Chapter 466: BOSS

For the next hour, any damage Gao De inflicts on Aldrich will gain additional damage bonus due to the Hunter’s Mark.

More importantly, Gao De will find Aldrich’s whereabouts far more easily.

This is crucial for combat in aquatic environments.

“!” Aldrich sensed the Hunter’s Mark and glared furiously at Gao De.

But Gao De had not yet dismissed [Disguise Shu +], so he still wore Hack’s appearance.

“Dare to show your true face!” he barked, half-serious, half-bluffing.

“As you wish.” Gao De smiled faintly—and actually replied.

He stirred his mind, dismissed the disguise, and revealed his true form, attire, and face.

Aldrich instinctively widened his eyes, trying to pierce the darkness and see Gao De’s features.

Now!

Gao De silently thought, his gaze instantly sharpening like a hawk’s.

In his arcane star-sea, a cantrip model had been activated.

[Flash!]

Flash was merely a cantrip—a functional one.

But that didn’t mean it was useless against a second-circle mage.

Used well, even a cantrip could achieve extraordinary results.

Like right now.

An extreme flash erupted, spreading instantly in all directions.

The light was so intense it blinded the eyes.

Gao De had closed his eyes in advance.

But Aldrich failed to react—his eyes burned with searing pain, tears instantly spilled, and he entered a dazzled state.

The light vanished in an instant.

Gao De reopened his eyes, watching Aldrich instinctively shielding his face with his hands, then flicked a finger—magic rippled in the air.

Two energy beams shot out like arcs of lightning, glowing faintly, starkly visible in the night.

[Arcane Burst+]!

Though Aldrich, dazzled, could not see Gao De’s movements, he easily guessed Gao De would seize the opening to attack.

So he drew a deep breath and plunged violently underwater, mimicking Gao De’s earlier maneuver to evade.

Whether from water’s immense resistance or its obscuring effect on vision, the underwater realm became a temporary sanctuary.

Yet the two energy beams of Arcane Burst+ did not lose their target due to Aldrich’s dodge.

They behaved like two heat-seeking torpedoes, chasing Aldrich into the water and striking him with perfect precision.

Arcane Burst+’s auto-lock feature proved devastatingly effective under such low-visibility conditions.

Hss! Boom!

Two distinct sounds erupted, like twin thunderclaps detonating underwater.

They signaled two different types of damage being blocked by Shield Shu .

A single spell had produced two separate damage effects.

Arcane Burst+ did not inherently possess dual-damage effects.

The construct effect of [Winter’s Arrival].

The force damage of Arcane Burst+ combined with the cold damage from Winter’s Arrival totaled two layers.

“You’re a first-circle mage!” Aldrich finally recovered from the dazzled state.

He had no time to ponder why Gao De’s spell had struck him so precisely—he surged out of the water and roared at the pitch-black surface.

Aldrich’s voice echoed across the sea.

[Arcane Burst+] was merely a cantrip, but if cast by a second-circle mage, its power under double-circled casting would never be this weak.

Yet it was clearly stronger than a novice’s [Arcane Burst+].

Thus, Gao De’s mage rank was obvious—he was unquestionably a first-circle mage.

But this realization filled Aldrich with unease.

He never imagined a first-circle mage would dare challenge him—a second-circle mage—alone.

What kind of heretical act was this?

As a Sea Sentinel mage, he should understand better than anyone how higher-circle mages dominate lower-circle ones.

In a flash of thought, Aldrich swiftly cast a first-circle protective spell on himself: [Absorb Element].

Only two attacks—and already, Gao De, a first-circle mage, had nearly shattered his [Shield Shu ].

He saw now: Gao De had too many tricks, was unnervingly cunning in water; if he launched an attack, he might not land a hit.

Under these circumstances, reinforcing his protective spells was the most cost-effective choice.

First, there was zero chance of the spell missing.

Second, a first-circle protective spell cast with double-circled enhancement would take considerable effort for a first-circle mage to break—even if Gao De stood still and unleashed his full skill.

It was effectively an invincible position.

The logic held—but Aldrich felt deeply humiliated:

As a second-circle mage, being unable to swiftly crush a first-circle mage was already disgraceful; now he was reduced to passive defense.

But he had no other choice.

He was a second-circle mage, yet he had only ascended half a year ago—he had not yet mastered any second-circle spells.

Normally, a first-circle spell under double-circled casting was sufficient against a first-circle mage.

But aquatic environments were unique—many spells simply could not function here.

