Chapter 46: The Surprising Little Guys
At Riox Academy, perhaps only at night is it truly quiet, aside from the sound of the breeze rustling the branches. Occasionally, you can hear a few birds chirping; following the sound, you might spot some owls perched on tree trunks, their dark eyes scanning the academy like vigilant guardians, alert to any unusual activity.
Yet, as usual, the night was also extremely peaceful…
Of course, this applied only to the rest of the academy, not to the room deep in its basement…
While all the other students were lost in sweet dreams, three little guys were in trouble—serious trouble.
Due to Professor Hode’s deliberate arrangement, these three faced their most troublesome and formidable opponents yet.
Take Jiang Zhe, for example. What he was dealing with now was the extremely rare Water-type magical beast, the Illusory Water Monster—a creature that existed only in Lake Bibinis, and it was practically a nightmare for most Fire-type magicians.
Lake Bibinis was located in the southern part of the empire, not far from Allen’s hometown, Opereles, the empire’s most prosperous commercial city. Yet, the merchants of Opereles dared not approach that area. Surrounding Lake Bibinis was a dense, untamed forest teeming with terrifying beasts. There were even rumors that elves lived there.
As for the elves, they were by no means a friendly race to humans—they were proud, arrogant, and harbored hatred toward humans. Well, after all, humans had deceived them during the Golden Age and taken control of the richest Eastern Continent while they were fighting a losing battle against dwarves and orcs.
Of course, these were just rumors; at least no one had ever proven that elves actually lived there.
Besides elves, the most terrifying creature in Lake Bibinis was the Illusory Water Monster.
As for this monster, magicians had never been able to pinpoint its exact nature, as they still didn’t understand what kind of creature it really was. Was it an animal or a plant? Or should it be vaguely classified as a living being?
And what was its form? An aquatic creature? A terrestrial one? Or an amphibian?
Don’t think these questions are silly—they are all based on facts.
The Phantom Water Monster is indeed a very special and strange creature. It has no fixed shape; its pale blue body resembles liquid water, with its form changing constantly. In this regard, there is a creature in the Warcraft Encyclopedia that resembles it—a magical being created by alchemists called the Mucus Monster. This is a strange creature that lacks intelligence and simply devours metals, especially gold dust, which it adores the most. However, unlike the Mucus Monster, the Phantom Water Monster possesses a low level of intelligence. It prefers humid environments and hates sunlight, which makes it seem like an aquatic creature. Yet, incredibly, these creatures, which could be classified as aquatic, can survive outside of water… Of course, don’t mention that amphibians can do the same, because the Phantom Water Monsters I’m talking about have the ability to absorb water vapor directly from the atmosphere to sustain themselves—can other creatures do that? Of course, if it were just that, most fire mages wouldn’t fear this creature. What makes them fear it is its amazing ability to float in the air. As the name implies, the Phantom Water Monster can float above the water’s surface at any time and even move freely—what an incredible feat! Initially, mages were amazed by this creature because it defied the basic laws of the world. In their understanding, only birds and ghosts could do such things. But subsequent research proved that this creature doesn’t completely violate those laws. Mages discovered that the Phantom Water Monster has the ability to absorb and gather water vapor, concentrating it in the atmosphere to create a space filled with water elements. Of course, this doesn’t turn a place into a lake or anything; it merely makes the water vapor denser, enough for the Phantom Water Monster to move through that small area. As a result, the concentration of water elements in the surrounding atmosphere increases, leading to a relative decrease in fire elements. When fire mages encounter Phantom Water Monsters, they become very vulnerable and even unable to resist. But this is just one disadvantage. Another is the ability mentioned earlier—the Phantom Water Monster can absorb water directly from the atmosphere, further rendering fire mages powerless in the face of this strange creature.
We all know that although the suppression relationship between water and fire is determined by their respective energies, the fundamental rule that water suppresses fire remains unchanged. Some might think that when water and fire, with equal energies, collide, the only outcome is mutual destruction. But remember, while the fire disappears, the water does not—it merely changes form after absorbing the fire’s heat.
