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Mage in the ck robe didn''t dare to make anyrge movements with to the restrictions of the golden chains on him. A simple wave of a hand, a cough, all of these could result in severe retaliation from the chains, causing damage to the structure of space around him. This was a small material ne after all. The size of the continent within was a hundred times smaller than that of the Continent of Mages. This was a ne world that could not support powerful beings.


    Trying to squeeze into this material world as a Sixth Grade Mage was no less hard than trying to shove a tiger into a cat cage. Moreover, as a being from the World of Mages, Sarubo radiated a thick scent of his world from his body and soul. He could not fit in with the news here.


    Different ne worlds had differentws. Vastly different at times.


    The more powerful the soul of an Mage was, the more resistance he received from a foreign ne.


    If Sarubo managed to break into this ne, it might be hard to find an opponent of his caliber. But as long as he has yet to dissect the differences of this ne''sws, both his body and soul will continually be suppressed and repelled by the ne''s consciousness.


    His power would be very limited before he gets rid of this foreign force. If his acts of resisting suppression were toorge, it would also attract the attention of the ne consciousness. Then more enemies would be attracted to where he was and as suppressed and weakened as he was, even he would not be able to resist mobs of weak enemies.


    Thus, as the standard procedure of ne invasions, the mastermind Sarubo was only responsible for creating a wormhole and projecting his consciousness to the other side. Then it''s up to the following low-level Mages to swarm into the ne, corroding the world bit-by-bit.


    ...


    There was a sudden movement in the calm space vortex.


    Bo Bo Bo...


    Following the continuous ripples in space, one after another Mages were spat out of the vortex, tumbling on the ground.


    Leon climbed up from the ground painfully. But just as he stood up, he moaned and squat down once more.


    Terrifying ne suppression came from the skies above. Countless chains ofws appeared out of the space around him. All of a sudden, his power had been suppressed toplete insignificance.


    Goddammit!...


    It was a terrible feeling of depression, being subdued and twisted....


    It felt like his mouth and nose had been covered with a thick wet cloth. Leon could hardly breathe!


    Even the plentiful and powerful Elementium within his body waspletely drained, much like a bottle without a bottom.


    The Body Refining Mage Kiel reacted the best out of the 7 Mages. After all, he still had a tough body even though his Spirit had been suppressed. The few elemental Mages with weaker bodies were pressed to the grounds, still frowning.


    In truth, their physique was not too weak as experienced Mages who had to search everywhere for resources to strengthen themselves. Them being too used to their power was the main reason they looked so bad now. Once the power within their body was taken away, even breathing and walking became a task.


    Leon slowly rose from the grass field and move a little bit.


    He could feel it. The news here were way too different from his original world. He had to slowly get used to thews here to regain his strength. As long as he didn''t move the Elementium powers merged within his body, the suppression of the news would not be as strong and violent.


    After everyone had gotten somewhat used to the environment, they went before Sarubo, bowing as they waited for their orders.


    This was, of course, not Sarubo''s true body. It was only a mental projection. But even then, the retaliation of the news was still so obvious on Sarubo. The suppression on these First Grade Mages was insignificant inparison!


    "You have all made it through! Good. Now leave behind a few to terraform the environment. The rest of you scatter in each direction and seal all the paths to her. Make sure no outsiders can disturb my analysis of the news. Be very careful. The space ripples from your journey here just now may have drawn the attention of powerful beings in this ne. The second batch of Mages will arrive in a month. Before that, you must defend this ce with your lives! "After some quick advice, Sarubo''s projection went silent.


    All the Mages looked at each other, then backed off and begun preparing the next steps.


    Although everyone, including Mage Keoghan, was First Grade Mages, they still had to obey the orders of Mage Keoghan. After all, Sir F¨¹gen had emphasised this several times before the trip here.


    "We have just arrived. Our powers are at our weakest. So, for the time being, we should not initiate any grand gestures. I now set forth a rule. For the first three days, our range of activity will be limited to 1 mile. Do not initiate contact with the natives too early.


    Kiel, Viier, Cowen and I will stay at the base. We will try and construct a functioning base in the shortest time possible to hide Lord Sarubo and the space vortex. ke, Bleia, and Leon. The three of you are responsible for the outer ring. Kill all the dangerous living beings nearby. Do not let them bust in here and disturb Lord Sarubo.


    Understood? "


    Everyone nodded their heads. Even Leon, Bleia, and ke did not express any disaLeonents.


    This was well within expectations. As newly recruited Mages who had yet to be trusted, Keoghan would not possibly let them near the weakened mental projection. Thus it was expected that the experienced Mages were left in the base and the three outsiders sent to the outer ring.


    Everyone began seeing to their jobs once it had been assigned.


    The four people left in the base didn''t actually have any less work than Leon and the others.


    Kiel in particr, as a Body Refining Mage, was an important person in the construction of the base. With one fist, he could down trees that were as thick as a man''s embrace. With a few chops of his steel palms, branches as thick as a child''s arm were removed. And alone, he could carry the half-a-ton trunk back to the base.


    The restrictions by thew chains were extremely strong as they had just entered the ne. They couldn''t use any powerful spells. Even the simplest of cantrips were changed due to a change in news.


    You might have wanted to summon a little me for dinner, only to realise the little me is now a giant fireball. And there goes your pot. You might have wanted to summon a me tornado to attack your enemies, only to have a little me flicker in your palms. It''s hardly enough to even warm the enemies....


    The difference in news made all spells function weirdly. The Mage''s individual strength was probably not much stronger than the ne natives before they get familiar with the news.


    Leon snapped his fingers to ignite a me at his fingertips. After the Elementium shed in the air, something appeared in his hands. A jade green frog.


    It was a normal frog with rough skin on its back. And it clearly was as surprised as Leon about him appearing out of thin air. After blinking its googly eyes and looking about, it leaped out of Leon''s palm and with a few hops, it disappeared in the bush.


    Dammit! The difference in news was sorge? To have caused a fire spell to be a random nature summon?


    Leon calmed himself down andmunicated with the chip.


    "Chip, how''s the new analysis going? "


    "Beep, this ne world is a low-level material ne. Elementium saturation rate is low, at 27% of the World of Mages. Law simrity 69%. Expected analysis time is 235 hours 27 minutes 18 seconds..... Current analysis progress is 0.013%.....


    The long progress bar in Leon''s mind was mostly upied by a blinding rate. The green that represented progress only took up a thin line on the bar. Even Leon with his self-proimed 20/20 vision could hardly see any increase of the green bar.


    Leon turned and looked at ke:"Which way are you going? "


    Although they hated each other thoroughly, they had to call a truce in this foreign world. Preserving their lives came first.


    Dim green eyes shed beneath ke''s hood. He pointed in a direction and left. After ke''s scrawny silhouette disappeared in the distance, Bleia appeared beside Leon. Her eyes shot a questioning look at Leon as she slid her hand across her throat.


    Leon shook his head after a moment''s thought, then left in another direction. Bleia sighed due to a lost opportunity. Silently, she transformed into a bat and disappeared in a different direction from the other two.


    Her transformation was a Bloodline ability and she received very little repercussions from the change in news. This was her source of confidence in killing ke!


    ...


    1877 Words

 Chapter 166 Another World

    Leon slowly walked into the forest.


    He was weakened now, but he was an Mage after all. Even barehanded, he could deal with all non-magical creatures. Moreover, he had a vague feeling that his golems wouldn''t be affected by thew changes. He was trying to find a hidden ce to verify if this was the case.


    Tangling vines and low bushes were everywhere in the forest. Fruits that were half green and half red swung on the branches above. The wind carried with it the sweet smell of grass and the moisture of the air.


    It was almost a quarter of a mile away. Looking back, Leon could only see tall trees that covered the sunshine. It wouldn''t be easy for someone far away to notice anything that happened here.


    Leon took an earth summoning core from his storage belt and threw it to the ground. ck shiny dirt began to rise as the earth Elementium gathered around the core. In 5 seconds, the dirt had shaped itself into a humanoid y golem.


    Countless broken branches, decaying leaves, and insects were wriggling about the body of the golem as Leon hadn''t filter the dirt used to form the golem.


    Leon frowned.


    Even though this was a beginner-level golem and wasn''t as powerful as something like the Demon Alligator Hunter, but it shouldn''t be this weak.


    A beginner y golem such as this one should be 2 meters tall and weigh six to seven hundred pounds ording to his tests in the World of Mages. But here, the y golem was at most 1.5 meters tall, and it had lost 1/3 of its weight.


    It seems that the golem''s strength had been reduced due to ack of magic Elementium even though the golem summoning was not affected by news. The tiny w wasn''t enough to get Leon down. Just for this ne war, he had prepared over 300 golem summoning cores of all types, all hidden in his storage belt.


    These were the fruits of hisbor of the past six months. Leon firmly believed that if you cannot crush the enemy with raw strength, then flood them with terrifying numbers!


    Leon shut his eyes to get a sense of the mental drain of summoning the y golem. With his current Spirit, he could sustain over 100 y golems on the battlefield simultaneously. Next, Leon repeatedly tested the other golems, including the Water Elemental, the Stone Serpent, the Wind Critter, the Lightning Giant, the mehound and the Fire Lord....


    Leon took his time and effort to sense the mental drain of each and every one of them, etching it to his brain.


    The sudden increase in Spirit since his advancement to Mage made his idea of a golem army much more realistic. With Leon''s current Spirit, he could approximately support 100 beginner golems (y golems, mehounds, wind critters) or 25 advanced golems (water elementals, demon alligator hunters, stone serpents) or 10 pseudo-Mage golems (lightning giants, water sprites, magma hounds) or 5 Mage golems (Fire Lords)


    Leon had only one Fire Lord and very few higher level golems. The only strategy left for Leon was golem swarming!


    Just as Leon finished evaluating the golems, the chip suddenly let out a sharp siren.


    "Beep, discovered odd biological existence transmitting mental flux..."


    Leon turned around, his eyes bright as stars. Instantly, his vision pierced through hundreds of meters and locked onto an odd flying bug resting within a bush.


    This was a bug with a dark ck shell the size of a finger. It was resting on a thick branch, using the leaves to hide its body. If it wasn''t for the chip, Leon wouldn''t have been able to pick up on such a hidden "infiltrator" with his Spirit badly suppressed.


    Jerk. It was ke''s spy.


    Leon frowned. Red shone in his eyes, and the bush where the bug was hidden instantly caught fire, ignited by the concentrated fire Elementium.


    The insect realised it had been exposed and started to p its metallic wings to leave. Sadly, Leon had locked on to it with his second "Ignite." The different news of another world had affected Leon''s first spell, forcing him to cast another.


    The sudden me enveloped the bug. It began to scream like a human as it wriggled its fat body. It seems that ke had attached a strand of his Spirit on the spy bug, and was hurt by Leon''s spell.


    500 meters away from Leon, in an empty field within the forest, the ck-robed ke let out a groan from under his hood.


    ke, much like Bleia, had a special physique. He didn''t rely too much on Elementium, and so the effect of the changedws was not evident on him either. This was what made him think of taking the chance to kill Leon.


    The reason he didn''t choose Bleia instead was because vampires were annoying and resilient creatures that were hard to kill. Leon, on the other hand, was merely an Elementium mage. Once his powers had been suppressed, killing him would be a breeze.


    But the images sent by the bug sent chills down ke''s spine. That damn Leon had so many golems! It irritated and terrified ke to no ends.


    The vtile emotions were what caused a spike in his mental flux and allowed the chip to detect the existence of the bug. ke''s mental world stung as the bug was consumed by the fire.


    Hmph! I''ll let you live for a little longer!


    ke cursed and quickly disappeared from where he was.


    He looked calm on the surface, but in truth, nervousness filled his heart.


    That Leon''s power didn''t seem to have weakened. In fact, he seems to be way more terrifying now. If his army of golems surrounded him, along with the wraith-like Bleia.....ke was confident in his power after he became an Mage, but still, he had no chance against the both of them.


    So he ran as fast as he could after cursing.


    After all, he was scared that Leon would have a change of heart ande after him.


    ...


    Bleia sped through the forest.


    The vampiric bat she had turned herself into moved freely in the forest. At times, she flew up towards the skies and looking down on the valley. At times, she dove into the forest thick with trees and weaved between the branches, vines, and leaves.


    Everywhere she went, countless critters were scared into hiding, where they looked upon this giant bat with frightened eyes.


    Bleia would asionally break into the homes of powerful magic beasts, where they would attack her. Sadly, their immobile bodies could only eat the dust before Bleia''s lightning speed.


    Winged dragons, gryphons, rocs, four-arm apes, razor boars, sabertooth elephants, man-eating demons...


    Bleia couldn''t help but be impressed by the plentiful biological resources of this ne. It was way beyond her imaginations. The density of the creatures was even more impressive.


    Of course, inparison, the power of the creatures here was much weaker than those of the World of Mages. It was rare to see any magical creatures in the forest!


    Theck of magical creatures might be a fortune for the average human. This way human settlements would be much safer and suffer much fewer sacrifices. But this was terrible news for those with supernatural powers. This gave them far fewer opportunities to train themselves and learn from the wild.


    The reason the Mages were so powerful was precisely because the World of Mages was home to many equally powerful magical beings! To protect the peace of the human world, to allow the continued existence of humans, the Mages had to be more powerful, smarter and stronger than those beings.


    Thus the power of Mages was the natural result of millenniums of bloody battles against magical beings, not because of the rise of one or two talented Mages.


    If this necked powerful magical creatures or beings, it was natural that the natives here could not give rise to an extremely powerful individual. This was the ne development theory every Mage firmly believed in!


    Why did the World of Mages exile all Mages beyond the Fourth Grade? Precisely to maintain the bnce of power between the Mages and the magical beings, to ensure a cruel and unforgiving world for their descendants, to grind and create more powerful Mages.


    This was a theory Leon came to after coting the state of development of multiple areas, so Bleia naturally knew about it as well. But she had never given a damn about any such theories. The only thing she cared about was whether there were delicious blood treats here!


    The giant rampant bat finally caught the attention of the ruler of this forest. A rare three-headed chimera took to the skies, rushing towards where Bleia was.


    The chimera was a powerful magical creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake. Normal chimeras had only one head that was capable of spewing mes that could resiliently stick to its victim. And once a chimera has three heads, it would simultaneously wield the powers of me, poison, and wind.


    In the World of Mages, such a creature might barely make it as a middle-tier magical being, but here, it was considered an extremely powerful beast.


    Bleia was excited that she had found a magical creature that attracted her attention. Instantly, she began baiting the three-headed chimera into a chase in the woods. Her body was much slimmer and much more capable of speeding through the thick canopies of all the ancient trees. Therge chimera with a wingspan of 12 meters, on the other hand, was having trouble.


    Amidst the sounds of snapping branches, the chimera charged through the forest like a bulldozer.


    The strong but immobile chimera was at a huge disadvantage against the bat in such narrow quarters. Thus the angered chimera took to the skies after a fruitless chase. With all its power and all three of its elemental attacks, it bombarded the area where the giant bat was.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ...


    1691 Words

 Chapter 167 Knight

    Violent and ferocious attacks of three elements instantly covered the area where the giant bat was.


    Exploding elemental fireballs, slimy and corrosive green globs of poison, continuous waves of ferocious wind des...


    Spells of three different elements, each with their own attributes now spew out of the three unique heads of the chimera, engulfing the forest in a magnificent and fiery funeral of magic.


    But just as the chimera roared and reveled in the feeling of dominating the battlefield, a slim and tall figure broke through the wave of Elementium. It charged from the forest, quickly nearing the chimera.


