After skilfully completing the looting, Ye Dui’s team continued heading towards the Heavenly Ladder at the centre of the trial. Along the way, Ye Dui tallied their gains this time. He also discovered some new rules. After using magic scrolls, a certain amount of residual magic would accumulate in Ye Dui’s magic guide book. However, the magic in this world seemed somewhat special. Whether it entered the magic guide book or a swordsman’s body, if not used promptly, it would gradually dissipate.
“Although the magic guide book has left the body, it still maintains a mysterious connection with it. So the magic inside the magic guide book cannot last long. Fortunately, magic constructs seem unrestricted. Once magic scrolls are released into the modified firearms and turned into bullets, the magic no longer decreases. But magic firearms have an upper limit on bullet quantity!” Ye Dui discussed these related rules with his companions.
“Eh?” Siles, who was looting, suddenly discovered something. She happily walked over to Ye Dui carrying a magic staff. “There is an intermediate magic staff here.”
“Really?” Ye Dui looked at Siles strangely. Magic staves were scarce resources here. They had not found any while searching ruined houses. During looting, they had found five low-level magic staves. For Ye Dui and Grimm, who came from magus backgrounds, using magic staves did not seem convenient.
“The intermediate magic staff seems different from the low-level ones…” Siles said. She took out a magic scroll, tore it open, and let the pale green magic mist merge into the staff. Then she raised the staff high. After pondering for a moment, a light boom sounded. The top of the staff burst with blue light. A black arrow shot through the air!
Boom. The arrow struck a large tree to the side. The tree snapped in half immediately. Black flames ignited at the break point and instantly reduced the entire tree to ashes.
Ye Dui and the others looked at Siles in some surprise.
The intermediate magic staff was this powerful?
“This is a spell from my magic guide book, the intermediate black fire attack spell [Arrow of Black Fire].” Siles looked somewhat tired and breathed lightly. Her eyes shone brightly. “Low-level magic staves are single-attribute only. But intermediate magic staves can be all-attribute. Releasing spells also seems much easier. When I released this spell exclusive to my magic guide book, I did not even use my magic guide book. I just imagined the feeling of releasing it through the magic guide book, and the spell activated!”
“Can it work like that? So as long as we have high-grade magic staves, all my powerful spells can be cast?” Ye Dui’s eyes lit up. He quickly took the staff and began experimenting by infusing a magic scroll.
He first tried an advanced lightning attack spell [Breath of Lightning]. But even though he imagined the feeling of casting it, nothing activated.
“Could intermediate magic staves only cast intermediate or lower spells and not advanced ones?” Ye Dui pondered. He switched to an intermediate lightning attack spell [Staff of Thunder]. This time too, he could not cast it. Yet he had the feeling that he could cast this spell. He just seemed to lack some kind of mental control ability to activate it smoothly.
Was this magic staff attuned to black fire magic?
So Ye Dui tried several black fire spells. The results were still unsuccessful.
Ye Dui handed the magic staff to Grimm. Grimm also tried several spells in a row. He found he could not proficiently cast spatial spells he was already very familiar with.
But for Siles, it seemed she could easily master using the magic staff.
“This must be because Siles originally used a dark magic guide book. Dark magic guide books are not awakened by magi themselves. They are somewhat similar to magic staves and do not have a close connection with the magus. Siles was already accustomed to casting spells without a close link between herself and the magic guide book. That is why she can now use the magic staff proficiently.” Ye Dui quickly grasped the key point. After a pause, he looked at the magic staff in his hand and said, “This… is the magic of mages.”
Mages were the name for those who controlled magic power in the gods’ era. They were completely different from modern magi. Mages could cast magic without the assistance of a magic guide book. Of course, in the early stages, they still needed a magic staff’s help. The Divine Sin Continent had no Tower of Magic Books. But it seemed the ancient mage inheritance had been passed down.
Using a magic staff to cast magic. This was the true mage!
“Correct. Apart from issues with internal magic power, Siles is now exactly like a mage from the gods’ era.” Selti, held in Shalome’s arms, confirmed Ye Dui’s guess.
“Miss Selti, do you know about mage power?” Siles immediately became excited. All along, she had seemed somewhat useless in Ye Dui’s team. But now she had discovered her role. Becoming a mage seemed to offer her the greatest improvement in the Divine Sin Continent.
Selti immediately laughed. “The magic emperor who invented magic was my younger brother whom I raised. No one understands magic better than I do. I can teach you [Dragon Language]. That is the dragon language that lets humans control magic elements. It will allow you to control mage power even more proficiently!”
So, following Lesa’s change to streamer, Siles officially changed class to mage.
Ye Dui’s group continued walking towards the Heavenly Ladder.
Along the way, they encountered two more waves of hunters attempting to ambush them. But Ye Dui’s group, now familiar with the rules here, resolved them without danger. The only injury was to Guni. She had accidentally crashed her motorcycle into a tree while starting off, causing a fractured arm. A low-level healing scroll fixed it immediately.
