Chapter 309 - 35: Genius-Level Figure (Part 2)

Chapter 309: Chapter 35: Genius-Level Figure (Part 2)

Among the thousands of apprentices in this Apprentice Town, who hadn’t experienced the excruciating torment of Divination?

Sahan took a few steps toward the hall’s exit, then something occurred to him. "Right, the poster’s name is Mo Ning. I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before."

He reached the doorway and his Sheepskin Boots touched the first step, when it suddenly hit him. "So it’s that Mo Ning, the one who got famous in the Magic Pattern class. I heard he wrote several research papers even as a newcomer."

Sahan clicked his tongue. "No wonder he’s so rich, willing to pay 5 Black Tower Points just for a sparring partner."

Now that he understood the situation, he grew even more excited.

’This is a real bigshot. If I can satisfy him this time, I might be able to secure all his future sparring jobs.’

Sahan made up his mind: he had to treat this major client with the best attitude and the most thorough sparring methods.

With half an hour to spare, he hurried back to his residence in the central district, dug out the Level Zero Witchcraft notes he had compiled over the years, and reviewed the section on the Air Shield Technique over and over again.

6:50.

For once, Sahan was waiting at the entrance to the sparring room early.

He would rather wait a little longer himself than make his bigshot client wait for a single second.

The entrance was on the edge of the second plaza, a mottled, semicircular archway. The air within the gate was slightly distorted, shimmering with faint ripples.

According to the rules, although the sparring room had been assigned, access would only be granted five minutes before the scheduled time.

「Five minutes later.」

The notification arrived right on time.

[You have been granted temporary access to Sparring Room No. 18. This access will expire in half an hour.]

Sahan was slightly taken aback, now even more certain that this was a major client.

Any Apprentice who had taken on sparring jobs knew that rooms numbered 15 and above were larger but required an extra payment of 1 Black Tower Point per use. The Apprentices called them "High Level Sparring Rooms."

He didn’t know that this was a privilege for a Black Tower New Star, and that a certain someone hadn’t spent a single coin on it.

Sahan took a step toward the archway and immediately felt a slight resistance.

In the next moment, his head spun slightly, and the scene before his eyes changed in an instant.

A circular stone pit, approximately 20,000 square meters in area, appeared before him.

The ground was uneven and pockmarked, scattered with stones of all sizes. The pit was surrounded by ten-meter-high stone walls, their surfaces covered with the marks of various kinds of Witchcraft.

Sahan looked around, a little envious. "The High Level sparring rooms really are better. You can cast Witchcraft freely without worrying about flying debris."

He had only waited for two minutes when a figure materialized out of thin air inside the pit.

Sahan glanced over, his rough face quickly breaking into a wide smile. "Mr. Mo Ning, it’s a great pleasure to meet you!"

Mo Ning replied politely, "Mr. Sahan, it’s a pleasure to meet you too."

It was common etiquette for Apprentices to address each other as "Mister" when meeting for the first time.

Sahan, quite the social butterfly, started making small talk:

"You’ve learned the Air Shield Technique, so you must have been in No. 43 Apprentice Town for three or four years, right? I can’t believe today is the first time I’m seeing you."

In every Apprentice Town, there were quite a few reclusive Apprentices; it was normal not to see someone for ten years at a time.

Sahan wasn’t surprised by this, he was just trying to build a better rapport.

Mo Ning’s lips moved, but in the end, he didn’t explain. He simply gave a slight nod. "Yes, I rarely go out."

Sahan gave a smile that said ’I completely understand.’ "Any Apprentice with a talent for Divination who’s engrossed in their research is like that."

He cut the small talk and crisply adopted a "ready when you are" stance.

"I am proficient in five offensive Witchcrafts: Wind Blade Technique, Fire Cloud Technique, Poisonous Mist Hand, Magic Power Fist, and Magic Arrow Flying Skill. They can all be used to train the Air Shield Technique. Which one would you like to start with?"

Mo Ning nodded to himself as he listened.

’These five Witchcrafts have different focuses, including both Elemental Attacks and physical attacks, suitable for various situations. It seems Mr. Sahan is quite versatile.’

He thought for a moment, then said, "Let’s start with the Wind Blade Technique, then."

Mo Ning then proposed a specific training plan: "Use each Witchcraft four times. For the first two, I’ll be Casting bare-handed. For the last two, we’ll both use a Magic Wand and Casting Gloves. Does that sound okay to you?"

