Chapter 17: Want to Eat? Call Me Dad

Inside the dungeon.

The Bone Knight was now embedded in the ruins of the Bone Throne, weakened after its shield was shattered.

“Listen to Young Master Lin—strike while the iron’s hot! I’ll shoot you dead!”

Zhang Kai roared as he drew his longbow, arrows raining down upon the Bone Knight.

Wang Meng also charged forward, shield raised, and slammed it hard against the Bone Knight’s kneecap—though the damage was low, the insult was severe.

As the team’s A-rank Water Mage, Xia Qingyue took a deep breath and swung her staff.

Streams of brilliant blue water solidified in midair into sharp arrows, continuously striking the boss.

As for Lin Mo, he continued snacking and watching the show.

The small fireballs had entered full auto-killing mode, relentlessly bombarding the boss.

Boom—!

The massive explosion instantly swallowed the boss in fire.

This chain of damage made Zhang Kai and the others’ eyelids twitch.

Now this is what you call damage output!

Compared to Young Master Lin, we’re just scratching our itches!

Under the storm of attacks from everyone, the Bone Knight’s long health bar dropped visibly before their eyes.

Soon, its health fell below 70%.

“Roar—!!!”

A furious roar erupted from the ruins.

The Bone Knight swung its greatsword violently, unleashing a terrifying shockwave that flung Wang Meng, the closest, flying backward.

Then,

That despair-inducing pale purple translucent shield once again enveloped its entire body!

“Damn! Here we go again!”

Seeing this, Zhang Kai sharply turned his head toward the relaxed Lin Mo at the back of the team.

Lin Mo didn’t waste words—he simply raised his hand and fired another shot.

Hum—!

A dark red point rapidly condensed, compressed, and spun at Lin Mo’s fingertip.

“Here you go.”

Lin Mo flicked his fingertip.

Boom—!!!

No suspense.

The spiral dark red flame line pierced through the purple shield once again.

The newly formed shield exploded into a shower of starlight!

The Bone Knight let out a pained shriek, its massive body hurled backward and slammed hard against the wall.

“Young Master Lin is awesome! Young Master Lin is invincible!”

Zhang Kai leapt up in excitement and immediately resumed firing with his longbow.

Though Xia Qingyue had witnessed this attack before, she still couldn’t help glancing at the calm Lin Mo.

In the glow of fire, Lin Mo’s figure stood tall and slender.

His black hair stirred slightly in the heatwave; his profile, carved by fire and shadow, was sharply defined—brow like a sword, eyes like stars.

This aura of unshakable composure, paired with his strikingly handsome face, made Xia Qingyue, the campus beauty who normally looked down on everyone, miss a beat in her heartbeat.

Is this… what true strength really looks like?

Xia Qingyue’s gaze fixed on Lin Mo’s fingertip, still smoking faintly.

As a top student, she understood better than anyone the true value of this technique.

Fire element… universally recognized as the most violent element.

Compressing fire to its extreme while maintaining high-speed rotation…

This technique, “Burning Spiral,” though only a beginner skill, had a learning difficulty comparable to a high-rank skill!

And its damage fully justified its difficulty.

It was the single-target highest-damage beginner skill among all classes, and hidden classes alike—without exception.

Lin Mo… Young Master Lin… what kind of monster are you?

…

The rest of the battle became Haowuxuannian .

Every time the Bone Knight barely managed to summon its shield, before it could even show off, Lin Mo would obliterate it with a single “Fingertip Burning Spiral Cannon.”

After repeating this three times,

the Bone Knight’s massive body collapsed in a heap of black-tinged bones.

【Congratulations! Successfully defeated “Abyss·Bone Knight (Lv.5)”!】

【Earned +20000 EXP!】

【Congratulations! Your level has risen to Lv.7 (45%)!】

Golden upgrade light glowed around Lin Mo.

“We won… we actually won…” Liu Weiwei collapsed onto the ground, staring at the pile of bones, tears of joy streaming down her face.

“Hahaha! I didn’t die! I cleared the Abyss dungeon!”

Zhang Kai rushed forward, wild with excitement, hugging Wang Meng and jumping up and down.

Even the usually aloof Xia Qingyue couldn’t suppress the upward curve of her lips.

This was the Abyss dungeon!

Though only Hard difficulty, its value was enough to write a bold, glorious line on their resumes!

“Quick, check what dropped.”

Wang Meng pointed at the floating light orbs above the Bone Knight’s corpse.