    The chimera was a magical being, but it also had powerful muscles and strength in a close quarters fight, Sharp ws and a powerful armored tail were all powerful weapons of the chimera. The three ferocious jaws tripled its threat to any enemy that dared to go close.


    But today was not this chimera''s lucky day.


    Three magical breaths fired in a panic were easily dodged by the ghostly figure with a p of her thin bat wings. Its sharp ws that could tear apart a tiger were also deflected by the opponent''s blood red armor. Nauseating blood thorns appeared on the surface of the armor, silently deflecting most of the chimera''s blows.


    The very next moment, a bat-winged demon that looked like a young human girl dodged the three jaws by a hair''s breath. As she dodged, a chain of blood red magic arrows shot through the lion head in the middle.


    The closely woven and tough scales of the chimera were no better than paper in front of the magic arrows. They shot through its eye and exploded inside the skull, sting the skullcap far away. Scarlet red blood mixed with spots of white brain matter sttered everywhere.


    Bleia''s petite body was like a buzzing fly about a lion aspared to therge physique of the three-headed chimera. But the blood red bow in her hands was a true weapon of killing, continuously sending blood red arrows to the chimera''s weak spots.


    The piercing power of the arrows along with the bloodsucking effect of the blood-attribute energy made it an unreachable dream for the chimera to even deal a little damage to Bleia. It had only been three minutes since the start of the battle, but the chimera was already riddled with holes, blood pouring out of everywhere.


    The chimera cried in pain. With a swipe of its menacing tail, it forced Bleia back and turned itsrge body, desperately pping its scaled wings, trying to escape back to its den.


    But it was toote!


    Bleia stopped in the air, her bat wings slowly beating and spat out coldly: "Now you want to run? You are toote! "


    The very next instance, a blood red beam shed across the sky and already Bleia was on the back of the scurrying chimera. For the first time since the battle started, her blood red bow was pulled into a full moon. Terrifying blood energy gathered on the bowstring, concentrating into a crystalline blood red arrow.


    "Die! "


    Bleia''s finger let go following her battle cry. The blood red arrow pierced the chimera''s green scales at lightning speed, exploding at the part where the three heads met.


    A big fountain of blood surged out of the chimera as it let out one final cry of sorrow that reverberated across the woods. Finally, it lost control of itsrge body and spiraled out of the sky.


    A terrifying magical being that had ruled these woods for over a hundred years had so easily died at the hands of the fledgling Bleia.


    In all honesty, this chimera was no weaker than an actual Mage. Sadly the difference inbat ability, equipment and theck of a powerful means of attacking made it a bumbling target practice. So, he had to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the speedy assassin Bleia.


    Bleia licked her lips. She was still not satisfied. Like a wild beast, she let out a crisp and sweet roar with her voice, letting all the beasts of the woods know of her dominating will.


    Her skintight blood armor, the vast leathery bat wings, a perfect body and her domineering aura..... These were what gave Bleia an attractiveness unique to herself, a special quality that merged both seductiveness with the chaos of bloody violence.


    If Bleia was so beautiful she was a rose, she would absolutely be a thorny one and in particr, thorns with lethal venom on it!


    Bleia stayed in the air for a few more moments as she waited for her will to be clearly transmitted to every corner of the forest before diving back down to the ground. She was going to savor her first blood treat in another world.


    Far away, in the base, Keoghan stopped summoning his voodoo creatures. He tapped into the faint ripples of magic to sense the battle far away.


    When he heard Bleia''s arrogant and overbearing roar, the always strict Keoghan broke into an ugly smile.


    "What a character! I like her. These kinds of exquisite vampires are hard toe by! It''s unfortunate..."


    He turned to where Leon had disappeared and shook his head in disappointment.


    He could see that these two newly advanced Mages were very close. That Bloody Bleia, in particr, heeded every word of Leon. It seems there was no chance for the male Mages in the n!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Keoghan shrugged, took a few more toy-like robotic models from his storage space and threw them to the ground. The palm-sized models began to grow and expand as he continued to chant his spell.


    Soon, 4 bizarre robotic creatures 3 meters tall stood before him.


    Keoghan then drew a rune glowing with magic and put it into the core of the robotic beasts. Suddenly the robotic beasts started creaking and moving. After a slight dy, they joined the ranks of the construction army.


    Already there were a dozen voodoo creatures withrge and tough physiques and three to four giant y golems in the previously silent base. The Mages were filling the roles of taskmasters, ordering the magic creatures to and fro, carrying timber, ttening ground, shaping the earth...


    An outline for a simple and practical base was already surfacing.


    And it had only been two hours since they arrived in this odd and mysterious other world.


    ...


    200 miles to the east of the base, there was a human city.


    Inside the city hall, the polished floorboards were shining and the bright sun was flushing in through thettice window. As the light reflected on the floor, the whole room was brightly lit, like the halls of heaven.


    Ninther Mino walked into the hall with heavy steps. The crisp sound of stone shing against metal rang throughout the hall as his metal boots stomped on the white stone floor.


    As the only witcher who had advanced to a Spellbreaker Knight in the City of Herdurand, he was an important character for all the Witcher Knights.


    The glimmering knight''s armor, the metal gloves with their clearly defined edges, the delicate knight''s sword by his waist, the polished and shiny war boots, the metal bow on his back and the covered helmet under his arms.....When you put all this together along with his stalwart body measuring up to 2 meters and his handsome face, made him the dream prince of all nobledies of Herdurand City.


    Four simrly equipped witcher knights followed behind him as he stepped into this gorgeous and elegant city hall.


    The government officials sat around the long table stopped their boring speeches and turned to look in horror at these uninvited guests.


    Grand Duke Lington who was seated at the head of the table rang his golden bell and summoned his bodyguards. Then he spoke, unhappy: "Ninther, this is the sacred city hall, not your witcher knights'' base. When not summoned, you have no right to step in here! "


    Grand Duke Lington was the owner of the City of Herdurand. In fact, he was the ruler of the entire Dn Province. Within hisnds, there were more than 3 major cities with a poption over 100,000 men, and 16 smaller cities with a poption below 30,000 men. The number of towns and viges were so numerous it was impossible to do a detailed count.


    He had one of the most power even amongst the nobles of the Continent of Witchers.


    Sadly, even with this much power, he had no means to make the arrogant witcher knights bend the knee. After all, all witcher knights on the continent belonged to the Central Kingdom. They took orders directly from the king himself. Even the nobles had no say.


    On the Continent of Witchers, this group of people was the ones who dominated and ruled. These powerful knights who had powerful Battle Skills, these witchers who were loyal to the king. And the purpose of their existence.....was to purge the continent of the evil spellcasters that appeared.


    In this proud nation where witcher knights ruled, several casters that awakened their evil powers would appear every year. They didn''t have tough physiques, or a will of steel from constant training, or knight''s equipment crafted to fit. But they could summon mysterious and evil mes out of thin air and freeze enemies in ice or let the dead climb out of their graves...


    These evil casters were a hidden but terrible threat to society and humans. Thus countless righteous and noble knights responded to the king''s summons. Together, they ran to every rural and deste vige or town to judge and execute each and every evil caster who had exposed themselves.


    These noble knights called themselves witcher knights and formed a massive but organised power structure. And this Ninther Mino who stood before their eyes right now was a respected witcher knight who hadpleted their advancement: a Spellbreaker Knight.


    These witcher knights had a very respected status. They weren''t even bound by thews set by the nobles. It was a pain for every government official in cities where there was a witcher knight base.


    This bunch of witcher knights marched in recklessly just as Grand Duke Lington was about to shout at his subordinates over the reduced tax profits.


    This made the Grand Duke so much angrier!


    ...


    Golden Ticket = 20. Goal achieved.


    ...


    1732 Words


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 171 Collecting a little more information

    Blue Hillock City.


    Blue Hillock City was named Blue Hillock because there was a hillock 1.5 kilometers from the city. It was a hillock covered by a field of blue tulips. When the season of blooming came, the hillock was so beautiful it made people never want to leave. For that, it was well-known across the entire Continent of Witchers.


    Even though it wasn''t the blooming season currently, Blue Hillock City was still crowded and lively. Especially when night fell, nobles and merchants onvish carriages that weaved through one after another entertainment establishments came in endless streams, making the city even more so lively than it was in the day.


    Bleia was high in the sky under the curtain of night. The bright moon shone behind her,plementing her already slim and perfect figure.


    If someone in Blue Hillock city raised their head to appreciate the moon at this moment, they might have seen the silhouette of an elegant and perfect youngdy. A pair ofrge bat wings were opened wide against the wind behind this beautiful girl, adding a touch of mystery and wickedness out of nowhere.


    Even Bleia wasn''t sure when, but she had fallen in love with this feeling of looking down from high above the skies.


    The ignorant city at her feet mored, ignorant of the terrifying disaster that was about toe. An unrestrained feeling of absolute control rose in Bleia as she looked down from above the night skies.


    This feeling was perfect and alluring!


    The raging winds high up in the sky swept the blood-red cape and made it billow along with the wind. Leather wings lightly pping, Bleia''s slim body remained still, proudly standing in the skies, as if it was forged of iron.


    This Blue Hillock City was initially Worm controller ke''s hunting grounds, but after Bleia went to him for a "heart-to-heart" talk with a huge smile on her face, ke requested to go to the few small mountain viges by the west of his "own initiative".


    Thus Bleia was in charge of this human town, ke was responsible for blockading the human viges to the west and Leon had to slip into the depths of the forests in the back and capture more flesh ingredients for Keoghan.


    Bleia wasn''t the least bit worried or concerned even though she was forced to part with Leon. She might rely heavily on Leon''s n usually, but this did not mean that she was an idiot without a brain of her own.


    There would never be an idiot amongst those who managed to be Mages.


    Bleia was already thinking of her action n for theing period as she rode the night winds to this small city of only 20,000 people.


    Undercover operation!


    If she wanted to go undercover she had to hide but just going into hiding alone won''t give her information about the outside world. That''s why she needed a more high-profile and more efficient means of going undercover.


    Looking down from the skies, Bleia quickly noted down several important locations from the outline of the buildings. The locations she noted down were all areas where the crowd was the densest and where the lights were the brightest.


    Bleia bit her lip and let out a shriek, then folded her wings and dove down to the city at her feet. Her entire body was like a sharp arrow shot out of a bow. When she was 30 meters away from the ground, Bleia fluttered her wings and her body turned into a cluster of ck shadows, merging into the boundless darkness.


    ...


    Tulip Hotel.


    Even amongst the numerous entertainment spots of Blue Hillock City, Tulip Hotel was the most famous and the most ssy one of them all.


    It was alreadyte in the night, but still, the za before the door of Tulip Hotel was parked full ofvish four-wheeled carriages. On the borders of the carriages carved out of fragrant rosewood, were crest after crest of prominent families.


    In one of the grandest and mostvish rooms of the hotel, four people, one man, and three women were entangled intimately together into a heap of flesh on an exquisite bed. But just as the bald-headed man was on the verge of climax, the door of the room suddenly opened. A tall, graceful and sexy beauty in red armor walked in.


    A bunch of thugs that looked like goons surged in behind the beauty, surrounding the beauty with their numbers. All of them looked at her in anger, but no one dared to block her path. Amongst the group, the few leaders had blood all over their face, with a fresh red swollen handprint on each of their faces.


    His "pleasure time" interrupted, the bald man was extremely angered. Wrapping the nket around his body, he got out of bed, ignoring the exposed bodies of his femalepanions.


    Ear-piercing screams rang out in the room!


    "Shut up! Scream and disturb our guest here again...and I''ll toss you naked into Downwater Works.


    Downwater Works was the most well-known ghetto in Blue Hillock City. If theynded there, their fates were obvious. They weren''t scared of being abused by the men, but more scarily were the asional stories of cannibalism and the hordes of hungry men in there.


    Thus the very next moment, all the screaming stopped!


    "You are the one in charge here? "The Bleia who had broken in had gotten rid of all her inhuman traits. Her appearance was just like that of a female mercenary with tremendous strength.


    But with a slight smile and a ripple in her blue eyes, an intangle power of seduction instantly charmed all the men in the room. Even the few fellows who were beaten up by her had lost the anger in their eyes and were looking at her in a perverted manner.


    "Who are you? How dare you break into my ce! Heheh...Youngdy, have you never of heard of me, the Bald Eagle? "The manughed sinisterly as he ran his hand across his bald head.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Even though he was also affected by Bleia''s innate power of seduction, he was a man of cruel and merciless means as well. The effect of Bleia''s seduction was much less severe, allowing him to maintain his rity of thought. Of course, this also had to do with Bleia having no intention of seducing him!


    This was just a passive effect due to Bleia''s own ability of seduction!


    "What? You want to talk to me in front of so many people? The great Bald Eagle needs such a disy of power just to talk to a weak little girl? "


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    The bald man snorted coldly and sent a message to his subordinates with a look of his eye. Soon, someone had gotten his right-hand men, Quicksword Jake and ckde Ender toe over.


    The two seemed as if they had put on their clothes in a hurry, but from their steady strides and sharp gazes, it was clear that they were nothing like the goons earlier.


    "Boss..."


    "Boss..."


    The two stood behind the bald man. One was lightly tapping the slender sword by his waist, while the other took out a heavy dagger and toyed with it with his agile hands. The looked at Bleia with cold eyes, asionally letting out a wickedugh.


    The bald man managed to calm down with his right-hand men finally by his side. The useless subordinates awkwardly exited the room under his instructions, bringing with them the three naked girls who were pale in the face now.


    When the door had been shut, the bald man threw aside the nket and slowly equipped the leather armor, bracelet and shield piled in a corner of the room.


    Fully dressed, he crossed his arms and stared arrogantly at Bleia:"Speak! Now you can tell me your goal! "


    Threads the color of blood slowly begin to surface deep within Bleia''s blue pupils. Her heart was filled with endless joy when she looked upon the three people before her.


    Three Pseudo-Mages!


    These three warriors of another world had power equal to pseudo-Mages!


    Bleia smiled.


    ...


    A momentter, the door to the room opened wide again.


    The countless goons who were waiting with weapons in hand were shocked to find their arrogant and overbearing boss nodding and bowing before the beauty in red armor. The two right-hand men had also shrunk behind the beauty. They brought a chair over for her to sit on, then offered tea and water. It almost seemed like they were afraid of not offering satisfactory service to the beauty.


    Bleia smiled slightly and sat on the chair. She then used a handkerchief and lightly wiped off the bloodstains at the corner of her mouth.


    On the necks of the bald man and his two subordinates, a pair of small injuries was quickly healing, leaving behind only an undetectable scar.


    Bleia had the ability to Embrace ever since she became a vampire Mage. With this ability, she could create hordes of blood servants loyal to herself. Sadly, she would lose a bit of her blood essence every time she created a new servant. So Bleia could only choose important figures as the target for her Embrace.


    And this bald man who had all of Blue Hillock''s underground world in his palm was undoubtedly a person she had to gain control over. Controlling him alone gave Bleia immense control over the entirety of the city in an instant.


    With the help of Bald Eagle, Bleia quickly understood the power structure and situation of Blue Hillock City.


    The true owner of Blue Hillock was naturally the casten, Count Vanlier. Bald Eagle was only his subordinate who hid in and managed the underground.


    So,te in the night of the second day, Bleia was secretly sent into the castle after an borate dress up.


    Even the 50-year-old Count Vanlier, a man who had a little ck beard and the elegant appearance of a gentleman, was astounded by this foreign beauty sent over by his loyal subordinate.


    So, Bleia was boldly sent to the Count''s bed under everyone''s gaze, passing through a troop of elite bodyguards.


    And on the second night Bleia entered Blue Hillock City, its ruler had be her most loyal blood servant and ve.


