B-rank permit

Makarov took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the shock churning inside him.

As an elder and the master of a guild, he absolutely could not show weakness in front of a youngster, much less let the boy grow smug over a momentary achievement.

Makarov cleared his throat and strode over to Jiang Bai on his short legs. He deliberately assumed a stern expression and spoke in the tone of an elder instructing a junior.

"Ahem. Boy, you've got some skill, I suppose."

With his hands behind his back, the old man circled Jiang Bai once, his sharp gaze sweeping over the boy's frail frame.

"You managed to withstand three of my attacks. That defensive magic of yours does have its merits. I suppose I can give you a pass."

The onlookers who had been listening with pricked ears nearly fell flat on their faces.

"You call that a pass? If the master had hit me with those three attacks, I'd have spent more than half a year laid up at Granny Porlyusica's! The old man's absolutely refusing to admit it!"

Macao grumbled furiously under his breath.

Wakaba nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Shh, keep it down. You want the master to silence you? Still, Jiang Bai's strength really is unfathomable. Who in the guild would dare mess with him now?"

Makarov paid no attention to the whispers around him. A shrewd gleam flashed in his little eyes.

He stopped and fixed Jiang Bai's face with an intense gaze.

"Boy, your defensive magic is impressive. But I should remind you about that Space Cutting spell you learned from the library. You should know this too."

Makarov's tone grew serious.

"That magic might work wonders for clearing out small fry, but against a truly powerful opponent, they could simply use greater magic power to disperse your attack. To put it bluntly, it's all flash and no substance. It's not worth showing off."

Jiang Bai looked at the little old man trying so hard to act profound and was delighted. Of course he knew Space Cutting's limitations. He had intended to use it to mow down weak enemies in the first place.

On the surface, however, he held back his laughter, put on the appearance of someone taking a lesson to heart, and nodded gently.

"Thank you for the guidance, sir. I'll take it to heart."

Seeing Jiang Bai's humble attitude, Makarov stroked his beard in satisfaction.

Hmm, this boy can be taught.

He has monstrous talent and a calm, modest temperament. That's the kind of person who can carry the guild's banner in the future!

"Very good. Since your defense is unparalleled and you have a steady mindset, I won't be an unreasonable old fossil."

Makarov spun around to face the assembled guild members and raised his voice.

"Starting today, I'm granting Jiang Bai special permission to take guild jobs!"

Before the crowd could cheer, the old man immediately dropped another bombshell.

"Moreover, with the tortoise shell you've shown us, ordinary C- or D-rank jobs won't do much to train you anymore."

Makarov held up two fingers, his expression deadly serious.

"You can freely take any B-rank jobs or below!"

The words sent the crowd outside the guild into an uproar.

"B-rank jobs?! Master, have you lost your mind? Plenty of veteran mages only dare take those jobs in teams! How old is this kid?!" Macao shrieked in his raspy voice.

Wakaba looked as though he'd seen a ghost, the fingers holding his cigarette trembling. "Yeah, master, what if he runs into an opponent whose magic counters his on a B-rank job? The kid barely has any ways to attack. He might not even be able to get away!"

Listening to the objections around him, Makarov gave a self-assured snort.

"What do you idiots know? I wasn't serious, but I could still tell that this boy's defensive magic is nearly impossible to break! As long as he has enough magic power, he could stand there and let an S-Class Mage attack him for three days and three nights, and they still might not break through! What could go wrong on a B-rank job?"

His words shocked everyone once more.

That was right!

Even the master had admitted that the boy's defense was "nearly impossible to break." What could ordinary magic beasts or dark mages out there possibly do to him?

His attack power might be lousy, but he was practically an invincible bulldozer that couldn't be defeated!

Seeing the crowd's attitude shift once again, Makarov smiled inwardly, then changed the subject, a hint of teasing entering his voice.

"Besides, none of you can match this boy when it comes to running away."

"No way, master. We're seasoned veterans."

"Hmph. This boy can use Space Transfer. Which of you wants to race him?"

"Space Magic is so convenient. Damn it," Wakaba and Macao said enviously.

"But then again... boy, keeping up magic that ridiculous must consume a terrifying amount of magic power, doesn't it?"

The old man's gaze pierced through Jiang Bai's facade of calm like a pair of sharp knives.

"If I'm not mistaken... you don't have a drop of magic power left, do you?"

Everyone looked closely and saw that Jiang Bai's forehead was indeed covered in fine beads of sweat, and his face was somewhat pale.

Seeing that, Jiang Bai stopped putting on a brave front. He let out a long breath, plopped down on the ground, and began panting.

"Whew... you caught me after all, sir."

Jiang Bai wiped away his sweat and grinned. There was no embarrassment at being found out in his smile, only the composure of someone whose plan had succeeded.

"That's right. Maintaining this magic constantly consumes magic power, and I'm running on empty now. But I didn't take those hits for nothing. I achieved what I came for."

What Jiang Bai did not say was that he had exhausted his magic power because he wanted to test exactly how long he could maintain Limitless.

He could have canceled Limitless partway through to recover his magic power.

Now Jiang Bai had a rough idea: he could only maintain it continuously for two minutes.

But if he canceled it briefly in between, that time would be greatly extended. Judging by his recovery speed, with proper management, he could even extend it indefinitely.

Wakaba tossed aside his half-smoked cigarette, stamped out the ember, and hurried over to Jiang Bai in a few quick strides before squatting down beside him.

Not to be outdone, Macao shoved aside several young mages in his way and forced himself into the innermost circle, craning his neck to stare at the boy, who was still panting.

The other guild members crowded around too, like cats drawn by the smell of fish, surrounding Jiang Bai so tightly that no one could get through.

Wakaba reached out with a somewhat rough finger and cautiously poked Jiang Bai's shoulder. He felt only the softness of the fabric and the boy's body heat, not the strange invisible barrier from before.

Still unconvinced, he pressed harder and squeezed Jiang Bai's arm.

Jiang Bai grimaced in pain, slapped Wakaba's large hand away, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Mister, I don't have a single drop of magic power left. If you keep squeezing, I'll have to go back and lie down at Granny Porlyusica's again."

The crowd burst into laughter, but the curiosity in their eyes only burned brighter.

Macao eagerly leaned forward, braced his hands on his knees, and fired off questions.

"Jiang Bai, what kind of ridiculous magic did you come up with?"

"Even though the master didn't use his full strength with those punches, they would've done some damage to a veteran mage who specialized in defensive magic!"

"(There'll be two more chapters tonight. Those of you who have time, please help out by watching a free ad. If you don't have time, please tap the button to urge more updates. Thanks!)"