Lin Mo casually glanced at them, assessing the dropped gear and materials—the most valuable being a Gold-rank item.

But it was Warrior gear, and Gold-rank gear? Lin Mo didn’t even care.

“You guys divide it among yourselves.”

Lin Mo gestured toward the orbs and waved his hand dismissively.

No sooner had he spoken than Xia Qingyue’s voice rang out:

“No!”

She looked at Lin Mo, her face serious:

“Young Master Lin, this violates protocol.”

“First, you’re the boss—loot from the dungeon should rightfully belong to you. Second, without you, we wouldn’t have cleared it—we’d be dead.”

“So emotionally and logically, these items are yours.”

Saying this, Xia Qingyue took a deep breath and made her decision:

“Not only will we not take these spoils, but once we leave, we will return the full amount of the hiring fee paid by Uncle Lin.”

“Just gaining so much EXP from this dungeon and leveling up twice is already more than we deserve.”

“Don’t be greedy—greed invites heavenly retribution.”

Zhang Kai and the others froze after hearing this.

That was a Gold-rank item…

To say they weren’t tempted was a lie.

But soon, Zhang Kai snapped back: “Captain’s right! Young Master Lin, these are all yours.”

The others quickly voiced their agreement.

Lin Mo glanced at them, slightly exasperated.

He had no use for these pieces of junk.

These days, even money was being refused?

But since they insisted, Lin Mo didn’t bother arguing further.

“Fine, fine, do as you like.”

Lin Mo waved his hand, sweeping all the loot into his panel’s backpack.

Seeing Lin Mo accept it, Xia Qingyue finally exhaled in relief.

She glanced at Lin Mo and said casually:

“Young Master Lin, the big exam is in two days. With your current strength, you’ll likely get into the Dragon Heaven Academy in Jingdu.”

As she spoke, a flicker of envy passed through her eyes.

That was the holy land, the supreme academy, the dream of every professional in Dragon Nation…

It gathered the nation’s most elite prodigies—even the gate guards might be retired high-rank professionals.

Graduates from there started out as city military commanders—true pillars of humanity.

Dragon Heaven Academy?

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

Whatever. The dorms and cafeteria food better be good—that’s what matters.

The top academic institutions should all be excellent, right?

At that moment, Zhang Kai beside him suddenly chimed in:

“Hey, I heard our Jianghai City really went all out—offering the city Top Graduate a complete magma beast heart as a reward!”

“A complete magma beast heart?!”

Hearing this, Wang Meng’s hand trembled as he sucked in a sharp breath. “Sss… That’s truly a massive investment. Magma beasts are already rare; even a single slice of their flesh has been bid up to astronomical prices—and even then, it’s impossible to find.”

【“Fireball Spell”: !!!】

【“Fireball Spell”: Saliva poured like a waterfall: I want it! I want that! A magma beast? Sounds exactly like something I’d eat—and it’s unobtainable!】

Lin Mo rubbed his chin.

Although his family was wealthy, in this world, some things couldn’t be bought with money alone.

After all, he wasn’t the only one with money.

【“Fireball Spell”: Greed overflowed: Did you hear that? I want it! This noble being, destined to become a forbidden spell, demands it! Eat this, and I’ll be one step closer to a forbidden spell!】

Lin Mo chuckled softly, deliberately teasing the temperamental skill.

“You want it?”

“Then call me Dad. I’ll reluctantly go fetch that Top Graduate title for you.”

【“Fireball Spell”: Instantly bristled: How dare you! How insolent! I am a noble being destined to become a forbidden spell! You want me to call you Dad?】

“Oh, I see.”

Lin Mo shrugged inwardly, unfazed. “Alright then. I was too lazy to move anyway. Let’s just coast through this exam—after all, every academy’s the same.”

“What a shame about that heart, though. They say it’s pure fire essence—bite into it and it’ll burst with juice. Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

【“Fireball Spell”: Fell silent.】

【“Fireball Spell”: Swallowed an imaginary saliva. Its dignity was crumbling before the lure of food.】

A few seconds later.

A painfully reluctant voice echoed in Lin Mo’s mind:

【“Fireball Spell”: Extremely unwilling and ashamed: …Dad… Dad.】

“Louder. Didn’t you eat? I can’t hear you.”

Lin Mo pushed further.

【“Fireball Spell”: Furious and humiliated: Enough already! I called you!】

“Fine.”

Lin Mo no longer bothered to tease the little fireball, waving to the group. “Let’s go, everyone. Ye Jie’s probably falling asleep waiting. We’re leaving.”