[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware-":3,"chapter-just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Just Became a Mage, and My Skills Got Self-Aware? What the Hell?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2356664,4610,"Chapter 54: Black Mud Swamp, Dual Fire and Earth Weakness?","just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>The Misty Wasteland, as the name suggests, was filled with grayish mist everywhere one looked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Visibility was extremely low, and the air carried a faint mildewy dampness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So this is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo glanced around and couldn’t help frowning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a terrible environment—drenched all over, unbearable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened his map and took a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire Misty Wasteland was enormous; the two hundred candidates had been randomly scattered across every corner, and meeting someone truly required luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it, I’ll just wander around for now, find some monsters to clear, and wait for Xia Qingyue to send Zhao Yu’s coordinates.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo stretched lazily and walked aimlessly forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t taken more than a few steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssshh—sss—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange rustling came from the bushes ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, two creatures covered in pus-filled boils—[Corrupted Corpse Hyenas]—leapt out, jaws gaping with foul, dripping saliva, lunging at Lin Mo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Corrupted Corpse Hyena, Lv.10]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What an ugly sight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo sneered, twisting his mouth in disgust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom—Boom—!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fireball split into two, instantly obliterating them both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Slain Corrupted Corpse Hyena, +20 points]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Current Points: 3020]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having cleared the Trial Tower’s thirtieth floor, at 100 points per floor, he had entered with a massive 3000-point bonus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This score was already a threshold most candidates couldn’t reach even if they fought until the exam ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even mosquito legs are meat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo muttered under his breath and kept shambling forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten minutes later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Fireball Spell” complained irritably: This damn place is too damp—I feel utterly uncomfortable.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Earth Shield Spell” jolted sharply: Master! Look behind! There’s a red thing moving!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A red thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo halted, turning his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A distinctive patch of red hair stood out sharply against the gray mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the red-haired figure seemed to sense someone’s presence and spun around abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t this the red-haired lackey who’d been yelling the loudest at Zhao Yu back at the square?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His name was something… whatever, didn’t matter—he was just an easy point source.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? Isn’t this Zhao Dashao’s favorite pet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo smiled and waved casually, “Small world? Lost your way?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red-haired boy froze at Lin Mo’s smile, his face turning instantly pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-what the—?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Mo?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His scalp prickled with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he screamed and turned to flee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wind Dash!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom—Boom—Boom—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flat grassland before him erupted violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wall of earth shot upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud—!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dull thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red-haired boy slammed face-first into the earth wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fucking hell, that hurt like hell…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He howled, blood gushing from his nose, collapsing to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why run? Am I that scary?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo’s voice drifted lazily from behind him, looking down from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red-haired boy mustered courage to shout:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Mo! Don’t get cocky! Our Young Master Zhao has prepared everything—he’s about to make you regret this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his mouth spat the harshest words,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his trembling legs and frantically recoiling body betrayed his terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with [Soul Protection], he wouldn’t die—but the pain was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tsk tsk tsk…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo shook his head. “What a loyal dog. Does your Young Master even know how devoted you are?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Fireball Spell” had long grown impatient: Why waste words on trash?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fireball Spell instantly coalesced and shot forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red-haired boy was swallowed whole by fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, a soft white light flared, forming a thin mist-like shield that enveloped him entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Soul Protection] activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though death was averted, the shield meant he was now eliminated and locked in absolute stasis—unable to move, forced to wait for the exam’s end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Fireball Spell” sneered: That’s it? Pathetic. Weaker than the monsters.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo looked at the red-haired boy trapped in the shield. “Alright, watch closely—see how your master gets eliminated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Defeated Candidate, Points Looted: +210]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poor bastard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo glanced at his points, shook his head in disdain, and continued walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t gone far when another group of poisonous frogs leapt out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo casually tossed a fireball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Fireball Spell” grew irritated: Again with these soggy monsters? Slimy and disgusting! Can’t we get something dry?