Combination Magic, Bad News

Being able to cast one-star spells without side effects is a distinguishing characteristic of an Elementary Mage, just as a Mage Apprentice can cast half-star spells without side effects.

However, this alone is far from enough to qualify as an Elementary Mage.

Don't forget, combat is merely a secondary means for mages.

Being able to cast more destructive spells, no matter how exaggerated the mana, means nothing. An alchemy bomb can easily achieve destructive power that a mage cannot, but are they mages?

Evaluating a mage truly depends on their understanding, familiarity, and innovation regarding magic.

The threshold from Spell Apprentice to Elementary Mage belongs to the low-level stages of "cognition," "learning," and "mastery."

It's like an excellent student who can solve advanced math problems; it doesn't mean they can be a teacher.

Therefore, the criteria that determine whether someone is a "Mage Apprentice" or an "Elementary Mage," besides mana and knowledge, also include "application"!

That is to say, Combination Magic.

By reweaving and rearranging two or more spells with similar commonalities or opposing interactions, one can form their desired semi-innovative magic.

Flexibly "applying" the spell knowledge one has "mastered" is what truly earns one the title of Mage, at the Elementary level.

The mystery and grandeur of mages are thus made complete.

No one knows what kind of brilliance the same spell might unleash in different individuals.

"Blood Plague Raven" is a Combination Magic, originating from "Soul Magic: Soul Devourer Bug," "Curse Magic: Soul Stealing Black Crow," and Lowett's very familiar self-created "Flesh Magic: Crimson Fury."

Through the Soul Devourer Bug, the life force of the target, scattered by Crimson Fury, is made to inhabit the target's body. Via the spell circuits of the Soul Stealing Black Crow, it forms into bird eggs, using life force as nourishment to hatch rapidly.

The three are blended, circumventing each other's drawbacks.

Allowing flesh to blossom into a flock of ravens flying through the sky!

These ravens are real, creatures that Navy soldiers exchanged their own flesh and blood for through "Equivalent Exchange."

Even their taste when roasted is no different from ordinary ravens...

Watching the flock of ravens slowly circling in the sky, outside the bay, behind a reef jutting out of the sea, Kuroobi swallowed.

What kind of terrifying power is this?!

His eyes held an indelible shock.

Even if he was confident he could kill all these Navy soldiers himself, he absolutely couldn't do it so effortlessly.

He couldn't even understand what Lowett had done, and those Navy soldiers' chests burst open, spewing out black crows.

Black symbolizes ill omen, symbolizes death, but the bloody scene of ravens bursting from living people's chests under the setting sun carried a sense of sanctity and poignant beauty.

"Incomprehensible!"

Kuroobi couldn't help but touch his chest. The skin, bumped by the reef, felt a faint sting. This should have been a trivial matter, but it made his heart race, fearing that a flock of ravens would burst from his own belly.

"Bro... Brother Kuroobi..."

A Fishman subordinate poked his head out of the water, trembling, and called out.

"Shh, don't make a sound! We're going back now. We must tell Boss Arlong about this."

"No, I mean... he's looking at us."

Hiss...!!

Kuroobi's scalp instantly went numb. He turned his head, and a masked face, whose features he couldn't discern, was inches away.

"Such speed!"

His pupils constricted. This was at least a hundred meters from the beach, right?

Yet, only a few seconds had passed since he looked down and then up?

Was it three seconds?

His peripheral vision swept across the sea, and clear ripples spread across the water's surface.

This was the ocean, with no point of leverage, yet the opponent had crossed it with continuous, high-speed steps.

It wasn't just Lowett; the bodyguard beside him was also not simple!

"Prepare for battle!"

Under the opponent's cold gaze, Kuroobi's spine chilled, and he shouted loudly.

But the next second, Lowett's voice rang out.

"Calm down, I'm not here to kill you."

"Huh?"

Kuroobi looked down and couldn't help but gasp.

On the chest of this masked man, a human face was stretched taut against the skin. Although it hadn't completely emerged from that layer of flesh and blood, he still recognized that this face belonged to Lowett!

A bizarre ability!

Under the horrified gaze of several Fishmen, the blurry human face slowly spoke.

"Go back and tell Arlong that I will pay him a visit tomorrow. Tell him to prepare more traps to amuse me..."

"Of course!"

Before they could feel anger, Lowett continued, "The army of Branch 16 was annihilated here. Momonga will definitely send someone to investigate. If he's scared and runs away, you must give way to me when you see me in the future, understand?"

If Arlong runs away, he must give way to you in the future?

As Fishmen, giving way to humans at sea?

Kuroobi gasped.

Without a doubt, even if Momonga were standing in front of them right now, Arlong would never back down!

This wasn't a provocation; he was betting on the pride of his own Fishman race. Arlong, who looked down on humans, would absolutely not tolerate it.

"What a vicious guy!"

Kuroobi gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red.

In the Black Knight's hand, the camera Den Den Mushi with its orange-yellow shell and black lines had its eyes wide open, staring at him.

Stare----

"Heh, don't say that. Don't I seem unfazed?"

