Velociraptor

"Back to you, Senior: Ernst Academy is naturally the best magic academy on the continent. Everyone knows that. It gathers magical geniuses from all over the continent and admits only the best."

"Our talent may not count for much in your eyes, but a few years ago, our academy did recruit a true magical genius."

"Dixie Lane, the greatest magical genius Ernst Academy has seen in a hundred years. He's a dual-element mage, with an exceptional affinity for the elements and a mental strength sixty-eight times that of his peers."

Jonathan nodded, then put on a grave expression. "He has good talent, but talent is one thing and strength is another. What level is he now?"

"Level Five Mage."

"Only level five? He should have reached that level after a short time training at the academy. Has he been cultivating for more than five years?"

"At that rate, he certainly seems like a genius to me, but he's hardly dazzling."

The female mage said, "Dixie is indeed the most gifted, but Ernst Academy has another oddball named Linley. He's a three-element mage, with exceptional affinity for earth and wind, and a moderate affinity for fire. His mental strength is a little weaker, though—only eighteen times that of his peers."

"But he's truly incredible when it comes to cultivation speed. He enrolled at the same time as Dixie, and in just a few short years, he's caught up with him."

"What do you think of a young mage like that, Senior?"

With just a little goading, Jonathan had gotten them to reveal exactly what he wanted to know—and they hadn't mentioned Linley's name once.

"If he can keep up that pace, he should become a Level Seven Mage before he turns twenty. The question is how many years ahead of time he can manage it."

"If he reaches that level at seventeen, he'll probably be the second-greatest magical genius in history. At sixteen, he'll be the greatest."

The male mage said, "Senior, you're really letting your imagination run wild. They're already fourteen. You think they can advance two levels in two or three years? It's not like going from level one to level two."

"Level seven is a threshold. Many mages get stuck there for more than a decade."

"Exactly, Senior. That's a bit of a tall tale. How could someone like that possibly exist?"

"I'm telling you I'm that person. Do you believe me?"

No one answered, and the atmosphere grew painfully awkward.

"Never mind. I'm done chatting with you youngsters. I'm off!"

Having gotten the confirmation he wanted, Jonathan leaped into the air and quickly vanished into the dense forest.

"That guy was bizarre," the male mage said.

"Who cares? We should get out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range as soon as possible. The longer we stay, the more dangerous it gets."

"True. We didn't get much out of this trip. Let's just treat it as a lesson."

The Red-Tailed Silver-Armored Scorpion's location was now less than a hundred miles away. After walking for just over half a day, Jonathan crossed into that range.

The sun blazed overhead.

It was July, the height of the sweltering season.

When he spotted a lake up ahead, Jonathan looked around carefully before taking off his clothes and jumping in.

He swam on his back, then breaststroke, then underwater, before going still and floating on the surface like a corpse.

There were very few humans this deep in the range.

Fewer still dared to venture in alone.

More than half an hour later, Jonathan heard a rhythmic rumble coming from the ground in the distance. It sounded like the footsteps of some creature.

He swam to shore, put his clothes back on, then leaped into a towering tree to look out into the distance.

Soon, a massive creature, as tall as a two-story building, came slowly toward him.

Its body was covered in fiery-red scales like shields, even its thick limbs. A long tail trailed behind it, as nimble as a whip.

"So it's a Velociraptor."

Velociraptors were Seventh-Level Magical Beasts rarely seen outside the range, but they were a common sight in its depths.

The Velociraptor fixed its strange, ruby-red eyes on the lake and strode toward it.

"Good. I can use it to test my skills."

Assassination techniques weren't very effective against seventh-level beasts, especially thick-skinned ones with dragon blood. So he revealed himself and chose to attack head-on.

"Gravity Spell!"

At level seven, the Gravity Spell could increase gravity fourfold. The Velociraptor was already heavy, and now it sank straight into the earth.

The area within several hundred meters was affected by the increased gravity.

He didn't use the Anti-Gravity Spell. For one thing, it was still incomplete. For another, it would only backfire against the Velociraptor.

With its massive body and his still-imperfect Level Seven Anti-Gravity Spell, did he really expect to make it float?

Even doing that to a human would be difficult.

The Velociraptor spotted its enemy and let out a furious roar. Its breath carried a stench of sulfur.

Then it unleashed a torrent of flames at Jonathan, engulfing the space dozens of meters ahead in an instant.

Jonathan was incredibly agile and perceptive. The moment the flames appeared, he sprang into action and ran beyond their reach.

His timing was perfect—not too early, not too late.

If he moved too soon, the Velociraptor would adjust its aim. If he moved too late, he would be caught in the flames, and escaping would cost him more magical energy.

Trapped within the area of increased gravity, the Velociraptor's movements slowed drastically. To Jonathan, it was like a fish on a chopping board. The only real nuisance was its tail.

It could whip around with incredible speed.

The dagger Xue Yan had specially made for him was exceptionally tough. Even the Velociraptor's armor-like scales couldn't stop it from tearing deep gashes into its body.

After each attack, he immediately retreated, then rushed in again.

His assaults came in an unrelenting storm.

Once he had torn open numerous wounds, Jonathan began casting Dark Magic: Shadow Poison Mist, flooding the beast with toxins while also firing off a few low-level spells.

Without its scales to protect it, even low-level magic could easily inflict severe wounds.

The Velociraptor roared in pain, spraying flames wildly as if they cost nothing. Seeming to realize its life was in danger, it tried to flee.

But Jonathan wasn't about to let it escape. He cast another Level Seven Magic, Swamp Technique, turning the ground within dozens of meters into a bog.

The bog couldn't swallow it whole, but combined with the Level Seven Gravity Spell, it left the beast with no chance of escape.

It took only a moment for its huge ruby-colored eyes to grow dim.

Jonathan hadn't used the Swamp Technique from the start because he wanted to conserve some magical energy.

Unlike Linley, he didn't have the Coiling Dragon Ring, which let its wearer cast magic of the same level for only one-sixth the usual magical energy.

He had tried it before. He could cast a Level Seven spell five or six times at most before running out of magical energy—already more than most mages of the same level could manage.

Even with a top-grade magic staff, they probably wouldn't do much better.

Few people were as lucky as Linley, and ordinary divine artifacts couldn't have an effect like that.

So whenever Jonathan used magic, he had to conserve his energy in case something unexpected happened.

Jonathan dug out the Velociraptor's Magic Crystal Core. A Level Seven Magic Crystal Core could fetch tens of thousands of gold coins, and the Velociraptor's scales were valuable too.

Unfortunately, Jonathan didn't have a Space Ring, so he could only carry things that were easy to transport.

The Velociraptor's Magic Crystal Core was about the size of a fist and felt warm to the touch. It looked like a huge ruby, brilliant and dazzling.

After the battle, Jonathan headed deeper in the direction the Velociraptor had come from.