My own precious son... Bah, I mean my star pupil. Sure enough, he was the sort who could make huge news if you left him alone for half a day.
Only now did Lein finally catch the notification that had quietly popped up in the system:
[Congratulations, Host. Your star pupil used (Cloud Mist Technique) in combination with (Lightning Chain) to attack a swarm of Fire Bats at maximum power, and comprehended the Super Magic Specialty—(Spell Power)! When paired with this specialty, all variable values of a spell increase by an additional 50%. Since the principle behind this Super Magic Specialty was taught by the Host, the Host has permanently acquired this specialty.]
Even though Lein had long since become the head of the Shock Department in the Chaos World, he was still stunned when he saw this specialty.
Super Magic Specialties could be understood as powerful add-on skills for magic. There weren't many kinds, and every one was exceptionally rare and tremendously useful. For instance, one might increase a spell's range by 50%.
This [Spell Power] effectively raised both the upper and lower limits of magic attack damage by 50%.
The only word for what he felt at that moment was absurd.
As for this rainbow-colored little white horse, which the system had labeled a [Wind Rider], it was absurdity taken to a whole new level.
The little white horse should really have been called the Little Silver Horse, but "little white horse" rolled off the tongue more easily, so that was what he called it.
Most of the time, a [Wind Rider] looked like an extraordinarily handsome steed. Unlike ordinary horses, it was actually a flying magical beast that preferred living in the subarctic mountains and possessed considerable intelligence. Predatory birds such as griffins were its mortal enemies.
If this had happened before Lein transmigrated, he wouldn't have hesitated to get himself a Wind Rider as a mount.
Once you reached the higher levels, though, Wind Riders left a lot to be desired in terms of strength.
As the saying went...
Strength was a matter of one patch, but looking cool lasted a lifetime!
Even ordinary Wind Riders had been marked up to astronomical prices by players, let alone this rare Wind Rider, which clearly had a trace of divine blood and far greater vitality and strength.
Put it this way: if anyone sold one of these in the game, it would cost as much as an apartment in the suburbs of the Magic City. Only dragon and phoenix mounts were worth more.
And Downs had just pulled off a combination spell comparable to the terrifying [Storm Priest with a Sorcerer multiclass] combo in the game.
Once he mastered this move, "one-button Lightning Chain screen clear" really wouldn't be a dream.
Bosses that those poor Warriors had to hack away at for a dozen rounds before they could kill them would often drop dead in a flash when faced with this kind of Super Magic-level lightning attack.
At that moment, Lein was completely floored by his precious stu—son's ridiculous luck.
"Master, please, you have to save it. It was hurt by a swarm of Fire Bats." Blood seeped from Downs's nose and mouth as he pitifully pleaded on behalf of the Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse.
Who would've thought that the little white horse would actually step backward?
Lein was dumbfounded:
The way you just took half a step back looked awfully deliberate!
Lein was more and more convinced that the Chaos World had a lot in common with the game he'd played. [Wind Riders] were typically neutral good creatures. They instinctively rejected chaotic or evil beings. Even more absurdly, these magical beasts could also communicate telepathically.
Lein considered himself to be aligned with the Order camp, so... the most likely explanation was that his fellow transmigrator's flexible moral standards had scared the Wind Rider.
Lein gave it a disdainful look, tilting his face forty-five degrees toward the sky and looking down his nose at the horse. "Hmph! Plenty of powerful beings beg me to help them, and I couldn't care less. And you, you little beast, dare to put on airs in front of me?"
The little white horse seemed to hesitate, then sensed him again. It found that this "Master" seemed a little evil, though his actions didn't seem quite so evil. After much hesitation, it finally came over and lowered its proud head.
A voice passed through his mind. It was a horse's whinny, but Lein still sensed the clear meaning behind it—please, Archmage, save me.
"Save you? Fine! I'll treat you with all due respect, but in the future you'll be my pupil Downs's mount. Otherwise, forget it."
The little white horse hesitated for two seconds, then nodded earnestly.
Actually, all that talk about saving a horse was just Lein putting on airs. He wasn't a veterinarian. What the hell did he know about saving horses?
As the saying went, "When a horse is dying, treat it as if it were still alive!"
Lein glanced at the horse's shocking wounds, still scorched by flames, and pointed toward it from a distance. "Downs! Cover the horse with that White Dragon hide. Whether it pulls through is up to whether the Goddess of Fate favors it."
Downs suddenly understood. Ah! Master was using the White Dragon's cold hide to counteract the fire poison from the Fire Bats. As expected of Master! He knew everything!
Ignoring his own injuries, Downs staggered to the temporary storage area by the pool, took out a huge piece of White Dragon hide, and draped it over the little white horse.
A clash of ice and fire!
It was about as painful as having your balls snipped without anesthesia.
The little white horse nearly leaped straight into the air.
At first, it reacted violently. Then its whole body suddenly stiffened.
Huh? It was working!?
The fiery wounds left by the Fire Bats' claws and fangs were actually being counteracted by the White Dragon's distinctive icy aura.
It still hurt, but the cold Frost element had a mild numbing effect and prevented the wounds from getting worse.
The little white horse whinnied happily and snorted, then nodded at Downs to show that it was feeling better.
"Th-that's great! Thank you, Master!" Downs bowed gratefully to Lein.
Lein glanced at his pupil. "As for you, taking out all the Fire Bats in one go was the right call. If those beasts lose more than a quarter of their number, they'll retreat and then trail behind you, waiting for another chance to cause trouble. But you don't take care of yourself at all. You'll have to tough out these injuries. Think carefully about what you did wrong and what you did right."
"Yes!" Downs scampered off to rest.
To be honest, Lein had guessed that Downs had been injured by the ultrasonic waves. Besides their disgusting clinging flame attacks, Fire Bats also had ultrasonic waves.
Lein truly had no idea how to treat injuries caused by ultrasonic waves.
He'd only tacked on that "think carefully" remark in passing.
Who would've thought that the system notification would arrive that very night?
[Your pupil, Downs Quijote, recalled your lesson on "using soundproofing materials to block sound waves" and comprehended a method for countering ultrasonic attacks. His (Fortitude) has increased by 1!]
Lein was completely flabbergasted.
He'd known for a long time that his pupil's Comprehension was at a monstrous level.
But how the hell did a Mage manage to improve [Fortitude]—a trait that melee fighters were more likely to train—by getting beaten up?
The Kitchen Knife Team was going to cry!
Lein's fists clenched, but he still consoled himself. "It's fine! He's my own precious son. If he's strong, then I, Lein, am strong."
Three seconds later.
"Damn it! I'm still so jealous of him!"
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