The human face slowly faded. Lowett said, "Now, you can leave."

Kuroobi glanced at his compatriots beside him. In their eyes, besides anger, there was also a hint of relief and liberation.

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Not having to confront a dangerous guy like Lowett clearly overshadowed their hatred for their fallen comrades.

Damn it!

Gritting his teeth secretly, he shook his head and jumped into the sea.

"Let's go, we're going back!"

Thump thump thump!

With the sound of footsteps, the Black Knight returned to Lowett's side.

The Den Den Mushi was picked up and fed vegetable leaves.

"In the end, it's just a different level of confidence."

Looking in the direction the Fishmen had left, Lowett's eyes were calm.

If he were still an apprentice, he definitely wouldn't have let them go. Forget about allowing them to leave, just sending a message, one would have been enough.

But now, there was no need for such trouble.

Arlong wouldn't run away anyway, so all he had to do was eliminate his opponent.

It was all the same, sooner or later.

The qualitative leap between a One Star spell and a Half Star spell was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine, even without the enhancement of Combination Magic.

If Arlong could turn the tables with these few Fishman subordinates, Lowett would actually look forward to it.

He and Arlong had no mortal enmity; it was merely part of a Necromancer's routine collection of materials. If he failed, it would prove that he still had shortcomings, which, for a Mage, was more precious than any material.

Of course, if a Mage, through their proficiency and deep development of a certain spell, forcibly increased their mental energy consumption to enhance its Mana intensity, that would be another matter.

If the essence of the original spell could be changed, such as the spell circuit, release priority, or combination arrangement, even the slightest innovation would be considered an innovation on the original basis, granting exclusive naming rights.

If it couldn't be changed, and it was just the repeated casting of the same effect...

It was collectively called: Brute Force!

It couldn't change the star rating of the spell itself.

This situation was very common. "Skeleton Revival" was a typical example of Brute Force, which had been flying for thousands of years and had never come down.

The more basic the spell, the more likely it was to be subjected to Brute Force.

"Well, instead of thinking so much, I might as well get down to business."

Tucking the well-fed and sleeping Den Den Mushi into his pocket, Lowett raised his left hand, and a black smoke spread out.

Rustle...

The black glove, imprinted with a thorny pattern, probed downward with the support of the black sand, scooping up the corpse of Colonel Rat. Then, the Withered Black Sand quickly retracted, flinging the corpse onto the beach, returning to Lowett's severed left arm.

"Let me see what you've been hiding."

Strands of pure white light floated from Colonel Rat's seven orifices. Under the effect of the spell, they slowly contracted and gathered, condensing into a sphere emitting a hazy luster.

Then...

Bang!!

The staff struck without mercy, shattering the Soul Light Orb into pieces.

Soul Magic - Soul Search!

Soul Search, and plunder, if the soul isn't shattered, what if the good stuff is hidden away?

Controlling these fragments and dust to float in front of him, Lowett reviewed them one by one.

"Tsk, tsk, as expected, it's a bad thing."

The soul meticulously recorded Rat's entire life. Various petty thefts and dishonest acts were nothing unusual. Even though many things were forgotten in the soul, leaving only vague images, what remained was astonishing enough.

Without carefully examining everything, Lowett only looked for the latest images.

From Marine Headquarters issuing the order to arrest him, to Rat betraying Jordi and accepting benefits from Morgan, and then Momonga's arrival.

"This is...!"

Suddenly, Lowett stopped his gaze, his pupils contracting.

It was a conversation from a few hours ago.

"Rat, I received a report saying that traces of pirate activity were found in Klar Village. You're nearby right now, aren't you? Don't rush back, stop by there on your way."

[Klar Village? Damn, could Arlong have been discovered?!]

"I... I understand, Vice Admiral, rest assured!"

Lowett suddenly waved his hand, violently scattering the soul fragments, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"This idiot!"

Too naive!

He had been recuperating here without alarming anyone, not even the residents of Klar Village knew.

Why did Momonga specifically mention Klar Village by name?

The only ones who could have exposed this location were the four Fishmen who died here yesterday!

It was obvious that long before Colonel Rat was aware, Momonga had already dispatched people to this sea area for secret investigations!

He had even found out where the four missing Fishmen had gone last.

"Well played, Momonga! As expected of a renowned veteran of Marine Headquarters!"

Lowett's eyes held respect.

He used the world's understanding of Arlong to make them believe that Rat's appearance was due to being bribed by Arlong for revenge, thus diverting suspicion from himself.

But in reality, he already knew everything that had happened here, sitting back and watching the tigers fight.

He had already laid a trap behind the scenes, waiting for the鹬蚌相争 (snipe and clam fight).

If he hadn't been an abnormal person with the means of Soul Search, he probably would have been arrested without understanding where things went wrong.

Thanks to the book friend ~Fire Blue Flame~ for the 500 reward, thank you for your support!

These two chapters took over two hours to patch up and I'm not satisfied. This is the best state I can achieve right now. The Great Tree is exhausted and spitting blood!