Foremost among them were the most destructive low-circle spells: fire spells like [Burn Hand] or [Flame Slash].

Essentially, any spell with a visible trajectory.

With poor visibility and Gao De’s ability to vanish into water at any moment, hitting such spells was extremely difficult.

The more unusual the environment, the more it tested a mage’s depth of spell repertoire.

And this was precisely Gao De’s strength.

For Aldrich, it was his weakness.

A mage from a bottom-tier gang might have far more combat experience than a academy-trained mage—but in spell reserves, he was vastly inferior.

Thus, Aldrich now found himself with no viable spells left.

Of course, he had one option: under the protection of his defensive spell, he could swim blindly toward shore.

Once on land, he had countless ways to deal with Gao De.

But the problem was—he wasn’t sure if Gao De would follow him ashore.

And he had a compelling reason to capture Gao De—if Gao De returned to the Sea Sentinels with this information, he was finished.

“Of course—the boat!” In a flash of insight, Aldrich remembered the key point.

Get on the boat first—at least he’d have a foothold, unlike now, drowning in water with nowhere to push off.

The boat had been coated with [Grease Shu ], slippery and impossible to climb—he’d already failed once.

But that was no issue; as a mage, he had many options.

Aldrich stirred his mind, activating a spell model.

Again, [Water Impact]—but this time, his target was himself, and he controlled the force precisely: enough to propel, not to injure.

As he cast, the sea churned, forming a swirling vortex.

The vortex surged upward with tremendous force, like a whale’s spout, lifting Aldrich high into the air.

Aldrich adjusted his posture mid-air, elegant as a flying bird, and landed smoothly on the boat.

Plop!

But before Aldrich could savor his triumph, Gao De snapped his fingers lightly.

Instantly, flames erupted across the boat.

The fire spread with unprecedented ferocity.

This was the synergy of [Spark Shu ] + [Grease Shu +].

Under Spark Shu ’s ignition, the grease coating the entire boat ignited instantly.

Flames surged, engulfing the boat in a sea of fire, licking every plank.

The wood blackened, warped, and crackled under the intense heat.

He’d boarded the boat—but it was gone in an instant.

Aldrich’s face darkened; with no other choice, he leapt back into the sea.

But the moment he entered the water, a violent vortex slammed toward him.

The vortex resembled a massive, rapidly spinning funnel, churning waves in the sea.

At its center was a dark shadow—Aldrich couldn’t make out its shape in the murky water, but his hair stood on end.

Water beast!

Only now did he realize: there was another water beast in the water!

It was this beast that had capsized their boat in the first place.

But after they fell into the sea, the beast vanished suddenly—and with Gao De’s relentless assault, Aldrich had temporarily forgotten its existence amid the frantic pace.

Tuanzi moved with extreme speed.

For Gao De, the waters were at best a half-homeground; for it, they were a true paradise.

A faint blue aura surrounded its body, pulling the water to slam violently toward Aldrich.

The summoned water surged like a tidal wave, overwhelming in force—nearly identical to the spell [Water Impact] Aldrich had used earlier to attack Gao De.

But he was nowhere near as agile or quick as Gao De, and could not dodge this strike.

Boom!

The force of the water sent his body tumbling uncontrollably, and he involuntarily swallowed foul, rotting seawater.

Before he could gag, Tuanzi lunged straight into him.

Thud—the [Shield Spell] finally shattered.

Under the water’s impact, Aldrich’s body lost all balance, unable to defend front or back.

Undoubtedly, this was the best opening so far.

Gao De would not miss it.

When he ignited the boat, he had already slipped into the water, using the Ocean Touch’s granted aquatic mobility to speed toward the vessel.

Now, the distance between Gao De and Aldrich was only twenty feet or so.

He keenly sensed the shield’s rupture and unleashed his ultimate attack point-blank.

A speck of silver light flared, shooting from Gao De’s ear like a meteor.

It was an extremely thin silver needle.

But its true name was Blade, not needle.

[Frost Blade+]!

Gao De’s only currently mastered first-tier attack spell, and after infusing it with Ice Wraith, its power far surpassed a standard first-tier spell.

This was his hidden trump card.

An invisible ripple spread.

The Frost Blade, needle-thin and swift as lightning, shot toward Aldrich with biting cold.

The icy gleam targeted Aldrich’s heart.

Aldrich’s pupils shrank sharply—he was terrified as the Frost Blade hurtled toward him.