    In truth, with Bleia''s current power, she could take over this city without much resistance. But to do so without anymotion and without being noticed, she needed to resort to other means!


    To ensure her control was deep and thorough, she even took the effort to Embrace the Count''s remaining subordinates. Of course, these were all individuals who were at a level equal to Pseudo-Mages. In this other world where arcanology was iplete, the foreign existence of such a thing as a vampire was beyond the limits of the imagination of the natives of the ne.


    By focusing on the important figures, Bleia had be the true owner of Blue Hillock City in just 3 days. She was now a true "Monarch of Darkness" that was hidden away from the rest of the world.


    And the information she had gotten from both official means and underground means quickly and continuously streamed back to the Mages'' base.


    Soon, a message about Witcher Knights drew her attention.


    ...


    1893 Words

 Chapter 172 Revenge

    A squad of witcher-knights were stationed in Blue Hillock City, since it was the closest city to the Great Greend Forest.


    Based on the information provided by Bald Eagle, this squad of witcher-knights had left their posts seven days ago. They went into the Greend Forest after hiring some local mercenaries but had yet to return.


    This meant that the witcher-knight squad was already active in the forest before the Mage squad had entered this world!


    Bleia didn''t dare dy this news. Quickly, she sent it back to the Mages'' base while at the same time she informed Leon, who was catching magical creatures deep in the forest.


    Leon was leading his group of golems in the extermination of a tribe of man-eating demons when he received Bleia''s alert.


    There were a total of twenty-seven members in the man-eating demon tribe; twenty-two of them were adults, while five were children. With a height of 3 meters, a massive physique nearing five hundred pounds, and Strength that could easily reach 14 points, each and every adult male demon had power that could rival a pseudo-Mage. Even the slightly weaker female demons were as powerful as advanced apprentices.


    If a tribe like this was left to the natives to exterminate, it would probably require three hundred to five hundred well-equipped and expertly trained elite warriors to do so. Even if they seeded in the extermination, at least half the group would die in the attempt!


    Yet in the hands of an Mage, such a task was extremely simple.


    If all he wished to do was ughter the lot of them, Leon could just summon the Fire Lord, and it would be done. But if he did that, his n of capturing live specimens would note to fruition!


    Instead, Leon used a bottle of Weakening Drug to pollute the demons'' water source. While they were weakened, Leon summoned six terrifying stone serpents and captured the entire tribe in one fell swoop.


    An adult male demon possessed 16 points of Physique and 14 points of Strength. Coupled with their incredible regenerative abilities, these demons wereparable to slightly weaker Body Refining pseudo-Mages. Unfortunately for them, this Weakening Drug had been synthesized specifically for this demon tribe. Once ingested, both their Physique and Strength fell below 10 points and severely limited the demons'' power. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    On the other hand, a stone-serpent golem at the pseudo-Mage level had 16 points of Strength and 18 points of Physique. Only when the demons had been infected did the serpents surge forward. They didn''t even attack the demons; instead, they merely used their stone bodies to forcibly constrict the demons into one spot.


    It was then Leon''s turn. Using the Scroll of Voodoo to cast Sleep, he caused all twenty-seven demons to fall to the ground, one after another. Thick wooden bats and stone clubs tumbled from their hands, smashing holes into the ground.


    After instructing the stone serpents to open their mouths and swallow the sleeping demons, Leon could finally turn his attention to themunication crystal..


    Witcher-knight squad...entered seven days ago...


    This information attracted Leon''s attention.


    Calcting the number of days, Leon figured the squad had entered the Greend Forest before the Mages had arrived. Thus, their goal couldn''t possibly be the Mages'' base. The knight''s mission had to be something else.


    Could it possibly be that some native casters had hidden themselves in the Greend Forest? And by doing so, did they draw the witcher-knights into the forest? It seemed far-fetched. But given the witcher-knights'' purpose, Leon might just be right!


    Therefore, Leon had the stone serpents send the captured man-eating demons back to base, while also summoning 10 wind critters and dispersing them into the surrounding woods to look for the witcher-knight squad''s tracks.


    The wind critters were low-level golems Leon created using beginner-level wind attribute crystal cores. They weren''t very powerful, and looked liked clusters of swirling wind only one meter high. Their Strength, Physique and Spirit were all less than 5 points. Frankly speaking, their battle strength waspletely non-existent. Their only advantage was their high agility and the ability to fly.


    Honestly, this is a redundant statement- it would actually be weirder if a mini-whirlwind made from green air couldn''t fly!


    Leon attached a thread of his Spirit to all ten of the wind critters before letting them go. As they silently floated above the forest canopy, their light green bodies were almost invisible against the background of the blue skies. They wouldn''t attract the attention of enemies.


    This quality was precisely why Leon created them- to be his sentries, his eyes in the sky!


    Ten wind critters meant ten different points of mental sight. Naturally, the information sent back by the critters was also extremely massive. If Leon had to rely only on his Spirit, he could probably only maintain a vaguemand on each critter. But with the help of the chip, Leon decided not to waste any Spirit on instructing the wind critters on their flight path. Instead, he left it all to the chip.


    The chip would direct the wind critter to meticulously search and patrol above the forest, using the most optimum flight path to cover as much area as possible. Now, Leon only had to find a safe ce to rest and silently wait for good news from the chip.


    As expected, when night fell, the chip had good news.


    The witcher-knight squad had been found!


    ...


    On a mountain ridge, forty kilometers away from the Mages'' base camp, three or four campfires had been lit.


    Even though there were many dangerous magical beings in the forest that weren''t afraid of fire- and were even sometimes actually attracted to light- the knights had trekked several dozen kilometers worth of mountain roads after an arduous battle, and needed the fire.


    The mercenaries swiftly set up their tents and sat around the campfire and started to prepare a feast for dinner.


    A wild boar caught on the way here was skinned, had its organs removed, and was washed in the river. The mercenaries then put a wooden stick through it and slowly roasted it over the fire. The experienced mercenaries rotated the stick while they used brushes to evenly ther the boar with spices and sauces they had prepared beforehand.


    An amber-hued oil seeped from the pork. It had been roasted to a perfect golden color. The oils dripped onto the ming coals below, sizzling and releasing a fragrant, thick aroma that filled the air.


    The joy of a magnificent victory filled the entire camp.


    The ones bustling about the camp were all the hired mercenaries. The thirteen witcher-knights, on the other hand, were helping each other out of their heavy armor and performing basic treatment on their wounds.


    Today their squad sessfully located the den of heretics, hidden deep within the Greend Forest, and trapped all seven of the heretic spellcasters within. After an insane battle, the knights managed to capture a single spellcaster and killed the other six. Everyone in the squad had been injured, but there were no casualties as of yet- much to the knight leader''s relief.


    As for the four mercenaries who had died in the battle, they were beneath the consideration of the leader of the knights. Mercenaries put money before anything else, and as long as he gave them the remainder of the promised reward, they would be nothing but thankful. Not even a drop of dissatisfaction would enter their hearts.


    Mercenaries had always done these kinds of dangerous jobs!


    Ever since they epted the request, they had all mentally prepared for the possibility of never returning. Now that they hadpleted the mission, and Sir Knight had promised them grand rewards, even the pain of losing four of their friends was quickly reced by their excitement for the future.


    Laughter was everywhere in the camp, and a boisterous atmosphere filled the ce.


    A scrawny silhouette, bound tightly at the hands and feet, formed a strong contrast to the celebrating knights and mercenaries. Strictly speaking, he was still a teenager who had yet toe of age! Extended periods of malnutrition made his entire body weak and skinny. His body, hidden underneath a tattered grey robe, was extremely scrawny, to the point you could see his ribs.


    The skin not covered by his clothes was covered with ckish green bruises and numerous small scars. A rope was tied around his mouth, holding a rough stone that acted as a gag. This was to prevent him from casting spells in secret!


    Unable to chant or use hand seals, the boy- who had just recently awakened to that strange power- waspletely incapacitated. He could only nt his body and lean on the roots of the trees, ring at each smiling face in the camp with eyes of vengeance.


    These were all his enemies!


    It was these people that made him run from ce to ce, made him homeless despite having a family, and forced him to roam about lonely forests and farawaynds where nobody lived, like a lonely phantom. If it wasn''t for a kindhearted panion" that led him to the house in the woods, he would probably have ended up being some beast''s meal within Greend Forest.


    But the calm and peaceful days didn''tst very long. The forest camp that the wandering spellcasters had created was destroyed by the witcher-knights who had tracked them down. And hispanions...thepanions he had been living with for half a year died underneath the swords and des of the knights- just like that!


    The knights were murderers, and the mercenaries were their aplices!


    A me was lit in his heart as he looked upon their smiling faces. Anger, sorrow, vengeance.... these uncontroble emotions slowly rose within him, and he had to grit his teeth to hold back his tears.


    If I get the chance to escape, I will use the most cruel and most insane methods to kill all of them! One after another!


    He screamed madly in his heart, but he knew that this was only a delusion.


    His mood quickly changed, and despair engulfed his soul once more!


    At this torturous moment, he opened his eyes wide. Lifting his head in surprise, he stared unflinchingly at a spot above the camp.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    There was something odd there~


    This...this was the unique elemental flux of Wind Elementium!


    There was clearly nothing there in the dark sky above the rowdy camp. However, this teenager sensed the unique concentration of Wind Elementium there thanks to the elemental talent that he had awakened.


    Natural concentration of Elementium? Impossible!


    Just eight minutes ago, there was nothing odd there. There was no way Wind Elementium would concentrate at that spot for no reason!


    The very next second, the teenager had to grit his teeth to avoid shouting out in surprise.


    Three more unique concentrations of Wind Elementium had appeared in the sky, slowly circling there.


    It seemed as if...as if they were searching for something!


    Something was about to ur! Something was about to happen in the camp!


    Hope burned in the teenager''s eyes as he silently observed the surroundings of the camp.


    Soon, he made an even greater discovery.


    ....


    1876 Words

 Chapter 174 level...

    If Leon was still that Mage apprentice with only a couple of golems, the "battle" before him might actually be a little more stimting and exciting.


    Sadly...


    The number of low-quality golems, like the y golems, in Leon''s storage belt had already hit triple digits. Even intermediate golems like the stone serpents were being summoned in squads. Leon''s golem army was already shaping up nicely, with the exception that his collection of pseudo-Mage level golems was stillcking.


    The y golems were extremely tough to deal with when they appeared in suchrge numbers.


    In all honesty, a y golem with the power of an intermediate apprentice should have a difficult time fighting against a disciplined witcher-knight. The golems made of y weren''t as tough as stone golems or steel golems. The crude magical weapons and knight battle techniques of the witcher-knights could reliably destroy half a y golem''s body with a single strike.


    Unfortunately, this group of witcher-knights evidentlycked experience fighting against arge number of elemental golems. They had no idea that there was an extremely important elementium core within each elemental golem. Far too many of their attacks were wasted on the y golems'' dense limbs and their soil-like heads.


    Every y golem that had sustained heavy damage to their limbs would sink beneath the ground. Once they repaired their bodies and emerged again, they were no different from a brand-new golem.


    In the eyes of the witcher-knights, this group of over forty y golems was an an unending army that continuously sprang from the ground. It was not something that could be destroyed by human strength.


    At the start of the battle, every time an eye-catching knight battle-technique was executed, it would cause two or three y golems to crumble and fall, resulting in the knights cheering in excitement. But now, as the golems endlessly rose from the dirt, the knights became too exhausted to deal with the heavy mud fists and unexpected mud spears.


    While coughing up blood from their umted injuries, more and more witcher knights were bashed to the ground by the y golems'' fists, and the circle where the battle was taking ce slowly began shrinking. Soon, only the knight captain and his two deputies were still resisting. The y golems surrounding them, however, had already formed three or fouryers around them.


    Seeing that the battle was basically over, Leon stopped hiding. With determined strides, he walked out from the darkness. Slowly, he stepped into the disheveled camp.


    His appearance instantly drew the attention of thest three people!


    These three instantly understood Leon to be the mastermind behind tonight''s attack when they saw his ck robed silhouette.


    They looked at each other, grit their teeth and made a firm decision in an instant.


    The two deputies shouted as they tossed aside the badly battered shield. Quickly, they drove the me longswords to the limit of its power and charged towards Leon, cutting down all the y golems in the way as they did so.


    But just halfway, they were stopped by the horde of golems.


    The two deputies let out another battlecry and their faces flushed red. While they still had the strength left, they threw the two dense me swords forward. The impact of the swords caused most of the golems in front of them to copse and fall to the ground.


    The knight captain took advantage of the opening made by his deputies. White light shed around his body. He became like a sprinting jaguar, breaking through the scattered blockade of golems. Intense mes red about the longsword in his hand as he shed at the evil heretic with all his might, the sword leaving behind several afterimages.


    The hot wind slightly lifted the hood from Leon''s head, allowing the airborne knight captain to lock eyes with Leon''s burning pupils.


    Even though the captain''s charge was so powerful, and his burning longsword was but a short distance away from the heretic''s brow, there was no trace of fear or hesitation in his opponent''s burning eyes.


    The knight captain''s heart shook.


    It was the first time in his life he had seen a pair of eyes burning.


    Not a metaphor, nor an illusion, but an actual pair of ming eyes that were spewing out terrifying jets of me.


    His ming longsword zed like a torch and was now less than a meter away from the heretic''s head. At this distance, with the speed at which he was charging at, his strike wouldnd in a fraction of a second.


    As the captain mustered up all his strength to deliver a crippling blow to those fearsome, ming eyes, the ground erupted. The ground in front of the heretic''s feet split apart and arge, imposing monster emerged.


    Coincidentally, the captain''s me longsword sliced into center of the terrifying monster''s stone head!


    Stone shattered; dirt and sand fell to the ground...


    The longsword cut throughyers of stone before finally bing stuck in the thick and dense stone.


    The pseudo-Mage level stone serpent broke apart the ground, bringing with it the me longsword stuck in its head, as well as the captain himself. As the serpent fully rose from the ground, it exposed its full size of ten meters.. Tons of dirt, sand, and stone tumbled down from itsrge mouth and around its pitch ck eyes, knocking the captain around.


    Even so, the knight captain still did not let go of the longsword stuck in the stone serpent''s head.


    The two deputies, on the other hand, had copsed due to exhaustion after thatst blow. Several y golems charged forward and quickly restrained them.


    Right now the only person who could still move was the knight captain, still dangling from the stone serpent''s head.


    Leon impatiently snapped his fingers when he saw the opponent''s stubborn and futile struggle. A thunderous st of lightning from the sky struck the captain. In the very next second he fell like a piece of rotten wood, smashing a hole in the ground where hended.


    Having cleaned up thest of the resistance, the camp was finally silent.


    One after another, y golems began cleaning up the camp in an orderly fashion.


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    The rubble from the aftermath of the battle was cleared away, and the shattered ground patched up. The campfire was lit again, and a new skinned boar was ced on the rack above the fire....


    The teenager bound to a tree shivered. For a moment he felt like time had reversed back to when events had just started. The surroundings before his eyes were still the same. The only difference now was that the sole person in the camp was the mysterious man in the ck robe.


    Of course if you counted him, the prisoner, as well, then there were two!


    "Can you roast?" The man in the ck robe said, suddenly turning to look at the teenager.


    The unexpected question caused the teenager to be at a loss. First he nodded, then he shook his head. For a moment, even he wasn''t sure what his reply was.


    "You better get it! Or I''ll kill you!"The man in the ck robe released a stream of fire at the tough leather rope binding the teenager, incinerating it into ashes: "Come and help me roast the meat! "N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The teenager flexed his numbed limbs, dusting off the ashes left on his skin.


