Chapter 275: Probing

Rod didn't care in the slightest.

He chuckled, then turned back to face the five Bahadur students ahead.

"Tell me, what have you done?"

"Dog-kin?"

Upon seeing Sharon appear, the five exchanged glances.

"I want the tails. The follicle-stimulation array I learned requires Dog-kin tails," Andru said first, assigning his share.

Wilson, however, was not as impatient as him.

He tapped his glasses and looked toward the three junior female students behind.

The three juniors were sensible; they smiled modestly.

"Senior brothers, you take your pick first. We'll choose what you look down on. The Arachne will be the same. However, if possible, please leave each of us one arthropod limb. Our teacher has been searching for similar materials lately."

Wilson smiled.

"Understood. That should make the final assessment a bit easier. But seniors must remind you: it's best to solidify your foundation. Otherwise, like Andru and me, we're already at the Seventh Tier and still haven't finished our graduation thesis."

The three junior students chuckled softly.

They laughed and talked freely.

It was clear that the way they looked at Sharon and Watching Yuna was completely different from the way they looked at Rod.

【Arrogance +18】

"Is everyone in this academy like this?"

Rod slowly drew the 【Sword of Sacrifice】.

Sharon's face was cold: "Always has been. I don't know how I managed to survive until the third year when I studied there."

"In that case, their attitude makes it easy to guess why you and Demia dropped out."

In the past, Rod certainly wouldn't have gossiped about such things.

But since we've already seen each other's true strength and fought fiercely for a full five hours, it's natural to ask a couple more questions.

"It wasn't because of them. Back then, Demia, Daphne, and I enrolled together."

"You?"

Wilson suddenly spoke up.

Rod thought he knew Sharon, but upon looking, he saw the other party frowning and staring at him.

He couldn't help but pause in surprise.

"Do we know each other?"

"Five months ago, the Open-Air Labyrinth in Scorch City. Hmph, you didn't see us, but we saw you."

Wilson snorted.

The bald Andru now also examined Rod with surprise: "The one who killed Bert with a single slash?"

The two of them had escaped in time back then, avoiding disaster.

Later, learning that everyone present had been wiped out and even their corpses were blown up by an Eighth-Tier Legendary Mage from Scorch City, they felt a wave of relief.

But now, it was different.

Both of them had already advanced to the Seventh Tier, while the one before them was merely at the peak of the Sixth Tier.

Peak of the Sixth Tier?

Just five months ago, he was at the early stage of the Sixth Tier; now he's at the peak? That's so absurd??

It took them a full five months to advance from the peak of the Sixth Tier to the Seventh Tier!

Wilson shook his head.

"Whether that slash could be blocked or not aside, I'm a mage, not a Spirit Warrior. Why would I endure it head-on?"

Besides, he extinguished his power immediately after that slash. What's stopping me from attacking him freely then?

Only Bert, that arrogant fool, would try to fight you head-on.

"Andru, hold off that Seventh-Tier Dog-kin. I'll go take out that Spirit Warrior first and come back to help you. Three junior sisters, please deal with that Arachne for now. She's very weak."

As he spoke the last part, this glasses-wearing fellow's voice even softened.

Rod smiled.

He said to Sharon beside him: "Look, they've already assigned us our targets."

Having said that, he turned his head again to look at the cute Arachne.

He lowered his voice to a deep, gentle tone.

"Don't be afraid. Come to my side; I'll protect you."

Watching Yuna was somewhat wary and did not step forward.

"Am I dead? You go flirt with other girls right in front of me?"

Sharon said bluntly, her expression unfriendly.

Rod shrugged: "Here's a buff for you."

【Pain Lash】 crackled as it struck the Dog-kin girl's buttocks.

【When used on allies, with moderate pain as the price, gain the following time-limited buffs: Physical Strength increased by 30%, Spirit or Mana Strength and Circulation Efficiency each increased by 20%.】

"Eh-ah! What are you doing?"

She didn't finish her complaint, instead looking at her body in surprise.

"Such a high-efficiency spell? Where did you get it?"

At that moment, Wilson moved first.

A string of incantations was spoken at lightning speed.

The threads of magic spun forward rapidly, converging into an 【Acid Orb】.

Rod's longsword cleaved down, splitting it in two with ease.

Yet the orb, now split in two, suddenly burst open, and another thread of magic shot out, swiftly forming a wall of steel between him and Sharon.

Clearly, the intent was to split apart the optimal pairing of Spiritual Warrior and Mage.

"Twin-cast linkage, an old trick."

Rod naturally trusted Sharon and did not smash through the iron wall.

He didn't even take a single step.

He simply wanted to see how far this Bahadur fellow's seventh-tier strength could go.

Wilson snorted a laugh, evidently having never met a sixth-tier as arrogant as him.

He held nothing back; a magical light flickered on his staff.

A rapid stream of incantation spilled from his lips.

The 【Anti-Life Field】 was a must — a fairly effective spell for keeping warriors at bay.

There was a class in Bahadur that specifically covered this spell's combat applications and counter-strategies.

Next came 【Acid Fog】.

A Spiritual Warrior's physical defense and resistances were far higher than a Mage's, so spells with violent effects worked quite well, but in a one-on-one fight, the casting chant was a critical point — too long, and it left openings.

At times like this, using a short-cast-time DoT spell worked very well.

Green, strong-acid fog poured down onto Rod's body like a deluge.

Reacting with the bones and blood on the ground, it let out sizzling, corrosive sounds.

Wilson immediately began chanting his next spell.

But in the meantime, he noticed that Rod within the acid fog showed no reaction at all — instead, he took a deep breath of the acid fog, drawing it through his lungs as if smoking, his face full of comfort.

His brow furrowed involuntarily.

"Such high resistance? Is it a magical item?"

He swiftly changed his strategy.

A 【Disintegrate】 was hurled out.

At the same time, he pulled an amber from his spell component pouch.

He crushed it mid-cast.

After a flash of magical light, a tall, fully armored Dread Warrior slammed down onto the ground with a thud, stamping out a small crater in the bone-covered floor.

【Disintegrate】 was a rather troublesome spell — it worked not only on living things, but also on objects and magical fields; it was also a force-damage spell with a certain area of effect.

Rod wasn't afraid for himself; he was heartbroken over his gear.

He activated the 【Wuguang Chang En Fa Yin】, which he hadn't used in a long while.

The spherical spiritual force field held for a moment, then was broken through by the Disintegrate — a bang rang out, blasting the surrounding acid fog apart.

And the power of the 【Disintegrate】 that struck his body had already been greatly reduced.

A tingly numbness, not the slightest change.

"Mm, the spell's intensity isn't much."

Rod's expression was a little odd.

It seemed he had overestimated it somewhat; there was quite a gap compared to Aimeer.

Even without the 【Wuguang Chang En Fa Yin】, he could have tanked it easily.

And the gear on his body had, at the very least, been reinforced with 【Growing Spirit】, so it wasn't that easy to destroy.

Only his top was disintegrated into dust again.

Revealing a set of sturdy, well-proportioned muscles.

And bespectacled-bro Wilson had by now confirmed that Rod was wearing resistance gear of considerable quality.

He continued casting, sending a 【Ray of Enfeeblement】 and a 【Sword of Darkness】 at the Dread Warrior ahead.

(End of chapter)