Chapter 79 - 70: Magic Fighter Ai Lin

Selun watched as Long Yi lost another two rounds of gold coins. Even an idiot would understand that the other two were betting on him. Despite feeling unhappy, he did not show this on his face, after all, it wasn’t a big deal. To argue over such a minor matter would make him seem petty. Moreover, knowing Long Yi’s character, he was sure to accept the challenge. When that happens, Selun can gracefully defeat him, which would undoubtedly leave a deep impression on Ai Lin.

Girls, after all, always seem to be fond of the strong, don’t they?

Selun calmly waited for Long Yi’s response. Long Yi naturally had to save face, or rather, he was already prepared for this.

"Bro, you abruptly came out of nowhere wanting to fight me, interrupting my precious study time. Beating you doesn’t benefit me at all, isn’t that inappropriate?"

Long Yi pouted, looking thoroughly displeased.

Selun couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He thought, as a third-year student challenging you, a second-year student, it is already very gracious of me. On top of being a powerful Dragon Warrior, in a magic duel you’re just a rookie. And yet, you still want benefits?

"Benefits? There naturally are some." While speaking, Selun slipped a bracelet off his wrist. "This is Seres’ Recovery Bracelet, one of the creations of the famous Magic craftsman Seres. Wearing this bracelet can increase your Mana recovery speed by three percent. If you can beat me, this bracelet is yours."

In his hand, the bracelet was entirely silver and adorned with gemstones engraved with intricate runes, arranged in an odd pattern. Energy flowed above the gems, indicating that Selun wasn’t lying.

Selvi’s eyes widened instantly. This Seres bracelet was one of her brother’s most cherished possessions. When Selun first displayed his magical talent at the age of six, their family purchased this magical accessory at a high price. During battle, when a Mage’s magic is spent, Dragon Power does not instantly replenish the Mage’s magic; it’s a slow process. After all, humans are not dragons; they cannot withstand the impact of Dragon Power. This Seres Recovery Bracelet increases this slow process by three percent.

Do not underestimate this three percent. To Mages, even if it is just almost three-thousandths, this difference can decide the result of a battle.

As for this wager, Long Yi was not very satisfied. The reason being quite simple, that bracelet of little use to him. Long Yi’s Mana stems from his own Giant’s strength, and the regeneration speed of a Giant’s power far surpasses the human imagination. The bracelet, while a decent bonus, was not a necessity. Moreover, Long Yi does not have the habit of wearing such trinkets.

As a knight, any extras could potentially become a burden during battle.

"I have already made my wager ready, Long Yi, correspondingly, if you lose, what will you give me?" Selun saw the disdain in Long Yi’s eyes. However, to Selun, this was just a sign that Long Yi failed to recognize the value of things. His bracelet was incredibly expensive, and he doubted that Long Yi, a blacksmith’s son, could afford it, let alone heard about such an item before.

"Lose?" Long Yi chuckled, "I never thought about it. How could I lose? Since I won’t lose, why should I prepare a wager? Let’s just get to the fight."

Upon hearing Long Yi’s statement, Selun could not help but laugh. "Long Yi, you ought to remember, this is a magical duel. Where is your confidence coming from?"

Long Yi also began to laugh, "I am well aware that this is a magical duel. Even so, you’re no match for me."

Finally, Selun saw the confidence in Long Yi’s eyes, as well as the slight contempt hidden beneath. That’s right, Long Yi did not show any sign of fear, despite the opponents he faced, even if it was Selun!

"Fine then! Once you lose, I won’t take anything from you. All I want is to see you kneel in front of me and call me ’Big Brother’ three times!" Selun stared into Long Yi’s eyes while expressing his demand word by word.

"Sure thing, if you can win, not only will I call you Big Brother, I can even call you Ancestors. Come on, boy, let’s see whether your mouth is useful or your fists!"

Long Yi swung his fists idly and signaled for Selun to make his move. Not wasting any words, Selun silently stepped back a few steps, his Mana running high inside his body. At this moment, Selun did not intend to take any time testing or entangling with Long Yi. He had seen Long Yi’s battle prowess, where his physical strength was formidable and his stamina was strong. With Long Yi, there was no use in testing the waters, he could only treat Long Yi as his most powerful opponent and aim for a swift defeat.

With a smile, Long Yi watched Selun while his own Mana surged within him.

From afar, both sides were ready, and a battle was about to ensue, the two girls who came with Selun suddenly approached Ai Lin.

"Ai Lin, I heard you’re a Magic Fighter, why don’t we also exchange a few moves?" One of the girls suggested.

Ai Lin glanced at the two girls across from her and politely declined, "No, thank you. As a Magic Fighter, I have the upper hand when I fight against Mages. You two are not as skilled as me, you can’t win against me. In addition, my battling style is completely different from yours, so a fight wouldn’t help with your magical training."

