Chapter 35: Year-End Assessment (II)

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” A series of explosions swallowed the area where Professor Hodde was.
“Is the professor going to be okay?” Ravia was worried.
Glancing at the girl beside him, Jiang Zhe said in a low voice, “Not yet!”
“Ah, really ruthless, Thors!” A light laugh came from within the flames. Soon after, Professor Hodde stepped out of the fire, surrounded by a layer of blue flames.
“See?” Jiang Zhe said irritably.
Gazing enviously at the blue flames on the professor’s body, Ravia took a deep breath, raised her hands, and recited a spell. As she spoke, the flames beneath her feet grew larger and larger, turning into a sea of fire in just a few seconds.
“A fire-element amplification spell?” Professor Hodde nodded smilingly, then chuckled, “Thors, don’t let them outdo you!”
“It doesn’t matter!” Jiang Zhe shrugged. When he looked up, a wave of fire shot toward him. As he hurriedly dodged, he realized the professor across from him hadn’t cast any spell at all.
“What are you doing? It’s dangerous!”
“Can’t you take this seriously?”
“…” The professor across from him covered his forehead.
“You still have the mood to joke? Not bad!”
Suddenly, Professor Hodde’s gaze turned stern. At the same time, Jiang Zhe felt ripples in the magic energy around the professor. In an instant, a ball of blue flames exploded in front of Jiang Zhe and Ravia.
Jiang Zhe was stunned.
“This… this is…”
‘Your professor is Professor Hodde, right? He’s used this technique before, of course much faster than you…’
“No need to be surprised, Thors,” Professor Hodde said, pointing at the two of them with a smile. “Can’t you do it too?”
“What kind of spell is this?” Ravia asked in shock, recalling what had just happened.
Jiang Zhe shook his head and muttered, “It’s not a spell. It’s a technique…”
“A technique?”
“Yes. No spells needed. Gather fire elements from afar to form a fireball, compress it intensely, and instantly transform it into flames upon explosion…”
“How is that possible?” Ravia was shocked. In her shock, she quickly recited a spell to cast a minor fire-absorption spell for them both.

“Oh? Classmate Lavia has already mastered barrier techniques?” Professor Hod was somewhat surprised. Nodding in approval, he said, “Not bad, not bad!” Then he turned to Jiang Zhe and smiled, “Sos, don’t hold back!”
“Of course not!” Jiang Zhe gritted his teeth in frustration, took a deep breath, and his magical energy surged instantly, spreading around him. At the same time, one after another fireball appeared in the air…
“Nine, ten, eleven, twelve… It seems you’ve improved again, Sos!” The professor nodded cheerfully before suddenly raising his hand, causing all the fireballs to explode at once, releasing waves of blue flames.
“Sos, didn’t I tell you? On the battlefield, no fool would just watch you cast magic…” Before he could finish, the professor froze as he saw the girl across from him turning to scold her ‘teammate’.
“You idiot! Wasting magic for nothing…”
“Why panic?” Jiang Zhe interrupted Lavia, speaking in a low voice. “Didn’t you ask me to draw the professor’s attention?”
“That doesn’t mean wasting magic like this!”
“Don’t worry,” Jiang Zhe glanced at the girl beside him, frowned, and said to Professor Hod, “My speed of regaining magic energy is dozens of times that of ordinary people… The same goes for battles! The energy I used just now is nothing at all…”
“Dozens…?” Lavia had to admit that there were too many things shocking her today…
A recovery speed dozens of times faster than ordinary people? Even during battles?
How… is that possible?
Wait, no wonder his fire element energy was so strong…
Because he could use magic continuously for a long time…
There’s no doubt—this must be his talent!
But then again…
“Did you lie to me last time when you said your magic was exhausted?”
Jiang Zhe, who was concentrating, stumbled slightly and snapped, “What does it matter now? Why are you still concerned about that?”
“Hmph!” Realizing it was that guy who deliberately caused it, Lavia was upset. With a cold snort, she said, “Then go ahead and draw the professor’s attention as much as possible!”
“I don’t need you to tell me—I’m already doing it!”
Indeed, Jiang Zhe was already in action, causing quite a bit of trouble for Professor Hod.
If it were any other first-year student, Professor Hod wouldn’t have bothered at all. He could simply cast a defensive spell—what could he do even if he stood there and took the opponent’s magic head-on?

