บท 19: Earth Shield: Enlightenment, The God of War Physique!
บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation
"System!"
Marcus walked to his dorm and called out the system interface in his mind.
[Host: Marcus
Realm: Level-3 Archmage
Skills:
Explosive Fireball: Extremely Skilled (Unable to Level Up)
Wind Blade: Level-10 (Progress 80%)
Shadow Flash: Level-10 (Progress 71%)
Earth Shield: Level-10 (Progress 89%)
Heart of Nightmare (Passive): Absorption Completed (Unable to Level Up)
Nightmare Eye: Absorption Completed (Unable to Level Up)]
Marcus was delighted because missions were indeed the best way for a mage to become more proficient in their magic.
As such, Marcus fancied Susan's personal mission even more now. Not only had he increased his strength, but he would also be able to receive Susan's guidance.
"Marcus!" Susan's voice came from outside the door.
Marcus opened the door, and Susan directly threw three large bags of gold coins to him.
"There are 3,000 gold coins in there."
"Why so many?" Marcus was a little surprised. "Wasn't the reward supposed to be 1,000?"
"The extra 2,000 is a reward the police gave you for your contribution." Susan paused. "You killed a level-5 advanced dark mage, after all. It wouldn't be appropriate not to reward you."
"He was such a high-level dark mage?" Marcus was a little astonished.
Then, Susan handed Marcus a letter from Chelsea.
The letter's content was as following:
The police and the Magic Association's personnel went to the abandoned Barren Hill Mental Hospital to clean up the aftermath.
They discovered Anze's whole family in the basement.
Shockingly, he had used them as part of his experiments!
After the Magic Association's personnel found them, they cremated them along with Anze's scattered remains.
Marcus could only sigh.
'Magic is heartless!'
"I've been busy recently, so I must put a halt to giving you guidance on halt. Maybe I won't be able to guide you anymore." Susan picked up an ancient parchment and said slowly, "This is the formula for a medium-level stamina potion. Take it as my compensation to you. Although it can't be compared to the ancient potion formula, this is still a modified potion formula. The potion produced is three times better than the one on the market. I'll give it to you."
Marcus received the ancient parchment and said gratefully, "Senior Sister, how much did this cost?"
"It's okay. It's only about 6,000 gold coins. It's not very expensive," said Susan. "Your physique is currently lacking, so I suggest you spend more time improving it."
Marcus nodded and then remarked, "About 6,000, not expensive..."
"It's not too expensive," insisted Susan. "This is a mere medium-grade potion formula. If you buy a high-grade one, you'll need at least 10,000 gold coins."
Marcus thanked Susan. Then he sighed in his heart—he was still too poor.
Nonetheless, this trip was a good harvest for Marcus.
...
Marcus bought numerous herbs and went to the academy's official pharmacy to concoct a potion.
A ball of fire rose under the potion bottle.
This was Marcus' flame technique, and it was already at the pinnacle of perfection!
When the potion bottle became extremely hot, Marcus followed the ratio of the medicinal herbs in the potion formula, ground the herbs into powder, and put them into the potion bottle.
Then, Marcus began to gently shake the bottle.
This step was the most crucial—the bottle might explode, or a portion of the potion might gush out.
After shaking for a minute, everything was as before.
This meant it was a success!
Not long after, Marcus stopped shaking and exhaled.
"Success!"
When the red potion in the bottle cooled down, Marcus immediately poured it into his mouth, sat in his seat, and quietly waited for the potion to take effect.
If it succeeded, the effect would be permanent. Thus, he hoped that his strength could improve by leaps and bounds.
"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious!" Marcus slowly consoled himself.
Marcus stood up after a long time and felt his body become light as if he was soaring!
He felt that there was an infinite amount of power in his body, so he hurriedly threw a punch, generating a powerful whistling sound.
"It really succeeded!"
[The Earth Shield Spell absorbed the remaining medicinal effect, current progress 100%!]
[The Earth Shield Spell has reached perfection. Unable to continue leveling it up. I choose to enlighten myself!]
Marcus exited the potion room, encouraging himself in his heart. He must take one step at a time and steadily break through to the grand mage realm!
Days passed...
Marcus's magic power was improving bit by bit.
"Phew, it's been a while since I went to visit Durant. I wonder if he has recovered."
Marcus decided to get up and go visit Durant. He also wanted to attend the Magic History class.
The Magic History class was considered the class with the most absentees because they could not learn much. In order to solve this problem, the Magic History class's teacher had decided to take the students to ancient magic sites and teach them there.
