An Accidental Encounter with Linley

Jonathan carried three bundles on his back, each one bulging, clearly indicating a bountiful harvest.

It was a bright, sunny noon.

He discovered smoke rising in a clearing within the forest and, out of curiosity, went over to take a look.

Sitting there was a brown-haired youth, looking to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in blue athletic gear, holding a long tree branch in his hand with pieces of Bloodthirsty War Boar meat skewered on it.

In front of him was a campfire, with several more skewers of pork roasting beside it.

As for the side, a black mouse about fifty or sixty centimeters long was munching on a piece of roasted pork with great relish, its little paws glistening with grease, occasionally letting out squeaks.

"What a coincidence."

Without a doubt, this combination had to be Linley and the God-Eater Rat, Bebe.

Jonathan's Breath Concealment Technique was extremely ingenious; with Linley's current strength, he certainly wouldn't be able to detect him, but he estimated that with Doehring Cowart around, he wouldn't be able to hide for long.

Sure enough, after a short while, Linley suddenly spoke up: "You have been hiding nearby for quite a while, sir. Why not come out and join us for a meal?"

Doehring reminded Linley: "That person is in the tree to your rear left. If he still doesn't come out, you must be careful that he isn't harboring ill intentions toward you."

"I know, Grandpa Doehring."

Suddenly, a black figure flashed by, appearing in front of Linley in the blink of an eye.

Doehring remarked: "Such speed. Even if you were to supplement it with wind-style magic, you wouldn't come close. He has at least the speed of a warrior of the eighth rank."

Eighth rank? No way. How could a warrior of that strength appear here? Could he have just come out from the depths of the mountain range?

While transmitting his voice, his gaze fell upon Jonathan's bulging bundles.

Bebe stared at Jonathan, secretly communicating with Linley via mental energy: "Boss, look at his bags. He must be very rich. Let's rob him!"

"Nice craftsmanship. Can I have some?"

Before Linley could even speak, Jonathan helped himself to the roasted Bloodthirsty War Boar meat and began to eat.

The corners of Linley's mouth twitched slightly.

Bebe continued to incite him: "So rude. He's clearly not a good person. Let's strike first."

As Jonathan revealed his face, Linley was slightly startled and couldn't help but ask Doehring in his heart: "Grandpa Doehring, you said he has the strength of an eighth-rank warrior? But he doesn't look much older than me."

Doehring's gaze darkened as he stared at him for a moment before replying: "He shouldn't be over twenty, perhaps even younger."

"However, he shouldn't have the strength of an eighth-rank warrior. Deliberately concealing one's aura—this technique is somewhat similar to that group you encountered before."

Is he here for revenge?

"Probably not. Let me probe him with my mental energy."

A moment later, Doehring said in surprise: "He is actually cultivating both magic and battle qi, and both have reached the seventh rank. How is that possible?"

"A seventh-rank magus and a seventh-rank warrior?!" Linley was astonished. He looked at Jonathan, who was focused on eating the roasted meat across from him, and couldn't help but ask: "You look young; you should be about my age, right?"

Jonathan didn't even look up. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen. My name is Linley."

"Jonathan, seventeen."

Linley's eyes bulged as he shouted: "Seventeen!"

Jonathan chuckled inwardly, though he feigned composure on the surface. "What's wrong? Is it that shocking that I'm two years older than you? Or am I just too handsome?"

Bebe also asked: "Boss, what are you so surprised about? You're acting all jumpy. Even if we aren't going to rob him, don't disturb my meal."

Linley transmitted: "Bebe, what do you know? Seventeen isn't much, but a seventeen-year-old seventh-rank magus and seventh-rank warrior—aren't you surprised?"

"Boss, how do you know that? That's impossible. You're such a genius, and at fifteen, you're only a fifth-rank magus. Even reaching the sixth rank would take you over a year. In terms of cultivation speed, you are definitely the number one magic genius of Ernst Academy."

"How could some random person be even more powerful than you, Boss! Your clumsy tricks can't fool me, Bebe."

Linley gave a bitter smile: "Do I have any reason to lie to you? Just how monstrous must his talent be!"

"Why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face? I know, you must think I'm too handsome and can't help but take a few extra looks."

Linley's mouth twitched again, thinking to himself: His talent is truly monstrous, but his personality is a bit too narcissistic.

"Give me another two years, and I won't be any worse than you!"

Beside them, Doehring was also sizing Jonathan up, muttering to himself about how this could be possible.

Jonathan quickly finished the roasted meat and patted his belly. "Full."

Then, he bared his teeth for a moment and muttered: "The taste isn't bad, but it gets stuck in my teeth. The craftsmanship still needs improvement."

"By the way, where are you from?"

"The Fenlai Kingdom."

Jonathan continued: "To dare to come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range at such an age, you must be from Ernst Academy."

"How did you know?"

"So it really is true. I baited you and you fell for it. Your vigilance is still lacking. You must have suffered quite a bit in the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

Linley didn't answer but asked instead: "What about you? You aren't much older than me and look very powerful, but I don't recall anyone like you at Ernst Academy."

"Hehe, do you think I'd tell you!"

"Squeak!" Bebe chirped at Jonathan, standing up for Linley.

"Boss, he's going too far. Let me, Bebe, teach him a lesson!"

"Don't mess around!" Linley held Bebe down, not letting him act recklessly.

Bebe quieted down, but his pair of little green eyes remained fixed on Jonathan.

"A black rodent, rarely seen indeed. Not weak either; must be a variant."

"Look at those little eyes, he seems quite unconvinced!"

"Let him go. I want to see just how strong he really is!"

At this moment, Doering also said, "Linley, Bebe's strength is greater than yours, and with his incredibly strong defense, he won't be in any danger. It's a good chance to test his limits."

Linley looked at Bebe, thought for a moment, and transmitted his voice, "Do you really want to spar with him?"

"Boss, you agreed! Don't worry, I, Bebe, won't lose face for you. I'll definitely teach him a good lesson."

Then, Linley said, "Please, go easy on him."

The two of them and the mouse went to a nearby forest, with Linley watching from the side.

"Little mouse, make your move!"

"Squeak! (Go to hell!)"

Bebe's speed was comparable to a level nine, and a black streak of light shot straight toward Jonathan like lightning.

"Fast, indeed!"

"Divine Beasts truly have innate gifts!"

He thought to himself, Gravity Spell is useless against Magic Beasts with such light body weight, but Anti-Gravity Spell is their bane.

Once floating in the air with nowhere to leverage force, his strength would be drastically reduced.

With such a straightforward attack method, even if the speed was fast, hitting Jonathan was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

However, if used for a sneak attack, it would be terrifying—a near-guaranteed kill.

After dodging Bebe's attack, Jonathan quickly activated the Anti-Gravity Spell, a level seven one at that.

As Bebe rushed over, his body suddenly felt light, and his attack trajectory veered off, causing him to fly directly over Jonathan's head.

"Gravity Spell? No, it's the exact opposite direction of a Gravity Spell!"

Doering said in surprise.

I'm on a recommendation list next week, but the stats are still very poor, with fewer than two hundred active readers. To reach the second round, I need at least five hundred to be safe. I beg those who are reading to keep reading, and please don't hoard the book. Otherwise, if you check back in a few weeks, it might be gone.

I imagine many people present have encountered similar situations.

Therefore, whether this book lives or dies depends entirely on all of you!