Chapter 36

"Why would you want to study at a magic academy? I heard Goblins have a hard time learning magic. Is that true?"

"Ah, I'm different." Hal tugged at the military uniform on his body. Even the smallest size was still a little too big on him.

"I'm the magical prodigy of the Goblin tribes," Hal answered smugly.

"...Can you show me a couple of moves?" Pulingo asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

"Sure. Do you want to see support-type magic or attack-type magic?" Hal asked confidently.

"Are you sure you really know magic? I've only heard of magic being categorized by elemental energy. What do support-type and attack-type mean?" Hearing that Hal could not even get the categories of magic straight, Pulingo doubted his abilities even more.

"Oh... right, you're talking about the classifications ordinary laymen use. What we learn in school is naturally a little more detailed." Hal rarely paid attention in class, because he only needed to practice the beginner magic taught there a few times before he knew it. That was why, even now, he still had no idea how many elemental categories of magic there were. After being exposed in just a couple of sentences, Hal could not help feeling a little embarrassed.

"Ahem. Watch closely. I'm starting." Hal hurriedly changed the subject, then added, "You're really lucky. Even my boss hasn't seen this move yet."

"Hurry up already. I'm about to fall asleep," Pulingo said with a teasing smile.

"Watch this. Dynamic Fire Net." Hal stood in place and tossed pebbles upward without pause. After he had thrown out a dozen or so, the first one began to fall.

"Hah! Explosive Flame Shot." Hal brought his palms together in a loose clasp, left and right, and a fireball shot out from the gap, heading straight for the first pebble.

There was a thunderous bang as the first pebble exploded, fragments spraying in every direction. The fragments struck the dozen or so pebbles falling after it one by one, triggering a chain of explosions. The ground outside the fence was blasted until earth flew everywhere, and several shards of stone even flew into the sentry post.

Pulingo was so frightened by the might of Hal's move that he hurriedly dodged, then lay flat on the ground, not daring to move.

"What happened? Enemy attack?" The guards from the other two sentry posts all rushed over, and then the whole camp fell into chaos.

The well-trained garrison finished gearing up at top speed, but the student camp was still a noisy mess. Many people could not even figure out which direction to go.

The leading captain raised his torch high and led his squad in a grand rush toward the northern sentry post.

"What's going on here?" the captain roared. "Guards, report."

The Lion Tribe youth Aslan was one of the guards at the eastern sentry post. As soon as he rushed over and saw the expression on Hal's face, he more or less understood what had happened. The burly lionman blocked Hal behind him and said in a deep voice, "Reporting, Captain. It may have been a warning from the enemy. They fired one fireball and then fled."

The captain glanced at Aslan. This lionman was a full head taller than him. Then he asked, "Are you the sentry chief? I want the sentry chief to answer me."

Each sentry post was guarded by at least two people together. Since Aslan was a Lion Tribe member, he had to be a student from the school, not the sentry chief, and the human captain did not trust Aslan's report.

"Yes, Captain. I am the northern sentry chief, Pulingo." Hearing that the captain was looking for him, Pulingo could only brace himself and answer.

"Mm." Seeing that Pulingo had not left his post without permission, the captain's expression eased quite a bit. "Pulingo, you tell me. What happened?" the captain asked.

"Yes, this..." Cold sweat streamed down Pulingo's face and body. What was he supposed to say? If he said this huge commotion had been caused by Hal casting his magic, Hal would definitely have a layer of skin peeled off, and as the sentry chief, he would not escape responsibility either.

Seeing Pulingo hemming and hawing, Aslan put his left hand behind his back and pointed in the direction of Dead City.

When Pulingo saw Aslan's movement, inspiration flashed through his mind, and he said, "Reporting, Captain. After the enemy fired a fireball spell at the northern sentry post, they fled in the direction of Dead City. There were no follow-up attacks."

Aslan raised the thumb of his left hand in a gesture, while Pulingo wiped away his sweat and let out a soft breath.

"Dead City..." After hearing Pulingo's report, the captain said, "Everyone, raise your vigilance. The original sentry-post guards remain in place and change shifts as normal. In addition, add one more guard each to the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest directions. Everyone else, dismissed."

After issuing the temporary orders, the captain hurried off to find Elder Yi Yun and report.

"Phew." After the large group withdrew, Hal could no longer hold himself up. His legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.

"Heh heh, Hal, I saved you again. How are you going to repay me?" Aslan said with a wicked grin.

"...One jar of wine. Take it or leave it," Hal said irritably.

By this time, Lin Hanxuan had also arrived at the sentry post and asked with concern, "Hal, what happened? I heard a huge explosion just now."

"Your underling has another new move. The commotion just now was probably caused by him," Aslan said.

"Wow, really? Hal, you're amazing," Lin Hanxuan said excitedly. "Too bad I didn't see it just now."

"You're better off not seeing it." Pulingo was still badly shaken as he spoke. "So strong. Too terrifying. No wonder mages are so respected."

"Not really. When I use this move, I can't move, so I'm really easy to turn into a target." Hal frankly stated the weakness of the Dynamic Fire Net. He still had not trained to the point where he could cast the Dynamic Fire Net while running, because the fire net was an attack spell that could be aimed within a small area.