Flaws of the Battle Mage, the Spell Medium: Prismatic Dragon Scale

Leo turned over the Prismatic Dragon Scale in his hand.

This Prismatic Dragon Scale had been found on the first Stonefish Leo killed.

No similar scale had been found on the second Stonefish.

The inferior quality referred to the encyclopedia's rating, not the quality of this Prismatic Dragon Scale.

This Prismatic Dragon Scale was probably of ordinary quality.

Leo tucked the Prismatic Dragon Scale away and found a safe place to hide it.

For a Wizard to form a spell, they needed something tangible as a medium.

Though Leo could not use this Prismatic Dragon Scale now, once he found a suitable spell in the future, it would definitely be an extremely precious medium.

[Stone Sea Dragon Scale]

Quality: Inferior

Effect: A dragon scale from the ancient creature known as the Stone Sea Dragon, possessing formidable defensive capabilities

Cost: 200 Refinement Points

The other four dragon scales were Stone Sea Dragon Scales.

Of all the scales on the two Stonefish, only the five in Leo's possession were dragon scales. The rest were merely ordinary Stonefish scales.

Leo had also heard legends of dragons when he had been in the mortal kingdoms.

Their prestige among mortals was in no way inferior to that of Wizards.

However, dragons had already vanished from the Twin Continents.

Though these two Stonefish possessed dragon scales, they could not be mentioned in the same breath as true dragons.

They merely possessed a faint trace of draconic characteristics.

With the Stonefish dead, Leo's task for this trip was complete.

He wanted to use the remaining time to increase his spiritual energy.

If all went smoothly, Leo felt that before returning to the Tower of Dawn, he could raise his spiritual energy to 10. He might even condense a Spiritual Seed in one fell swoop before returning.

"Wizard Danville."

Aifel and Kairila came to find Leo.

Leo asked, "Captain Aifel, what can I do for you?"

Aifel looked at Kairila and said, "Kairila has something to say to you."

Kairila looked at Leo, lowered her head, and said, "Wizard Danville, I apologize for my previous disrespect."

"My looking down on you before was born of my ignorance." Kairila handed a pouch to Leo and said, "Please accept this small token of my apology."

Leo took the pouch. There were ten Magic Stones inside. He shrugged and said, "All right, I forgive you. But don't short me on the Magic Stones for the mission reward."

"Of course, Wizard Danville."

Seeing that Leo did not hold her previous attitude against her, Kairila also let out a sigh of relief.

Given Leo's performance today, his becoming a Wizard in the future was a certainty.

Kairila had always treated Wizards with reverence, and now, when facing Leo, she naturally lowered her head as well.

Aifel took out a pouch and said, "Wizard Danville, this is the mission reward—the remaining forty Magic Stones. In addition, since you hunted two Stonefish, there are another fifty Magic Stones as an extra reward. I've included them all."

Leo was somewhat taken aback. Aifel was actually paying him the hunting reward for both Stonefish. That was somewhat beyond his expectations.

After all, they had originally agreed only on the reward for one Stonefish. It would have been perfectly reasonable even if Aifel had not paid for the second one.

However, recalling how the knights held themselves beneath Wizards, he found it somewhat easier to understand.

Leo counted the Magic Stones in the pouch. There were ninety in total. He said, "All right, I'll accept the reward."

"Danville."

After Aifel and Kairila left, Nova also came over to Leo.

Leo bowed. "Greetings, Wizard Nova."

Nova said, "Your performance just now truly opened my eyes. I never expected that in just over a month, you would master both Arcane Hand and the Basic Body Fortification Technique."

Leo said, "Perhaps I have some talent in this area."

Nova's attitude also made Leo breathe a sigh of relief.

When Nova had seen through all of Leo's abilities the moment they met, it had truly given Leo quite a fright.

But now, it seemed Nova could only roughly determine what Leo had learned, without knowing his exact level of progress.

Nova smiled and said, "I have a question for you, Danville. Did you choose Battle Mage as your field of study?"

Leo said, "Wizard Nova, the field I chose is Potionology. As for Battle Mages, I was merely somewhat interested in them at the time, so I asked Wizard Sally about them. She then gave me an introductory book on Battle Mages and told me to learn about them first."

"That is not bad either." Nova said, "To be honest, as a school of Wizards, I believe Battle Mages are not only unpopular, but also relatively weak. They are not suitable as a field for deep study."

"Relatively weak?" Leo assumed an attentive posture and asked earnestly, "Wizard Nova, in what regard do you think Battle Mages are at a disadvantage?"

"The spells they master are, in principle, far too simple."

"Strengthening one's defense, strength, and speed... that logic is too simple and too pure. For a Wizard, knowledge that can be seen through at a glance is itself a tremendous disadvantage in a Wizard's battle."

Nova paused here, then continued, "Danville, I will now cast a spell at the same level as yours. Try using the Basic Body Fortification Technique to approach me."

The two stood up and put roughly ten meters between them.

Then, Leo began casting the Super Body Fortification Spell.

The instant he finished casting it, Leo charged at Nova.

At that moment, a pair of bird wings suddenly sprouted from Leo's shoes.

Leo instantly lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Though it did not harm Leo in any way, once he sat back up, he knew that he had already lost.

Leo said thoughtfully, "I understand the weakness Wizard Nova spoke of."

He pondered it. If the opponent were Nova—

Without Nova using any other means, could he deal with that spell of Nova's... The result was that unless Leo's body reached a new height of growth, he seemingly had no way to break such a simple spell that merely grew bird wings.

The knights aboard the ship also witnessed the brief exchange between Leo and Nova.

Their faces immediately filled with shock.

The Leo they regarded as a god of war had been utterly unable to fight back before Nova.

The reverence in their hearts for Wizards deepened by several degrees.

Nova said, "No matter how one fortifies the body, there are fixed points where force is applied and exerted. At such times, once balance is lost, it becomes easy to keep a Battle Mage from getting close."

"That is only one way to defeat a Battle Mage. With other types of spells, in a clash between opponents of the same level, I could find at least ten effective methods to deal with a Battle Mage."

"In my view, Battle Mages may still have some use against those who have just become Wizards, but against Combat Wizards with battle experience, Battle Mages can easily become targets."

Nova first swept a glance over a knight nearby, then said, "Moreover, Battle Mage spells ultimately originated from knights."

"Originated from knights?" Leo asked in confusion. "Does that have something to do with the Knight Breathing Technique?"

"It does. Battle Mage spells were all developed by studying the Knight Breathing Technique and then refining it into spells."

Nova said, "Compared with knights, refined Battle Mages are indeed superior in overall ability, but they lose the diversity expected of Wizards."

"Overall, it is a failed direction of research in combat."

At this point, Nova raised a hand and brushed back the hair before his forehead. "But you cannot be blamed for not knowing this. Unless one is a highly experienced mentor, it is difficult to know the hidden weakness of Battle Mages."

"In fact, among us mentors, the main focus of this field of Battle Mages is not 'combat,' but the health they can bring to Wizards."