This is different from the energy theory applied in battles against magicians, at least in terms of specificity. To defeat the Illusory Water Monster, ordinary flames are far from sufficient. The Illusory Water Monster possesses splitting and regeneration abilities on par with those of the Mucus Monster. According to magicians’ research, it is actually a parasitic creature—its true body might be only the size of a thumb, with the outer layer being a shell formed by condensed water vapor. To defeat it, a one-shot kill is necessary, directly destroying that core-like entity. Ordinary flames simply cannot achieve this…
“Pop pop pop!”
“Boom boom!”
Jiang Zhe could no longer count how many fireballs the strange creature ahead had managed to withstand. Those fireballs, which would make even Allen cry out in pain, were utterly ineffective against this bizarre creature—at best, they would emit a hiss without even producing sparks.
Flame Flash seemed to cause some damage to the creature, but the problem was its speed—too fast, too agile. Even more astonishingly, despite being a tangible entity, it could float in the air like a ghost…
Frowning as he watched the Illusory Water Monster charge toward him, Jiang Zhe raised his hand. With a “pop,” a burst of fiery smoke erupted around the creature’s body.
“Well done!” Abel, who was in Dean Riox’s office, saw this through the crystal ball and spoke with surprised approval. “It was absolutely brilliant, Hod! You’re truly a genius as an apprentice… Having learned Flame Flash for just over two months, you’ve already reached such proficiency. I’ve never met a child this smart… And this kid has an exceptional sense of detecting enemies. Despite the Illusory Water Monster’s speed, he still managed to catch it… It’s a shame he hasn’t mastered the [Flash] spell yet; he wastes time dodging its attacks every time…”
“Hmph,” Professor Hod looked at Jiang Zhe, who was sweating profusely in the crystal ball, his eyes filled with pride and relief, yet he said insincerely, “Although his speed in catching his opponent is fast, the timing of his attacks and the intensity of his flames… this kid still has a long way to go!”
“You!” Abel gave Professor Hod a disdainful look and said jokingly, “Is that really your honest opinion? The kid can’t hear it anyway…”
Only then did Professor Hod realize that his apprentice couldn’t hear him. With a wry smile, he shook his head and said earnestly, “What I said isn’t wrong. This kid indeed still has a long way to go, but…” He paused, sighed slightly, stared intently at the crystal ball, and said with a mix of regret and relief, “But this is only temporary. Four years… no, with his outstanding talent, maybe just three years. In three years, he’ll truly master Flame Flash. He’ll go further than I ever could, beyond my imagination… I have that feeling…”
“Hod…” Seeming to notice the hidden disappointment in Professor Hod’s eyes, Abel murmured his name and changed the subject with a smile, “But then again, you’re a terrible mentor. This child could clearly master such a difficult spell as Flame Flash, yet you don’t teach him how to use teleportation in conjunction with it, leaving him in such a predicament. You must have seen it—many times, he had the chance to attack but had to dodge the attacks of the Illusory Water Monster. If he could master teleportation, even if he couldn’t defeat such a monster, it would be much better than his current situation, right?”
“You don’t understand,” Professor Hod shook his head, explaining with a wry smile as he listened to Abel’s criticism. “This child’s talent is the most terrifying I’ve ever seen. Although he can’t enter a state of meditation, he can restore his magic and stamina at any moment, even during battles. Can you imagine what it would be like when this child becomes a powerful mage in the future? With continuously replenished magic, he could exhaust any opponent!”
“Really… such a thing exists?” Abel covered his mouth in astonishment.
