Chapter 32: Chain Reaction

It was unclear whether it was jealousy or lamentation, but Master Seda's emotions were complex, yet he remained certain of his victory.

"Your methods truly exceeded my expectations, but looking purely at your mana, how many more spells can you cast?"

Master Seda was incomparably confident.

"The robe I am wearing comes with a 1st-circle Shield spell. Even if I stood still and let you attack, you wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on my head once your mana is exhausted."

"Shield spell." Gao De silently committed this spell to memory.

Master Seda was indeed not deceiving Gao De.

The acid orb burst before Master Seda just as before, and the splashing acid was blocked by the magical barrier.

Master Seda was safe and sound.

"Admit defeat, and tell me where you learned your spells; perhaps I will give you a quick end," Master Seda said, shaking his head.

Having reached this point, even if there was no hope left on the path ahead, how could there be any reason to turn back? Gao De turned a deaf ear, sweat seeping from his forehead.

This was both from the stinging pain of the burn on his chest and from the exhaustion caused by excessive mana consumption.

【Acid Splash+】 was more powerful than 【Acid Splash】, but its mana consumption was also higher.

If not for his persistent cultivation over the past month, which had increased his mana slightly, he wouldn't even have been able to cast five cantrips.

Another acid orb condensed in Gao De's palm.

The final spell was still 【Acid Splash+】! Although Gao De did not speak, his actions had made his intentions clear.

Master Seda's expression darkened a few shades further.

Seeing Gao De provoke him time and time again, he could finally no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

"You don't know what's good for you!"

The third acid orb was still blocked by Master Seda's Shield spell.

However, having continuously blocked multiple cantrips, even though the Shield spell was a 1st-circle spell, its power was now nearly exhausted.

Master Seda did not intend to place himself in any potential danger; he acted decisively, intending to take Gao De down in one fell swoop before the power of the Shield spell was completely drained.

He took a sudden step forward and raised his right hand, and a light, dazzling enough to blind an ordinary person, burst forth.

This was precisely the method Master Seda had used earlier to deal with the wolf-rats.

Gao De had no time to close his eyes.

This was simply not something one could react to through reflexes alone.

The light was incomparably intense, and in an instant, it entered Gao De's vision.

He only felt a heat in his eyes, followed by an aching pain in his eyeballs, and tears began to well up uncontrollably.

His vision vanished in that instant.

Gao De finally experienced what it felt like to be blinded by a flash.

He could not spare the time to wipe away his tears, nor did he attempt to open his eyes to look out, nor did he make any blind evasive maneuvers; instead, he decisively reached into his robe.

He pulled out a copper object shaped like a fang.

Fang of Mist.

Gao De gave the Fang of Mist a light wave.

A thick mass of fog instantly surged out from it and rapidly expanded outward.

At the same time, a powerful energy circulated around the Fang of Mist, causing it to tremble as if it had a life of its own.

Energy poured into the Fang of Mist like a flow of molten lava.

It emitted a slight resonance, and its surface shimmered with a faint light, signaling that it had been imbued with supernatural power, capable of inflicting even more lethal damage upon the enemy.

Enchant!

This process was as fluid as pouring liquid mercury.

On the other side, the fog filled the room in a mere instant, silently plunging the entire space into a hazy blur.

The previously clear scene became indistinct in the blink of an eye.

Only objects within arm's reach could have their outlines distinguished.

Any line of sight beyond five feet was obscured by this layer of dense fog.

And Gao De had maintained a distance of more than five feet from Master Seda from the very beginning, even going so far as to expend his limited mana to cast 【Mage Hand】 to retrieve his potions.

You make me unable to see you, and I will make you unable to see me.

Now, the two were effectively tied again, back at the same starting point.

But the flash only lasted an instant, while the Fog Cloud spell would last for a minute. The advantage is mine!

The time that followed would be Gao De's home turf.