    The ck ashes dispersed, revealing his undamaged skin below.


    The corner of his mouth twitched.


    It''s important to note that the ropes were binding his body tightly and were pressed into his skin. Yet the mysterious spellcaster was able to wield fire to incinerate the rope and leave his skin untouched. This...this terrifying elemental control was worthy of worship!


    In his heart, this mysterious ck robed man that had appeared out of nowhere was a powerful deity sent from the heavens to save him. How else would a human be able to control elemental fire to such a precise degree?!


    His heart filled with faith, the teenager took the rock out of his mouth and ran to where the mercenaries had left their stuff, drinking until he was full. Then, he washed his hands and face before walking to the campfire and doing his job of roasting the meat.


    Leon sat by the campfire, but ignored the teenager. He was still silentlymunicating with the chip in his mind.


    "Beep; battle report...


    "Twenty-three total ne natives captured, of which thirteen are witcher-knights, ten are human mercenaries. One person escaped....


    "Golem squad. Thirty-seven y golems mobilised, one pseudo-Mage-level stone serpent mobilised. Casualty number is 0...


    "Initial battle strength estimate: witcher-knights are equal in power to apprentice Mages. Individual power merged with primitive magical weapons and knight battle techniques, suited forrge-scale battlefield melees..."


    Leon was slightly stunned.


    "How did someone escape? Where is this guy? "


    As Leon had that thought, the chip instantly switched to the viewpoint of a wind critter far away.


    A scrawny and agile mercenary was running for his life in the dark and lightless woods, not even taking a single look behind him. The protruding branches whipped and shed him, leaving wounds all over his body, but he would not slow down his steps even a little.


    Honestly, Leon had cleared the forest way too thoroughly, causing all the wild beasts to vanish. Otherwise, with the mercenary''s reckless sprint, he would have eventually ended up in the belly of a wild beast.


    "Beep; this mercenary took advantage of the chaos and escaped the camp. Asking host; should the Lightning Giant be sent to capture or eliminate him?"


    Leon''s eye gleamed for a second before he coldly said, "Based on the direction he''s running, he should be headed for the human town in the west! Worm controller has set up arge web there. Hopefully, that mercenary has the luck to break through. No need to care about him. If he wishes to die, then let him have a taste of Worm controller!"


    "Right. I felt like these knights have very average power individually. They''re only normal people who''ve received special physical training. Why would you rate them as powerful as apprentice Mages?"


    "Beep; the evaluation this time is a conclusion drawn from thebined strength and power of the two parties, viewed from all angles and perspectives...Witcher-Knight is a unique job ss that requires the aid of many external objects to unleash their strength. Their standard equipment should be a powerful mount, customized magical equipment, and powerful individual battle techniques. With all this taken into consideration, a fully equipped witcher-knight should not be weaker than an apprentice Mage of the same level..."


    Leon couldn''t help but fall deep into thought when he heard this.


    ...


    1799 Words

 Chapter 176 A Brewing Storm

    Blue Hillock City, Tulip Hotel.


    A pale but mean-looking thug strode across the crowded lobby and went past the suites filled with waitresses. He walked along an inconspicuous alley into a hall guarded by several tough men, before finally turning into a remote location at the backyard of the hotel.


    The ones waiting here were all young but amazingly talented people. There were even exceptional individuals amongst them that the casten had recruited from several major cities nearby. Their talents were in various fields, but there was amon simrity to their appearances. The men were handsome, while the women were beautiful. Everyone one of them had paleplexions, vaguely resembling ancient nobility that never went out in the sun.


    These young men and women gathered in small groups in the hall, corridor, and on the sofas, having passionate conversation with each other. Strangely, the use of odd words such as ''blood treats'', ''Embrace'' and the sort permeated their conversations.


    Swiftsword Jake was used to this scene. He quickly went past everyone, and rushed to the secret room at the innermost section of the building. The group of people might look like they were flirting with each other, but in truth, they were spread out and positioned in such a way that they closely guarded the secret room.


    Should any outsider that didn''t belong to their ''clique'' enter, they would likely be brutally torn to pieces in minutes.


    The youths guarding the door took a good look at Jake before silently opening the wooden door behind them.


    There was almost no furniture in the secret room, with the exception of bed sorge it could be considered opulent. Two extremely attractive women, that were hardly wearing anything,id on both sides of Bleia, diligently serving her.


    A naked young girl hung on the room''s ceiling, pinned by daggers on her limbs and chest. Drops of bright red blood seeped through the wounds, dripping down the dagger. Flowers of blood slowly bloomed on the bodies of the three people on therge bed, drop by drop, dyeing them crimson.


    The three, however, were not worried by this at all. In fact, the two beautifuldies even used the tip of their tongue to catch the dripping blood, letting out seductively lewd moans as they did so. They were thoroughly enjoying it!


    The scene within the room was so extravagant and seductive, yet Jake didn''t dare to stare. He bowed and spoke softly, "Mistress, the witcher-knights you had us observe have made a move. Around a hundred people suddenly surged into Blue Hillock City today. Though they tried to be covert, I''ve already sent someone to probe them. They are witcher-knights from outside. They''re spread all across the city, but the leaders have already made it to the camp!"


    Bleia suddenly sat up and coldly stared at her subordinate, "You have already probed them? You didn''t startle or alert them, did you?"


    Bleia''s blood red pupils lit up, and instantly the debaucherous atmosphere within the room vanished. All the blood servants immediately stopped what they were doing and anxiously waited for instructions from their master.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Bleia''s threatening stare terrified Swiftsword Jake. Hurriedly he exined, "There''s no need to worry, Mistress! We did not use any of our own men to probe the knights. We had several street urchins annoy the targets. Some of them saw the unique runic weapons of the witcher-knights under their robes."


    Bleia finally nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. Rxed, she lied down once more.


    "Do not forget your identity. You are a gang subordinate to a local noble. Just monitor them. Do not overstep your boundaries. As long as you do not do anything that oversteps the boundaries of your identity, they will not suspect you. Also, I need to know their purpose here!"


    "This is simple! Mistress, the leader of that group of knights had already gone to visit the casten in secret when I came here to report to you!"


    "Mm? They went to visit Vanlier? Hahaha... this is rare good news!"


    ...


    Witcher-knight camp.


    As Ninther strode back from outside with anger on his face, his direct subordinates were diligently organizing their equipment and treating their weapons and armor. These jobs were usually done by squires or servants, but now they had to do it themselves.


    "Sir, did you get anything out of the meeting with Count Vanlier?" A deputy walked forward, and helped him unsp the thick robe on his body. The other deputy also stepped forward and helped him remove the heavy armor, revealing the intricate silk underclothes beneath.


    "Hmph! What could I have gotten?! Each of these nobles is slimier and slipperier than the one before them. He imed that the witcher-knights here were not under his jurisdiction, and therefore he had no idea where they went. He only knows that they hired some local mercenaries before entering Greend Forest." Ninther sat down heavily in a chair, his face still fuming with anger.


    Using certain means, he determined that the ne invaders had appeared in the Greend Forest. Rushing there with arge number of followers, he arrived only to find that the witcher-knight squad stationed there was absent. From the exnations of the apprentice knights that had stayed behind, the squad had moved out upon hearing news of a group of heretics.


    Even though exterminating heretics was the duty of each and every witcher-knight, Ninther wished they hadn''t heard of that goddamn news at this critical juncture. After all, all one hundred of the witcher-knights here were reassigned here from other ces; they were utterly unfamiliar with the environment inside Greend Forest.


    It was aplete joke to have a bunch of horse-riding knights search for enemy tracks in a forest. If the party had a dozen people who were familiar with the local environment, everything would have been much easier!


    "Sir!" A tall knight strode in from outside, "There are some fresh faces outside the camp. I''ve had some people look, and it seems they are the spying subordinates of the local gang. What do you think we should..."


    "Ignore them!" Ninther waved his hand frustratingly, "We entered the city with so many men. That Count Vanlier is probably deeply concerned! It''s normal to have some eyes on us. We''re heading to the forest the day after tomorrow anyway, after a quick rest. If they want to follow us, then let them do so."


    Then, Ninther called for the tall knight, "Edward,e and take a look. Which route is the most suitable for when we enter the mountain the day after tomorrow? Perhaps we should split into ten smaller squads. This should make the search go faster!"


    Right now, arge parchment had been ced on the wooden table. On the parchment, lines of different thickness and colors illustrated the geography around Greend Forest, as well as the direction of rivers.


    The entirety of Greend Forest was wide on the northern end, and much narrower on the southern end, making it look roughly like a gigantic drumstick covering several hundred square kilometers. The central area was the Haynes Mountains, while the forest itself shared borders with threerge provinces.


    The Blue Hillock City they were at was located near the southern end of the forest, where it was at its most narrow. The city was also the most suitable outpost for the vanguard of an army in the south, in the Duran province. A little further, and there were only small towns and viges with very low poptions. They were sufficient as a restocking point for small groups of mercenaries, but not for arge witcher-knight army.


    Indeed, this knight army numbering over a hundred men was only a vanguard for the arriving main force. An army of knights numbering up to three thousand men was gathering at the capital of Duran province. Based on estimates, it would take them another 15 days, at their quickest, before they could arrive.


    The sole mission of the vanguard was to establish a base for the main force, then to investigate the location of their enemies. Even a little information would be good.


    Such arge-scale gathering of witcher-knights was the first in a hundred years. A gathering of knights on the same scale was also happening far away in the north, up in the two other provinces bordered by Greend Forest.


    The gathering of so many witcher-knights was certain to incite fear and terror among the local nobles. The nobles were prone to believe that the secret movements of the knights were a sign of the king stripping the nobles of their power. It was extremely likely to cause local bacsh from the nobles.


    Thus, finding the enemy quickly, defeating them, and exterminating them was the main problem the vanguard leader had to solve.


    Supposedly, even two of the three Dragon Knights in direct service of the king himself had left their posts and were rushing here to eliminate this group of invaders that could bring disaster to this ne. Apparently, even the legendary Holy Knight Sir Willis would personallymand the battle against the ne invaders then.


    That''s a Holy Knight that was at the Fourth Grade!


    One has to note that he''s the only Fourth-Grade Holy Knight of this ne!


    Ninther could feel his heart ame when he thought of having the chance to fight and charge alongside this legendary war god of a knight. He was willing to sacrifice his own life for the holy mission of "protecting the world", thus fulfilling the oath he made when he became a witcher-knight.


    Eliminating the darkness, protector of the weak, fearless!


    Ninther silently chanted the motto of the knights, the glint in his eyes bing brighter as he did so.


    ...


    The abnormal situation in Blue Hillock City was quickly transmitted by Bleia back to the Mages'' base.


    But the four n Mages were busy with constructing the temporary Mages'' tower as well as creating guardian voodoo beasts. None of them could spare any energy to reinforce Leon, Bleia, and ke. Your next journey awaits at empire


    The only thing they could do now was construct arge-scale illusion barrier as soon as possible, reducing the chances of the enemy finding the camp from the skies. As for this wave of a hundred witcher-knights, Leon and the rest had to find a way to kill them themselves.


    If they let the opponent split into multiple squads and wander about the forest, who knew if they would identally wander into the illusion barrier.


    Even though there were plenty of disaLeonents and discord between them, when the hostile army was arriving, Leon and the rest could only swallow their grudges and work together. Therefore, they met in a hidden valley to discuss their action n.


    ...


    1796 Words

 Chapter 178 Missing

    Colca Vige had be a ghost vige!


    This colossal news started to spread quickly through Blue Hillock City. Soon, it found its way to Ninther''s ears.


    ording to mercenaries who frequently entered Greend Forest, the Colca Vige, near the edge of the forest, had be a ghost vige overnight. All the vigers had vanished! More surprisingly, everything within the vige had been untouched. Be it food, clothing, the houses, or even the animal leather and mountain herbs treasured by the vigers- all of it had been left where it was. The only thing missing was the living.


    From vigers, hunters, all the way to the hunting dogs, the cows and the sheep- as long as it was a living thing- everything had vanished, with not a single track that indicated that they had left. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    The few mercenaries that passed by were terrified, and med it all on the supernatural. Immediately, they ran all the way back to Blue Hillock City and reported the incident to the casten.


    And so, in a single day, all sorts of rumours took Blue Hillock City by storm!


    Some said that a monster had appeared in the forest. Some imed that the vigers were infected by some sort of gue. Some were even more preposterous, spreading the news that some terrifying heretics had appeared there...


    As everyone in Blue Hillock City panicked over the incident, Ninther had already invited the mercenaries into the camp and had to describe all the details they had seen.


    That very night, all one hundred of the witcher-knights suddenly left Blue Hillock City, rushing swiftly towards Colca Vige where the mysterious disappearances had urred.


    Twenty kilometers of mountain road was nothing for the witcher-knights, who were used to traversing long distances. Moreover, most of the knights here were elites from all over the country. Their mounts were also no ordinary warhorses, but specially trained magic colts.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    These magic colts wererger and stronger than ordinary warhorses, possessing fangs and sharp teeth simr to beasts of the woods. More terrifyingly, special scales that were akin to scale armor grew on their bodies, allowing them to shrug off attacks from sharp weapons.


    These magic colts yed a significant part in ensuring the witcher-knights were able to ride unchallenged throughout this entire ne.


    These magic colts were only avable for the elites amongst the witcher-knights, so it was hard to even see one in a ce as rural as Blue Hillock City.


    Thanks to the magic colts'' beast-like agility, and sharp ws that excelled at climbing cliffs, the witcher-knight army managed to quickly arrive at Colca Vige, situated in the middle of the mountain.


    When they arrived, it was almost dawn already. A thin ribbon of white light had already surfaced on the horizon far away.


    Still, walking into the deste vige still sent shivers down the spines of the knights.


    Most of the witcher-knights stayed outside the vige. Only the elites who had advanced into spellbreaker knights followed Ninther on their horses into the small vige. Besides proficiency in all sorts of knight battle techniques, some of these elites also possessed several other unique skills.


    Several dozens torches the size of an arm were ced all over the vige!


    Multiple witcher-knights who were skilled at tracking immediately started a detailed search of Colca Vige. Soon, some hidden clues started to surface.


    Plenty of odd bug sheddings and broken insect exoskeletons were found. They even foundrge amounts of torn clothes, and human limbs that hadn''t been cleanly devoured, in a straw house.


    Judging from all the clues, Colca Vige had been attacked without warning two nights ago.


    The direction of the attackers pointed towards the northwest of Greend Forest nearby, while the attacker themselves seemed to be some kind of terrifying magical insectoid creature.


    Just as the elite knights gathered to discuss their n of pursuit, a horrified yell came from the direction of the witcher-knights outside the vige.


    "Bugs...bugs..."


    "They are bugs..."


    "Everyone be careful!"


    The chaotic noise caused Ninther, the leader of the army, to have a change in expression. Almost instantly, he leapt onto his magic colt and pped it on the back, charging out of the small mountain vige.


    The witcher-knights outside the vige were inplete disarray now. Under the light of numerous torches, the knights closest to the forest were stamping their feet without stop, as if they were fighting with something. Three witcher-knights had already fallen beside them, no longer moving even an inch.


    Ninther had just ridden his magic colt there when he was shocked by the horrifying scene before him.


    Scorpions; lots of scorpions, waves of scorpions, mountains of scorpions...


    Countless ck scorpions were already crawling on the bodies of the three witcher-knights that fell to the ground. The odd sounds of armor and bones being chewed didn''t stop. Very quickly, two of the five knights, still struggling amidst the swarm of bugs, were stung by the ck stingers of the scorpions and fell in a daze.


