Repair Complete

Mage Seda, who had likewise been awakened by the apprentices' screams, arrived at the scene in time and acted decisively.

Though he had never regarded the apprentices' lives as anything important, to him, they were at least part of his property.

Property was meant to be used, not destroyed like this.

So naturally, he had to step in and stop the giant rat's rampage.

Yet faced with the giant rat's pounce, enough to make an ordinary person turn pale with fright, Mage Seda remained exceptionally calm.

After all, for a veteran Mage Apprentice like him, who had been a Third-Order Apprentice for many years, an ordinary Tier 0 Leyline Creature was truly nothing much.

And this giant rat was indeed nothing special, let alone a formidable enemy.

Under Gao De's attentive gaze, Mage Seda raised his right hand.

After a brief delay, a dazzling radiance bloomed in his palm, shining like a tiny sun and leaving Gao De momentarily blinded.

Even at Gao De's distance from Mage Seda, the light made him dizzy. As for the giant rat lunging at Mage Seda, it would not have been an exaggeration to say its rat eyes had been flashed blind.

In that instant, there was nothing before the giant rat's eyes but blinding white. Forget attacking Mage Seda—it could see nothing at all.

With the intelligence of a Tier 0 Leyline Creature, it naturally could not respond in time to this sudden flash.

After its vision went black, it actually paused in place for a moment, as though at a complete loss.

That brief pause was already enough for Mage Seda to activate a Spell Model and cast his next spell.

Ignoring the tears that streamed involuntarily from the harsh glare, Gao De strained to look toward the ball of light.

He vaguely saw another blazing red beam shoot from within the radiance, striking the giant rat's head directly and viciously.

Then, the dazzling light faded.

The savage giant rat was now sprawled across the ground. It was not quite dead, but only had one breath left. Its previous ferocious Sha Qi had vanished completely, and it could no longer move.

Its body was covered in scorch marks, its flesh and blood a mangled mess. It twitched now and then, having been thoroughly reduced to nothing more than a sewer rat.

Seeing this, Gao De heaved a sigh of relief, only for his heart to rise again.

Mage Seda's strength seemed even more terrifying than he had anticipated!

Whether it was the power of his spells, his understanding of spell chaining, or his casting speed, all of it was enough to inspire awe in Gao De.

Gao De even silently thanked the giant rat, which was now half-dead.

Its appearance had given him a chance to better understand Mage Seda's strength before they tore their faces apart.

"Stop staring. Clean this place up, then get back to whatever you should be doing!"

Mage Seda expressionlessly swept his gaze over the apprentices, who had only now finally found the courage to leave their rooms. After coldly giving the order, he turned and left.

The apprentices who had escaped disaster looked at one another, still unable to react.

But Gao De had already gotten ahead of them. He opened the door, walked straight to the dying giant rat, and without hesitation stomped down on its head, snuffing out its last breath.

A rat head delivered right to his doorstep—there was no reason not to pick it up!

Wind Spirit Moon Shadow flashed past at just the right moment.

Origin:

Tier 0—Human (1/7), Ash-Eyed Rat (used), Dark Mire Lurker (used), Wolf Rat (1/7).

The Leyline Creature attack in the herb garden passed by just like that, without much fuss.

The deaths of the two apprentices caused even less of a ripple.

Had Gao De not personally buried the two victims alongside the other apprentices, he might even have thought the Leyline Creature had never appeared at all.

Every now and then, the apprentices would quietly discuss the matter while eating.

"Don't Leyline Creatures live in the wilderness far from us? How did one end up in the herb garden?"

Other apprentices were confused and still shaken by the incident. Some even lost sleep over it. "What if another Leyline Creature suddenly pops out somewhere while we're sleeping at night?"

In the eyes of most commoners in this world, Leyline Creatures were terrifying beings that lived only in the wilderness beyond the cities.

Cities, meanwhile, were relatively quiet and peaceful places.

Naturally, this was merely a misconception formed by commoners with limited knowledge, reinforced by the rulers' propaganda.

"That's just what the people above say. The city is so huge, and there are only so many City Guards. How could they possibly keep Leyline Creatures out entirely?" another apprentice whispered.

