At the entrance to the burrow, a magic-powered bouncy rabbit poked out its tender pink nose and sniffed. Just as he was about to hop out to forage, a fierce gust swept past his face, and darkness fell before his eyes.
When that darkness passed, all that remained was a huge bear paw print and a somewhat crimson mixture of dirt and wood.
Chen Cheng inwardly praised his own foresight to the skies. The Magic Rune Corridor he had researched earlier had finally paid off as it should.
The Variable Magic structure formed by engraving identical Magic Rune Corridors within his body had already proven its feasibility during the recent chase.
He could use Minor Speed Spell to accelerate himself while also seizing the right moments to fire flame bullets at the Earth Tyrant Bear behind him, slowing its pursuit.
The only problem was that the process consumed quite a bit of Magic Energy. He also dared not absorb Magic Energy from the outside world right now, so he could only replenish himself with the Magic Crystals Melinda and the others had distributed earlier.
Fortunately, Fini's share was also being kept with him, so there was still enough for these minor spells.
Chen Cheng also knew that, with his current strength, defeating this level-six ferocious beast was absolutely impossible. He could only use the forest terrain to run circles around the creature and wait for Melinda and the others to rescue him.
Behind him, the Earth Tyrant Bear mercilessly smashed through the great trees blocking its path, its bloodshot eyes fixed on Chen Cheng as it gave chase.
Its heart was filled both with fear of the Black Dragon's aura and excitement at pursuing Chen Cheng, who carried that aura.
In its eyes, Chen Cheng had become the representative of the Black Dragon that oppressed the Magic Beasts of Nanmu Forest. It eagerly wanted to catch up and tear the human before it to pieces.
Chen Cheng glanced back, then began calculating in his mind. Using the mistakes from several previous calculations as references, he once more combined the Magic Runes within his body.
He then examined the terrain ahead. Spotting a massive tree that even two people could not encircle with their arms, Chen Cheng took out a fresh Magic Crystal, swiftly drew out the Magic Energy inside, and immediately altered the small magic structure within his body.
At the instant he reached the tree and turned around it, Chen Cheng seized the opportunity and twisted around to face the pursuing Earth Tyrant Bear.
Seeing the fire elements gathering in Chen Cheng's hand, the enraged Earth Tyrant Bear relied on its instinct to dodge, turning its head away to protect its eyes.
The instant it turned its head, Chen Cheng caught the opening. Just as he had calculated, a flame bullet delayed by half a second shot forth and struck the Earth Tyrant Bear's left eye.
With a boom, an explosion rang out, followed by the Earth Tyrant Bear's roar. Chen Cheng had already altered his magic structure again and resumed his mad sprint.
Chen Cheng tossed aside the Magic Crystal whose Magic Energy had been exhausted. He could confirm that the strike had injured the giant bear's left eye.
Once the smoke from the explosion cleared, hot blood could be seen gushing from Big Bear's left eye socket.
Bears already had poor eyesight to begin with. Having lost one eye, the Earth Tyrant Bear's vision became even worse.
Its vision was now far blurrier, which only further provoked the beast's ferocity.
Then the creature reared up on its hind legs and slammed both forepaws heavily against the ground. Chen Cheng, who had not yet run more than a dozen meters away, finally understood why it was called an Earth Tyrant Bear.
That single strike created a fissure over ten meters long and half a meter wide in the ground.
Wherever the crack passed, the enormous boulders and trees blocking its way exploded into fragments.
Luckily, Chen Cheng had fled immediately after attacking. Otherwise, that blow would have left him dead as a doornail.
Feeling the tremors beneath his feet, Chen Cheng's heart shuddered. He had anticipated this situation long ago, which was why he had gone to every possible length to weaken the bear's already poor vision further. Otherwise, if such a ferocious beast truly used its magic skills, then a tiny Bronze Mage like him would undoubtedly be doomed.
Chen Cheng then changed the way he fled, shifting from running straight ahead to moving along an S-shaped route, using this method to evade the attacks of the poorly sighted Earth Tyrant Bear.
Chen Cheng's idea was good, but a level-six Magic Beast was still a level-six Magic Beast. To defeat one when facing humans, the human had to be at least two levels above it.
Their power was not merely reflected in their formidable bodies, but also in the various innate magic spells they could cast without chanting.
Just as Chen Cheng intended to use this trick to keep Big Bear occupied, the Earth Tyrant Bear seemed to have grown tired of being toyed with by him and directly used its innate magic: Earth Spike Prison.
