I'm That Amazing?

High EQ: "It's just a Fire Bat. There's no need for Master to handle it personally."

Low EQ: "Forget that Fire Bat that looks so impressive. Master might not even be able to beat an ordinary Fire Bat."

Lein had ranted about the Never Tire of Teaching system more times than he could count. By all rights, as a transmigrator, he should have been a high-and-mighty mage.

The problem was, no matter how he looked at his attributes—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma—they were all followed by a string of question marks.

Ahem!

Even Intelligence was listed as [???+2].

The system was clearly just messing with him, turning Lein into a total mystery box in the eyes of his disciple.

Never mind that Lein had once used the Tesla Tower to instantly kill a White Dragon. If you asked him to cast a spell on an ordinary day, he couldn't manage a single one.

As long as the physical experiment demonstrations in the system were grayed out, he knew he was done for.

He'd been putting on the airs of a master for so long, and he couldn't exactly stop now!

Now Downs had asked Lein to stand by while he fought, so Lein could only clasp his hands behind his back, put on a show of confidence, and stride over to the Tesla coil, which had already become a "lightning-sensing training device."

In Downs's mind, his master could casually summon a terrifying bolt of lightning. And that was before even considering the fact that he was standing beside a divine artifact like this.

A mere elite Fire Bat? What a joke!

To one transmigrator, Downs looked like he was radiating the energy of You've been buffed. Now go get yourself killed.

But in Downs's mind, his master was watching him with a benevolent gaze, and he had to make a good showing...

Downs couldn't contain his excitement.

His face alight with enthusiasm, he picked up speed and charged toward the Fire Bat swooping down from the sky with a group of underlings.

Downs narrowed his eyes, his expression seeming a little dazed. The moment he passed Lein, Lein realized his good disciple had once again entered that wondrous state of sudden insight.

At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if Downs pulled off some outrageous stunt!

Sure enough, Downs felt a little tipsy, but his mind was crystal clear.

He murmured to himself, "This is another test from Master! He's not only testing whether I can grasp magic, but also whether I can adapt in battle. If I just blast them with an ice spell from the School of Evocation, I'll definitely fail the test. Since Master just mentioned the 'Thermodynamics Second Law,' I must put it to use."

Ahem! For a young man who'd started out as a Knight Apprentice and taken up magic halfway through life, the word "Thermodynamics" was too much of a mouthful in the human language of the Chaos Continent. Downs had tried to pronounce it over and over, but never quite got it right.

That was the strange thing about Downs's Comprehension. He could skip the process and jump straight to the result.

When Downs raised his left hand once more, pale white Water Element glowing around it, even Lein watching from behind was convinced he was about to use that "one-button screen-clearing" combo again.

But he wasn't!

The air around Downs was already surging with magic. Moisture from the Cold Pool not far away was quietly rising into the air.

In other schools, it was hard to say, but in the School of Evocation, which involved controlling the elements, Downs truly lived up to his reputation as a genius. Even on his first attempt, the balance between his magic and the elements was perfect, like that of a Formal Mage who had practiced for years before the Age of the End of Dharma.

For a moment, Lein thought Downs had figured out the level-three conjuration spell Rain and Snow Storm. This spell, which disrupted enemies' balance with a freezing downpour, was perfect for dealing with Fire Bats—small creatures that were typically afraid of water. It killed two birds with one stone: their elemental weakness was exploited, and they could be knocked right out of the sky.

Lein had once again miscalculated.

A series of water-ripple sounds, like Buddhist chanting, rang out in midair. Waves of water quickly wrapped around the group of Fire Bats.

Before the domineering fire-aligned beasts could react, the crash of rushing water burst through the air.

There was no golden or fiery light shooting into the sky, only a cloud of icy mist that seemed a little out of place.

Bo Le, standing not far from Lein, couldn't understand what its future master was doing.