Ai Lin was very sincere, and she spoke the truth. But the two girls still felt a sense of being looked down upon. In fact, Magic Fighters are considered the oddities amongst Mages. Even though they technically are Mages, they cannot launch their magic from a distance and must have physical contact with their opponent. Even though this greatly enhances the destructive power of the magic, it also increases their own chances of getting hurt. Since Magic Fighters themselves have a strong resistance to magic, they are also called "Magic Killers". Mages at the same level have little chance of winning when facing a Magic Fighter.

At present, Ai Lin’s magic ability is already at the seventh level, and the two girls are at the sixth and fifth levels respectively. Ai Lin could see this clearly, and knew beyond a doubt that there was no chance they could win against her.

The two girls’ faces turned red as they bottled up their emotions. Ai Lin was speaking truths they couldn’t deny. Originally, they had intended to challenge Ai Lin in order to distract Long Yi, which would help Selun secure a victory. Because they had seen Long Yi in action before, they knew how difficult he was to defeat, thus leading them to come up with such a plan.

However, Ai Lin wouldn’t even fight with them!

Or rather, Ai Lin simply looked down upon them and deemed them not worth fighting!

"In that case, allow me to add to the numbers. With three of us, even a Magic Fighter would not find it easy to win."

Selvi also came over, intelligent as she was, she immediately understood the intent of these two girls. She understood that even the slightest distraction on Long Yi’s part could help her second brother. Since you won’t accept my challenge, Long Yi, I’ll watch you lose to my second brother!

Ai Lin was somewhat helpless. She was not a fool, so how could she not guess it? However, she was already forced by the other party and there was no reason for her to refuse.

But, if she agreed, would it really distract Brother Long?

Impossible!

Brother Long is invincible!

Moreover, if I win spectacularly, it’s like indirectly cheering for Brother Long!

As soon as she thought of Long Yi, Ai Lin’s heart was filled with confidence.

"Alright, let’s do this together!"

Mimicking Long Yi’s tone, Ai Lin set her stance and recited the Draconic language.

"Ethereal Light Shield!"

Immediately, a faint blue light appeared on the surface of her silver dragon scales. Any spell cast by a Magic Fighter was for their own benefit, and the Ethereal Light Shield was no exception.

"Sail with the Wind!"

An odd breeze suddenly rose beneath Ai Lin’s feet, making her move faster.

"Eyes Bright, Ears Keen!"

Ai Lin’s vision and hearing became more sensitive to danger, allowing her to dodge attacks from blind spots more easily.

"Gaze Lock!"

Ai Lin’s eyes were faintly silver, allowing her to cast spells at will. As long as her gaze was fixed, the spell would naturally guide itself towards the target.

"Spell Eruption!"

The mana inside Ai Lin accelerated, allowing her to release more spells in a short period of time.

"Double Spellcasting!"

For a short time, Ai Lin would have a certain chance to cast the same spell an additional time after each spell!

Stunned.

The three girls across from Ai Lin were completely stunned; all the mages in the second-year mage department were stunned; even Selun, who was preparing to fight Long Yi, was stunned.

Before the fight even began, Ai Lin rained a barrage of buff attributes onto herself, each more terrifying than the last!

Ethereal Light Shield and Sail with the Wind are standard spells for the second year, so there’s nothing unusual about them. The Ethereal Light Shield offers resistance to a certain degree of spell damage based on the mage’s mana level, which is a standard opening move for mages. Sail with the Wind is a skill that Ai Lin, as a Magic Fighter, needs to use. Speed is a foundation of a Magic Fighter, and whether or not they can swiftly approach the mage could be a matter of life and death.

The subsequent Eyes Bright, Ears Keen and Gaze Lock are third and fourth-year courses respectively. There isn’t much to say about the former. Gaze Lock, though taught in the fourth year, is a skill that’s still difficult to master even upon graduation. After all, a mage can’t always keep their eyes on their enemy when fighting on the back of a dragon. The tiniest deviation might cause their spell to hit the wrong target. Very few people cast Gaze Lock during battle outside of the experts. Strangely, Ai Lin can’t cast long-range spells, right? What does she need Gaze Lock for?

The two buff spells that followed were a bit scary.

Spell Eruption, Double Spellcasting.

These are two enhancement skills that aren’t learned until the fifth year. The difficulty in mastering these skills is akin to a toddler learning to walk for the first time. Just as a baby needs time to learn to walk from birth, mastering these skills requires time, and using them smoothly is a long process. Every mage’s spellcasting has a certain rhythm, but these two skills change the casting rhythm. Especially with Double Spellcasting, sometimes you want to cast the next spell, but Double Spellcasting suddenly activates, causing your planned spell to fail.

It could be said that mastering these two enhancement skills and how proficient you are in using them can almost determine the victory or defeat in any one-on-one battle.

And now, Ai Lin, a Magic Fighter, a newcomer who has just been promoted to the second year, effortlessly released these fifth year enhancement skills.