Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel) - Chapter 576: Surrounded By Beasts (2)

Xiao Lin did not initially sense the existence of the Fire-eater. He had used flame magic to scare away the other beasts, but that thing had profited from it. Nonetheless, Xiao Lin felt relieved. It was hard to say if a strong beast was better than a group of beasts, but if it was only at the Bronze rank, he was not that afraid.

Fire-eaters were very good against fire, so Xiao Lin's spells would definitely be useless. He first cast a water shield on himself, but he naturally doubted how useful the low-ranked defensive spell would be, but that did not stop him from running forward. Pulling out the steel tooth that was stuck to a spider's body, Xiao Lin used his ghost-like footwork. Ruin had increased his agility even higher, closing in on Silver-ranked levels.

The Fire-eater primarily used fire in its attacks; it clawed at the flames, and between its claws were strings of high-temperature flames. Xiao Lin stepped forward, doing various dodges in midair which caused it to look like he was dancing. He could even feel those thin flames whistle past his face, the hot air brushing against his ears.

The flames were at least over a hundred degrees and, lacking any anti-flame equipment and magic, the Fire-eaters were quite difficult for normal first-year students. Any flames that slightly touched the body would immediately burn them, causing their combat abilities to drop greatly.

However, Xiao Lin easily avoided all of the flames. Agility did not just bring an increase in speed, it also increased the dexterity and flexibility of the body, allowing him to be able to control his body to the limits in mid-air. And the moment he dropped on the ground, he immediately gathered his energy, speeding up as he dodged and charged forward.

The temperature around him rose as well, but the thin water shield around Xiao Lin was capable of lowering the temperature around him, even though it stood no chance against a direct attack.

The more flames the Fire-eater absorbed, the more its power would increase, but at the same time it would burden itself as well, causing its speed and reactions to slow down. It was even slower than Black-iron rank, and that was its greatest weakness.

Xiao Lin's classroom knowledge was very reliable, and he had used his advantages to seize the initiative in the fight. Fire-eaters were very threatening, but it was fine as long as he did not touch them.

However, it was impossible for him to counter attack immediately, as the Fire-eater's body temperature was around a hundred degrees, and the area around its heart could even approach two hundred.

Two hundred degrees was not something a Bronze-ranked water shield could block, and even though Xiao Lin was at Bronze rank, he did not have any armor on. Unless he had specialized armor, he might immediately lose a hand the moment he touched it.

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"It really is a tricky bastard!" Xiao Lin could not help but curse, looking at the steel tooth in his hand. He was not sure how well the steel tooth would deal with fire. Otherwise, he could just throw the steel tooth directly at the Fire-eater. In their classes, they had been taught that the best way to deal with a Fire-eater was water magic or long-ranged attacks like archery.

Xiao Lin had always felt that he had quite a wide range of knowledge, but at that critical point he found that he knew too little. It was not obvious in group battles, but there were even fewer people who were completely well-versed in solo combat. After all, the academy mainly focused on group combat tactics.

The steel tooth was his primary weapon, and he was very satisfied with the sharpness. If he threw it out and it was not effective, it would mean that he had to fight empty-handed. Xiao Lin hesitated slightly, and he suddenly slapped his forehead, silently cursing himself for being stupid. He had forgotten the biggest reward he got from the Rosa Kingdom.

Incomplete Absolute Defense!

The LV2 Academic Genius skill allowed him to learn a skill after copying it if he satisfied certain requirements. Even after the time limit of the replication ended, his body would naturally remember that skill. However, it was just the most basic memory, and after remembering it he still needed to commit the time and energy to repeatedly practice and familiarize himself with it.

However, Incomplete Absolute Defense did not need a large amount of training to get good at it. The special ability only seemed to have high requirements for the user's bloodline. Even though Xiao Lin did not really understand the requirements on the bloodline, and vaguely guessed that, if it was targeted at those with talents, it was clear that he had satisfied the conditions.

Incomplete Absolute Defense could completely defend against any attack that was not higher than his own level. Those with incomplete bloodlines can use it. It had a thirty second cooldown, and each time it was cast, it did not last more than three seconds. Each use would also use up 10% of the user's total physical strength.

It had only been a month since the battle in the Rosa Kingdom, but Xiao Lin recalled the battle in detail, recalling the skill. He believed that his body could quickly remember it since he could not have forgotten it so quickly.

After a few minutes, a familiar feeling bubbled up in Xiao Lin's body which both surprised and excited him. A white shield quickly formed around his body. It was the Incomplete Absolute Defense!

Xiao Lin had successfully recalled the ability with his body, but then he did not hesitate to rush at the Fire-eater. The closer the distance, the more the temperature rose, but all of it was blocked by the shield. The Fire-eater, which already had its reactions slowed, could not react in time to the sneak attack from behind it. As its body was turning, the steel tooth in Xiao Lin's hand had already pierced inside it.

The steel tooth started to glow red in just a moment, and started to rapidly soften. It seemed that the steel tooth was more susceptible to fire than he thought. Xiao Lin did not retreat, and instead let out a low roar as he used all the power in his body to push the steel tooth, along with his right arm, completely into the Fire-eater's body.

He had planned on using his arm as a weapon from the start, using the increased speed granted by Ruin to increase his attack power, then using the three seconds of immunity provided by Incomplete Absolute Defense to avoid any injury to himself.

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Under Absolute Defense, even he could not use any form of energy attacks, including the elements, death energy or sword aura, so he could only use the purest form of combat.

Three seconds was not a lot, but it was not short either, it was enough to determine the victor of that battle.

Using Absolute Defense to sink his whole arm into the intense flames, Xiao Lin could feel a round object. He did not hesitate to crush it with force, and after a soft exploding sound, the Fire-eater let out a low and sharp cry of energy as the flames on its body started to fluctuate.

Xiao Lin knew that something was wrong, and using the last half a second, he quickly pulled his arm out and frantically ran into the forest.

The fires around the Fire-eater's body started to intensify as its body started to distort, and in a flash, an immense explosion could be seen.