“But this isn’t what I want…” Professor Hod said in a low voice, staring at Jiang Zhe in the crystal ball. “A magician who abuses magic will never understand its true essence. I don’t want this child to become that way… The reason I refuse to teach him teleportation is that I’m afraid he’ll stop practicing Flare Leap diligently once he learns it. I’m afraid he’ll become proud and think there’s no need to keep practicing Flare Leap, because once he knows teleportation, it will be hard for anyone to attack him with magic, yet he can attack others with Flare Leap. Add to that his innate talent—among opponents of the same level, none will be a match for him… If that happens, things will get troublesome later on…”
“Hod is right,” said the old dean, smiling as he looked at Jiang Zhe in the crystal ball. “For a magician, failure isn’t terrifying; what’s terrifying is constant success, as it severely hinders their pursuit of higher levels. This is not only a pity for them personally but also for the world of magic… In my opinion, this kid is still young. While his obsession with victory isn’t yet strong, we should train him more and let him face more setbacks. The more talented a child is, the sooner they need to understand what failure feels like. Success after a thousand failures will drive them to work harder to reach higher levels. But if one failure comes after a thousand successes, their pride will be severely shaken. They might have had the chance to become a great magician, but now, they’ll likely remain at this level for life… However, Hod, as his mentor, you must strike the right balance and not crush his spirit too much. In my view, this child is truly outstanding!”
“Yes, Dean. But rest assured, though he may not seem like it on the surface, this brat has a very resilient and proud heart. Since I first started teaching him, I’ve never said a word of praise for him…”
“Hehe,” the old dean laughed and nodded. “Occasionally, it’s fine to give some praise to motivate the kids…”
“That’s not the case…” Professor Hod said with a wry smile, thinking to himself that this brat wasn’t an ordinary child—normal praise had no effect on him at all.
Just as Professor Hod was smiling wryly, Abel exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, the kid’s magic power has weakened…”
Professor Hod glanced instinctively at the crystal ball. After frowning at it a few times, he said reassuringly, “Don’t worry. As I said, this kid’s magic power rarely runs out. The weakening of the Flare’s power is due to the abilities of the Water Phantom, which causes an excessive concentration of water elements around it. This kid, Sos, hasn’t learned any support-type magic, which is also one of his weaknesses…”
Yet as soon as he finished speaking, Professor Hod froze. The excessive concentration of water vapor drove out the fire elements—something Jiang Zhe had also realized from his increasingly weak fireballs. But as Professor Hod said, Jiang Zhe hadn’t learned any fire support magic that could temporarily alter the distribution of elements like Ravia’s. He had originally thought it unnecessary, but now…
Despite his frustration, Jiang Zhe kept thinking of solutions until he finally came up with one. Under Professor Hod’s astonished gaze, Jiang Zhe waved his hand, and immediately, a dozen crimson vortices appeared around them. Along with Abel’s shocked cry, a dozen steaming fireballs appeared as well. But instead of using them to attack the Water Phantom, Jiang Zhe scattered them around. Then, explosions…
Use them, detonate them… Use them again, detonate them again…
While Abel was confused, the old dean took out his pipe from his mouth and nodded in approval. “Smart!”
“Yes, Dean. This kid always surprises me, really…” Professor Hod also nodded in approval.
As the fireballs in the area kept exploding, the flames spread throughout the entire battlefield, finally clearing Abel’s confusion. In Jiang Zhe’s words, it was using the opponent’s own tactics against them!
Since the Water Phantom could absorb moisture from the air to create a space filled with water elements to restrain itself, then all Jiang Zhe had to do was create a space filled with fire elements to do the same. More magic power? Jiang Zhe had never feared that!
Jiang Zhe’s method was precise and almost immediate. As the fire elements became more concentrated in that area, the Water Phantom’s mobility was severely restricted. After all, it had low intelligence. Since it knew how to avoid Jiang Zhe’s fireballs, it certainly wouldn’t recklessly charge into those burning flames…
What had once been a one-sided battle suddenly turned into a stalemate.