Gao De, who was eating nearby, nodded faintly at those words.

Thinking about it, that made sense. Even in his previous life, wild beasts sometimes wandered into developed cities by mistake.

Not to mention that this world's cities were far less developed, with countless unknown corners.

And Leyline Creatures came in many varieties, each with supernatural traits. Their strength and strange powers far surpassed those of ordinary beasts. How could this world achieve what even his previous world had failed to achieve—keeping Leyline Creatures entirely outside the city?

Leyline Creatures must have been lurking within the city, occasionally showing themselves.

But even when they did emerge and claim lives, they would be swiftly dealt with, and the news would be suppressed afterward.

The panic and unrest caused by a frightened crowd was more consequential than the deaths of one or two people.

That was no different from his previous life.

What the apprentices understood, Mage Seda surely understood even more clearly.

That was why the giant rat's appearance and nighttime attack had not stirred the slightest ripple in his heart. He merely considered himself unlucky to have run into it.

Inside the workroom.

Gao De sat upright, calming his mind and focusing his spirit.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, a lotus with only five petals gave off a faint glow.

But today, beside the fifth petal, another Lotus Petal was slowly taking shape.

After more than half a month of training, Gao De's Meditation Art had progressed rapidly. He was finally about to break through and manifest the sixth petal.

The heat was right. All he needed now was to press onward in one burst and break through.

Gao De did not hesitate at all. Feeling that he was only one step from the door, he immediately began his breakthrough.

He focused with all his might, gathering his consciousness upon the lotus pedestal and using his spiritual power to trace the sixth Lotus Petal.

No one knew how much time passed.

With a hum, the sixth petal, which had previously been only an illusory outline, finally gained substance and was manifested by Gao De.

In an instant, streams of warm heat surged from the depths of his sea of consciousness and spread throughout his body, nourishing his mind and awareness, restoring his fatigue.

The sixth petal had formed. His Meditation Art had advanced another small step!

Opening his eyes, Gao De could not help but smile.

Before falling out with Mage Seda, any increase in his strength was a good thing. Even a negligible breakthrough was worth celebrating.

Perhaps when the time came, victory would be decided by just such a hair's breadth.

His persistence over the past half month had not been wasted.

It also proved that his instincts had been right.

Although his talent for the Guiding Method had not changed, his soul talent truly surpassed that of the original owner by a great deal. As a result, his progress in the Meditation Art seemed as though someone had pressed fast-forward, far faster than the original owner's.

Far more than just a little faster.

By that measure, perhaps he could count as half a genius when it came to mage talent?

"Veilmist Fang should be fully repaired tonight as well."

After being excited for a short while, Gao De quickly calmed down and returned to reality.

His greatest crisis had yet to pass. He could not waste even the slightest bit of time.

Today marked exactly ten days since he had been confined, and Veilmist Fang's repair progress had proceeded just as he expected.

It was simply that his Meditation Art had reached a breakthrough point at the same time. Driven by urgency, Gao De had temporarily set aside the repair of Veilmist Fang to break through first.

Now that the breakthrough had succeeded, Gao De did not delay any longer. He took out Veilmist Fang.

After nine days of repair, the worn and blurred runes upon it had mostly been restored. Only a small section at the very center remained damaged.

As for the pattern in the upper-right corner, which the young stall owner had identified as the emblem of the Okenly Merchant Guild, it had already been completely restored.

Of course, Gao De knew nothing about this Okenly Merchant Guild and had no interest in it.

Channeling his mana, Gao De cast Repair+ through the Spell Model. A glow transformed from mana appeared in his hand, circling Veilmist Fang and gradually seeping into it like a current of life, meticulously stitching together the damaged runes.

The final incomplete section of the runes began slowly and methodically repairing itself.

About five minutes later, a bead of sweat appeared on Gao De's forehead.

Mana was part of a mage's power, and sweating from excessive depletion of one's strength in a short period was a natural bodily response.

His mana consumption was about to reach its limit!

Yet Veilmist Fang's repair was within reach.

Gao De gritted his teeth and persisted.

As the final gleam of light flowed into Veilmist Fang, the repair was finally complete!