Chapter 101 - 100: [Blessing Skill]

Chapter 101: Chapter 100: [Blessing Skill]

Gaode was equally curious. His situation was unique. First, he possessed a knowledge system completely foreign to this world. Furthermore, his mastery over Magic was exceptionally "broad." According to what Maciej had said, if he successfully advanced to a 1st-Ring Mage, he should be able to Awaken a rather outstanding specialty.

However, these thoughts merely flashed through his mind before he quickly gathered his heart and spirit, laughing at himself. He was still a million miles away from becoming a First-Ring Mage, yet here he was, already fantasizing about the affairs of a 1st-Ring Mage. He was reaching for what was beyond his grasp!

"Then for us Wild Mages who only practice the Apprentice Guidance Technique and Apprentice Meditation Technique, even if we are fortunate enough to advance to 1st-Ring Mages, we’ll still be at a massive disadvantage when Awakening our specialties," someone else sighed.

Gaode nodded in deep agreement. This was the so-called "fall behind once, fall behind forever."

"You don’t need to worry about that. When Awakening a specialty during the advancement to a 1st-Ring Mage, what truly widens the gap is often the Mage’s own knowledge and the Magic they have mastered," Maciej chuckled upon hearing this.

"This is because the Apprentice Guidance Technique and Apprentice Meditation Technique are already among the best Guiding Techniques and Meditation Techniques available at the apprentice stage.

"If these foundational Cultivation Skills weren’t nearly flawless, how could they have spread so widely?

"However, the Apprentice Guidance Technique and Apprentice Meditation Technique can only be practiced during the apprentice stage. Once you advance to a 1st-Ring Mage, you must choose a new Cultivation Skill. That is when the gaps created by different Cultivation Skills will truly begin to show."

Maciej’s words sounded a bit strange at first, but upon careful thought, they were easy to understand. It was just like in his past life: educational textbooks for general studies were often compiled by countless people through round after round of rigorous revisions and screenings. In contrast, the truly advanced stages of knowledge were a chaotic mix of the good and the bad, entirely lacking unified standard materials.

He told himself, "Therefore, I must enter the Cyrus Magic Academy as soon as possible. Otherwise, as a Wild Mage—let alone whether I can even advance to a 1st-Ring Mage—choosing a Cultivation Skill after a successful Rising Ring will be a massive problem, simply because there will be no choices available at all."

"Can specialties be disclosed?" the Mage Apprentice beside Gaode asked curiously.

Maciej shook his head. "Of course not. Especially for a Combat Mage, a specialty is an even more absolute secret than Magic.

"After all, as long as Magic is cast, it will inevitably be exposed. But unless a Mage speaks up about their specialty themselves, who could possibly state its exact effects with accuracy?"

"Careful, prepare for battle!" Right at that moment, Maciej, who had been cheerfully chatting with everyone just a second ago, suddenly turned entirely solemn.

Gaode immediately sensed the approaching danger, his vigilant gaze sweeping their surroundings.

SCREECH! SCREECH!

The moment Maciej’s voice faded, sharp, ear-piercing cries already began to ring out. From a towering tree in the adjacent dense forest, a flock of Earth Demon Bats fiercely flapped their wings and flew out, lunging straight toward their group. There were twelve of them in total. However, the reason Maciej’s expression had grown so serious wasn’t because of their numbers. Rather, it was because of the leader of this flock: a massive Earth Demon Bat. This particular Earth Demon Bat even possessed two leg-like appendages. From a distance, it looked like a winged, hairless dwarf, its body appearing as hard as solid rock. Without a doubt, this was a genuine 1st-Ring Earth Vein Creature! This was the very first 1st-Ring Earth Vein Creature their small team had encountered in the past few days. ℴ

"Leave the 1st-Ring to me; you’ll have to rely on yourselves for the rest!" Maciej instantly entered a combat state. As the team’s leader, he immediately issued orders with an unquestionable tone. Before his words even finished, he was already mobilizing his Mana. Amidst his shifting hand gestures, intense fluctuations of Magic Power gathered in his palms, transforming into a soft and warm light. This light was golden, radiating a sense of holiness and blessing.

"Blessing!" Maciej chanted in a deep voice. The golden light instantly split into three streaks, landing flawlessly on himself, Gaode, and another Mage Apprentice who had mastered the Lightning Trick.

The instant Gaode was struck by the light, a sacred cross symbol surfaced on his body. However, the symbol only existed for a brief moment before vanishing in a flash. Subsequently, a gentle yet solemn chant echoed by his ears, though, much like the cross symbol, it disappeared in an instant. An unprecedented surge of strength and courage welled up from within his body.