“Such a surprise,” the old dean said with a laugh, shaking his head as he looked at Professor Hod. “If things go on like this, as long as that little guy’s magic power isn’t exhausted, it will be very difficult for the Illusion Water Monster to win…”
“Hehe,” Professor Hod nodded awkwardly, saying sheepishly, “It’s only this little brat with extremely strong magic recovery ability who’s qualified to use such… such a crude method!”
“Giggle, I think it’s a pretty good method. As a magic apprentice, if he can defeat… ah, no, exhaust his opponent—especially an enemy like the Illusion Water Monster, a natural foe of fire mages—this child is truly remarkable!” Eber even spoke up in Jiang Zhe’s defense.
“A good method?” Professor Hod muttered. He had already figured out how to teach this little brat afterward and explain to him what true white flame was… Well, now things got complicated!
But Professor Hod didn’t know that Jiang Zhe was also feeling terrible right now.
Although he favored aggressive magic and advocated for offense, this wasn’t the kind of attack he had in mind!
Seeing the fireball, his once-powerful offensive weapon, now reduced to a means of increasing the density of fire elements, and having to compete with some bizarre creature to alter the balance between water and fire elements around them…
Worse still, that strange creature, despite having little magic power, could absorb water elements just like a mage. When would this tug-of-war ever end?
At least, this wasn’t the kind of battle Jiang Zhe wanted to face…
If yellow flames weren’t enough to defeat the opponent, then use a higher-level flame…
A higher-level flame…
Glancing at the strange creature floating in the air, glowing with a faint blue light not far away, Jiang Zhe sighed helplessly, sensing that the opponent seemed full of energy…
Sigh!
He hoped the path Allen and Scott were taking was the right one…
While fighting a bizarre creature, Jiang Zhe prayed silently.
All for the ancient magic history exam!
Meanwhile…
“All for the ancient magic history exam. Even if faced with difficulties, I, Allen, must never back down. But…” After saying these words solemnly, Allen raised his head and looked at the ‘enemy’ floating in the air, feeling a sense of powerlessness.
This ‘enemy,’ or rather, this kind of ‘enemy,’ Allen had never seen in person, but he had heard about them in the knight novels he had read before.
A ghost!
Unlike ordinary undead, phantoms are extremely rare forms of immortals. Legend has it that if a person dies with lingering regrets or attachments to the world, or with feelings of resentment, anger, or hatred, they may have the chance to remain in this world in another form after death—this is how so-called spirits and vengeful spirits came about. However, phantoms are different; although they share some similarities with spirits and vengeful spirits in terms of their nature as life-forms, they are not transformed from humans. Instead, they are demonic immortals that dwell in the abyss. The reason for adding “demonic” as a prefix is that a magician once proposed the hypothesis that phantoms are not ordinary immortals but rather creatures that emerge from demons after their death. Though this has no basis in fact, given where phantoms appear, this hypothesis might not be entirely wrong. Everyone knows that the abyss is the habitat of demons with dark attributes. If phantoms were normal immortals, they should appear in the Land of Death, a world filled with forces of decay and death. But according to fragmented information obtained from necromancers, there are only two types of creatures in the Land of Death: skeletons and undead. There is no third type. As for zombies and such instinct-driven creatures, they are merely the works of early necromancers and lack intelligence. In the Land of Death, however, advanced skeletons and undead are powerful beings with intelligence. We’ll leave that aside for now. Faced with such a tricky enemy as a phantom, Allen was completely at a loss. Speaking of which, Jiang Zhe was quite lucky—at least he could fight against the Illusory Water Monster. But Allen? Even with his large knight’s sword, he couldn’t inflict the slightest harm on a phantom, let alone fight bare-handed. This is because, like undead, phantoms ignore physical damage. The only difference is that, in addition to ignoring physical damage, phantoms are immune to magic with dark attributes, while undead are immune to mental magic. Looking at the phantom, which resembled mist before him, Allen felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn’t out of fear of such creatures, but rather because when he first arrived, Allen had a strange sensation—he felt as though his body had passed through something… well, it was an indescribable feeling that left him chilled to the bone and filled with dread.