Master Seda opened his eyes wide and looked toward Gao De's previous position, but saw only a dark, murky expanse; he couldn't even see a silhouette, let alone a person.

He was both shocked and furious.

"A 1st-circle Fog Cloud spell? Where did this brat get a 1st-circle supernatural item? Even I only have two 1st-circle magical alchemical creations."

By now, he had long since cast aside his earlier contempt.

"This brat has a huge secret!"

With Gao De displaying so many things, how could Master Seda not have guessed this?

Whoosh! A sharp sound accompanied by a cold wind struck him from directly in front.

Although his vision was obstructed, sound was not affected.

Master Seda reacted immediately and hurriedly dodged to the side.

Bang! Pfft! Two consecutive sounds rang out.

A glass bottle and a bag of something unknown burst open beside Master Seda!

Since his vision was also obstructed, Gao De naturally could not aim accurately at Master Seda, so it was only logical that he was dodged.

"Acid again." The pungent smell of sulfur made Master Seda immediately understand what Gao De had thrown.

"Hmm, and flour?" But the other scent left Master Seda completely baffled.

Along with the acid thrown by Gao De, there was actually a small bag of flour.

Master Seda could not understand Gao De's intention at all.

The "dust-throwing" tactic was clearly only effective the first time it was used by surprise.

Besides, how could this flour, which couldn't be aimed precisely at his face, possibly have any effect on him? Gao De would not give Master Seda much time to think.

Immediately, another glass bottle and several small bags of flour were thrown from the depths of the fog.

Although they still did not hit Master Seda, the acid splashing from the burst acid bottle still managed to spray a little toward Master Seda; fortunately, the Shield spell was still in effect, protecting him.

Master Seda had no time to ponder the purpose of the flour thrown along with the acid, assuming it was just Gao De trying to create a distraction.

"Where on earth did this brat get so many bottles of acid?"

He cursed viciously in his heart while hurriedly moving his feet to change positions.

But the next moment, he let out a hoarse, agonizing scream of extreme pain.

He looked down at his right foot.

There, a pool of acid lay on the ground.

And Master Seda had stepped right into it.

The acid instantly corroded his shoe sole, then ate through the skin and flesh of his sole, emitting a hissing sound.

The skin on his sole began to dissolve the moment it touched the acid, leaving behind charred, bubbling wounds that caused him intense pain.

When had Master Seda ever suffered such an injury?

"Where did this acid come from? It must be from the acid bottles thrown earlier!"

Actually, not entirely.

In addition to the acid from the broken bottles on the ground, there was also the acid left behind by Gao De's earlier 【Acid Splash+】—Extra Effect: The acid can be retained for up to one day according to your needs.

Three consecutive 【Acid Splash+】 spells, although blocked by Master Seda's Shield spell, had not disappeared, and together with the acid from the bottles, they had formed a "minefield" around Master Seda, restricting his movement.

Under normal circumstances, this acid spilled on the ground would not pose any threat to Master Seda.

But now, the Fog Cloud spell restricted his vision, giving him a feeling of being unable to move an inch.

If he moved, he might step on the acid; if he didn't move, wouldn't he just become a living target?

The effect of the Shield spell had almost dissipated; without it, he could no longer face the acid unscathed as he had before.

Now, Master Seda, trapped in a dilemma, recalled Gao De's inexplicable act of using 【Mage Hand】 to retrieve magic potions at the beginning, and immediately understood that Gao De had been laying the groundwork for the Fog Cloud spell back then;

He also wondered where Gao De had obtained so many acid bottles, which were clearly meant to set up this "minefield"; he had known 【Acid Splash】 was useless against his Shield spell, yet he had cast it persistently.

He had thought the boy was out of options and was just biting the bullet.

Now it seemed it was entirely to consume the effect of his Shield spell, so that he could no longer ignore the acid bottles Gao De kept throwing.

This chain of traps had finally ensnared even an "old hand" like him, leaving him in a dilemma.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 33 =====