Ye Dui did not bother remembering their kill count. But in the taverns of the central city, the drinkers had already learned through the Windless City believer’s perception. Ye Dui’s group’s kill count had now reached twenty-five!
Even in other trials and battlefields, killing so many was already quite impressive. Let alone Ye Dui’s group being genuine newcomers?
Messi and the others from Kane City were now stiff and speechless. Kas, however, drank his ale with great satisfaction. He had known Ye Dui’s group would not disappoint him!
“Do not get smug. Mad Beast Bien from Windless City has now detected their trail. The entire team is waiting on the small path near the Heavenly Ladder ruins. They will meet soon. Those newcomers are about to die!” Messi said coldly. Just now on the light screen, a mage from Windless City’s team had used several detection scrolls. They had detected nearby movements, found Ye Dui’s group’s trail, and gone to wait on the inevitable path.
“Useless. Mad Beast Bien definitely cannot beat Ye Dui’s group!” Kas said confidently. His eyes fixed firmly on the light screen.
“Hmph. We will see!”
On the light screen, the Windless City team shown had twelve people in total. It seemed Windless City’s mayor valued Mad Beast Bien greatly. He had specially sent eleven others to form a team with Bien for protection. Every member of the team was a powerful hunter. At that moment, on the desolate road, a strange buzzing sound arose. They had heard similar sounds before. It was the noise from the steel beasts. Those were the mounts Ye Dui’s group had somehow found.
The drinkers in the tavern immediately became excited.
“They are here!”
…
In the fragment world of the initial trial, Ye Dui’s convoy also spotted the Windless City team blocking the road ahead. Though Ye Dui really wanted to just run them over, he considered that most of his team still lacked shooting experience. More practice would be good. So he stopped the vehicles dozens of metres away. He parked the Wrangler sideways across the road. This way, the Wrangler itself could serve as cover. This was a technique.
He climbed out of the car and said to his companions, “Everyone, prepare for battle.”
“Ye Dui, they do not seem to be rushing to attack.” Debbie held the heavy Gatling machine gun. She rested it on the car’s front hood and said strangely.
Ye Dui had also noticed this. The Windless City team indeed had no intention of attacking. A tall young man even walked out from among them. He carried dual blades in both hands and looked incredibly ferocious. That was Mad Beast Bien.
He swung his dual blades and pointed at Ye Dui’s group as he shouted, “Come out! One-on-one!”
“Eh?” This made Ye Dui and the others all stunned. This guy wanted a one-on-one duel?
“Could this be some unwritten rule in the trial?” Ye Dui held his chin in thought. “Mm. We are new here. Breaking the rules would not be good…” He made up his mind. “You all cover me. Grimm, give me that shotgun in your hand. I will go duel him.”
Grimm reluctantly swapped his shotgun for Ye Dui’s submachine gun. He muttered softly, “Guild leader, I feel this one-on-one is unfair… As you would say, we are cheating now.”
“Shut up! We cheat with strength. Why call it unfair!” Ye Dui righteously grabbed the shotgun and walked forward.
Mad Beast Bien saw Ye Dui approaching. He roared furiously a few times and walked towards Ye Dui as well.
“Young Master Bien, it is better not to approach rashly…” One companion hurriedly warned.
“Shut up! I know my limits. You lot, do not interfere. I will handle them personally! This trial is my first combat trial. I will make everyone understand Bien’s power. I am Windless City’s glory!” Mad Beast Bien roared in his hoarse voice. He truly seemed like a mad beast. His speech was not even coherent.
The other members of Windless City’s team saw this and immediately dared not speak further.
The distance between Bien and Ye Dui grew closer.
The Windless City believer swallowed nervously. Then she commentated, “Mad Beast Bien is finally going to show his terrifying strength. In Windless City, everyone knows that anyone who enters within two metres of Mad Beast Bien will have their life and death completely in Bien’s hands. Starting today, the whole world will know this…”
In the central city tavern, all the drinkers also grew tense.
Kas gripped his mug tightly. He finally saw Ye Dui’s figure properly, along with Grimm, Lesa, Guni, and Siles… It was them. They had come to save Stan Town!
“Within two metres of Mad Beast Bien, no one can control their own life and death!” Messi said through gritted teeth. His voice carried a trace of grim laughter, as if using these words to comfort himself. “Those newcomers are dead for sure!”
As he spoke, the distance between Mad Beast Bien and Ye Dui grew ever closer.
Four metres, three metres, two and a half metres, two metres one…
Mad Beast Bien let out a terrifying roar. His hands began swinging the dual blades. Blade shadows overlapped. The sound of air being cut whistled. Powerful pressure rushed forward. Like a frenzied beast about to pounce on its prey. Bien opened his eyes wide. He bared his yellowish teeth. His youthful face now looked extremely vicious. In his eyes, Ye Dui was already a dead man.
Ye Dui was about to enter his forbidden two-metre domain!
Then…
Ye Dui raised the shotgun in his hand.
Bang!
Mad Beast Bien fell instantly.
Everyone: “…”