But Professor Hodd didn’t dare to confront the magic wielded by that little guy right in front of him. Although he couldn’t use that technique skillfully yet, he had at least mastered the power of a single fireball. That wasn’t a big deal, but the key was that the kid’s talent ensured he could cast such techniques or even multiple ones simultaneously. Even Professor Hodd found it somewhat overwhelming.

Even a great mage, with some resistance to magic, could still be injured by a third-level spell if caught off guard—after all, no matter how powerful a mage is, they’re still human, not gods.

Not to mention, that kid had already mastered element compression. A fireball created through element compression was already a third-level spell. If the compression was intense enough, its energy might even rival that of a fourth-level spell. One or two such fireballs might be manageable, but more… the consequences would be unimaginable.

That kid was truly a freak!

“Boom! Boom boom boom!”

Explosions rang out continuously in the arena. Almost every fireball Jiang Zhe cast was detonated by Professor Hodd, sometimes even before it took shape.

“So fast? Is it an instant-cast spell?” Looking at the sweat beading on the boy’s forehead, Lavia stared at Professor Hodd in surprise.

Seemingly hearing Lavia’s astonishment, Professor Hodd said with a hint of regret, “No, it’s just close to instant-cast…” He glanced at Jiang Zhe, who was starting to gasp for breath, and smiled. “Sos, can’t hold on anymore?”

“Hmph,” Jiang Zhe grunted twice, then suddenly remembered something and turned to Lavia. “Why are you just standing there dumbly?”

“W-Who’s standing dumbly?” Lavia, usually distracted, blushed for the first time and defended herself, “I’m just thinking of a strategy…”

“Then have you thought of one?”

“Of course! Hmph!” As soon as she finished speaking, two thick waves of fire surged from beneath her feet, resembling fire snakes or flying arrows, shooting downward at the professor.

“Sss!” The scorching flames pierced through the ground, turning the nearby area red-hot.

“What a good strategy!” Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes, making the girl blush again.

“Danger! Danger!” Professor Hodd said cheerfully. As he spoke, a sea of fire also ignited beneath his feet. The blue flames writhed as if alive, and soon, two flames separated and gradually took the shape of beasts.

“Enchanted transformation?” Jiang Zhe frowned.

“No, no, no, it’s just an illusion,” Professor Hod said, waving his finger. “I remember mentioning it in class…” As he spoke, surprise appeared in his eyes as he saw the flames at the girl’s feet gradually taking the shape of an animal.
“Bang!” A fireball flew straight at Professor Hod, but he paid it no mind, allowing it to hit him. After all, it was just a fireball emitted by the illusionary beast—a fire fox—at her feet, not as powerful as the fireballs created by Jiang Zhe. Professor Hod didn’t need to worry at all; the magic array absorbing fire on his body was sufficient for defense.
Had she already mastered enchanted illusions? Even if it was just the simplest fireball… Impressive!
“Roar!” In the direction pointed by Professor Hod’s finger, two flame beasts slowly crawled forward.
“Sos, illusion! I can’t control these two illusionary beasts!”
“Illusion…” Said so easily! Jiang Zhe scratched his head and said, “I can’t do that…”
“You! Then remember the spell…”
“Whoa!” At that moment, a fire storm erupted in front of Jiang Zhe and Lavia. The hot wind blew fiercely, pushing the two of them several steps back. At the same time, Professor Hod’s voice came through.
“Sos, spells alone won’t make you truly strong. Lavia, remember that too. Spells are just aids, just methods—they’re not necessary. Even if a spell is necessary, just a few words are enough. Magic doesn’t rely solely on spells! Sos, what’s the theory behind illusion magic? Think carefully about the essence of this magic…”
“The essence?”
“Never mind,” Professor Hod shook his head. “I’ll teach you after the year-end assessment. For now, focus on dealing with this flame beast. Don’t worry, it’s just an ordinary illusion. But then again…” As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the flame beast ahead. Without using any spells, the blue flames on the two flame beasts instantly doubled in intensity, especially their claws and teeth, which glowed blue, as if they were real.
“Roar!”
Oh no! Seeing the two flame beasts charge at them, Lavia felt something wasn’t right. She knew her strength lay in holding them off. Just by looking at the color of the flames, she could tell the damage wasn’t high. It was the guy beside her who focused on dealing damage… His flames had already turned almost yellow…
But the professor’s flames were blue…