He twisted his body with all his strength, every muscle tensed, pushing his potential to its absolute limit.

His effort was not in vain—the Frost Blade aimed at his heart veered slightly.

Whoosh.

The Frost Blade pierced clean through his body.

Drops of blood splattered, rapidly spreading in the dark seawater like blooming dark red flowers.

But this was only the beginning.

Aldrich’s face twisted repeatedly.

He felt one piercing pain after another, relentless and unceasing.

The Frost Blade dealt two stages of damage: the first was 15 degrees of piercing damage, the second 32 degrees of cold damage.

With [Winter’s Arrival] and [Hunter’s Mark] enhancing it, both stages gained an additional 10 degrees of cold damage, becoming four stages of damage.

Four stages of damage triggered four instances of [Hunter’s Mark], inflicting four extra hits.

One spell, eight stages of damage!

All eight stages benefited from [Winter’s Arrival]’s 37% power boost.

The total power of this single spell had soared beyond first-tier limits, leaving any first-tier mage utterly incapable of matching it.

Agony slammed into his mind—Aldrich’s face contorted into a demonic grimace.

Yet he did not die; if anything, the intense pain made him more alive than ever.

A mortal body should not even withstand a cantrip’s damage—how could it endure such a terrifying spell?

Because Aldrich had long ago cast [Absorb Element] upon himself.

This spell captured a portion of incoming energy, lessening its effect.

Gao De’s Frost Blade dealt physical damage only in its first stage; the other seven stages were elemental, mostly ice.

This Qiahao played right into Aldrich’s strength.

Compared to first-tier mages, second-tier mages gain the ability [Elementalized Flesh].

That is, their magic radiates into their bodies, allowing them to choose one element to reinforce their flesh and gain resistance to that element.

Mages also vary by region—those near the coast almost always specialize in water magic.

Thus, when ascending to second-tier and choosing [Elementalized Flesh], Aldrich unhesitatingly selected water.

Ice is a variant of water; though their differences are significant, after [Elementalized Flesh: Water], he still gained some extra resistance to ice spells.

With [Absorb Element] and [Elementalized Flesh: Water] combined, Aldrich endured Gao De’s ferocious spell.

“Die!” Aldrich’s blood boiled—he had been driven to this by a mere first-tier mage.

He stared fixedly at Gao De’s blurred silhouette in the darkness, a shadow flickering in his eyes.

[Cause Fear], a first-tier necromancy spell!

Awakens the inner fear of any living creature within range and in sight—the target must resist with willpower.

If the resistance fails, the target falls into a state of fear.

How could a first-tier mage possibly resist? A second-tier mage casting this on a first-tier mage leaves no chance of success.

The result matched his expectation.

Gao De froze as if under [Paralysis], suddenly still, then trembling slightly.

This was the sign of fear.

“Seeking death—a sea sentinel mage with a bright future, throwing it all away to fight me?” Aldrich snarled, each word forced through gritted teeth.

He kicked off with his legs, using the water’s buoyancy to surge forward.

In his hand now appeared a dagger.

A faint blue energy shimmered along its blade.

It was the power from Gao De’s [Frost Blade+].

[Absorb Element] not only absorbed part of incoming energy but stored it for use in his next melee attack.

Aldrich gripped the dagger, full of rage and murderous intent, and drove it straight into Gao De’s chest—still paralyzed by fear.

Clang!

A metallic clash rang out—the hard impact startled Aldrich for a moment.

But he reacted swiftly—in the blink of an eye, the dagger slid downward.

Then Aldrich’s face froze.

He looked down in disbelief.

Gao De’s fingernails had grown razor-sharp and elongated, piercing straight through his chest into his body.

[Primordial Brutal Strike].

A golden symbol flashed in Gao De’s left eye.

The Mandora Eye, activated since the battle began, had built a model of Aldrich’s body and exposed his weaknesses.

When Gao De fell into fear, Aldrich chose not to reinforce himself with protective spells—but to attack.

A reasonable choice.

But the flaw was that Gao De’s fear lasted far too short a time.

Thus, Aldrich, unprotected, was caught off guard.

Without protective spells, [Elementalized Flesh: Water] offered zero defense against [Primordial Brutal Strike].

“Ahh!!”

Aldrich let out a pained moan, filled with despair and fury.

His sclera flooded with bloodshot veins.

Then his eyes rolled back, and his body collapsed backward into the water.

The sea swiftly swallowed his form, leaving only ripples.

(End of Chapter)