Chapter 325: I Am Indeed a Genius (Part 1)

Amidst the staff member's calling of the name, a magic user who was obviously older than Boen Mike stood out from the crowd.

He was Pao Locke.

To tell the truth, he was very nervous.

But thinking about it, this battle had no threat to life, and there was no need to win, so in terms of psychological pressure, it was actually acceptable.

Fight it out, fight for a future!

This was Pao's thought at this moment, and it was also the mind of most people on the scene.

However, the result of the battle did not change because of his firm belief.

Pao's ending was no different from Boen Mike's.

The time they persisted should be just a few seconds apart, and even the opening act was the same—when leaving the deck, he also couldn't dodge Paul's thick but flexible tentacle whipping, and was directly whipped into the seawater.

Naturally, when Pao was thrown back to the deck by the giant octopus, struggling to get up wet and embarrassed, Lieutenant Xilin had already impolitely made a big cross behind his name.

And Boen Mike, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, and even felt some secret rejoicing.

—The staff and Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users didn't drive people away, so after a moment of hesitation, Boen Mike still chose to stay and watch the re-examination performance of others.

He and Pao had no gap, or it should be said they didn't know each other at all.

It's just that his own failure was terrible, but other people's success was more worrying, so after seeing Pao's failure, a feeling of comfort arose in his heart subconsciously.

And this feeling of comfort was still continuing endlessly.

The magic users who were drawn next basically performed the same as them.

There were two older mid-first-circle magic users who relied on deeper magic power foundation and more spells to persist for more than ten seconds in the water.

However, obviously, these ten seconds were not enough to let them pass the Sea Sentinels' re-examination assessment.

In this way, ten magic users who passed the preliminary test were re-examined one after another, and the total time spent was actually less than half an hour.

This made Lieutenant Xilin shake his head frequently.

Even, he didn't watch the transparent board on the alchemical machine as focused as before, but turned his head and chatted with the young Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user beside him.

"Let the people on the preliminary test side be stricter in the future. Sending these people over is just a waste of our time, isn't it?" He said with a frown.

"Lieutenant Xilin, you can't blame them. After all, the preliminary test side just tests magic power and mental strength, and then combines basic information to screen. It is normal not to be able to see the comprehensive quality of the registered magic users." One of the Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users said with a smile.

This truth Lieutenant Xilin naturally understood, just a complaint out of boredom.

"I don't know if we can recruit anyone this time." Lieutenant Xilin sighed again.

"It's okay, even if we don't recruit anyone in this round, it's not a big problem. This year we have already had four new members join." Another person next to him hurriedly comforted.

"Although the number is not small, they have only barely reached the standard line, which can be said to be better than nothing. Our Sea Sentinels haven't had a genius that makes people shine for a long time."

Lieutenant Xilin added: "If this continues, our right to speak in the Light Sentinels will become weaker and weaker."

Hearing this, the other three Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users also felt helpless, "This kind of thing is ultimately hard to find."

"This Light Hai Shao Bing is clearly derived from our Sea Sentinels, how..." One of them seemed to have been poked in some pain and became a bit indignant.

"Hali, be careful!" However, before he finished speaking, he was cut off by Lieutenant Xilin in time.

The Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user named Hali was pointed out by Lieutenant Xilin and knew he had spoken wrongly, so he hurriedly closed his mouth.

"Next, Gao De."

At this time, the staff member had already called out the new name.

"Eh, this Gao De doesn't seem simple."

At the same time, another Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user looked down at the introduction and then opened his mouth in surprise.

"How so?" His words immediately attracted the attention of the other three.

After Gao De heard his name, he stood out from the crowd silently with a calm expression.

He was the eleventh magic user drawn today, and he didn't appear as the finale like in the TV series, and then gave the examiners who were disappointed all day a surprise, stunning the whole audience.

However, this ranking was already a good draw. Someone tested the water in front, enough for him to understand the situation and be mentally prepared, and he wouldn't be restless because of waiting too long.

But what Gao De didn't expect was that after he stood out and stood on the edge of the deck, the four examiners who had no expression from beginning to end and only stared at the transparent board of the alchemical machine, actually looked at him straight as if they had agreed, including the most indifferent Lieutenant Xilin.

As for the reason, it is actually very simple.

On the parchment with the names of the magic users participating in the re-examination, there will be comments left by the preliminary test examiners.

And after Gao De's name, there is his information introduction, including magic user rank, magic power, mental strength intensity, and origin.

After the information introduction is the evaluation given by the preliminary test examiner, just six characters, but the weight is extremely heavy:

"Top-tier magic user talent."

Finally, an extra line of remarks was added: The re-examination scoring standard can be appropriately relaxed.

This is the preferential treatment for "top-tier magic user talent," and also the optimism about Gao De's potential.

"What do you think?" Lieutenant Xilin raised his eyebrows slightly, moved his gaze away from the parchment, and threw the question to the young Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users beside him.

