The bodies of three corrosive hounds lay by Austin and Catherine's feet.
"Just now…"
Catherine broke out in a cold sweat.
If Austin was not there, she might get herself bitten by the two corrosive hounds that had sneaked up on her.
"Brother, am I dead?"
Catherine's face turned pale, and her pleasant voice trembled.
After all, it was actual combat.
It did not matter how well you performed during practice or how well you studied at the magic academy.
In a real fight with an enemy or a vicious beast, the slightest mistake could kill you.
The result might be death!
Catherine felt a pang of fear as she recalled what had happened.
She did not even notice that there was not a drop of blood on Austin's body when he killed the three corrosive hounds.
Austin cast an air shield around himself.
It was precisely due to this shield that Austin spared himself from being splattered with blood.
Droplets of blood splashed onto the air membrane and then rolled onto the ground.
"You're not dead. You're still alive." Austin said seriously.
"But if I'm not here, the consequences would be unthinkable."
Austin sensed that his sister was trembling with fear and stroked her head lovingly.
"Alright, learn from your mistakes. Actual combat can help you grow."
"Remember, never relax in a dangerous environment. For example…"
Austin punched to the side without looking back.
With a loud bang, the punch killed the corrosive hound that pounced over from the shop next to them.
When!?
Catherine froze.
There was another corrosive hound.
How would she know that Austin had come into contact with cats, snakes, spiders, and other types of magical beasts? His cells had evolved many times and obtained super-perceptive abilities.
Austin no longer observed the world simply with his eyes.
His sense of smell, hearing, heat and even the mysterious sixth sense had far surpassed that of a magister.
"Brother, there are no tracking devices on these corrosive hounds."
Katherine sliced through a corrosive hound's rotting flesh with her dagger, looking for a tracking device, but found nothing.
Austin glanced around and replied, "Maybe these are still young corrosive hounds, so they don't have it."
There were tens of thousands of ferocious beasts living in Vicious Beast Town. Naturally, they would reproduce.
Although the corrosive hounds were weak among the low-level ferocious beasts, they could eat almost anything. They had strong survival abilities and reproducing rates.
Corrosive hounds that came in groups of three to five were usually not adults.
The adults would even eat their own kind if they were in extreme hunger!
At this moment, the sound of intense gunfire came from the nearby streets.
Before long, monstrous roars and horrible screams rang.
"Austin…"
Catherine glanced at Austin.
Austin shook his head. "Come on. We'll keep walking around here."
"Young corrosive hounds are good for practice to improve your combat experience."
Catherine became dazed for a moment.
She felt as if there was a tier-two magister beside her who was patiently teaching her.
Her elder brother was always so reliable.
Staring at Austin's back, Catherine felt a sense of comfort.
Vicious Beast Town Control Center.
Several examiners were looking at the magick monitors.
Every corner of the town had hidden surveillance cameras installed.
The chief examiner relied on large amounts of surveillance magic devices to check the performance of the apprentice magisters.
The tall and sturdy Ankti crossed his arms and sneered. "These recruits are really good at turning themselves into delicious meals."
Hika studied the magic mirror screen critically.
"Any magisters with poor mental fortitude participating in the official magister's examination are here to deliver food to the vicious beasts."
In the magick monitor, one could say that it was witnessing the final destinations of apprentice magisters.
Some apprentice magisters had weak mentalities.
After seeing the actual ferocious beasts, they stood like statues. It was as good as returning all the low-level Magister attack techniques that they had learned from the magic school to their teacher.
Some of the apprentice magisters were careless.
In the end, they fell into traps set up by vicious beasts and could only feed the hungry beasts.
Many apprentice magisters had made a small mistake similar to Catherine's that cost their lives.
Hika pointed at an apprentice magister whose mouth got pierced by a spider leg on the screen and said, "It's just an official magister test. Is it that difficult?"
Cass laughed. "I guess you've forgotten how disheveled you looked during your exams."
Ankti said, "When we took the official magister exam, we passed, but it wasn't that easy either."
"Who would really treat the exam as a vacation?"
The tier-three magisters shook their heads as they recalled how they passed their exams.
The exam was simple, yet cruel!
In the magick monitor, one apprentice magister was stabbed through the heart by a scorpion tail that had suddenly emerged from the alley.
A giant bird in the sky pecked another apprentice magister, breaking his skull and ate his brain.
There was also an apprentice magister whose throat was torn apart by an agile Shadow Cat.
…
"Mm? Who is this young lady?"
"I can't believe she's fighting three corrosive hounds alone."
"Let me take a look. The sakura swordsmanship of the Magister Association of Faye and the Clean Wave Footwork is quite solid."
A girl with a ponytail caught the attention of the examiners.
Elder Chuan's eyes were sharp as he immediately recognized that the three corrosive hounds had not matured.
On the screen, a man was standing at the side, watching the battle with folded arms!
Ugh! It's that lecher!
Judging from the man's clothes, Hika clenched her fists.
Who else could it be but Austin?
Cass summoned the information and said, "The girl's name is Catherine. She had only just broken through to an apprentice magister a few days ago. Her performance is not bad, a promising talent."
"With a good mentality, her future achievements won't be too low."
The Martian hunter, Ankti, nodded as well.
President Chuan leaned on his walking stick and smiled amiably. "You've only seen the performance of the girl, but all of you have missed out on the better one."
"Oh? I'm willing to listen to Elder Chuan's analysis."
Elder Chuan stood up and walked to the magick monitor as he examined it closely.
"This man is guiding the girl.
"Well, he's quite powerful. He's bold, careful, and observant. He wasn't in a hurry to hunt vicious beasts. He's deliberately using the young corrosive hounds to sharpen Catherine's combat skills."
The few tier-three magisters looked at each other.
If Elder Chuan said so, it must be right.
As the branch president of the Thunder Magister Guild in Faye City, Elder Chuan knew best!
"What a pity that he lacked the magic aptitude…"
The president recognized Austin and could not help but let out a long sigh.