Eat My Fireball Technique!

The Chimera Core looked like an enlarged neuron, several thick blood vessels extending and branching outward from it. When the Magic Beast was alive, enormous amounts of blood had been carried through those vessels to every part of its body, with an endless stream of energy traveling alongside it to every corner of the beast.

And now, the Magic Beast was rapidly rotting away, yet this core continued to pulse healthily.

Richard held the Chimera Core. The blood vessels extending from it had already sealed shut, and the remaining blood inside had begun a tiny internal circulation.

It gave Richard the feeling that it was less an organ than some kind of peculiar parasite.

"No."

Richard made his decision.

After passing out during his last extraction, Richard had reflected painfully on the experience and resolved that he would only ever perform extractions in safe places from now on.

Besides, crafting the Chimera Core was of no use at such a critical moment. There would be no loss in saving it for extraction later.

Within minutes, the dead Magic Beast had turned into a pile of bones. Richard searched through the filthy water and spotted a Staff wrapped in a bag.

"Looks like this is the magical item the Academy prepared."

Richard picked up the Staff. It was around half a meter long and weighed about a pound. Its shaft was pitch-black, and a spherical Crystal the size of an infant's fist was embedded at its tip. After Richard probed it with his mental power, information seemingly left behind by its maker immediately surfaced in his mind.

[This Staff is inscribed with Lesser Fireball. Charging time: three minutes. It does not possess a self-charging circuit. Each use consumes one-third of a standard Magic Stone.]

Richard clicked his tongue in wonder upon receiving the information. He had never seen such a method of transmitting information before. It felt remarkably strange.

"Lesser Fireball, one-third of a Magic Stone each time, and there's a charging period." Richard waved the Staff twice. "Its cost-effectiveness in this exam is a bit lower than the Ice Cone Spell Ring's."

Lesser Fireball should have been more powerful than an ice cone, but aside from Magic Beasts, nearly all the enemies he faced had high attack and low defense. A spell like Ice Cone Spell, with virtually no charging time and low consumption, was perfectly suited to the current environment.

Lesser Fireball, on the other hand, was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

"But having it is still better than not having it. Who knows, I might run into another Magic Beast later."

Richard shook his head, feeling that he was being a little too greedy.

After putting away the Chimera Core, Richard cast Silence Spell on himself again. Though it was the middle of the night, the Magic Beast had caused quite a commotion. There was no telling whether someone might come looking to reap the spoils.

It was never wrong to be cautious.

Not long after Richard left, several apprentices hoping to pick up the leftovers arrived beside the Magic Beast's remains.

"We're too late. Someone beat us to it."

"Then what do we do? Came all this way for nothing?"

The apprentices exchanged glances, then turned to look at the Bald Apprentice leading them.

The Bald Apprentice pondered for a moment, about to make a decision, when he suddenly saw a towering figure leap out of the forest.

The man stood a full two meters tall. Chainmail covered his burly body, seven or eight bags were tied around his waist, and he held a Two-handed Greatsword in one hand while carrying a half-dead Wizard Apprentice in the other.

"You don't need to think about what to do, because every one of you is going to die here."

The next day, the sun rose as usual.

Richard rose from a pile of dead leaves. After meditating, his mind felt no different from having slept the whole night. But feeling mentally refreshed did not mean his body was well. After a day of traveling and a midnight pursuit, every part of Richard's body ached.

But the road still had to be traveled.

Dragging his aching body along, Richard resumed his journey. The Magic Beasts' rampage the previous night had not been without benefits. Apart from the magical items on their bodies, those monsters had also trampled out several paths through the forest.

That saved Richard quite a bit of effort.

With the aid of Light Body Technique, Richard easily completed half the journey on the second day.

And as he drew closer and closer to the gathering point, the density of apprentices steadily increased.

These apprentices had at least two or three bags on them. After encountering one another, aside from a few mentally unstable apprentices, most would display their Crystal Balls before turning and leaving.

Few people who had survived this far were harmless. Their hands were stained with blood, and when the risks did not match the rewards, few were willing to gamble with their lives.

That night, Richard hid in dead leaves as usual and meditated.

Although most people who could reach this area had already fulfilled the exam requirements, one could never be too careful. While traveling during the day, Richard had always felt that someone was following him. The feeling was like a thorn in his back, making it difficult for him even to enter meditation.

Several dozen meters away from Richard, a tall figure with more than ten bags tied around his waist crouched in a tree, silently watching the place where Richard hid.

"I followed this brat for a whole day. Other than traveling, all he did was travel. Whenever he ran into people, he avoided them if he could. A coward like this could kill that Magic Beast?"

He had thought that an apprentice capable of killing a Magic Beast would at least be a knight, someone who should have made a fine opponent. But after following Richard for a day, he found him no different from those good-for-nothings.

Could he be hiding his true strength?

Richard, who was meditating, suddenly felt his heart tighten. A shrill whistle through the air made him instinctively duck aside.

With a bang, Richard saw an arm-thick Wooden Spear appear beside him.

The Wooden Spear was likely over a meter long, one end sharpened to a point. Even after it had pierced the tree trunk, its tail continued to tremble.

An attacker. And an expert.

Richard's heart sank as he immediately gripped the Fireball Technique Staff he had obtained yesterday.

To accomplish something like this with wood, the attacker either possessed an exceptionally powerful magical item or was a genius knight.

Richard hoped it was the former, because the latter would likely possess both magical items and the strength of a knight.

"You dodged it. Looks like you've got some skill after all."

A voice came from nearby. Richard turned and saw a tall figure emerge from the forest, a Two-handed Greatsword in hand and more than ten bags tied around his waist.

More than ten bags. Looks like I've run into a madman.

Richard's grip on the Staff tightened unconsciously. In an exam where killing just one person was enough to pass, this man had slaughtered more than ten apprentices and hung their bags from his waist as trophies.

This man was clearly a madman, and a very powerful one at that.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Saban Chavez of the Norton Empire," the tall figure shouted. "May I know your name?"

Under the moonlight filtering through the forest, Richard saw the man's features clearly. He had red hair, triangular eyes, and a high nose bridge. A scar stretched from his nose bridge to the corners of both eyes.

He carried the Greatsword over his shoulder. Though his Chainmail had many tears and damages, his body bore no wounds.

This is an expert. He's very likely a knight.

"Not answering?"

After waiting for a while and seeing that Richard had no intention of revealing his name, Saban shrugged helplessly. The next instant, he charged at Richard with his Greatsword raised.

"Anyone who won't even give their name can just die."

Richard watched Saban coldly as a crimson glimmer flashed across the Staff in his hand.

"Idiot, eat my Fireball Technique."