Lein was different. For some reason, the system let him "see" vast amounts of heat being forcibly drawn out of the Fire Bats' bodies by this mysterious spell.

Amateurs watched the spectacle; experts saw what was really happening.

Lein was genuinely shocked. If Downs could turn the energy he'd drained from his enemies to his own use, this wouldn't be some low-level spell. It would be the most powerful level-nine spell in the game he'd played before transmigrating: Energy Absorption.

Even doing only half of it was terrifying!

This was the deprivation of power on an elemental level.

Without their flames, Fire Bats weren't Fire Bats anymore.

At that moment, the Fire Bats were like lit matches tossed into water, "snuffing out" one after another.

Unable to deal elemental damage, they were no different from ordinary bats. Before they could flap about or pull off any tricks, they were wrapped in clumps of frozen mist, almost like water, and crashed miserably to the ground.

Only the largest Fire Bat, though soaked through, kept flying toward the sky like some giant moth, beating its enormous black wings, each more than a meter long.

"Don't think you're getting away!" Downs raised his right hand and hurled an Electric Blast Orb at it.

He'd expected the crackling ball of lightning to hit the giant bat for sure.

But at the crucial moment, the giant bat's will to survive flared. It changed direction and barely dodged the orb, taking perhaps less than thirty percent of its electrical force. Then it dodged Downs's second lightning strike and even counterattacked with a Sonic Impact.

Some things couldn't be gotten used to just by experiencing them once.

When the stronger ultrasonic attack hit, Downs barely managed to open a shield made from Wind Element.

How to put it? An air shield was essentially the Protect Arrows spell. It offered some protection against ultrasonic waves, but not enough. When the waves pierced the shield and invaded Downs's body, he felt every nerve ending trembling violently.

Downs was on his knees again.

At the last moment, he turned to look at the master he respected most, only to find Lein calmly letting the Fire Bat—which was at least an elite—fly away.

"Master, you..."

Having studied the monster compendium of the Chaos Continent, Downs knew exactly what Fire Bats were like. This vengeful monster would certainly look for a chance to ambush him in the future.

A classic case of coming to cheat and steal a sneak attack!

At the thought, Downs's scalp went numb.

Only then did Lein put on a profound air and say, "Everything has its cause and effect. Sow one thing, reap another."

That was right. Lein was teaching his good disciple a lesson: don't go playing hero for no reason. If you save such a beautiful horse, you'd better be prepared to be hunted by the divine steed's enemies.

If you didn't have the strength but still insisted on standing out, you were bound to suffer.

Downs's face was full of conflict. This was letting the bat escape back to its lair!

As soon as he'd recovered a little, Downs plunged headfirst into the Cold Pool. He was going to leave the valley and hunt down that escaped Fire Bat.

"Heh!" Lein wasn't annoyed. He figured that once Downs got tired of searching, he'd come back crestfallen. Then Lein could show off the dignity of a master.

But what happened was a little different from what Lein had expected.

In less than ten minutes, Downs came rolling back with a soft-sided case.

When he opened it, there was the escaped elite Fire Bat!

The master was inwardly stunned, but on the outside, he remained cool and composed. "Oh?"

Downs's face was full of fervent excitement. He was so thrilled his eyes practically blazed with fire. "Master! This disciple is so dull. I didn't understand what you meant by 'cause and effect' until I left the valley!"

Lein: ???

Downs continued, "Master, you never intended to let that beast get away. You used your powerful aura, which I couldn't even sense, to force the elite Fire Bat toward a location of your choosing. As soon as it flew out of the valley, it ran into the White Dragon's head. Dragon's Might left it completely immobilized, and it fell right into the empty box I'd left outside the valley. I just had to go over and close the lid. It looked like you didn't lift a finger during that fight, but you'd already had everything under control!"

Lein once again responded with: ???

Do you know why I'm using question marks? It's not because there's something wrong with me. It's because there's something wrong with your imagination.

Am I really that amazing?

How come even I don't know!?