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[“Earth Shield Spell” soothed: Brother, just endure it—the environment’s like this. We’ve got to overcome hardship.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo looked around, then stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strange…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s been twenty minutes—Zhao Yu should’ve already started gathering people by now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why hasn’t Xia Qingyue sent any signal?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this girl have spawned and immediately died?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Lin Mo quickly composed a message and sent it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Monitoring Command Center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Lin, look at Zhao Yu’s feed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Wan tugged at Lin Tianhao’s sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao turned toward Zhao Yu’s split-screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On screen, Zhao Yu stood in a low-lying swamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around him, over a dozen candidates had already gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And from the monitoring map, more glowing dots were rapidly converging toward that location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gathering forces?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Wan frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao narrowed his eyes; as a veteran monitor officer, he was familiar with this scenario.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the exam permitted PVP, all candidates were rivals—normally, they kept their guard up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For so many to drop their defenses and immediately form a group…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from the enormous profit incentive, there is no other reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao glanced at Zhao Lei and said with implication: “It seems our Commander Zhao has really gone all-in for this major exam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenchang now also stroked his chin, deep in thought:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Targeted assassinations against the top scorer have occurred in past exams, but a strike of this scale is indeed rare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao had absolute faith in his son:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good—it saves Mo’er from having to hunt them down. These fools came to us on their own; it saves us a lot of trouble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Lei suddenly spoke in a cold, sinister tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Lin, aren’t you celebrating a bit too soon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you notice where you are?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao and Xu Wenchang froze, staring closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Black Mud Swamp?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Lei had, upon the end of the first phase of the exam, already sent details of Lin Mo’s situation to his own son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Black Mud Swamp is the most hostile region in this area, perpetually shrouded in mist, with extremely high air humidity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Under these conditions, fire element activity is suppressed—any fire-based technique loses at least 30% of its power!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover… earth element is also negated by the swamp terrain—earth mages here cannot summon earth walls or earth spikes at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you understand what this means, Commander Lin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Lei wore a smug grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Lin Tianhao realized it now, it was useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the exam officially began, examiners were strictly forbidden from sending any messages to candidates, to prevent cheating via map-based guidance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this analysis, Xu Wenchang suddenly understood:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s how it is…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at Zhao Lei, a flicker of surprise in his eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Zhao, your son clearly came prepared—he set this trap specifically for Lin Mo’s dual fire-earth affinity!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing this, Lin Tianhao’s expression shifted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he quickly steadied himself and retorted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhao Lei, how can you be so certain Mo’er will go to the Black Mud Swamp?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Misty Wasteland is vast—if Mo’er doesn’t go there, your so-called trap is just a joke.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Lei laughed wildly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Lin, you’re too naive. If it’s a trap, there must be bait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for how it was done… you don’t need to know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Wan nervously tugged at Lin Tianhao’s sleeve. “Old Lin, what do we do? If Mo’er really goes there, he’ll be a fish in a barrel…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Tianhao snorted and fired back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhao Lei, stop trying to scare us. Before absolute power, brains mean nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Terrain advantages? Don’t dream it—even if his power is halved, even if he can’t use Earth Flow Wall, my Mo’er will still wipe out your whole team!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his words remained defiant, Lin Tianhao’s heart was in his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire element’s reduction didn’t matter much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Mo’s output was already off the charts—severely overpowered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real problem was the earth element being neutralized…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a one-vs-many scenario, Earth Flow Wall—with its five-second cooldown—was an excellent battlefield-separating skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he couldn’t use it at all…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared fixedly at the screen, where Lin Mo was idly strolling, his palms slick with sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You brat… don’t you dare mess up…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we lose this round, I’ll never be able to show my face again…”\u003C\u002Fp>",1403,"2026-06-21T04:41:49.398Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","58f88dce59efe6868eb47b8e6e7cb2ef34e46c3f6153a58927ebdd3756ae6933","just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--chapter-55","just-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--chapter-53",374,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fjust-became-a-mage-and-my-skills-got-self-aware--cover.jpg"]