Chapter 71: Leap

Cromwell was absolutely confident about winning this duel.

He was intoxicated with the unprecedented powerful feeling after breaking through to level-thirteen. He believed that no one in Jarrosus’ younger generation was his opponent—including Felic, who once made him feel fear.

The shame in Emerald Tower had to be cleansed with blood.

When he was answering Old Merlin, Cromwell began to plan in his heart how to kill his opponent as cruelly as possible. The humiliation through words alone was inadequate; it was not enough to wash away the shame on himself. The mage named Felic had to shed the last drop of his blood before he could die in endless pain and remorse!

“There are two pieces of equipment in the basement, in the third compartment on the right side of the door. I’ve told you before how to open it. Now go and take them out.”

“Yes, Father.”

Moments later, Cromwell returned to Old Merlin with a mage robe and a staff.

“These two things were meant to be given to you after you became a Magic Shooter. Little did I expect…” Old Merlin looked at the two pieces of equipment and remembered that Cromwell would never be able to progress in his life. He couldn’t help but feel dejected.

“It’s alright, Father. I am also a Magic Shooter now.”

“Mm.” Old Merlin nodded. He stretched his hand and picked up the staff. “Even I have never used this Aether Staff before. It has been passed down in the Merlin Family for more than ten generations and can be said to be the most powerful piece of equipment in the family hoard. Look at this magical crystal, what do you feel?”

“A powerful mana, at least level-fifteen or above.”

“Not bad…” Old Merlin nodded. There was a glimmer of approval in his eyes. “This is a level-eighteen magical crystal. In addition to increasing the magic power, it also contains one of the biggest secrets that only the heads of the Merlin Family in previous generations knew… This level-eighteen magical crystal can be activated by a special method, and when it is activated, you can get a chance to cast an overstepping spell of five levels…”

Cromwell hissed, sucking in a cold breath. What did an overstepping spell of five levels mean…? Take himself as an example—he was a level-thirteen Magic Shooter. If the magical crystal was activated, he would be able to cast a level-eighteen spell. Such a terrifying level of spell would even be able to defeat Old Merlin and Gerian!

“And this Soul Branding Robe…” Old Merlin put down the staff and picked up the gray mage robe. “It has magic resistance attributes. After wearing it, chances of you getting hurt by low-level spells will be much smaller. In addition, it also has space for 16 scrolls. Before the duel begins, I will prepare 16 scrolls for you.”

“I get it, Father.” Cromwell looked at the two pieces of equipment with some disregard. He felt that Old Merlin was making a mountain out of a molehill. Now that he was a level-thirteen Magic Shooter, he might even be able to fight the leaders of the other mage families. That Felic was at most level-eight or nine in strength. He did not need any equipment to aid him; he could easily crush Felic with his strength alone.

“Are you thinking I’m making a big deal of a fuss here?” How could Old Merlin not see what Cromwell was thinking with that vision of his? It made Old Merlin helpless. Although Cromwell had grown up a lot after the setback at the Emerald Tower, his supercilious character had never changed completely.

“Father, I feel—”

“Say no more.” Cromwell tried to justify himself, but Old Merlin waved his hand wearily. “There’s one thing I haven’t told you in order to avoid distracting you. That day, outside the Emerald Tower before Gerian came out, I tried to suppress Felic with my mental strength. Do you know what the result was?”

Cromwell looked at Old Merlin with surprise in his eyes.

“Ay…” Old Merlin sighed. “I wonder what kind of luck has struck the Guild of Magic to have such a genius with them. Not only is he a pharmacist, he also has an alarming magical talent. His mental strength is stronger than any mage’s I have ever seen. At that time, if I hadn’t suppressed him with the strength of an Archmage, I might have lost our Merlin Family’s face without waiting for Gerian to come out…”

“…” For all his arrogance, Cromwell was not really an idiot. Especially after breaking through to level-thirteen in magic, he understood better than before what a powerful mental strength meant to a mage…

“Don’t belittle your opponent. And don’t forget, he’s a pharmacist at the same time…” Old Merlin carefully handed the two pieces of equipment to Cromwell. “There are seven days left before the duel, and you still have a chance to complete the final ritual. If you can break through to level-fourteen in these seven days, the Merlin Family is really going to win this duel.”

“I get it, Father.” Cromwell nodded heavily. With the two pieces of equipment in his hands, he bowed himself out of the room and gently closed the door behind him.

…

Meanwhile, inside the Emerald Tower, Lin Li had once again fallen under the Arcane Missiles.

“Looks like you need a little luck…” Old Grimm, who won, had a look of relief on his face. If he hadn’t cast the spell too fast to trigger the bite of mana, he might have lost the combat.

The young man progressed too fast. Andoine was right, he was a real magic genius. This speed of improvement was enough to make any mage jealous. At the beginning, he could use the strength of a Magic Shooter to triumph over him easily. But these days, Lin Li had made a leap from day to day. He had even required luck to win on this day.

Every time he entered the hall, Old Grimm would feel that he was standing in front of a stranger.

That kind of feeling was too strange—they obviously looked the same, but the strength was completely different.

It was less than ten days from the beginning, when Lin Li had no ability to retaliate, to now, when he could exchange strikes with Old Grimm himself. Old Grimm lived a hundred years and had never seen such a monster before. It was as if he had been born to learn magic; in particular, his terrifying combat talent gave Old Grimm chills whenever he thought about it.