In an instant, Ravia’s transformed beast, that little fox, was torn to pieces by the two Flame Beasts at first sight—when it came to fire magic, the difference in flame levels was fatal!
“Whoosh whoosh!”
Seven or eight waves of fire surged upward, shooting like arrows at the two Flame Beasts, but…
“Bang!”
The waves of fire were scattered, turning into flames that fell to the ground.
Oh no! Looking at the two fierce Flame Beasts, Ravia grew panicked and quickly muttered a few words. At the same time, the flames on the ground nearby immediately weakened and retreated beneath the surface, only to burst out again, spewing wave after wave of fire columns.
[Flame Surge]
“Bang!” One of the Flame Beasts was hit by three fist-sized fire columns at once, its enhancement magic shattered, and blue flames scattered everywhere.
“Not bad, not bad… but it seems it’s coming to an end…” Professor Hod shook his head, feeling both satisfied and disappointed. His right hand remained raised—not to control the two Flame Beasts, but to keep an eye on them, ensuring he could neutralize them before they harmed his two students…
That brat’s fireballs were already quite skilled, though still far from his expectations…
Ravia also used her fire wave technique very well, having mastered barriers and enchanted transformations—her level of learning was higher than that brat’s. But in terms of damage, she was still far behind him…
Still, they were only first-year students. Reaching this level was already remarkable. Take your time…
Transform… Hm?
Just as he was about to dissolve the transformed beast, Hod suddenly sensed something was wrong. Looking up, he saw towering flames rising where the two of them stood—over ten yards high, already reaching the edge of the barrier.
Was that just plain fire?
“Boom!” A massive fire column struck the ground in front of one of the Flame Beasts. But rather than a fire column, it looked more like the forelimb of some animal…
Although the flames were rather disorganized, such a massive amount of fire must have come from that brat who never knew how to cherish magic power…
But…
“You jerk! Is this what you call transformation? Trapping us all in flames—is this really transformation?”
“Even if it’s not transformation, just think of it as a defensive magic. If not for this magic earlier, those two Flame Beasts… Besides, look—body, limbs, head—where doesn’t it resemble transformation?”
“You! Fine, even if it’s transformation, then what exactly have you transformed into? It’s usually supposed to be a snake or something, right?”

“I hate snakes! Besides, didn’t you just transform into a fox just now?”
“You! That was a fire fox, okay? Fire foxes are inherently tied to the fire element. Transforming into a fire fox makes the transformed beast more agile and allows it to last longer—it’s clearly written in those monster encyclopedias… I even used enhancement magic for you, but what did you transform into? Would anyone use fire-based green magic to transform ‘that’?”
“Hm?” Hearing the noise in the distance, Professor Hod raised his head curiously and took a close look at the transformed beast, his eyes filled with confusion, bewilderment, and exasperation.
What is that?
A bear?
Aren’t bears tied to the earth element? Shouldn’t it be transformed using earth-based green magic?
A fire bear?
Hey!