    The other three grabbed onto ropes tossed over by theirpanions, and were fortunate enough to have been dragged out of the swarm.


    "Where did these bugse from?" Ninther asked loudly.


    "From the inside of the forest! They swarmed out of the forest and attacked us while we were resting..." An elite knight that had stayed behind shouted back.


    "Set fire to them...use fire to burn them..."


    Following Ninther''smand, torch after torch was thrown into the swarm of bugs, falling like raindrops in the ocean. Some witcher-knights even disassembled the hunters'' wooden houses and threw the straw and wooden boards into the fire. As the crackling sound of burning fat, and the pungent odor of scorched flesh filled the air, the rampaging swarm was finally scared, retreating back into the forest like a tide.


    "Sir, look!" A witcher-knight suddenly eximed.


    Ninther followed the direction he was pointing at, and with the help of the strand of dawn light, he was able to see a mysterious ck silhouette in the depths of the forests, where the swarm of bugs had disappeared.


    It was a mysterious silhouettepletely covered in a ck robe. It had arge frame, and a pair of ghostly green eyes that were silently looking over from under the shadow of its hood.


    "Heretic!" Ninther said, his rage saturating every syble of the word.


    There was no need for his instructions. Already, a dozen rune bows had been drawn into full moons. Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!...a series of cracks could be heard as the bowstring were released. A dozen me arrows streaking red light shed through the dark sky, turning the spot where the silhouette was standing into a burning field.


    The odd, ck-robed silhouette only flickered for a second at the edge of the sea of fire, before vanishing into the depths of the woods.


    "Chase!" Ninther waved his arm vigorously, and turned his head to shout backwards, "Edward, you lead the army forward. I''ll go intercept him with some troops!"


    Having said that, Ninther brought along seven or eightpanions. They drove their magic steeds to their limits and quickly disappeared into the dark woods.


    The red sun was already halfway past the horizon. The darkness in the woods was slowly receding.


    The thin mist slowly dissipated under the sunshine, spreading moist air inside the forest.


    The mysterious silhouette constantly flickered in the depths of the woods far away. Ninther had shot several me arrows with his bow, but the shadow had managed to dodge them all while still retaining its speed.


    The magic colts were like terrifying demons, dashing through the woods, scaling cliffs and crossing rivers with ease. The magic colts only needed to jump, aided by the boost of their sharp ws, to cross a small hill nine meters high. The colts could run as if they were in flight, regardless of how rocky and uneven the roads were, as if they were sprinting on t ground.


    The well trained witcher-knights bent their bodies and leaned onto the backs of the magic colts. They rode on the colts as they jumped and sprinted across vines, bushes, and woods with weeds half the height of a human, closely tracking the mysterious flickering silhouette.


    This was not recklessness or fearlessness on the part of the witcher-knights; rather, it was part of theirbat style and methods.


    On the Continent of Witchers, the heretics were few in number and always the targets of pursuit and chase, never able to form an organized or powerful force. Thus, the witcher-knights would always track the heretics relentlessly once they found them, rarely wondering about boring and pointless things like the possibility of the opponent setting a trap.


    Yet they had no idea that as they were riding on their horses and speeding across the dense woods, several other mysterious silhouettes was already on their tail, quickly approaching them from above the forest canopy.


    This was a group of odd bloodsucking bats.


    They had wide bat wings and agile movements, effortlessly weaving through the dense foliage, silently closing in on the group of witcher-knights.


    The knight at the rear of the formation was a veteran. His magic colt was already fairly old, and it couldn''t keep up with the stamina and explosive movements of itspanions. Seven minutes of riding had put a distance of a dozen meters between him and hispanions in front.


    With the speed of the magic colts, this distance could hardly be called falling behind. But even so, this distance still caused him to be caught in an ambush.


    Even though he hadn''t heard anything, the senses honed from numerous years in the service alerted him to something odd behind him.


    Vignt, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, bent his body, and turned around slightly to look.


    There was no movement at all in the dark woods. Not a single enemy appeared in his sight.


    Was the bad feeling in his heart just him being oversensitive?


    Just as he was hesitating, he caught a glimpse of something odd above him from the corner of his eyes.


    The enemy was above!


    A bloodsucking bat that had swooped down in front of him suddenly charged forward before he could do anything. In a fraction of a second, Its furry body transformed into a young man with blood-colored eyes and sharp ws.


    The young man in the air knocked the witcher-knight off his magic colt, and the two started a savage fight as they tussled. Before they had evennded, more bloodsucking bats charged forward, transforming into vampires. They ignored the knight''s attempt to resist and struggle, quickly leaping on him.


    In just a few seconds, the witcher-knight had been drained of blood and killed, savaged by the attacks of half a dozen vampires. Just then, the witcher-knight closest to the rear of the group up ahead faintly heard the sound of savage fighting and thrashing behind him as he rode. When he turned back to look, all he saw was a mouth lined with sharp teeth rapidly closing in on him.


    ...


    1853 Words

 Chapter 180 Bait

    Theoretically the vampire Mage and the spellbreaker knight were fairly even in power.


    However, the racial advantage was evident when the two started fighting with all their strength.


    On one hand, you had a terrifying vampire whose race could be found in all high-magic nes, while on the other you had a normal human who had only strengthened his physical strength andprehended some special uses of Elementium crystals. The spellbreaker knight might be able to force a stalemate against Bleia by using his skilled and potent knight battle-techniques.


    However, once the battle had turned into a critical fight on the edge of life and death, the terrifying traits of Bleia''s race became the deciding factor. Her resilient Physique and regenerative ability far outssed her opponent and gave her the edge. After three rounds of battle, Bleia had the advantage on the battlefield and was slowly turning the advantage into aplete beatdown.


    Bleia, being a vampire Mage, did not need to suck the blood directly out of her opponents to regenerate. As long as she did a substantial amount of damage, she could gain an endless stream of blood energy from her opponent''s blood that sshed everywhere.


    An opponent that became stronger as the fight went on, whose strength did not decrease as their wounds increased, was the scariest nightmare for the spellbreaker knight. It didn''t matter how severe a wound he dealt to Bleia. As long as Bleia was able to deal an equally severe wound to him, he would never have a chance of defeating her!


    For that one moment, the spellbreaker knight thought he was fighting against himself...no, fighting against his own blood! Every sh he made wasn''t making his opponent bleed, it was making him bleed. His opponent only needed to trade him blow-for-blow, and she would go unscathed in this fight.


    He would only continue to weaken!


    The angered shouts and cries of many witcher-knights could be heard from the nearby battlefield. They must have met the same problem as he did! If this had been a normal situation, he would have broken through the opponent''s blockade, gathered with hispanions, and fought together against this powerful enemy.


    However, he couldn''t do that today.


    The demon before his eyes was clearly the that terrifying group''s leader and had strength far above them. If he led her to hispanions...there would probably not be a single one of them who could escape from her mysterious shadow that was as fleeting as a phantom and constantly flickering about.


    He was still hanging on with all his might, waiting for reinforcements and help from hispanions.


    The knights in front would most definitely realize that thirty witcher-knights had fallen behind and send people to look for them. As long as he join up with one or two of his spellbreaker knights, defeating this terrifying blood demon was not an issue with their cooperation and teamwork.


    As expected, the unique sound of magic colts sprinting rang out in the woods far away.


    The spellbreaker knight, who waspletely exhausted and pale in the face, instantly got his energy back and continued to fight with vigor. Sadly, as he waved about his me longsword and sent out two me des to push away the demon, she charged forward instead of retreating as he predicted. She cancelled the protection of her crimson armor, allowing the me des to slice through her body and explode like fireworks behind her.


    Using the opportunity she bought with her severe injuries, she dodged past the knight''s sword and shield and leapt onto his body. She wrestled with him using all her savage might.


    The spellbreaker knight might be wearing aplete set of knight''s armor, but there were gaps in between each individual piece. This doomed him to the fate of being torn at by Bleia''s cruel bites and rending ws.


    Thus, the witcher-knight reinforcements watched bleakly as a spellbreaker knight, who they hailed to be strong and valiant, was tossed off his horse like an emptied waterskin. The magic colt whinnied in pain before also falling, a bloody hole on the back of its head spurting blood out in a fountain.


    The terrifying person bathing in blood had a voluptuous figure, but in the eyes of everyone present, she was no different than a demon merely wearing the skin of a seductive beauty.


    Bleia extended her wide bat wings, floating in the sky with blood covering her body. She raised her chin and using her lithe tongue to swallow the blood slowly dripping from her bloody hand.


    Behind her, a dozen witcher-knights had been tackled off their colts by the vampires flying in the sky. The knights screamed in terror with all their strength as the vampires swarmed them. As for the other witcher-knights, only their corpses remained, strewn about the woods. The magic colts that had lost their owners stomped, sprinted about, and ran away in a panicked frenzy, soon disappearing in the miserable morning mist...


    Ninther, who had led the reinforcements back, let out an angered howl that spread throughout the battlefield. He waved his runic sword, thick as a pir of me, and drove his colt forward in a frenzy.


    Bleia grinned wickedly before turning around, beating her leathery bat wings and flying up into the canopy. Her blood servants, that just had a feast of their own, let out howls as they followed her away from the battlefield.


    With the vampire''s phantom-like flying speed, the witcher-knights would have no chance of catching up with them in the woods.


    Ninther rode his horse slowly around the terrible battlefield within the woods, having chased away the vampires. The grotesque appearance of each corpse was shocking, but Ninther forced himself to look at each corpse, one by one. Ninther got off his horse and kneeled before the spellbreaker knight''s shrivelled corpse, and silently chanted the knights'' motto, sacred in the hearts of every witcher-knight.


    Slowly, the knights got off their horses and recovered the bodies of theirpanions who fell in battle.


    The entire woods were filled with a dense sorrow.


    "This is a kind of heretic we have never seen before! They should be the group of people our superiors were looking for." The calm and steady Edward rode his horse to Ninther''s side and asked softly, "What do we do next?"


    "Why did they suddenly attack us?" Ninther slowly asked softly as he stood up.


    "Er..." Edward couldn''t help but be stunned, "We''re enemies. Isn''t it natural that they came to attack us?"


    "No!" Ninther raised his face, a brilliant gleam shining in his light brown eyes, "Based on their coordination in both their baiting and their attack, they are beings with extremely high intelligence. Currently, only two heretics have shown their faces, but there are fifteen spellbreaker knights on our side. In a situation with such a huge difference in numbers, they still chose to show their faces and set a trap. All this just because they hate us?"


    "You are saying..."


    "If they revealed themselves here, then there must be a reason- they had no choice but to reveal themselves! And if I''m not wrong..."


    "Their den is nearby, so they have no choice but to find a way to draw us away!"


    The two spellbreaker knights, Ninther and Edward, looked at each other and instantly understood what the other was thinking. They didn''t continue to speak, instead turning around and carefully recovering the body of theirpanion.


    ...


    Leon was sitting crossed-legged on the crest of a far-off hill, but his Spirits had extended all the way to the battlefield fifteen kilometers away.


    He didn''t personally participate in this battle, but thirty of his wind critters were spread over the entirety of the wide battlefield, giving him perfect vision over every action taken his allies and enemies.


    Bleia had led her numerous blood servants and vampire spawn in an ambush, killing one spellbreaker knight and twenty-three witcher-knights. This could have been said to be a perfect result. Unfortunately, Ninther was a decisive man. He gave up on pursuing ke, and turned back to drive away the vampires, saving the remaining eleven witcher-knights.


    This tiny blemish might not be much! As long as ke and Bleia had enough time, as well as enough space to battle in, they could slowly chip away at this hundred man witcher-knight army. There wouldn''t be any problem. Even the fifteen-wait, no- fourteen spellbreaker knights would no longer be able to disrupt or prevent this from happening.


    When the Mages who possessed all kinds of odd techniques were pit against the spellbreaker knights who only had powerful melee attacks, their advantage in battle wasn''t just a little. It was an overwhelming andplete advantage. If they were taking turns to fight on an arena, just Bleia alone could wipe out all fourteen men from the squad of spellbreaker knights.


    But if they all swarmed simultaneously, Bleia could possibly only deal with two people at the same time with her current power. She would probably have a hard time if she faced three spellbreaker knights at the same time. Any more than that, and Bleia would have to run.


    ke was about the same as Bleia. The limit to the number of people he could battle at once was three spellbreaker knights.


    Leon, on the other hand, could deal with five spellbreaker knights at once if he coordinated well with the Fire Lord. Of course, if that happened, he wasn''t sure if he would be able to sessfully retrieve the Fire Lord after the battle.


    Regardless of how they calcted, as long as the opponent managed to join together, their advantage over the three was extremely obvious. To have only killed a single spellbreaker knight in that battle, this was way too innefficient!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Just as Leon was spacing out and thinking, the witcher-knights in the distance started to move.


    They split into twelve squads, keeping a distance of less than thirty meters between each other, slowly riding their horses in a fan formation as they moved towards the location of the Mages'' base.


    Now it was Leon''s turn to curse and swear!


    With no choice left to him, Leon could only cast a spell to signal ke and Bleia to return to his side.


    "What''s the matter? Why are we not continuing?" Bleia had just consumed all the blood in the body of a spellbreaker knight. She was in an agitated state, with energy flowing all through her body. It was obvious that she was unhappy that they had abandoned the n of baiting the opponent.


    ke who was standing alone by the side, didn''t go close to the two. He silently waited for Leon''s reply, his ghostly green eyes hidden under the shadow of his hood.


    "I''m afraid the n will no longer work!" Leon smiled bitterly and helplessly, "The enemy''s leader is also a perceptive man. Their actions are very decisive. It seems they''ve seen through our ns. Now we can only fight them head on."


    Discover hidden stories at empire


    Bleia was obviously skeptical about this. Silently, shemanded a squad of vampires to nk and tackle witcher-knights at the edge of the formation- only to find that the squad of witcher-knights were led by two spellbreaker knights.


    Moreover, as the vampires were upied with the witcher-knights, the other squads of witcher-knights had quicklye to their aid. Under the two-fold attack of runic bows and des, the group of twelve vampire spawn were decimated before they could even kill a single witcher-knight.


    ke was equally skeptical, and sent a clone made of scorpions to bait the enemy, only to have it be destroyed by a terrifying volley of me arrows from the witcher-knights.


    The direction of the army''s search still did not change!


    Only then did the two finally believe that the n had failed and agreed with Leon''s proposal of a head on battle.


    The three immediately split up and began to prepare!


    ...


    2000 words


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 Chapter 181 Lava

    It was decided that the location for the final battle was would be a valley that was slightly tter.


    Of course this location was not the most ideal ce for the final battle. However, this was already the best spot that Leon could find that was located between the witcher-knights and the Mages'' base.


    Due to the continuous harassment by the vampires and the bug swarm, the witcher-knights had to tighten their formation to avoid exposing any openings to the enemy. This caused their marching speed to be as slow down to a tortoise''s speed. But even so, they still arrived at the decided battlefield at midday.


    This was a ce with sparse vegetation and less mountainous terrain. On both sides were rocky hills and flowing streams. Mountain ranges and steep cliffs were everywhere to be seen. If the witcher-knights wanted to continue north, this was the best location for an army their size.


    But now, this ce had turned into a ce of risk and danger that struck despair into the hearts of the knights.


    A frightening volcano stood in the path of the witcher-knights.


    This was a volcano created by human means. Even though it might lose to natural volcanoes in terms of might, it still had the terrifying ability to determine the oue in such a small battlefield.


    Two tall, human-shaped forms stood by each other at one end of the valley. Their domineering bodies werepletely covered in red and ck rocks. Intense red heat radiated from their bodies, scorching the rocks on the surface of their forms and turning them into half-moltenva.


