Early in the morning, the new students of the Ernst Institute left Fenlai City under the guidance of several instructors and escort knights, heading northeast toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Among the group, the brothers Lin Yinuo and Linley drew particular attention. One was as calm as still water, his presence restrained; the other had lively eyes filled with undisguised excitement and nervousness. Mage Elwin was among the accompanying instructors. He had high hopes for the brothers, especially Lin Yinuo, on whom his gaze often rested with scrutiny and expectation.
As they entered the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the air abruptly became moist and fresh. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, thick fallen leaves lay beneath their feet, and the cries of unknown birds and beasts sounded from time to time all around them. The place teemed with primal vitality and unknown dangers.
The instructors repeatedly emphasized the precautions: stay alert, do not leave the group, and take care to identify poisonous plants and signs of magical beasts.
Linley stayed close beside Lin Yinuo, his small hand unconsciously clutching the hem of his older brother's clothes. His large eyes watched everything around them warily, both afraid of missing something and worried that a terrifying magical beast might suddenly appear.
Lin Yinuo appeared far more composed. His powerful spiritual energy spread silently like invisible feelers over a radius of several dozen meters, sensing every stirring. He could "hear" insects crawling beneath the soil, "see" squirrels leaping among the branches, and detect lurking life-forms farther away that carried faint elemental fluctuations-those were probably low-rank magical beasts.
This is the place.
As he walked along with the group, he silently recited:
Check in.
[Ding! Check-in successful! Congratulations to the host on checking in at the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Rewards obtained: [Incomplete Fire Elemental Law Fragment ×1] and [Elementary Danger Sense]!]
A searing insight instantly flooded Lin Yinuo's mind. Though incomplete, it gave him an extremely vague yet utterly real brush with the essence of fire's fury, combustion, destruction, and rebirth. At the same time, his sixth sense seemed to have been strengthened, granting him an almost instinctive ability to receive warnings of potential malice and danger.
A law fragment! A reward that actually touches directly upon the level of laws! Even if it's only an incomplete Fire Element fragment, its value is immeasurable! And danger sense... just what I needed.
He digested these gains without betraying any sign and quietly activated [Elementary Danger Sense].
The group continued deeper. At noon, they stopped to rest in a relatively open forest clearing.
Just as everyone relaxed and took out their dry rations and water, Lin Yinuo's [Elementary Danger Sense] suddenly gave a faint warning! It came from the bushes diagonally ahead!
Almost simultaneously, Mage Elwin frowned and shouted sharply, "On guard!"
"Roar!"
A low roar rang out. The bushes shook violently, and a heavily built boar-type magical beast burst out, its coarse bristles like iron needles and saliva dripping from its mouth! Its eyes were blood-red, and its two curved tusks gleamed coldly as it charged straight at the nearest new students, who seemed frozen with fright!
"It's a rank-two magical beast, a Thornhide Boar! Watch out for its charge and tusks!" an instructor immediately recognized it and called out a warning.
The scene instantly descended into chaos! The new students panicked, screaming as they scrambled backward. The escort knights swiftly stepped forward to intercept it.
But the boar was extremely fast and had a clear target. In an instant, it reached the terrified students, its foul stench washing over them!
"Ah!" One of the girls squeezed her eyes shut and screamed in terror.
At that critical moment-
"Earth Spike!"
A young yet resolute voice rang out!
Though his small face was pale, Linley stood firmly in front of those students, his hands rapidly completing the final casting gesture! The Earth Element mana within him surged out!
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
Several sharp earthen spikes abruptly erupted from the ground in front of the Thornhide Boar!
Caught off guard, the boar had too much forward momentum. Though its thick hide and tough flesh allowed it to smash through several Earth Spikes, the thickest spike still drove viciously into its relatively soft abdomen!
"Awooo!" The Thornhide Boar let out a howl of agony. Its charge stopped short, and its massive body rolled to the ground in pain, blood gushing from its abdomen.
It had worked! Linley had actually cast the first-level Earth Element spell Earth Spike on his own and precisely intercepted a rank-two magical beast!
Everyone was stunned, including the knights and instructors who had been about to act. A four-year-old child had kept his composure in danger and successfully cast a spell to injure a rank-two magical beast? It was nothing short of a miracle!
Mage Elwin's eyes blazed with astonishing brilliance. "Excellent! Linley Baruch! Well done!"
However, wounded beasts were often even more dangerous!
In excruciating pain, the Thornhide Boar became ferocious. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Linley, who had injured it. Struggling to its feet, it recklessly charged again. This time, its only target was Linley!
"Linley, watch out!" a classmate cried.
Having just cast his spell, Linley's mana was somewhat depleted. As he watched the enormous beast charging madly at him again, he froze for a moment.
Just then, Lin Yinuo, who had been standing quietly to one side, moved.
He chanted no incantation and made no obvious casting gesture. He simply raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the charging Thornhide Boar.
An intensely hot crimson light suddenly flared at his fingertip! It was not dazzling, yet it seemed to concentrate all the surrounding heat, distorting even the air!
This was no ordinary Fireball spell. Within it lay a trace of preliminary understanding of fire's essence from the [Incomplete Fire Elemental Law Fragment]-extreme concentration and penetration!
Whoosh!
A slender Flame Ray, like red crystal, shot out at a speed barely discernible to the naked eye! With unerring accuracy, it struck the Thornhide Boar between the eyes!
There was no explosion, no loud noise.
The Thornhide Boar's charging motion abruptly stiffened. Momentum carried its massive body a few more steps forward before it crashed to the ground. Between its eyes was only a finger-thick, charred hole that pierced straight through. Even the surrounding bristles had not been singed.
A single fatal strike!
Clean, decisive, and breathtakingly efficient!
The entire forest clearing fell into dead silence once again.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the rank-two magical beast that had died in an instant, then looked at the black-haired boy who slowly lowered his finger, his expression still calm.
Instant casting?! What spell was that? How could its power be so concentrated and terrifying?!
Mage Elwin's pupils constricted. The shock in his heart was even greater than when he had seen Linley successfully cast his spell! He had clearly felt the concentration and destructive power within that Flame Ray, far beyond those of the first-level spell Fireball! This was absolutely not a technique a newly enrolled student could master! Just how far had this Lin Yinuo's understanding and control of magic reached?
Linley's mouth also fell open. He looked at the fallen magical beast, then at his older brother beside him, who seemed to have done no more than something utterly insignificant. The admiration in his heart reached its peak.
My brother... is so strong!
Lin Yinuo walked over to Linley and gently patted his shoulder, his tone calm. "You did very well, Linley. You kept calm in danger and protected your classmates."
He did not look at the magical beast's corpse. His gaze swept over the shocked instructors and classmates before finally settling on Mage Elwin, to whom he gave a slight nod.
My first real battle. Objective achieved. Linley has built up his confidence, and I've shown an appropriate measure of my strength, enough to draw the attention of the institute's higher authorities and have more resources allocated to me. As for the law fragment's power... I only revealed the slightest trace. It should be fine.
In this trial, the Baruch brothers' names were destined to leave a powerful imprint on everyone's hearts. Their training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range had only just begun, yet they had already proven their worth and potential.
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