"I have endowed you two with the 1st-Ring Magic [Blessing Skill]. For the next minute, your Magic Attack and Magic Defense will possess even greater might. Make the most of your time!" Maciej reminded the two while simultaneously casting his next Magic. Over the past five days, he had come to realize that the highest combat proficiency in the entire team belonged to Gaode and the Mage Apprentice with the Lightning Trick. Thus, his choice of targets for the [Blessing Skill] was very deliberate—it was a sign of his acknowledgment.

In the next second, light flickered in Maciej’s palms once again. Three Flashing Darts condensed into existence before he hurled them out. Like three missiles, they tore through the sky, blasting toward the massive leading Earth Demon Bat.

[Magic Missile].

The giant Earth Demon Bat evidently sensed the threat of the [Magic Missile] empowered by the [Blessing Skill]. It let out a deafening roar, hovering in the air as it opened its mouth and spewed out a cone of gravel. The overwhelming barrage of gravel directly engulfed the three Magic Missiles entirely. After a fierce explosion, the gravel was entirely reduced to fine powder, scattering in all directions. However, the three Magic Missiles had similarly exhausted their power and dissipated.

On the other side, Gaode quickly adjusted his breathing, entering his combat state. His fingers danced lightly as searing Energy surged upwards.

[Flaming Arrow+]!

With a low shout, a beam of burning flame shot out fiercely. The Flaming Arrow cut through the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, charging toward the flock of Earth Demon Bats with raging flames. Wherever the Magic passed, the air itself seemed to ignite, leaving a long trail of fire in its wake. Its might had visibly grown much stronger.

The 0th-Ring Earth Demon Bat that Gaode had targeted reacted in the exact same manner as the leading 1st-Ring Earth Demon Bat. It spat forward, unleashing a cone of gravel to block the Flaming Arrow’s path, attempting to use it to resist and neutralize the Flaming Arrow’s might.

But there were some things that a boss could do, which a minion simply could not. After being cast with the empowerment of the [Blessing Skill], the Flaming Arrow’s might, while not quite reaching the level of a 1st-Ring Magic, had certainly surpassed the level of a mere Trick. If one had to describe it precisely, it was a 0.5th-Ring Magic!

The ferocious flames directly blasted apart the cone of gravel and continued forward, accurately striking the hovering Earth Demon Bat.

BOOM!

In that instant, a resounding boom echoed. The Earth Demon Bat let out a shrill, agonizing shriek as its entire body was swallowed by raging fire. Tumbling from mid-air, it plummeted and smashed heavily against the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, a flash of shock, as well as an unprecedented sense of exhilaration, crossed Gaode’s eyes. Was this the feeling of being carried by a "big shot" to farm monsters? Under the empowerment of the 1st-Ring Magic [Blessing Skill], the power of his [Flaming Arrow+] had skyrocketed, actually allowing him to instantly kill a 0th-Ring Earth Vein Creature with a single strike.

However, exhilarating as it was, Gaode did not let his guard down. He knew that this battle was far from over. Taking advantage of the moment when the other Mage Apprentices in the team were casting their Magic Attacks, Gaode willed it, and a layer of dusky gray light flashed across his skin.

[Blade Protection+].

Having used this brief gap in time to empower himself with Defense Magic, Gaode, now boasting much more confidence, struck again. He locked his aim onto another Earth Demon Bat. At this moment, it was nimbly and cunningly circling in the air, continuously dodging the apprentices’ Magic Attacks.

Gaode attacked fiercely! It was [Flaming Arrow+] once again. But this time, the Earth Demon Bat he targeted didn’t act like the previous one. Facing the violently incoming Flaming Arrow, it did not foolishly try to clash head-on. Instead, it circled in the air and, by sheer coincidence, managed to scrape by and dodge the beam of the Flaming Arrow.

As a small, flying Earth Vein Creature, agility was the Earth Demon Bat’s specialty. A purely linear attack from a considerable distance was indeed very easy for such exceptionally agile flying creatures to evade. Seeing that it had dodged Gaode’s Magic Attack, the Earth Demon Bat let out a sharp cry, seemingly smug, yet also seeming to provoke him.

BOOM!

An intense blast turned its sharp cry into a miserable wail. The Flaming Arrow that was supposed to have missed actually turned back around like a phantom. Cool guys don’t look at explosions. The Earth Demon Bat was no exception. So, it truly did explode.

"Have you ever seen a Flaming Arrow that can turn corners?" Gaode mocked in his heart as he watched yet another Earth Demon Bat plummet to the ground, its body blazing with roaring fire.