    Their legs, thick as me pirs, were stuck in theva pool below. There was dark redva that was slowly flowing in a hundred meter radius around them. The green grass and tall trees around theva were slowly being lit up by the intense heat. They withered, yellowed, dried out, and slowly tiny sparks of me started to spread...


    With theva pool at the center, the entire valley had be a piece of scorched earth. The ashes of nts at the edge of the field went all the way up to one''s ankle.


    Even though they were forced to fight the witcher-knight army head on, Leon chose to pick a battlefield whose geography would be beneficial to himself. The two steep and mountainous slopes on each side prevented the witcher-knights from surrounding and nking him.


    If the witcher-knights dared gather around theva pool, Leon didn''t mind using his overwhelming and terrifying spells to teach them the terror of meeting an elementium Mage on the battlefield!


    A bizarre battlefield, and a bizarre enemy. The witcher-knights were at a loss, having never been in such a situation before. It wasn''t the first time they fought with a heretic, but every time it was the heretics that would be running and hiding from them. It was only when they had been driven to their wit''s end that the heretics would turn around and fight back like a mad dog.


    But...in a situation like the one before their eyes, the heretic was the one that appeared before them, bearing a dominating aura as if he wanted to exterminate them. This was apletely new and unknown feeling for the knights!


    The feeling was a fresh one, but the death trap set by the enemy was also truly terrifying.


    The hearts of every witcher-knight were heavy when they looked at the ever-expandingva pool and the charred trees that had been reduced to charcoal. Enjoy new adventures from empire


    If they wanted to charge at an enemy like this, wouldn''t they have to ride their colts into the pool ofva, wading through a hundred meters of burning rock to get close to the enemy? It might only take five seconds to cross a hundred meter gap when they drove the colts to the limit, but on that viscous and flowingva, could the colts even sprint? How manypanions'' lives, those who had been with them for years, would need to be sacrificed to pave a bloody path to the opponent?


    Countless questions surfaced in everyone''s hearts, instilling a sense of tragedy and grief into each and every one of their actions.


    From on top their magic colts,the fourteen spellbreaker knights slowly stood before the battlefield, examining the terrifying territory their enemy had chosen.


    This was a new enemy!


    This meant that the three heretics had shown their true faces now, if they included the two enemies that appeared previously.


    Ninther rode out of the knights'' formation and drove his colt two steps forward, coldly looking at the tall silhouette standing in the bubbling pool ofva. Two tall humanoids wreathed in me. One was the heretic, while the other was an evil golem he had summoned.


    Ninther had to admit that the heretic before him was more worthy of his admiration, and even more terrifying, than the two sly and wicked heretics earlier.


    Even before they had started the battle, this fellow had sessfully used this unique battlefield he had created to weaken the morale of the witcher-knights. Even though all the witcher-knights were fearless and willing to sacrifice themselves, when confronted with the thought of bing a stepping stone for others to reach the enemy, a sense of grief and tragedy had reced the passion and vigor they needed for an all-out fight.


    It was no longer an impassioned battlecry that rang in the hearts of the knights, but a tragic aria for the sacrifice they would have to make!


    When the warriors stepped foot on the battlefield, they weren''t thinking of how to fight to their best abilities, of how to forge a brilliant victory with their burning blood, but of how they were to sacrifice themselves. This...this definitely can''t be called a high morale!


    p p p...


    Ninther extended his gauntleted hands and started pping in awe of the opponent''s unpredictable psychological tactics.


    The sound of nking metal had a ring of arrogance and determination to it, driving away the pointless worries of the witcher-knights. All the knights raised their heads and looked at their great leader, who had led them from one victory to another. Slowly, the grief and sorrow in their eyes faded, reced with the coolness and determination unique to the noble knights.


    Even if they were fated to die today, they would die with the pride, grandeur, and dignity of a witcher-knight! After all, the one leading them was the pride of all witcher-knights¡ªSpellbreaker Knight Ninther!


    Seeing that he had managed to raise the morale of hispanions, Ninther solemnly instructed, "Alvar, bring one squad with you and cover the left...Anthony, you cover the right with two squads...be cautious, be careful of sneak attacks from the two other heretics that have yet to show themselves. Prioritise defending and guarding. Do not recklessly chase after the enemy!"


    "Understood!" The two spellbreaker knights bowed and epted their orders.


    "Benson, bring 3 or 4 squads with you. Cut some trees to make a path immediately. Be swift..."


    "Understood, I''ll be on my way!" A spellbreaker knight with a mean face, and an especiallyrge body, replied loudly. He got down from his horse and immediately led a group of witcher-knights towards the closest patch of trees.


    "Edward, when the opportunity of an attack presents itselfter, you, Daniel, and Joseph will each lead your own troops and guard the rear. I''ll lead the charge with the rest of the spellbreaker knights and kill this overconfident heretic in one blow."


    "No, Ninther, let me lead the charge! The army needs your instructions. It''s better for me to lead the attack!" Edward widened his eyes and rebutted immediately.


    One after another, the remaining spellbreaker knights offered to lead the charge!


    "No, it must be me who leads the charge!" Ninther extended his hands and stopped the knights, "Once the battle starts, not much instructions will be needed. The enemy''s n is simple. The heretic wants to throw us into chaos before him, forcing us to go around or split up our forces. It''s only then that the other two heretics have a chance to ambush us!


    "Thus, it is the man standing before us that is their leader, as well as the shield on their side. What we need to do is use our most powerful and savage attacks to shatter their shield and cause their n of obstructing us to fail.


    "Then, the two heretics hiding in the darkness will lose the element of surprise and be forced to enter the battlefield in order to salvage the losing fight. That is the moment you will surround and attack them with all your might!


    "So I beg of you, allow me to take on the burden of leading the charge!"


    Everyone looked at each other after having heard Ninther''s exnation, and could only nod in aLeonent.


    Indeed, they had to use their strongest and sharpest squad of witcher-knights to break the opponent with brute force. WIthin the witcher-knights, it was definitely Ninther who was the swiftest and greatest knight. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been the leader of this knight army at such a young age.


    The witcher-knights in front of theva pool immediately regained their discipline and order under the Ninther''s instructions. The ones in charge of covering the rear went to cover the rear; the ones in charge of cutting down trees to pave a road, went to cut trees. Most of the remaining witcher-knights patrolled the battlefield, wary of the movements of the tall burning humanoid in the sea of mes.


    The nine spellbreaker knights, with Ninther as the leader, had gathered at the front of theva pool. They held their breaths and concentrated as they waited, looking as if they were about to enter a death charge.


    But their battle ns were merely something they came up on their side only; the unpredictability and chaos of the battlefield was far above their expectations. With Leon''s powerful abilities, he would never let them destroy the advantageous battlefield he had crafted with such care!


    As the group of witcher-knights, who had removed their heavy armor, moved heavy logs andrge boulders to the edge of theva pool, both Leon and the Fire Lord raised their up hands high and jointly cast a fire spell¡ªMeteor Shower.


    Under their will,rge swathes of rolling me clouds gathered in the skies of the valley. Then, one after another, fiery meteors plummeted from the sky, dragging with them a thick ck tail. Their target was the witcher-knights who had removed their armor, and whose defense had been greatly reduced.


    "Defend, everybody defend..." A spellbreaker knight with a loud voice shouted.


    More witcher-knights made it to the front of the formation. The runic bows in their hands had been drawn to a full moon, and one after another, me arrows were shot out to intercept the zing meteors crashing down.


    Most of the me meteors were shot by the arrows and exploded into fireworks before hitting the ground. The shattered mes spread out to form an even greater burning sea, but the terrifying physical impact of the me meteors had been mitigated.


    Resisting the low temperature of the sea of mes was no problem for the witcher-knights, even without their heavy armor!


    ...


    1892 Words


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 Chapter 182 Surrounded

    With Leon''s habit of thinking things through before acting, there was no way his assault would end right here once the fight had started!


    Leon, who had long turned into the terrifying me Fiend, gripped the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his left hand while starting to loudly chant the obscure and profound words of a spell.


    Following the powerful magic chant, the edges of theva pool began to boil and swell. One after another, frightening fire spirits, magmakin, andvahounds bathed in viscousva rose from the pool, roaring as they charged up the shore.


    The witcher-knights were long prepared for the opponent''s counter attack. Over thirty witcher-knights, armed to the teeth, let out battlecries as they rode their horses and stormed forward, engaging with the fire beings at the edge of theva pool.


    Once again, a towering gigantic shape rose in the center of the pool as everyone was engaged in an intense skirmish. It was the Fire Deity! As a summoned being, it was not as reserved as the golems. The moment it appeared, it strode across with heavy steps, approaching the shore and bringing with hit a sea of mes that stretched towards the sky.


    The witcher-knights could only continuously retreat under the pressure from the terrifying heat wave and the streams of me. They had to avoid the fire damage that wasing from everywhere. Under the lead of the Fire Deity, the previously disadvantaged me beings received a huge boost in morale. Immediately, they started another charge at the knights!


    The several hundred square meterrgeva pool was slowly edging forward with the help of the fire creatures. It almost seemed as if the entire valley was eventually going to be a new volcanic region.


    However, the knights'' retreat was only a feint. Once the fire beings, and the ten-meter tall Fire Deity in particr, had left theva pool, the spellbreaker knights led by Ninther immediately struck them with their fiercest attacks.


    The spellbreaker knights raised their small shields, and used energy shields to deflect the downpour of fiery rain. Enduring the violent blows of fire, knights used the runic swords in their hands to sh at therge body of the Fire Deity. The knights had already swapped out the magic crystals that they used beforehand. This time, it was no longer a ming torch that appeared when the spellbreaker knights activated their longswords, but the power of frost, with ice crystals and snow floating about.


    Countering fire with ice. It was obvious that the knights had their own unique experiences and battle techniques when fighting against heretics.


    The powerful knight battle techniques that were shrouded in the freezing power of ice shed at the Fire Deity, tearing its body and freezing it, causing the Fire Deity''s movements to be slower and stiffer. Surprisingly, an Mage-level Fire Deity was unable to endure even a single round of the spellbreaker knights'' blows, shattering into pieces and howling as it crumbled.


    The fragments of the fire-attribute Fire Deity were covered, amazingly, with ice shards of various sizes. Even the terrifying mes themselves were frozen within the light blue ice crystals.


    Ninther lifted a huge ice crystal the size of a cart with his sword, and tossed it into theva pool, where itnded right before Leon''s gigantic body. The object frozen within that crystal was therge head of the Fire Deity. Its terrifying expression was perfectly preserved, trapped in its death howl.


    Was this a terrible attempt at provoking him? Even though these kinds of tricks couldn''t possibly have any effect on Mages, who were famed for their intelligence, the efforts of the witcher-knights''mander were stillmendable and worth some kind of response!


    Leon roared loudly, hisrge me Fiend body stepping through the boilingva, striding towards Ninther.


    Ninther was excited when he saw this. Immediately, he put away his runic sword and started using ice arrows to shoot at Leon, retreating as he continued to shoot. It looked like he wanted to draw his opponent out of theva pool.


    The roars of the Fire Lord who remained behind was even louder, so loud it even shook the earth. One after another, frightening area damaging fire spells covered the skies as they shot towards the witcher-knights. The Fire Lord had no intention of avoiding the fire beings at its side when it cast the spell. In fact, it consciously threw all of the most violent and explosive spells towards the frontline.


    The Fire Lord''s attacks mostly consisted of area damage spells, while Leon''s attacks consisted of concentrated single-target spells. Fearsome spears the size of a human''s waist flew towards the enemy repeatedly, and every so often, the creature would even point and cause a terrifyingva pir to st out from beneath the body of its target.


    Two witcher-knights that were closer to the edge of the fire pools were the ones sted into the air by theva pirs, then blown to pieces by the me spears that sped through the air. Their bodies had been burned to unrecognisable char and ashes by the rain of fire before the blood and flesh even hit the ground.


    The tragic state of theirpanion''s death angered many witcher-knights. One after another their ice arrows, filled with vengeance, shot towards Leon like a violent tempest. Unfortunately, all of the arrows were blocked by three pieces of Lava Shield orbiting about Leon''s body.


    Aspared to the me Shield, the Lava Shield had better fire resistance, as well as a greater resistance against physical damage. Naturally, it did not fear the damage of such a meager rain of arrows.


    After walking forward a bit further, Leon stopped fifteen meters before the edge of theva pool. Heughed loudly as he attacked the witcher-knights with multiple deadly single-target spells.


    The damage of long-ranged spells was greatly reduced on the spellbreaker knights aspared to the witcher-knights. All the spellbreaker knights had mastered mid-ranged knight battle techniques and could intercept the iing fire spells. After a few ineffective attacks, Leon focused his firepower on the weaker witcher-knights.


    Ninther was angry. He could no longer hold back after seeing Leon sniping two or three of his weakerpanions.


    If he could not draw this evil heretic onto the shore, then he would go into the sea of mes to attack him!


    Under Ninther''s silent hand signals, all the witcher-knights started shooting waves of ice arrows as if their lives depended on it. Surprisingly, the target of the ice arrows was not Leon and instead they allnded on theva in front of Leon.


    The power of ice that exploded from a small ice arrow couldn''t even form into a snowke before it was devoured by the boilingva. But even the hottestva cannot resist a constant bombardment of ice arrows! Theva pool around Leon solidified at a visible speed. Ayer of light blue ice crystals appeared on the surface of theva, suppressing the heat and mes from below.


    This kind of ice crystal couldn''t keep theva frozen for very long, but it didn''t need to be for long!


    The spellbreaker knights, that had been waiting for an opportunity, surged forward under Ninther''s lead, and their target was obviously Leon, who had been trapped in the middle of the ice crystals.


    Finally!


    Ninther wanted to draw Leon onto the shore, but Leon also wanted to draw the spellbreaker knights into theva pool!


    Both parties circled each other with their mind games, yet at the same time they both understood each other''s intentions. And so one side had a trick within a trick, while the other decided to go along with the other''s ploy. As for who would gain an edge in the end, that naturally depended on who was more powerful!


    It was an exaggeration to say that Leon was not nervous at all, looking at the spellbreaker knights who were roaring as they charged towards him. After all, he was about to have a deathmatch with nine spellbreaker knights that were of the same power level as him! Until now, Leon''s interaction and battle experience with these spellbreaker knights was still too limited. He didn''t have aplete understanding of their battle tactics and couldn''t analyse them toe up with a solution.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Thus Leon was also taking certain risks in baiting the enemy himself this time!


    Ever since he started on this journey of bing an Mage, Leon had always hid behind the scenes in battles. The ones doing the heavy lifting had always been the golems that he crafted. This effectively reduced the risks and dangers that he personally had to face, but also caused him to fall behind in refining his personalbat skills.


    The group of spellbreaker knights before him were a sizeable threat, but they were far from pushing him to the edge of life and death. Therefore, Leon was nning to take this opportunity to train hisbat skill. Otherwise, if he truly met a powerful enemy that the golems couldn''t deal with in the future, he would have to pay for his weakness with his blood!


    Therefore, even though he knew he could get out of the awkward situation here with a simple Fire Teleportation, Leon chose to stay here and fight without any hesitation.


    Leon roared loudly, and burning streams of me sted out of the three-meter tall me Fiend. Under his agitation, theva pool started to vibrate violently, and the speed at which the newly formed ice crystals were melting sped up abruptly.


    Explosions erupted where the ice crystals were at their weakest, and hot air currents surged up in a rush from below. If any magic colt were to walk over those spots at this moment, it would definitely have been scalded, burned, and sted several dozen meters up into the sky. Experience exclusive tales on empire


    The ice crystals that had once formed a sheet of ice, had been sted into several small inds and crystal shards with barely enough space to stand on, floating amidst theva pool. The blistering pirs of air rose and fell, one after another. This turned theva pool into the devil''s yground, filled with traps everywhere.