Looking at the guy in front of him again, how could Allen not understand? He kept rubbing his body, feeling extremely uncomfortable. If the fundamental reason why undead are immune to mental magic is that they rely on mental magic to harm others, then the same is true for ghosts. Although they can’t touch Allen, they can use dark magic similar to curses to attack. And what about Allen? Faced with an enemy that ignores physical damage, how could Allen, who has only learned the enhancement spell, deal with this guy? “Poor little guy…” As Abel murmured to the crystal ball in front of him, Allen bent down and took out a dagger-like knife from his boot. If I’m not mistaken, that’s also one of a knight’s gear, usually used in emergencies when weapons get entangled in reins to cut them free, and occasionally to fight enemies, but rarely… Watching this little guy hold a knife and face the ghost, muttering “All for the history of ancient magic,” Abel couldn’t help but giggle. Meanwhile, the old dean and Professor Hodd couldn’t help but look embarrassed. It’s understandable—if Allen had pulled out a wand, a magic staff, or some other magical item, no one would have found it strange, after all, the opponent was a terrifying ghost. But the problem was that in the face of this crisis, this kid actually took out a knife from his boot? A very ordinary knife used by knights to cut reins? How could this kid still be a student at the magic academy… “He’s a really special little guy!” That was probably all the old dean could say. Yet, the knife didn’t give Allen even the slightest chance of winning. A few minutes later, after Allen’s knife pierced the ghost’s body several times without any effect, he was completely at a disadvantage. The ghost used dark magic to force him to flee in all directions, and his pitiful appearance made Abel giggle again. “It’s not working… This little guy is too funny…” Leaning on the long table with one hand and covering his chest with the other, Abel giggled, “What a poor little guy. If it were that child just now, he could probably take care of this ghost in no time.” “Are you referring to Thos?” Professor Hodd smiled slightly and shook his head. “Not in no time. Three or four minutes, maybe. If Thos used his highly lethal fireballs combined with Flare Dash, it might take even less time…”
“Well…” Aibel nodded and glanced at Allen, who was frantically fleeing around inside the crystal ball. Puzzled, he asked, “As a student of your Riox Academy, doesn’t this kid know a single spell?”
Professor Hodde was about to speak when he happened to see Allen being chased by a ghost all the way to a wooden door. A faint red glow emanated from Allen’s body, and with a loud crash, he smashed the door apart with a single punch.
Seeing Aibel’s surprised expression, Professor Hodde shrugged and said, “See? Just as I said, this kid studies enhancement magic. Professor Beman said he has a good talent in that area, but as for offensive magic, he really doesn’t know any…”
“That’s troublesome…” As he spoke, Aibel’s eyes shifted slightly, and he said regretfully, “Damn, there’s no way out ahead…”
Just as Aibel said, Allen had reached the end. He had thought about breaking through the rock wall in front of him, but after some thought, he gave up. First, breaking the rocks would make too much noise and attract the professors on night patrol. Second, this was underground—even if he broke through the wall, he still couldn’t escape.
Besides, as an ancient castle that had existed for hundreds of years, surely its walls were protected by defensive magic like barriers? He didn’t want to hurt his own hands in the process…
Thinking quickly, Allen forced himself to turn around and face his opponent.
To be honest, he had never encountered such a tough enemy. His two roommates were pretty strong, right? But when he fought against them, it was often a draw.
As for Thos, his fire magic was indeed powerful—his ability to cast a fireball took only two seconds, and his subsequent casting speed was terrifyingly fast. He had even learned Professor Hodde’s advanced magic, Flashflame. But even so, hadn’t he lost to Allen before?
