Looking at the wooden stake in front of him, Lin Yu raised both hands to his chest and formed a hand seal.
After silently reciting Ignition Spell, he pointed one finger at the stake.
The next moment, a flame appeared on the stake's chest.
Watching the flame gradually die out, Lin Yu recalled what it had felt like to cast the spell.
Just as Lin Yu finished the seal and silently recited Ignition Spell, he felt something begin to flow through his body. That had to be mana.
Lin Yu could clearly feel the mana flowing toward the finger he had pointed at the stake.
The moment the mana flowed out of his fingertip, a flame appeared out of thin air on the stake's chest.
After trying Ignition Spell, Lin Yu prepared to test the other spells he had mastered.
Looking at the battered wooden stake, Lin Yu lowered his raised hand.
Ignoring the stake as it rapidly repaired itself, Lin Yu began comparing the spells to see which ones were most useful.
Lin Yu planned to choose one defensive spell, one movement spell, and one control spell, leaving the other two slots for attack magic.
First came survival. Lin Yu hadn't learned many spells, and only five fit the purpose: Hemostasis, Mana Protection, Emergency Healing, Mana Round Shield, and Armor Spell.
Lin Yu ruled out Armor Spell first. It cost 10 mana to strengthen his skin for three minutes, making it as tough as iron armor. That sounded powerful, but on closer thought, something was wrong. With only seven HP, did he really want to take damage with his own body?
Next, Lin Yu ruled out Emergency Healing and Hemostasis for much the same reason as Armor Spell. He had too little HP. If he got hit, he would probably be killed instantly, leaving him no chance to recover.
That left Mana Protection and Mana Round Shield. Mana Round Shield cost 30 mana to create a round shield that surrounded the body, lasted three minutes, and had shield points equal to spell power × 0.5. Its cooldown was ten minutes.
Mana Protection, on the other hand, cost 60 mana to create a thin layer of mana over the entire body. It lasted three minutes and had shield points equal to spell power × 0.1. Its cooldown was ten minutes.
After giving it some careful thought, Lin Yu decided on Mana Protection.
The reason was simple. Mana Round Shield had the advantage of providing far more shield points than Mana Protection while costing only half as much, but the spell had a flaw Lin Yu couldn't ignore.
Mana Round Shield couldn't protect his entire body. It could only protect the parts covered by the round shield, meaning an enemy could attack Lin Yu directly as long as the attack went around it.
Mana Protection was different. Although it had fewer shield points and cost more, it had an advantage Lin Yu couldn't ignore: it could protect his entire body, blocking attacks no matter where they came from.
With his survival spell chosen, it was time to pick movement, control, and attack spells.
Lin Yu had already chosen his movement and control spells: Windwalk and Frost Cloud Spell.
[Windwalk Costs 10 mana to manipulate the wind and propel the body 10 meters in a specified direction. Cooldown: 30 seconds] [Frost Cloud Spell Costs 30 mana to create a cloud of frost in a specified direction. The cloud covers a 3×3×3 area and lasts 10 seconds. All creatures within it have their movement speed reduced by 50% (the higher the target's constitution, the weaker the effect). Cooldown: 1 minute]
Lin Yu chose Windwalk because it was already the most suitable of the spells he had learned. Spells like Jump Enhancement and Speed Enhancement were completely useless to him.
He chose Frost Cloud Spell because its area was large enough. The other control spells Lin Yu had learned were either slow to cast, required him to touch his opponent, or covered too small an area. Frost Cloud Spell was the ranged control spell with a large enough area that Lin Yu could find.
Choosing his attack spells took only a few minutes. Lin Yu picked Magic Missile and Flame Strike.
[Magic Missile Costs 5 mana to create a magic missile and fire it at extreme speed in a specified direction, dealing damage equal to spell power × 0.01 to the target hit. Cooldown: 5 seconds] [Flame Strike Costs 10 mana to unleash a jet of flame from the palm, dealing damage equal to spell power × 0.1 to all targets in a fan-shaped area extending 3 meters in front of the caster. Cooldown: 20 seconds]
One skill was for single targets and the other for groups. Perfect.
Seeing that only half his mana remained, Lin Yu sat down on the spot and began meditating. After a few minutes, his mana was completely restored.
Now that he had equipped his spells and topped off his mana, should he go out and bully some wild monsters?
Lin Yu looked at the sky and hesitated. He didn't think he would lose to wild monsters. What a joke. He was already level ten, and with a movement skill and a shield, how could he possibly lose to the monsters outside Newbie Village?
What worried Lin Yu was that it was pitch-black outside Newbie Village, and he wouldn't be able to find any monsters.
He was torn between going out to look now and waiting until daylight tomorrow.
"What am I afraid of? At worst, I'll waste a little time. I'll look for ten minutes and come back if I don't find anything."
Having made up his mind, Lin Yu swapped Frost Cloud Spell for Glimmer Illumination. With Glimmer Illumination, finding monsters should be easier. Once everything was ready, he flew straight into the sky.
After rising more than twenty meters above the ground, Lin Yu stopped and surveyed his surroundings, looking for the direction where he would be more likely to find wild monsters.
Grassland, grassland, forest, forest.
He didn't need to think about it. Finding wild monsters would definitely be easier on the grassland, and its open view would also make ambushes less likely.
After deciding which way to leave the village, Lin Yu began descending. He stopped when he was three meters above the ground. At that height, the light orb summoned by Glimmer Illumination could illuminate everything on the ground.
With all his preparations complete, Lin Yu used Glimmer Illumination to summon a light orb, then flew toward the village outskirts.
Before long, Lin Yu reached the boundary between Newbie Village and the wilderness.
Looking at the translucent membrane in front of him, Lin Yu flew straight through it.
The instant his body passed through the membrane, a rushing sound came from his right. A dark shape lunged at Lin Yu at extreme speed.
The moment he heard it, Lin Yu's expression changed. Without hesitation, he formed a seal with both hands and activated Mana Protection.
Lin Yu's reaction was fast, but it was no use. The moment Mana Protection activated, the dark shape pounced on him, pressing both claws against his body.
Its tremendous force slammed Lin Yu to the ground.
Only then did Lin Yu see what the dark shape was: a huge gray wolf.
The gray wolf's body was now pinning Lin Yu down, and its huge jaws snapped toward his throat.
As the gaping maw drew closer and closer, Lin Yu tried to cast a spell.
Only then did Lin Yu realize in despair that the gray wolf's body had pinned down both his hands. He couldn't form a seal to cast a spell at all.
Just then, the grass nearby suddenly parted. Two gray wolves sprang out and lunged straight at Lin Yu.
I'm done for.
That was Lin Yu's last thought before his HP dropped to zero. The instant his shield was depleted, the wild wolf emptied his HP bar with a single bite.