    Even though Ninther, still high up on his colt, knew that this could be a killing field that the heretic had crafted for the knights, he still charged forward with no hesitation. The nimble and swift magic colt leapt from piece to piece of the shattered ice crystals as if it was flying. Within two leaps, it had already closed in on Leon.


    And so, on one end was the leader of the three powerful Mages, and on the other was the leader of the witcher-knights- the two had their first contact on the battlefield!


    The runic sword, covered in a thick shroud of ice energy, heavily shed onto the Lava Shield that was floating before Leon. The powerful physical impact instantly shed an opening the size of a fist on the Lava Shield. The overwhelming power of frost surged through the shield, freezing arge patch of raging mes on Leon''s chest.


    Leon, on the other hand, didn''t give ground either.


    Using the momentum as he turned his body, he swung his sizeable ming hand, crashing into the magic colt Ninther was riding on. Instantly, the colt turned into a sizzling fireball as it was blown away.


    Leon wanted to add in a powerful single-target spell for good measure, but the spellbreaker knights following behind Ninther had already arrived, leaping towards him. Leon had no choice but to give up on the idea. For a moment, the bombardment of fire spells at close range and the powerful physical attacks of the me Fiend''s body were executed to perfection, precisely dealing with the attacks of the spellbreaker knights that had surrounded him.


    ...


    1987 Words


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 Chapter 183 Battle

    The scene before him was very much like the arcade games from his previous life.


    Except now he was the one ying the part of the viinous Boss.


    His three Lava Shields were two meters tall, one meter wide, half a meter thick and made of countless molten rocks that still burned with patchy mes. Red-hotva was still dripping out of the gaps between the stones.


    The spellbreaker knights that leapt in session were all swinging the runic sword in their hands with all their might. Knight battle techniques rained blows of varying colors, crashing onto the Lava Shield and whistling through the air as they did so, shattering the magma, causingva to ssh everywhere.


    The spellbreaker knights could only dash past Leon and try to hit the me Fiend with their most destructive attacks at the moment his back was to them. This was because there weren''t many ice crystal shards left around Leon''s me Fiend body that could be used as a foothold.


    Leon, on the other hand, had turned into a an ungainly giant. He used the Lava Shield to block enemy attacks, while savagely attacking the weak opponents before him; with his fearsome hand shrouded in blistering mes, with his five-meter long me whip formed from concentrated me Elementium, and with fire spells that radiated terrifying Elementium flux.


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    Some spellbreaker knights were able to bend their bodies or leap to dodge Leon''s terrifying attacks with their agile bodies. But there were always some who failed to dodge. Faced with a whip that was cutting through the sky, they could only cower and maximize their shields to mitigate the opponent''s attack.


    Faced with Leon''s Strength of 20 points from the me Fiend Transformation, the spellbreaker knights'' pitiful average of 14 Strength was not even worth looking at.. They only had to have minimal contact with the whip, and they would turn into Angry Birds, blown away far off into the sky.


    But the most troublesome attacks from Leon weren''t his slightly clumsy physical blows, but the Ring of Fire that was everywhere.


    Leon, who had a me Body and had transformed part of his body into Elementium, sessfully mastered the Ring of Fire once he advanced to a me Mage. This was a domain-type fire spell!


    When Leon bellowed and activated the Ring of Fire, a light red Elementium barrier shaped like a sphere enveloped a hundred square meters area around him. Everything in this area started burning!


    The ground was burning, the grass and the trees were burning, even the sky was burning...


    Everyone that entered Leon''s Ring of Fire had to endure a astounding 13 points of fire damage every second. This level of energy damage was equal to a single offensive spell he activated back when he was a beginner-apprentice!


    There was ava pool below, and Leon with his vicious attacks from above, along with the continuous fire damage they had to endure every second...


    Only the spellbreaker knights, that had some elemental resistance, were able to endure such devastating battle conditions. If it had been a witcher-knight, they wouldn''t even need to be attacked by Leon; just the elemental damage within the Ring of Fire was enough to reduce most of them to ashes.


    The spellbreaker knights had fought with mage-level casters countless times, across several centuries'' history of exterminating heretics. But if one wanted to discuss the difficulty or mysteriousness of a fight, the terrifying me humanoid before them could easily outss ten normal heretics added together.


    The spellbreaker knights rode on their magic colts, leaping on the bobbing ice crystal shards and shing at Leon''s Lava Shield with various angles every so often. In the blink of an eye, two of the three shields had been destroyed. Even the only one left was badly damaged and couldn''t hold up for much longer.


    On the other hand, two of the nine spellbreaker knights had been hit by Leon''s melee attacks, and were sent flying out of theva pool, screaming in pain. The magic colts under them also fell into theva.


    Theva pool below Leon looked like a dark red patch. It wasn''t very shy, but everything in the pool was terrifying half-molten magma. The moment the magic colts fell in, oily ck smoke started rising from their hair, skin, blood, and flesh. Their skin and flesh sizzled as they burned, a sound so terrible no one could bear hearing.


    The colts had no time to even whinny in pain, and had already been devoured by the roiling magma, leaving only a cluster of bubbles on the surface of the viscous dark red liquid.


    There were a sizeable number of witcher-knights at the shore, enduring the me damage from the Ring of Fire, shooting ice arrows into theva pool with all their might to create ice crystal footholds for the spellbreaker knights. After shooting three to four waves of arrows, they had no choice but to swiftly retreat out of the area covered by the scarlet barrier. But just those short ten seconds inside the barrier had already caused all of their exposed skin to be covered with horrifying blisters. Even slightly touching those blisters sent pain straight to the heart.


    They suffered so much even though they were only on the edge of the barrier; the spellbreaker knights surrounding Leon and enduring his attacks had to endure ten times the punishment that they did.


    The two spellbreaker knights that were blown out of the battle were indeed courageous men. Immediately, they got fresh mounts from their witcher-knight subordinates and immediately charged back into theva field.


    Since the start of the battle, Leon had only suffered inconsequential and insignificant injuries, having used the many protectiveyers of defensive fire spells. Now that most of his defensive spells were about to be broken, he finally started to retreat and swap positions with the Fire Lord.


    This was actually a verymon sight in fights between casters and close-ranged melee fighters!


    With the protection of defensive spells, casters could bring about intense elemental damage to their opponents without suffering even a single bit of damage, as if they were the mightiest beings alive. But the moment their defenses were broken, they would almost certainly be killed in a sh by their opponents if they chose to continue engaging the opponents at a close range.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    So the moment things were turning sour, Leon threw out two me Shockwaves, sting back the spellbreaker knights around him. Then, he retreated withrge strides, trying to get to the center of theva pool.


    However, Ninther had been waiting for an opportunity and would never let him escape at this critical juncture. Once more, he drove his magic colt forward, leaping from shard to shard and finally jumping towards Leon.


    Leonughed twice, grimly and chillingly. He waved the Fire Lord''s Scepter in his left hand several times, and fourva pirs rose from theva pool in one go, sealing Ninther''s path forward.


    But it seemed as if Ninther had given up on any thoughts of retreat. He was not forced backwards. Instead, he stepped on top of his magic colt and leapt from it with a shout, amazingly leaping over theva pirs that were zing into the sky.


    He was able to leap over, but his magic colt could not do the same.


    Thus, following pained and tragic whinnies and howls, the magic colt crashed straight into ava pir, its entire body quickly engulfed by the bone-meltingva. The colt''s whinnies stopped. Only some hair, flesh, and charred bones scattered about the ck smoke and cluster of me, before finally settling down and sinking into theva pool below.


    In an instant, even thisst shred of the colt''s existence had vanished!


    Leon had no time to pay attention to the valiant way in which the colt died. All of his attention had been drawn by the shape that was leaping across.


    What was it, did Ninther want to duel him one-on-one? The hero against the demon king?


    Leon halted his retreat. His empty right hand instantly turned into a terrifyingrge hand, shrouded in onyx smoke and intense mes, and grabbed towards towards the flying Ninther.


    Ninther might be able to resist the Ring of Fire''s damage with his body''s magic resistance, but the overbearing heat from Leon''s body went up to three thousand degrees. If it was converted to fire elementium damage, it would go up to 110 points. Let''s not talk about a human. Even a metal pir would turn to putty in three seconds if it was gripped tightly by Leon''s me hand.


    But before therge hand could close its grip, a shing cerulean de sliced through the palm and cut Leon on his broad chest that was bereft of elemental protection.


    Leon jerked his head back and let out a pained roar that rang throughout the woods.


    "I''ll kill you, Ninther!"


    Ninther, who had activated his Evil-Killing sh at a close distance, should theoretically have fallen into theva pool at this point. But he had already prepared for a situation like that and suddenly threw out an odd flying metal w, which attached itself to Leon''s arm. With a slight jerk of the rope, he leapt towards the sky once more.


    Leon loudly roared as his two hands smashed against his own chest. The mes from inside the me Fiend''s body followed the cracks on the surface of its body and sted through in terrifying streams of me.


    These kinds of indiscriminate radial attacks were the scariest!


    The spellbreaker knights were mage at trading blow-for-blow, as well as using their concentrated knight battle techniques to shatter their opponent''s single-target elemental attacks. However, when faced with this kind of unreasonable and indiscriminate attack, their expressions would sour as they could only hide their bodies behind the energy shield, that covered an area of one square meter, and resist this wave of mes.


    Even with Ninther''s rich battle experience and skillful fighting techniques, he could only endure the attacks of his enemy at this moment.


    Boom. A muffled st rang out.


    Ninther was like a tiny boat thrown about in a violent storm''s surging waves as he was sted far away by the ferocious shockwave and streaming mes. The metal w that connected him to Leon didn''t evensted two seconds. Already, it had turned into a pool of red hot g, blown and scattered all over the ce.


    Ninther was blown twenty meters away. It almost seemed like he would fall into the edge of theva pool, but already a swift spellbreaker knight had already driven his horse close, skimming theva''s surface as he caught Ninther and sessfully bringing him back to their side.


    Leon loomed at the center of theva pool. He raised his left hand and looked at the wide gash on his chest. He could a feel an intense pain that pierced his heart.


    After his me Fiend Transformation, this elemental body was mostly filled with molten rock and swirling magma; yet it was also filled with potent me energy that had been steeped in Leon''s will and Spirit.


    At this moment, that me energy was an extension of Leon''s consciousness, and the ces where the me energy extended to was Leon''s body. Thus, even though it was burningva that bled out of therge hand and chest wounds that Ninther caused, the one that was hurting was still his consciousness that was suffused throughout this form.


    Leon plunged his left hand into theva pool below him. After a short while he removed it, and this badly wounded left hand was as good as new again. Once more, he bent his body to scoop up plenty ofva and spread it on his chest. His injury there healed instantly as well.


    The unexpected injury triggered Leon''s rage. He roared loudly as heunched a new wave of attacks!


    ...


    2007 Words


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    Gift campaign!


    - 20 Golden Tickets = 1 chapter


    - Red Dragon = 3 chapter


    - Magic Castle = 10 chapters.


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    - Gachapon = 30 chapters.


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    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


    - 500 Power Stones = 5 chapters


    - 1000 Power Stones = 8 chapters


    - 3000 Power Stones = 10 chapters

 Chapter 184 Counterattack

    How terrifying were two me giants fighting at their full strength?!


    The witcher-knights could tell you this with their intense and personal experience.


    The me Fiend that Leon transformed into, as well as the Fire Lord, endured numerous ice arrows as they walked to the edge of theva pool. Instantly, the fire spells that filled the skies turned the witcher-knights'' shelter into a terrifying sea of mes.


    One after another, y golems coordinated with the stone serpents, and appearing on the battlefield. Every time they appeared out of nowhere, the monsters would pick up a surprised witcher-knight and tossed him into theva pool. The rest of the job was finished by Leon and the Fire Lord! Experience more on empire


    Using this method, Leon had already killed four witcher-knights in a row.


    To draw the spellbreaker knights to him, Leon took the extra risk himself, boldy leaving theva pool and bringing the Fire Lord onto the shore with him. Even the rough muddy shore melted into part of theva pool, flowing with red hotva as the two me giants stepped onto it.


    Thus when the me Fiend strode across the shore, it left behind a dark red trail ofva behind.


    This was a rare chance. Even though Ninther knew it had to be a trick, he couldn''t help but lead his spellbreaker knights forward and surround the enemy.


    Ninther wanted to force Leon into a direct confrontation and Leon didn''t seem to have much of a choice. If this battle started to go overwhelmingly in his favor, the spellbreaker knights that could see no chance of victory would most likely give up on this battle.


    And to let a still-organized witcher-knight army retreat from the battlefield might make the job of surrounding and exterminating them too hard for ke and Bleia, who were meant to nk them. With their strategy revealed, they would most likely attract even scarier and difficult opponents.


    From the start of battle, Leon had already made the resolution to decimate the knight army.


    For this purpose, he took the risk to go to the frontlines, in order to attract the attention of the spellbreaker knights here and create the best opportunity to cripple and destroy this witcher-knight armyter.


    Now, the ensuing battle quickly reached a most intense stage.


    Eleven spellbreaker knights formed a small group, surrounding Leon and the Fire Lord, as they charged and shed within. Leon and the Fire Lord were knocked about, as the defensive spells on their bodies were cut into wisps of mes as quickly as they formed them. Scores of shes and cuts covered their entire bodies.


    Even so, the two ming titans managed to bring out their battle strength to their limits and resist the knights. At one point, they even managed to instantly kill a spellbreaker knight, who wasn''t able to dodge, with an elegantbination attack.


    Though in doing so, Leon had also lost two advanced-level stone serpents and one pseudo-Mage level stone serpent.


    As Leon was slowly bing unable to endure the non-stop attacks from the enemy, he finally waved the Fire Lord''s Scepter and summoned another Fire Deity.


    In a sh, three tall and enormous fiery giants stood side by side, with two pseudo-Mage level stone serpents and a dozen y golems on the edges. Leon had finally formed a battle line that was capable of both defense and offense with his army of golems.


    The stone serpents and y golems were in charge of defense, obstructing the spellbreaker knights'' reckless and relentless charges. The three me giants were in charge of releasing fire spells with all their might, trying their best to turn everything around them into a sea of mes.


    At this moment, the spellbreaker knights finally realized the huge difference between the heretic before them, and the heretics that they had always fought before. There were always powerful heretics among the ones they fought in the past. But as long as the witcher-knights were willing to make some sacrifices to shatter the tough shields of their opponent, they would only need a single strike to kill them.


    Yet the heretic before their eyes had immense Strength, Physique, and iparable elemental attacks that other heretics did not have. Even though his speed wascking, the weakness was covered by theva domain he had created for himself. To use the opponent''s weakness to attack was simply too hard!


    If there weren''t so many golems sacrificing themselves at every turn, and if there weren''t the immensely powerful Fire Lord, then the powerful spellbreaker knights only needed three or four people to defend against Leon''s attacks, and the rest could swiftly execute him.


    But now, as theva pool continuously expanded, the ces where they could safely stand were rapidly decreasing, and the damage that they dealt to the evil heretic was quickly decreasing as well.


    Once the battle had reached this point, Ninther had no choice but to make a painful choice.


    Admit the loss of this battle and quickly lead the remaining troops out of this sorrowful and upsetting battlefield, Or continue hanging on, waiting for that opportunity to seize victory that might be right around the next turn. As long as they could kill this me giant and obtain the victory on this main battlefield, the other two heretics hiding in the darkness were no big deal.