Although Chen Cheng had continuously widened the distance between them while moving in an S-shape, he was ultimately trapped within the Earth Spike Prison that erupted from underground.
Looking at the Earth Tyrant Bear charging toward him with blood all over its face and its maw wide open, Chen Cheng's back was already drenched with sweat.
The magic structure within his body was undergoing its final transformation. This was the trump card he had reserved for himself.
Though this trump card might have meant little to Gold Mages like Melinda and the others, to a Bronze Mage apprentice like him, it was his final life-saving card.
The transformation of the magic structure was complete, and the Magic Rune Corridors engraved within his body were nearly all exhausted.
At the same time, the instant the trump-card Magic Runes in his body fully took shape, he could no longer restrain their attraction toward external Magic Energy. Like a gigantic whale drawing in water, his body madly absorbed Magic Energy from the surroundings.
Crackling sounds rang out throughout Chen Cheng's entire body.
Chen Cheng knew what those sounds meant. They signified Magic Energy overload, the same warning usually heard from those whose Magic Rune Corridor engravings had failed and whose bodies had burst apart from accumulated Magic Energy.
Chen Cheng's body swelled like a balloon being rapidly inflated. Countless capillaries inside him could no longer withstand the powerful Magic Energy and began to rupture, blood seeping through his pores and covering the surface of his body.
At that moment, he looked like a human-shaped balloon dyed red.
Feeling the magic surge into his body in an instant, looking at the fully illuminated engraved magic, and finally watching that gaping mouth rush toward him, Chen Cheng roared:
"Explosive Flame Technique."
In an instant, red light burst from Chen Cheng's entire body. The radiance stabbed painfully into the Earth Tyrant Bear's remaining good eye.
The lights assembled before Chen Cheng into an exquisite Fire Magic Array.
Then, an enormous fireball brimming with surging fire elements emerged directly from the array.
By then, the Earth Tyrant Bear was far too close to Chen Cheng. The magic Chen Cheng cast also differed from that of other mages, having no chanting process whatsoever.
Moreover, with its mouth already wide open, it had no time to close it and evade. It swallowed the entire huge fireball straight into its belly.
What followed was an earth-shaking explosion. The Earth Tyrant Bear, which had been charging at Chen Cheng with a fiendish expression and intent on tearing him apart, collapsed before him just like that.
After casting Explosive Flame Technique, Chen Cheng's body rapidly shriveled. The blood on his body's surface also quickly blackened in the high heat.
His entire body was pitch-black, and the scent of roasted meat could even be smelled from him. His clothes had turned to ash as well. Looking at the fallen Earth Tyrant Bear, Chen Cheng knew, just before collapsing unconscious, that his experiment had succeeded once again.
However, his Life Rule had also become extremely weak. If he could not receive treatment quickly, he likely did not have long to live.
Meanwhile, within the forest, Melinda and Isabel had already learned what had happened. They were recalling the students who had gone out while searching for Chen Cheng's whereabouts.
When they sensed the powerful fire elements leaking from the Explosive Flame Technique, which could not yet be controlled freely, Melinda and Isabel immediately rushed in the direction from which they sensed it.
As the two women drew near, they saw fallen, shattered trees and cracked earth. The moment they saw the extent of the destruction, they knew they were nearing the site of the incident.
When they saw Chen Cheng lying atop the dead Big Bear, especially his shriveled, charred body and his thread-of-life-like breath, the two women knew this was no simple matter.
Arriving at Chen Cheng's side, Melinda immediately cast Advanced Healing Spell on him. Accompanied by a green light, a healing magic array appeared amid Melinda's chant. Surging healing magic poured into Chen Cheng's body, which was on the verge of withering away, and fresh skin quickly began to grow over his charred flesh under the healing magic.
At the same time, his Life Rule, which had nearly been extinguished, stabilized under the Advanced Healing Spell and slowly began to recover.
Seeing that Melinda had stabilized Chen Cheng's condition, Isabel began examining the Earth Tyrant Bear Chen Cheng had slain.
When she turned over the bear's corpse, she saw the enormous bloody hole blasted through the Earth Tyrant Bear's abdomen, along with the scent of roasted meat.
Sensing the pure aura of fire magic lingering on it, Isabel could confirm that the Earth Tyrant Bear had died from the fire magic she had sensed earlier.
After finishing her inspection, Isabel looked toward the unconscious Chen Cheng lying in Melinda's arms. When Melinda saw her looking over, her brows rose coldly, and she gripped her magic staff once more.
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