"Students, last time we visited some of the ancient dark mages' experimental bases.
"Today, we are going to take a look at God of War's statue!
"Students, as you are all aware, this statue is of a swordsman. However, what you may not know is that he was also a great mage!"
The God of War's statue carried a solemn expression. He was waving the wand in his left in the air, while his right hand was holding a large sword, which was stabbed into the ground.
He was the only legendary figure that had mastered both swordsmanship and magic.
As everyone was listening to their teacher recounting the legendary God of War's feats, a buzzing sound suddenly rang in Marcus's head.
Then, Marcus felt as if his internal organs were starting to roll around in pain.
Marcus's face contorted with pain. He clenched his fists, and his fingers seemed to be tightly embedded in his flesh.
[After the Earth Shield Spell observed the God of War's statue, you received a surge of magic power to replenish and strengthen your body. You also obtained the God of War Physique!]
"Alright, class is over!"
Marcus dashed to a remote forest and began to circulate his magic.
"Fortunately, I didn't go berserk!" Marcus heaved a sigh of relief.
When Marcus moved, he felt more relaxed than before.
In the forest, the leaves swayed with the wind, which carried with it a hint of blood.
Marcus used his Nightmare Eye and saw what was happening in the distance.
Three Magic Beast Wolves were attacking a carriage. There were a few human corpses around the carriage, while two women were trembling in the carriage. They were leaning against each other, not daring to look at the bloody scene outside.
They kept muttering, "Who's going to save us..."
Marcus used Shadow Flash to appear on the other side, and the three Magic Beast Wolves suddenly turned to look at him.
"Miss Wendy, look! We are saved!" The brown-clothed maid whispered to the lady beside her.
Wendy, who was still crying suddenly, lifted the curtain and shouted, "Be careful, they are very fast!"
The three Magic Beast Wolves were very intelligent—two of them attacked Marcus, while the other one kept attacking the carriage.
"You are courting death!"
Marcus used Lightning Strike to attack them.
The Magic Beast Wolf may be fast, but was it faster than lightning?
Marcus's Lightning Strike was faster than the Magic Beast Wolf's eyes. Thus, it instantly killed them before they could react.
However, the other wolf had already run in front of the carriage.
Marcus used Shadow Flash, but he realized that it was useless.
After the two Magic Beast Wolves' stomachs were torn open, two radioactive stones fell off their stomachs.
This kind of stone was used to create anti-magic bullets. After they hit a mage, their magic power would be weakened.
The radioactive stones from the wolves' stomachs were one of the strongest weapons against mages, as when a mage was exposed to the radiation, they would be unable to use magic for a short period.
There was no time left. The wolf had already jumped in the air with all its might, ready to eat the two women!
Marcus did not hesitate to rush forward.
His body was as light as a swallow, and he directly sent the airborne wolf flying.
"Awooo!"
A few of the wolf's bones had broken, and the beast seemed to be enraged. As such, the wolf charged at Marcus instead of fleeing!
It seemed to know that Marcus could not use magic anymore!
The wolf suddenly slowed down, looking for Marcus's weak point.
On the other hand, Marcus took a deep breath, quietly waiting for the wolf's attack.
The wind suddenly rose.
The Magic Beast Wolf arched its body, pounced, and extended its claws, targeting Marcus's neck.
Marcus found an opportunity, bent back, and extended his arms.
'You found my weakness? I found yours, too!'
Marcus threw a punch at its head with great confidence.
A scarlet flower of blood exploded in the air, followed by a hoarse whimper!
Swoosh!
The two women in the carriage witnessed an unbelievable scene.
After the Magic Beast Wolf's body was sent flying, it heavily crashed against a rock. Following that, the huge rock trembled, and spider-web-like cracks started to appear on its surface.
Dust and rocks filled the air again, and when they scattered, the huge rock had already turned into powder.
As for the wolf's remains, they had already become a little unidentifiable.
[The God of War Physique killed the demonic beast. Cultivation Progress: 110%. Current Progress: 30%!]
"A prodigy that cultivates his body and uses magic…" The whole episode left the brown-clothed maid dumbstruck.
Wendy pulled the maid out of the carriage, knelt before Marcus, who was looking at her in mid-air, and thanked him.
"Thank you, Sir Mage, for your help! My name is Wendy, and I am extremely grateful! May I know your name, sir? I will definitely repay my benefactor properly when I return!"
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