    It was precisely because Leon kept showing up and giving them asional chances, that the entire spellbreaker knight squad was chained and bound to theva battlefield. Having already suffered so many losses, if they retreated without any results to show for it, it would be a fate even worse than death for the spellbreaker knights that thought of glory as their lives.


    Leon used this precise psychological unwillingness and hesitation of his enemy to drag the battle into the state it was in now.


    But after the second spellbreaker knight was killed under the coordination of Leon, the Fire Lord, and the Fire Deity,Ninther made the painful decision.


    The long and sombre sound of a horn rang across the battlefield. The witcher-knights started to retreat from the battlefield, one after another. They were ready to end this painful suffering where no light could be seen at the end of the tunnel.


    The spellbreaker knights continued harrying Leon and his golem army to allow the witcher-knights a smooth retreat. Blow after blow of powerful knight battle techniques reduced the y golems into mud, sshing everywhere.


    Sadly, the difference in the depth of their strategic thinking caused Ninther to fail to realize the difference between himself and the enemy in who they chose to target. The spellbreaker knight squad he led ced the deciding factor on defeating the enemy leader, Leon. However, Leon had ced all of his hopes of victory on defeating this group of spellbreaker knights!


    Why would it matter how many more witcher-knights there were? Even if was only Leon alone, he was confident he could exterminate all of his enemies within these vast mountains. The only one that concerned him were these spellbreaker knights. Thus, even if he let all the witcher-knights go, he was determined to not let a single one of these spellbreaker knights leave alive.


    Following the retreat horn being blown, the witcher-knights quickly retreated from the valley. A gap of about two hundred meters appeared between the spellbreaker knight squad and the witcher-knight army.


    Seeing this, me Fiend Leon let out a roar that shook the skies. It was finally the time for the decisive blow!


    The first sacrifice was naturally the Fire Deity that could be summoned at any time.


    It shook its ten meter tall and terrifying bod, and charging into the middle of the spellbreaker knight''s squad formation. Then it blew itself up, generating a terrifying explosion that seemed as if it would rend the skies and rip the ground asunder.


    The sudden blow instantly destroyed the formation the spellbreaker knights had created.


    Since the start of the battle, the twelve remaining spellbreaker knights used their well-trained riding skills and potent knight battle techniques to weave about the battlefield. They constantly charged and rode about, using their dazzling horsemanship to ride about and draw the enemy''s attention as they looked for chances to dash in once more.


    Often times a spellbreaker knight would have justnded an Evil-Killing Blow on the enemy before continuing right past the target, while a second knight would already be charging, his Explosive Cross sh waiting to be executed. Meanwhile, a third knight would be elerating and ready to charge at any time...


    It was precisely thanks to this constant attacks and well-honed intertwining and positioning that they were able to crack the defenses and y the enemy, regardless of how powerful they were.


    But now an artificial volcano had appeared in the middle of the battlefield, following the Fire Deity''s terrifying explosion. Intense heat, scorching streams of me, zes that filled the skies as well as moltenva that went flying everywhere.... all of thispletely disrupted the attack patterns of the knight squad. Everyone could only attempt to flee the vicinity of the volcano with all their might, with no time to care about their formation or attack pattern!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    And this was precisely what Leon wanted.


    This kind of magma hell and this harsh environment might be unbearable for humans, but the me Fiend and the Fire Lord they were like fish in water. Theyughed loudly. With a strange motion they vanished from the spot, appearing next to a spellbreaker knight that had been isted from hispanions.


    Two clusters of explosive mes that suddenly appeared out of thin air frightened the spellbreaker knight''s colt. Yet before he could even react, Leon and the Fire Lord''s great shadows had already appeared within the mes.


    me Teleportation!


    The moment they appeared, the tworge me beings extended their palms, and instantly engulfed the spellbreaker knight''s body with all sorts of violent and ferocious fire spells.


    Firestorm.


    me Pir.


    Ignite.


    Chain of Fireballs.


    Leon, who was had yet to disy all of his strength, held back no longer. He executed his fire spells to the very limits of their power. Under thebined effort of Leon and the Fire Lord, how could a spellbreaker knight with merely a basic elemental resistance hold out against this degree of fiery bombardment?


    The opponent''s tough body was swiftly torn to pieces by the vicious spells. Even the magic colt beneath him exploded into tatters of flesh, sent flying in all directions. But before their bodies had been blown out of the centre of the explosion, they had already been turned to dust and ash by the shocking me streams and violent shockwaves.


    "Edward!" Ninther''s pained cries could not save the life of hispanion.


    Edward was his most capable assistant in the knight squad, and was also an exceptional spellbreaker knight that was only second to himself. But when faced with thebined power of two Mage-level opponents, no amount of anger and unwillingness could make the spellbreaker knights, who had no special means of preserving their lives, any more than a pile of meaningless flesh no different than an ordinary mortal.


    "Retreat...retreat...retreat quickly!" Ninther gritted his teeth several times. Finally suppressing the desire to charge at Leon and fight to his death, he loudly shouted at thispanions that had been blown and scattered all over the ce.


    Sadly, Leon would never let them run away just like that in this situation!


    Boom! Boom! Two bursts rang throughout the battlefield as two me Teleportations were executed. The me Fiend Leon had transformed into, and the Fire Lord, had teleported into the path of retreat, securely standing at the mouth of the valley between the spellbreaker knight squad and the witcher-knight army.


    A new blood bath was about to begin!


    ...


    1984 Words


    ...


    Gift campaign!


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    - Magic Castle = 10 chapters.


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    - Gachapon = 30 chapters.


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    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


    - 500 Power Stones = 5 chapters


    - 1000 Power Stones = 8 chapters


    - 3000 Power Stones = 10 chapters

 Chapter 185 Extermination

    If the battle before was just a more intense battle to y evil, the battle now was a bloody brawl that concerned their very lives.


    The Fire Deity''s self-destruction had created a terrifying crater in the middle of the valley. Theva in the pool far away was quickly flowing here. Streams of fire radiating unbearable temperatures were filling the hole bit by bit, igniting everything in their path.


    It probably wouldn''t take another fifteen minutes before the entire valley would be covered in boiling magma, turning the entire ce into an evenrgerva pool.


    Thus, with a powerful enemy before them and a sea of mes catching up behind them, the only escape route for the remaining eleven spellbreaker knights was to break through Leon''s blockade.


    This was the only way they could live.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Odd screeches rang out from the woods around the valley. Large groups of bloodsucking vampires swarmed out from within, hurtling towards the witcher-knights that wanted to turn back and save their leaders. As for the woods that the witcher-knights were in, the earth beneath them violently split open. Countless horrifying scorpions surged forth from below the ground, instantly disrupted the formation of the witcher-knights, who had no one to direct them.


    Having sent all their subordinates to deal with the witcher-knights, Bloody Bleia and Worm controller ke turned into a red sh and a cluster of ck smoke, rushing out of the woods and leaping over Leon and the Fire Lord to charge straight at the disorganized spellbreaker knights.


    Leon whistled and called over his Lightning Giant as well as two pseudo-adept level stone serpents, and had them blockade the mouth of the valley in his ce. He and the Fire Lord, on the other hand, grinned wickedly as they disappeared in a st of elemental me that appeared out of nowhere.


    Now that the spellbreaker knights'' formation has been disrupted, it was the perfect time to take advantage of the chaos to ughter the lot. Even Bleia and ke couldn''t resist the urge to attack- why would Leon, who had worked so hard to create this situation, let up now?


    Don''t think that just because they were powerful adepts that came over from another world, that they were able to ughter the knights. Even though their physiques and equipment were superior, allowing them to crush and overwhelm these spellbreaker knights that imed to share the same grade as them, ughtering the knights en masse was still an impossibly difficult taskpared to driving them off.


    In a one-on-one duel, Bleia and ke had a seventy to eighty percent chance of victory. But if they were to face two enemies at the same time, their chance of victory would drop to forty or fifty percent. Leon, on the other hand, had the Fire Lord, which was like having an adept-level clone following beside him. As long as he found an opportunity, he could instantly teleport to his opponent''s side and the two me giants would bombard the enemy with spells.


    A spellbreaker knight that could resist one round of such a bombardment- not one existed!


    The y golems were also endangering their lives to entangle and disrupt the spellbreaker knights at all costs, under the Leon''s instructions. They didn''t need to face the enemy head on. All they had to was go underground and hinder the movements of the magic colts. Find exclusive stories on empire


    At one moment, the battlefield was crowded with eighteen y golems, three advanced-level stone serpents, the three adepts, and the Fire Lord. Such a chaotic scene might be disaster for the spellbreaker knights, but for the adepts possessing odd and mysterious abilities of their own, there was no better battlefield.


    Bleia had her bat wings, and her speed was several times that of the spellbreaker knights in such a constrained area. In this harsh environment, she weaved about the crowd and often used her crimson longbow to shoot at the spellbreaker knights, while asionally closing up to the enemy''s side and using her sharp ws to engage in a bloody melee.


    Bleia had taken full advantage of her speed!


    ke, on the other hand, was still as mysterious as usual.


    The ck smoke he had turned himself into constantly dispersed and gathered around the enemy. Sometimes, he would turn back into his human form,ughing wickedly as he opened his mouth and let out swarms of flying bugs that filled the skies. Other times, his body would simply scatter into tens of thousands of odd scorpions and instantly swarm the enemy.


    When he was attacked by the enemy, he would just turn back into ck smoke and quickly escape to another ce.


    The spellbreaker knights could only employ fire against such an opponent. Not even their frost swords could do anything to ke. After such a prolonged battle, the spellbreaker knights still didn''t know if Worm controller was man or bug, not to mention trying to find his weak spot!


    The exceptional magic resistance and flexible runic weapons that the spellbreaker knights took pride in were no longer useful when faced with these arcane casters from another world.


    It didn''t matter how badly they wounded Bleia; as long as someone amidst the spellbreaker knights was bleeding, Bleia''s wounds would heal by themselves within a matter of seconds. It didn''t matter how many times the evil swarms of bugs were dispersed; when they flew to another spot and gathered, the ck-robed ke would appear once more.


    It was constant torture for the spellbreaker knights to fight against these tenacious and undying cockroaches. If they still had their stamina, if their formation was still tight, they might be able to kill Bleia and ke by umtion of damage due to their advantage in numbers and their constant attacks.


    But now, under the corrosion of theva pool, they could hardly even find ces that were safe to stand. In such a situation, even their survival was a problem- not to mention surrounding the enemy!


    If Worm controller ke and Bloody Bleia could be said to bring chaos and suffering to the spellbreaker knights, then Leon''s entrance could be said to have spelled death for them!


    Not even ke dared to let both Leon and the Fire Lordnd an entire round of spell bombardment on him. Leon, who was an expert with fire Elementium, was able to have a might of over 140 points with every fire spell he cast. The crude equipment of the knights were fashioned to defend against physical attacks, and could hardly resist this level of spell damage.


    Fire Core Explosion!


    Chain of Fireballs!


    Firestorm!


    me Pir!


    Doomsday Volcano!


    me Wall!


    ...


    ...


    One after another, powerful fire spells were released by Leon and the Fire Lord. Every spellbreaker knight that they targeted would be sted into oblivion, shattered into pieces. Not even a corpse would be left.


    While Leon blew up four spellbreaker knights in one go, Bleia had only been able to take down one spellbreaker knight. ke, on the other hand, had also only killed one spellbreaker knight.


    There was no way around it. After all, fire spells belonged to the battlefield. The lethality and damage of fire spells would always be the greatest in a war. Even though Bleia was the same grade as Leon, she was only an agile assassin in the end. Her efficiency and ability of direct skirmishes on the battlefield was insignificantpared to Leon.


    Worm controller ke, on the other hand, leaned towards being an evil adept. His abilities were numerous and bizarre, often catching his opponents by surprise. Yet when it came to brute force, his abilities were awkwardly weaker!


    To avoid Leon getting all the kills, they could only charge forward with no regard for their lives, battling two spellbreaker knights at a time each. Thus, the only one left for Leon was Ninther, who was nowpletely alone!


    Compared to his charm and elegance at the start of the battle, Ninther had now turned into a lone wolf cornered by a hunter.


    The shape of his once delicate knight''s armor had been bent due to the absurdly high temperatures of the surroundings. Scorch marks, from being burnt and exposed to smoke, covered the armor. All of his hair, skin, and nails had fallen out, reced with blisters and burns that were constantly bleeding. With every blow that he dealt out, the blisters on his body would burst, and ckish pus and blood would go stter everywhere.


    The him at this point was bathed in blood!


    He didn''t even know how many magic colts he had swapped out. The magic colt he was riding right now was also severely wounded and exhausted.


    Ninther suddenlyughed, bitterly watching Leon as he slowly walked towards him. He got off the magic colt with much difficulty and patted it on its back.


    "Go. If you have the opportunity to escape then go!"


    Perhaps the colt understood Ninther''s words. It let out a long whinny, took a look at the mighty Leon, and quickly ran away in fear. Without the burden of the knights, it might actually be able to find a way out through the steep stone cliff surroundings before theva arrived.


    With great difficulty Ninther, who had chosen to stay behind, took off the red hot armor. He gripped the runic de tightly with his bloody, burnt hands. He looked calmly upon Leon, who was striding over, as if he was about to die alongside the enemy.


    Leon shook his head when he saw Ninther''s provocative eyes. He waved his hands, and the Fire Lord strode past him towards this final enemy.


    Disappointment filled Ninther''s eyes.


    This enemy was far too careful. Even when he had the absolute advantage, he still didn''t let it go to his head. He was willing to let go of the sweetest fruit of victory in the entire battle!


    It''s important to note how much of an honor and glory it was, as themander of such arge battle, to personally take the head of the enemy leader! Yet the opponent let go of this chance so easily and simply!


    For the first time, Ninther started to understand why he had lost today.


    The opponent... all of the opponents, from the mastermind to the summoned beings, were a bunch of fellows that didn''t give a single damn about a knight''s honor!


    Ninther had activated inumerable knight battle techniques from the start of the battle until now. Both his stamina and will were at their limits. Looking at the me giant that was slowly nearing, he pulled out two Elementium crystals pulsing with energy, and stuffed them into his mouth. He ran towards the opponent while screaming.


    One of the Elementium crystals was red, while the other was blue. Clearly, they were one fire crystal and one ice crystal.


    The two Elementium crystals of opposing elements, along with thest bit of blood essence he forced out, would be able to deliver critical damage to the opponent once he self-destructed, even if he couldn''t kill the opponent.


    This was his only means of damaging his enemy at this point!


    Leon silently smiled, a cold expression on his face, as he looked upon the charging Ninther and the chaotic elemental flux in his body.


    Before Ninther could self-destruct, the Fire Lord vanished in a st of fire. The earth beneath Ninther loosened and a stone serpent with its mouth wide opened rushed out,pletely swallowing him. The stone serpent then swiftly sunk into the ground again.


    A short momentter, a muffled bang echoed from deep within the ground.


    The entire valley silently shook. Countless deep cracks appeared as the earth quaked. The woods nearby shook along with the ground.


    At that moment, countless leaves fell, and dust filled the skies!


    ...


    1972 Words


    ...


    Gift campaign!


    - 20 Golden Tickets = 1 chapter


    - Red Dragon = 3 chapter


    - Magic Castle = 10 chapters.


    - Spacecraft = 20 chapters.


    - Gachapon = 30 chapters.


    ...


    Power Stones Campaign!


    - 100 Power Stones = 2 chapters


    - 500 Power Stones = 5 chapters


    - 1000 Power Stones = 8 chapters


    - 3000 Power Stones = 10 chapters


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