Chapter 17: Want to Eat? Call Me Dad

Inside the Team Fuben.

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

"Listen to Lin Shao—strike while it's weak! 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 extreme.

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 firing at the boss.

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

The Little Fireball 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.

This is what you call damage output!

Compared to Lin Shao, we're just scratching it!

Under the storm-like assault of the group, the Bone Knight's long health bar dropped visibly before their eyes.

Soon, its health dipped 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 flying.

Then,

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

"Shit! Again?!"

Seeing this, Zhang Kai whirled around to look at Lin Mo, lounging calmly at the back of the team.

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

Hum—!

Dark red dots rapidly condensed, compressed, and spun at his fingertip.

"Here you go."

Lin Mo flicked his fingertip.

Boom—!!!

No suspense at all.

That spiral of dark red flame 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 flung backward and crashing heavily against the wall.

"Lin Shao awesome! Lin Shao invincible!"

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

Although Xia Qingyue had seen 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 firelight and shadow, was sharply defined—eyebrows like swords, eyes like stars.

This aura of unshakable composure, paired with his extraordinarily handsome face, made Xia Qingyue—the campus beauty who usually looked down on everyone—feel her heart skip a beat.

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 element to its extreme while maintaining high-speed rotation…

This technique, "Burning Spiral," though only a beginner skill, had a mastery difficulty rivaling that of advanced skills!

And its damage fully justified its difficulty.

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

Lin Mo… the Lin family's young master—what kind of monster are you?

…

The rest of the battle became a foregone conclusion.

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 withered bones.

【Congratulations! Successfully slain "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 Team Fuben!"

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

Even Xia Qingyue, who was always aloof, could not help but let the corners of her mouth rise.

This is an Abyss Team Fuben!

Although it is only Difficulty Level, its value is enough to write a bold stroke on their resumes!

"Quick, look, what loot dropped."

Wang Meng pointed at the several light orbs floating above the Skeleton Knight's corpse and shouted.

Lin Mo glanced casually, looking at the dropped equipment and materials; the most valuable among them was a piece of Gold-tier equipment.

It was just Warrior equipment, and Lin Mo really did not care for Gold-tier equipment.

"You guys divide these among yourselves."

Lin Mo pointed at those light orbs and waved his hand casually.

As soon as the words fell, Xia Qingyue's voice rang out:

"No!"

She looked at Lin Mo, her face filled with seriousness:

"Lin Shao, this goes against the rules."

"First, you are the boss; the output from the Team Fuben should rightfully belong to you. Second, without you, let alone clearing it, we would have lost our lives."

"So, by both reason and sentiment, these things are yours."

Speaking to this, Xia Qingyue took a deep breath and made a decision:

"Not only can we not want these spoils, but after we go out, we will fully refund the hiring fee paid by Uncle Lin."

"Being able to follow you into this Team Fuben and gain so much experience, leveling up twice, is already a huge benefit we have taken."

"One cannot be too greedy in life, or one will suffer heavenly retribution."

Zhang Kai, Wang Meng, and the others, upon hearing this, were also stunned for a moment.

That was Gold equipment...

Saying they were not tempted would be a lie.

But quickly, Zhang Kai reacted, "The Captain is right! Lin Shao, these things are all yours."

The other few people also voiced their stance one after another.

Lin Mo looked at the few of them, feeling somewhat helpless.

He really had no use for these broken copper and iron.

In this day and age, is it that no one wants money even when it is given?

But since they insisted so much, Lin Mo was too lazy to waste more words.

"Fine, fine, fine, do as you please."

Lin Mo waved his large hand and swept all the spoils on the ground into the backpack in the panel in one go.

Seeing Lin Mo accept them, Xia Qingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at Lin Mo and said casually:

"Lin Shao, the Grand Exam is the day after tomorrow; with your current strength, you should be able to get into the Tianlong Academy in the Imperial Capital."

Xia Qingyue, speaking to this, let a trace of envy flash through her eyes.

That was the holy land dreamed of by all professionals in the Dragon Nation, the Supreme Academy...

It gathered the most top-tier prodigies in the entire nation; even the security guards guarding the gate could be retired high-level professionals.

Students graduating from there would start their futures at the level of a city legion commander, truly the backbone of humanity.

Tianlong Academy?

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

Whatever; better accommodation and canteen food are the most important.

The Supreme Academy should be very good, right?

Just then, Zhang Kai, standing nearby, suddenly interjected:

"Hey, I heard that this time our Jianghai City went all out, preparing a complete heart of a Lava Beast as a reward for the city's top scholar!"

"A complete heart of a Lava Beast?!"

Hearing these words, Wang Meng's hand shook, and he sucked in a cold breath, "Hiss... this is truly going all out. Lava Beasts are already rare; even a slice of meat on the market is fried up to an astronomical price... and it is something that has a price but no market."

【"Fireball":!!!】

【"Fireball" drooling like a waterfall: I want it! I want that! A Lava Beast sounds like something I love to eat, and it has a price but no market!】

Lin Mo rubbed his chin.

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

After all, it is not only his family that is wealthy.

【"Fireball" extremely greedy: Did you hear? I want this! This Seat wants this! Eating this, This Seat will definitely be one step closer to the Forbidden Spell!】

Lin Mo chuckled lightly, deliberately teasing this irritable skill.

"You want it?"

"If you want it, call me Dad and let me hear it. I will reluctantly go and get that top scholar back."

【"Fireball" instantly flared up: Insolent! Audacious! This Seat is a noble existence destined to become a Forbidden Spell! You ask me to call you Dad?】

"Oh, is that so."

Lin Mo shrugged indifferently in his heart, "Then fine, I was originally too lazy to move, so for this Grand Exam, we will just muddle through; it is all the same which academy we go to."

"What a pity for that heart; I heard it is full of Fire Element essence, and one bite will make it burst with juice, 啧啧啧..."

【"Fireball" fell silent.】

【"Fireball" swallowed a mouthful of non-existent saliva. Its dignity was undergoing violent wavering in the face of delicious food.】

A few seconds later.

An extremely awkward voice sounded in Lin Mo's mind:

【"Fireball Spell" with extreme reluctance and shame:... Dad... Dad.】

"Louder, haven't you eaten? I can't hear you."

Lin Mo pushed his luck.

【"Fireball Spell" flew into a rage out of humiliation: That's enough! I already called you that!】

"Fine then."

Lin Mo grew tired of teasing Hearing Xiao Huo and waved to the crowd: "Let's go, everyone. Sister Ye is probably about to fall asleep waiting; we're heading out."