"He is indeed a genius. Wandering beggar origin, didn't enjoy any cultivation resources, but was able to rank among first-circle magic users at the age of fifteen. This is not all, he actually has 186 mental strength intensity in the early-first-circle."

"If this is well cultivated, it is very likely to become a limit-breaking magic user in the future."

"It's just a pity for this origin. Without the nourishment of resources since childhood, even if the talent is high, nine out of ten, this first-circle specialty will not be very outstanding." Another Sea Hai Shao Bing magic user sighed.

Specialty depends on the magic user's knowledge system, spell library, and a bit of luck.

And these three are all the shortcomings of the poor.

"Indeed, and it is estimated that spells are also a weak point."

"That's why we are asked to appropriately relax the scoring standard." The first magic user who spoke shrugged and said as a matter of course.

"No problem, spells are a weak point, but they can also be slowly supplemented after entering our Sea Sentinels. He is young anyway, it's just that this specialty is a bit of a pity..."

"It's just a first-circle specialty, although there is an impact, it is not very fatal. There is still a chance to catch up later."

The three young Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users discussed one after another.

"However, he is not a local subject of the dynasty, but a naturalized citizen of another country. You still have to consider this point more. Our Sea Sentinels are the facade of Dorn. We cannot be vague about the identity background of members, and we cannot have accidents."

Lieutenant Xilin crossed his arms, but expressed a different view, "My opinion is, neither raise the scoring standard nor relax the scoring standard."

"That's true..." The others thought thoughtfully.

"Moreover, just because the mental strength intensity is high, it cannot be determined without a doubt that it is a top-tier magic user talent. At most, it is a bit gifted."

Lieutenant Xilin continued: "Magic user talent also includes spell items and combat items. If the mental strength is strong, but the spell casting is not smooth during actual combat, the combat skills are a mess, and the psychological quality is not up to standard, then it is just looking good but not useful."

"Lieutenant Xilin is right!" *3.

"He is considered the most outstanding one among this batch of magic users, but that's all. Are there few geniuses in our Sea Sentinels? But how many have truly left their names in the end?"

"Resources are limited, but geniuses are infinite."

Standing on the edge of the deck.

Gao De didn't know Lieutenant Xilin's evaluation of him and his view on geniuses.

He only has one thing in his mind now: not to mention defeating Paul, at least he can't be thrown on the deck like a ball.

In the gap of waiting to go on stage, Gao De had already made a "draft" in his heart and had a preliminary spell strategy.

With a movement of his heart, the magic power in his body became active instantly, and between the flow and change, it flashed across the spell model in the spell sea.

【Mage Armor+】, 【Improve Resistance+】, 【Shield Spell+】.

Faint light appeared on the surface of his body one after another.

Three abjuration spells had been fully added.

Followed by 【Wolf Speed+】.

As the spell took effect, Gao De could clearly feel his legs trembling slightly, and a surging force continuously poured out from the soles of his feet.

Seawater is not terrain, but an environment, so 【Light Feather Step】 could not exert its effect, so he didn't waste magic power extra.

After making advance spell-casting preparations, Gao De took a deep breath, his legs exerted force, and the whole person jumped high from the deck like an arrow from a bow.

Almost at the same moment, Paul used the familiar "old routine," and the thick tentacles wrapped in the sound of wind whipped toward Gao De with lightning speed.

This counts as a card on the table.

But the problem is, Paul's card is "Big King," so even if you know its card, you can't deal with it.

The speed of the tentacles was really too fast, so fast that it only left a blurred black shadow in the air, making people unable to make dodging movements in time.

However, this time Paul's invincible tentacles finally failed.

The blessing of 【Wolf Speed+】 allowed Gao De to possess both wolf speed and wolf jump at the same time.

Therefore, when Paul's tentacles whipped over, Gao De had already stepped on its tentacles in an extremely agile posture, borrowed force to jump, and jumped up another step.

The next moment, two intense energy beams had already burst out from Gao De's fingertips.

【Eldritch Blast+】.

The only first-circle attack spell he currently masters is 【Ice Seal Blade】, and this is his trump card spell, so Gao De didn't prepare to cast it easily.

This led to him only being able to attack with cantrips in this re-examination.

And Paul's skin, which flickered with dark luster, looked like its toughness and resistance were both pulled to the full.

Under such circumstances, 【Eldritch Blast+】 with noble force field damage is undoubtedly the best choice.

More importantly, his 【Eldritch Blast+】 has an automatic target-seeking function.

Being able to cast spells quickly while moving at high speed is already relying on 【Mage Body】.

Still wanting to achieve precise target-seeking, the difficulty is definitely a higher level. At least for the current Gao De, it is extremely difficult.

So, leave it to automatic target-seeking.

Two energy beams accurately hit Paul.

The penetrating force field damage directly ignored its skin and caused force field damage to it.

It's just that the Eldritch Blast that was enough to kill an Ice Wolf fell on Paul, but it failed to cause even the slightest substantial impact on it.

Paul just trembled its huge body slightly, as if it had been bitten by a mosquito, neither painful nor itchy.

