Unexpected Gains

The giant ape was slain, its body dissolving into streams of light before vanishing.

Luke dropped from the air, then skimmed across the icy floor toward Wilfred like a pinball.

Seeing the Elf move with such agility and effortlessly kill his summoned beast, Wilfred immediately changed his tactics.

He dispersed the whirlwinds that consumed too much mana, were slow, and were easily weakened by obstacles. He also retracted the electric chains that appeared to have no effect.

He gripped his staff and slammed it heavily into the ground; as the tip pierced the floor, a large Magic circle expanded with the staff at its center.

Transparent walls of air rose within the circle, forming a labyrinth that enclosed Luke.

Luke stopped in front of one of the air walls.

She knew these air walls were compressed gas; the refraction of light caused by their high density made them visible. At the same time, they stored immense air pressure within, capable of forming high-impact air hammers the moment they burst.

Furthermore, with light refraction combined with mirror Magic...

Luke looked toward Wilfred, and through the air walls, eight Wilfreds appeared. They stood in different directions across the area covered by the Magic circle, constantly shifting their positions.

Air Labyrinth.

This was a large-scale formation technique Wilfred had developed specifically for the environment of the castle. In this terrain with limited vertical space, once trapped in the labyrinth, it was easy to trigger an air hammer explosion.

As the formation technique operated, the air wall in front of her pressed inward.

Luke retreated at the same speed the air wall advanced, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

The air wall explosions were trigger-based; the formation would only trigger the air hammers if one touched the spell marks Wilfred had placed. The reason was that Wilfred, too, was affected by light refraction within the Air Labyrinth, leaving him unable to accurately pinpoint the enemy's location.

Luke had the Magic marks placed on her by Wilfred.

The formation would control the air walls to move constantly. Once one air wall was triggered, the entire formation would force all the walls to close in. No one could withstand such a pummeling from a barrage of air hammers.

"Elf, your strength exceeds my imagination. As long as you hand over the Book of Calamity, this battle can be interrupted at any time."

Wilfred's voice came from all directions.

Luke maintained her speed as she retreated, and just as her back was about to touch the air wall behind her, she slid rapidly to the side, slipping through the narrow gap between two air walls.

"Wilfred, are you really so confident in this formation of yours? 3!"

As she spoke, Luke side-stepped to dodge another approaching air wall.

Wilfred did not know why the Elf would add a "3" after finishing her sentence.

"I just don't want to see someone as talented as you die here. You are strong, and I can see you are very young... If you could live to my age, you would definitely be far more formidable than I am."

Luke dodged another air wall once more.

"Thank you for your praise. 2!"

"Do not remain obsessed and unrepentant. A new batch of air walls will soon be generated within this formation, and at that point, you will have no room to dodge at all."

"You... will truly die!"

"I know..." Facing the air walls pressing in from both sides, Luke did not rush to move. She stared at the air wall directly in front of her and said to Wilfred, "Dean Wilfred, do you know there is a type of movement that can get your wand in four steps?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I mean... 1"

The moment Luke said "1," the air wall in front of her moved away. And ahead, all the obstructing air walls happened to form a narrow corridor during this round of movement.

At the other end of the corridor was the wand Wilfred had plunged into the ground.

This opportunity was the Four-Step Positioning Method discovered by countless Players after dying repeatedly in the Air Labyrinth.

No matter where one was in the Air Labyrinth, by using this Four-Step Positioning Method, one could reach this point in exactly four steps, causing the air walls to form a fleeting, direct path to the wand during the next round of movement.

Once missed, the formation would generate new air walls, and the Player would have to rely on defense to endure the continuous explosions of the air hammers.

The timing lasted only for an instant.

Having prepared herself, Luke erupted with her maximum speed the moment the air wall in front of her shifted. Her figure left behind a trail of afterimages, and with an added teleport, she appeared exactly at the side of the wand.

Because he was focused on maintaining the formation, Wilfred had not been gripping the wand.

He watched helplessly as the Elf appeared in an incredible fashion, then reached out and pulled the wand free.

With the core of the formation removed, all the air walls vanished rapidly with the sound of tires losing air.

Luke snatched the long-handled wand, gripped it with both hands like a staff, and with a flick of her wrist, a blade of ice sprouted from the tip.

Wilfred's wand transformed into a long spear in Luke's hands; the spear's momentum was like a dragon, its strikes like ripples.

Ice walls rose on all four sides.

Clear Sky's level was pushed to 120.

Time Reversal caught Wilfred, who was panicking and preparing to transform to escape.

The spear tip thrust forward.

A freezing cold tide erupted forward, sealing Wilfred against the erected ice wall.

Only his head remained exposed.

She then adjusted Clear Sky's level back to 80.

Luke twirled his staff in one hand, then slammed it heavily onto the ground.

Wilfred, having broken free from the ice in such a short time, appeared on the other side of the ice wall.

He made no further move to attack.

The elf's sudden burst of power had terrified him, especially the feeling of helplessness against time reversal. In that moment, he had felt like meat on a chopping block.

He also knew the elf had deliberately spared his life.

"Thank you."

In response to Wilfred's thanks from the other side of the ice wall, Luke chuckled and said, "No need for thanks. Your death would do me no good. Besides, I didn't expect to come to Aolu Academy and not only get the Book of Calamity, but also the Ruihuo Wand.

What an unexpected haul."

Wilfred looked at his staff and said to Luke, "Please return my staff to me."

"Haha... I won't even give you the Book of Calamity, do you think I'll give you the Ruihuo Wand? I took this by my own skill. If you want it, take it back yourself.

I don't have time to play with you now, goodbye!"

Beneath Luke's feet, where the staff had just struck the ground, the floor began to crack.

Then, it collapsed downwards.

Luke fell with the falling debris towards the first floor of the castle. By the time Wilfred reached the gap, the elf was nowhere to be seen.

After a long time, Aolu Mage, Councilor Virgil, Imperial Secret Agents, and Sheriffs rushed up, only to see Wilfred standing by the gap.

Councilor Virgil asked Wilfred, "Your Excellency, the Dean, where is that elf?"

"She escaped."

"Was the 'Heart of Red Dragon Nilcolon' recovered?"

"No... she also took the 'Book of Calamity'."

Upon hearing the name "Book of Calamity," Virgil was greatly alarmed. "Wasn't the Book of Calamity destroyed? How could you let that elf take the Book of Calamity... it's more dangerous than a red dragon."

Wilfred sighed, "What could I do? She even snatched my staff..."

Just one update today... apologies.