As long as he stayed within ten yards of Thos, he could quickly decide the outcome. To defeat him, he absolutely couldn’t let Thos cast his fireball. At worst, he could endure it—although it would be painful if it hit his body. And they had agreed that Thos would never hit areas like the hair or face…
So, compared to Thors, Scott is more troublesome. Moreover, this guy never knows what humility is. Thors even promised not to damage hair or face, but this guy throws every curse at himself—binding, blindness, weakness. Last time, he even used aging to force himself to retaliate with a slash…
Wait…
Seemingly remembering something, Allen lowered his head to look at the knife in his hand, then at the ghost before him, and suddenly chuckled.
Ignoring physical attacks, right?
Chuckling, Allen held the knife in his right hand upside down, as a faint red glow flashed across his body. Then, with a swift swing of his right hand, a barely visible wave shot toward the ghost at incredible speed.
“A wind blade?” Abel stared in surprise at Professor Hode.
“That’s not a wind blade… it’s a slash, a combat technique used by warriors and knights. They swing their weapons at high speed using their strength to create shockwaves—a phenomenon known as wind cutting. This technique requires immense strength, and this kid’s strength even surpasses mine…”
“Giggle… A student from the Magic Academy, instead of using magic to fight enemies, relies on warrior and knight techniques?” Sitting at the long table with his head in his hands, Abel shook his head and said, “It seems Riox’s teaching methods aren’t entirely inferior…”
“Not necessarily,” the old dean said with a smile, winking. “Didn’t this kid just use the Strength of the Bull too? Without that enhancement magic, could his slashes have such power?” He stroked his gray beard, picked up his pipe from the table, and said with a chuckle, “Another unexpected kid. Now, it’s hard to tell who will win…”
“The dean is right. I thought the ghost would be enough to deal with this kid…” Professor Hode said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
“Isn’t that good?” Seeming to notice Professor Hode’s wry expression, the old dean said while holding his pipe, “It shows that they’re both striving toward the goals they desire. Only then will such kids not feel lost… If one day Riox produces a student who can serve as a commander and lead an army, that wouldn’t be bad either. We don’t need to stifle the kids’ dreams…” With a wave of his right hand, another scene appeared in the crystal ball.
There stood a child dressed in a blue magic robe, no older than twelve or thirteen, quietly gazing ahead with a sharp gaze, occasionally pushing his glasses up with his right hand. In front of him stood what could almost be called a giant—a steel golem over six or seven yards in size. Its exposed gears and the clanking sounds clearly identified it as such. An alchemical creation, the most common type among magic puppets: the steel golem. There’s little to explain about steel golems, as they are extremely common in human kingdoms, especially in areas where alchemy is practiced. Their primary role is to guard treasures or valuable relics, and some magicians use them to drive away unwanted civilians. Even the Sassanid palace had such metal puppets, mostly used to guard hidden rooms. In terms of combat capability, such steel golems might only be suitable for attacking fortresses or castles, as though powerful, their movements are too slow. Magicians skilled in fire, water, or even combined lightning magic can easily disrupt or destroy their internal structure. Knights or warriors can also easily deal with these metal puppets, provided they have a high-quality weapon and enough strength to break through their tough steel armor. In contrast, magicians of earth and wind magic feel somewhat helpless against such puppets, but it’s not them who are truly weak—it’s ordinary summoners, illusionists, and spellcasters… Spellcasters are those who use curses as their main attack method, supplemented by other magic. Although they belong to a branch of dark magicians, their combat styles differ greatly: when a dark magician wants to kill someone, they don’t necessarily need to be in front of that person, whereas a spellcaster fights in a manner similar to ordinary magicians. Scott was a true spellcaster, and it was precisely because of this that he encountered the most formidable enemy he had ever faced. The steel golem, a mere alchemical creation devoid of life or soul—despite modern puppet-making techniques being more precise than before—still had various weaknesses. Yet it was this very steel golem that completely overwhelmed Scott.