’He’ll need to cast twenty Witchcrafts. Assuming an average of 1.5 points of Magic Power per Witchcraft, that’s a total of 30 points of Magic Power.’

’For him to have mastered so many Level Zero Witchcrafts, his Magic Pool must be at least 100 points.’

According to the unwritten rule among Apprentices, a sparring partner’s Magic Power consumption should not exceed one-third of their total, otherwise extra payment is required.

Sahan, eager to please his bigshot client, said magnanimously, "Even thirty times would be fine!"

Although he had long guessed that the bigshot client would have a Magic Wand, hearing that he was fully equipped with both a Magic Wand and Casting Gloves still filled him with envy.

’Back in my day, it took me a full six years to get a decent set of a Magic Wand and gloves. This kid probably did it in less than three.’

Sahan reined in his envy and said in a serious tone, "You should cast the Air Shield Technique first, then I’ll send a Wind Blade over."

This was a well-intentioned suggestion. If the big client was a bit slow with his Casting, wouldn’t that cause trouble?

But Mo Ning shook his head. "It’s fine. My Casting speed is quite fast. Besides, on a battlefield, the enemy won’t wait for me to cast my Witchcraft first."

Sahan hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed. "No problem!"

He then proposed a condition: "For the first cast, let’s maintain a distance of thirty meters. It’ll be safer."

This distance was the absolute limit for a First Level Apprentice.

Mo Ning wanted to say, "Twenty meters would be enough," but seeing the insistence in the other’s eyes, he nodded. "Alright."

Soon, they had put thirty meters between them.

From this distance, they both appeared as significantly smaller targets.

Sahan took a deep breath, deliberately lowering his Magic Power output, and shouted the Casting Spell: "Si—sa!"

At the same time, he swung his right hand forcefully—the standard casting gesture that accompanied the Curse.

Both the Curse and the gesture were the most primitive versions, completely unoptimized.

WHOOSH—

A piercing shriek rang out.

The air instantly distorted, faintly forming a crescent shape that shot rapidly toward Mo Ning.

Sahan’s heart was in his throat, ready to interrupt the Witchcraft at any moment.

Ancient Witchcraft had severely limited control; once cast, there was no turning back.

Witchcraft from the Era of Divination, however, nearly all had an interrupt function. One simply had to disrupt the Witchcraft’s magic core from a distance.

But doing so came at a price—one’s Spiritual World would suffer a certain impact.

However, the Wind Blade had already flown halfway when Sahan noticed with horror that Mo Ning was still standing motionless, having made no move to cast.

He cursed inwardly, ’Damn it,’ and prepared to forcibly interrupt the Witchcraft.

At that same moment, Mo Ning uttered a single word: "La!"

This was a simplified Curse.

Only by deeply optimizing a Witchcraft Model to a certain degree could one streamline the Curse.

The benefits were self-evident—a shorter Curse meant faster Casting speed, allowing one to seize the initiative in battle.

Mo Ning made no casting gesture at all, yet the air in front of him began to twist into a strange vortex.

Eliminating the gesture was also a result of deep optimization.

BANG!

The Wind Blade slammed into the Air Shield.

The former instantly shattered, dissipating into a violent Gale that swept past Mo Ning, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The Air Shield merely rippled slightly but remained stable.

Sahan was dumbfounded.

A simplified Curse, no casting gesture, and an Air Shield that barely moved—these three things hit him with the force of a tidal wave.

Normally, the Wind Blade Technique was more powerful than the Air Shield Technique. When the two collided, it was highly likely that both would dissipate simultaneously.

Even if he had deliberately lowered his Magic Power output, the Air Shield shouldn’t have been so unaffected, right?

This undoubtedly meant the magic structure was exceptionally stable, a result of deep optimization—and not just any ordinary deep optimization either.

It was rare enough for a Second Level Apprentice to achieve any one of these feats, let alone all three at once.

But now, a First Level Apprentice had actually done it.

How could Sahan not be shocked?

"Mr. Sahan, perhaps you should use a bit more force. That way, I can test the limits of my Witchcraft."

Mo Ning had noticed the Wind Blade’s lack of power and offered a polite reminder.

Sahan swallowed hard.

Only a single thought remained in his mind: ’Is... is he really a First Level Apprentice?’

Sahan had initially approached this with a "fat sheep ready for the slaughter" mentality, but now his perspective had completely changed.

This was no fat sheep.

This was clearly a Genius Level talent!