—Huge creatures are not necessarily very powerful, but the blood bar is basically very thick.

Paul is also the same.

As a variant creature, it can abuse elite Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users of the same rank, naturally having its own skills.

Splash!

After casting 【Eldritch Blast+】, Gao De didn't even look at the battle results and had already jumped straight into the deep blue seawater.

He was the only one among the magic users who participated in the re-examination so far who entered the water himself, rather than being whipped into the water by Paul.

Although the water area is Paul's home field, this is also a helpless choice.

After all, leaving the deck, there is not even a place to stand, not entering the water, could it be that he can float out of thin air?

Just after entering the water, the sunlight penetrated through layers of water curtains, spreading into countless fine bright lines, illuminating the underwater world like a dream, which provided a not-bad field of vision.

Of course, even without this light, the problem is not big. Gao De's dark vision ability has already increased to over 40%.

He held his breath and looked forward.

Half of Paul's body is on the water, and half is underwater.

It was also at this time that Gao De knew that the giant octopus species name was really too vivid for Paul.

Paul's part underwater, tentacles stretched wantonly, like a twisting magic shadow forest.

The thickest places of those tentacles were as wide as an adult man's waist, covered with dense suction cups, each suction cup was the size of a bowl, and a circle of small but sharp serrations grew on the edge.

The surface of the tentacles was sticky, and covered with a layer of slippery transparent mucus, flickering with strange luster under the dim light, swaying gently with the water flow.

From time to time, a few small bubbles would emerge, slowly rising upward.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Gao De noticed something, didn't have time to think, and his body twisted to the other side by instinct.

Moving the body in the water is not as light as on land, because there is resistance everywhere in the water. Every inch of movement must be resisted against this force.

But Gao De's movements were unusually smooth and smooth, as if there was some help.

It is indeed so.

【Sensing of water flow increased by 36%, oxygen intake increased by 61%】.

The blessing brought by 【Adaptive】 allowed Gao De's swimming ability and breath-holding time in the water to be greatly improved.

It can even be said that the water area can also be counted as his half home field.

Thanks to the improvement of the ability to sense water flow, Gao De can keenly perceive the subtle movements of countless fine water flows like silk, thereby cleverly borrowing force to move.

Just at the moment he finished the side-body movement, one of Paul's tentacles, like a swift fish fork, wrapped in countless crystal water bubbles, tore through the water flow and pierced over.

The tentacles moved forward, bringing up a series of whirlpools, imposing.

The tentacles broke through the water and surged forward, kicking up a series of whirlpools with an aggressive momentum.

Fortunately, Gao De had moved a step early, which allowed him to narrowly dodge past the edge of the tentacles' attack range.

—This also relied on his ability to sense water currents.

Underwater, any subtle movement will trigger a chain reaction in the water, creating new flow patterns.

Even a light flick of a finger will disturb the otherwise calm water, spawning entirely new, intricate ripples.

These movements, whether turbulent or gentle, weave into an invisible web of information, conveying every potential detail in the surrounding environment.

Of course, a mere 36% increase in water current sensing was not enough for Gao De to capture such hidden and delicate information.

But the water current changes brought about by Paul's swift tentacle movements were still very obvious and easy to capture.

And it was through this ability that Gao De realized Paul's intention to launch a surprise attack in time.

After dodging Paul's playful probing, Gao De had already triggered a new spell model.

A faint glimmer flickered across Paul's skin, which was covered in deep and shallow gullies.

This light was initially the size of a bean, then quickly spread in all directions, outlining a strangely shaped, mysterious, and complex totem pattern on its skin.

First-circle rare spell, 【Hunter's Mark+】!

As the spell took effect, it was as if a secret connection had been established between Gao De and Paul.

Every move Paul made seemed to be locked onto by Gao De's perception.

In addition, the attack spells he cast on Paul next would also receive an additional damage bonus.

Immediately after, Gao De's right hand once again emitted a faint glimmer.

Cantrip, 【Frost Bite】.

This was a spell that, like Hunter's Mark, had absolutely no casting trajectory.

Once activated, the magic power would silently cross space and act directly upon the target.

The temperature of the mucus on Paul's body plummeted, and a layer of frost faintly began to form.

Crack!

However, Paul just twisted its body, and the frost layer that was about to solidify shattered in the blink of an eye, ceasing to exist.

Frost Bite was easily broken.

Gao De was not discouraged; he had long known that it was basically impossible for a single cantrip to take effect on Paul.

This was just to stall for some time.

From the moment he left the deck, his third-rank Mandora Eye had already been quietly deployed.

In Gao De's left eye, golden lines like agile fish were constantly swimming and changing at this moment.

The 【Insight】 ability was running at high speed, rapidly constructing Paul's model and discerning the intricate energy flows on its body surface.

Gao De pointed forward.

【Preemptive Strike】 had already been cast, helping the Mandora Eye find weaknesses and construct the basic model faster and more completely.

(End of chapter)