Scott’s strengths lie in illusions and curses as his main offensive methods, along with arcane magic learned from black magic defense courses. However, illusions only work on intelligent creatures, and steel puppets certainly fall outside that category. Curses usually only affect creatures with physical bodies, and again, steel puppets don’t qualify. That leaves only arcane magic, which is mostly used for defense or buying time. Spells like “Missile” would likely leave no mark even if fired at a steel puppet. As for defense… there’s actually no need for it at all. After all, the steel puppet in front of him isn’t some ordinary puppet—it’s a massive creature. If it threw a punch, Scott could easily dodge it even if he had to rest for a couple of seconds. Besides, with such destructive power, would Scott dare use arcane magic for defense? After all, those spells are designed to protect against magical damage, not physical attacks, and their defensive capabilities are far weaker. At least Allen could crack that protective barrier with a single punch. “This child is very cautious…” Abel murmured. The other two just acted recklessly, attacking first without thinking, but this child was still observing his opponent up to this point… Actually, Abel wasn’t entirely right. Scott wasn’t attacking because he had learned about steel puppets from various magic books—they were essentially excellent guards. In their simple “brains,” which were nothing more than integrated magic circuits, there were only two concepts: ordinary people and enemies. Once attacked, they would consider the attacker an enemy and launch a fierce assault… though such low-level puppets almost never managed to hit their targets… Still, Abel was right in one regard: Scott was indeed a very cautious person. So, when he saw the steel puppet up close, he didn’t attack rashly, knowing that almost all his magic would be ineffective against it. He observed, he thought. And just like that, over ten more minutes passed. Scott didn’t make any move except instinctively pushing his glasses up, which bored Abel. “This child is too dull. He won’t give up without even trying, right? That kid Allen earlier, when he encountered a ghost, still dared to strike a few times to see if it was truly immune to physical damage…”
“This shows he’s cautious—caution is a prerequisite for being a magician!” the old dean said softly, his gaze fixed on the crystal ball. Even he couldn’t help but feel curious. The other two kids had already surprised everyone, so what about this child?
That kid named Thos proved with his actions that even without mastering the highest level of White Flame, he could deal with the Illusion Water Monster, thanks to his exceptional innate talent…
That kid named Allen also proved with his actions that even without knowing a single offensive spell, clever use of physical attacks could still harm ghosts, again due to his innate abilities…
But this child was different from the other two. He didn’t possess any other outstanding talents. If there was one to mention, it might be his incredible memory…
But memory wouldn’t help him defeat the Steel Puppet. What would he do?
Hah!
Under the watchful eyes of the old dean and the others, Scott finally took action. He raised his hands, slightly pointing in the direction of the Steel Puppet not far away, and murmured a spell under his breath…
“A waste of effort,” Abel shook his head and sighed. “Curses have no effect on puppets!”
“Not necessarily,” the old dean said with a smile. Faced with Professor Hodde and Abel’s puzzled looks, he continued, “Most, well, almost all curses are ineffective against puppets. You’re right, Abel, but there’s one spell that’s an exception…”
[Curse: Aging]
As the old dean explained, ripples of magic surged from Scott’s body, proving he was constantly casting spells.
Meanwhile, the giant Steel Puppet was now covered in a dark mist. Strangely enough, despite being immune to curse magic, the Puppet emitted a harsh grinding sound all over its body.
“How is this possible?” Abel exclaimed in surprise. Not only her, but even Professor Hodde was taken aback.
Looking into the crystal ball, the iron plating of that steel puppet was rapidly corroding, with large patches of rust slowly falling off. The old dean shook his head slightly and said softly, “This child is also a rather surprising little guy. It’s clear he’s read many magic books about curses… Indeed, other curses have no effect on steel puppets, but the aging spell is different. Whether it’s a living or non-living object, as long as it’s not eternal, it can’t resist the corrosion caused by the passage of time… People age, and steel corrodes… This little guy did well—well, I should say all three of these little guys did well. They really surprised us…” As he spoke, the old dean winked at Professor Hodde and said cheerfully, “And tomorrow, it’s our turn to surprise them in return…”
“Ah? Dean, do you mean…?”
“Hehehe…”