"Buzz!"
The mosquito went into a sudden rage. What had just dropped was its main weapon, its long, blood-sucking proboscis.
As the creature raged, Edwyn also achieved his objective, drawing its aggro.
"Damn… I can't keep using that technique like this."
Edwyn sucked in a sharp breath. That powerful strike just now came at a steep cost, his arm muscles had all torn. Now his sword-wielding arm was limp and useless. It would take at least ten minutes to recover.
Ten minutes might not sound long, but in battle, a fight could be over by then.
With the help of his Boots of Swiftness and Levitation spell, Edwyn darted through the forest, weaving effortlessly between trees, while the mosquito chased after him furiously.
The mosquito monster had no ranged attacks and not much intelligence. Its only advantages were high constitution, a strong proboscis, and wings with a hypnotic effect.
Edwyn ended up kiting it so smoothly it felt like a walk in the park.
"Edwyn!"
As Elia's voice rang out, Edwyn changed direction and began luring the mosquito toward her. But after a few steps, he froze, he had suddenly sensed another powerful energy pulse.
Another student with a strong imprint was approaching.
Instantly, Edwyn's mind kicked into high gear. Someone showing up now with a strong imprint pulse? That definitely wasn't friendly.
"Let's use this mosquito to test their strength."
Without hesitation, Edwyn pulled a bottle of alchemical potion from his magic pouch and smashed it on the ground. A thick, acrid smoke quickly filled the woods.
Taking advantage of the smoke, Edwyn crouched under his invisibility cloak and went still like a stone, listening to the mosquito buzz nearby.
Thanks to the cloak, his own imprint's energy signal was completely hidden, and quickly overshadowed by the other approaching signal.
At the same time, Elia had also noticed someone approaching. But unlike Edwyn, she reacted by hurling a fully charged spell in that direction.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out through the forest.
Watching from his hiding spot, Edwyn shook his head.
Elia had picked up the habit of using Fireball as a greeting ever since becoming Lady Susanna's disciple.
The explosion's shockwave cleared the smoke, but by now, Edwyn didn't need it.
Because the mosquito had locked on to a bigger target.
"Cough, cough… Since when is Fireball an official Mage greeting?"
At the edge of the woods, a group of Mage apprentices marched forward in tight formation. Behind them stood a blindfolded apprentice, his eyes rolled back, staring directly at Edwyn.
"A Soul Magic student."
Edwyn narrowed his eyes and silently slipped two more rings onto his fingers.
Though he already wore a Mindshield Ring, when dealing with soul mages, the more mental protection, the better.
Soul mages specialized in tampering with the mind: slave seeds, mind control, mental branding, these were their bread and butter.
If Curses had a bad reputation among Mages, then Soul Magic was infamous. Even flies would avoid them if they could.
"You're Edwyn, aren't you?"
The blind apprentice addressed him.
Before Edwyn could respond, one of his rings lit up bright red, sending a sharp pain through his head that snapped his mind back into clarity.
"You bastard. You tried to tamper with my mind the moment we met."
Edwyn narrowed his eyes, a flicker of killing intent rising in his heart.
Meanwhile, Elia had run into trouble of her own.
A fellow apprentice stood before her, flanked by a towering flame giant.
"Hodor. Evocation school."
Elia returned the gesture. "Elia. Evocation school."
As fellow Evocation students, Elia could instantly sense how dangerous this guy was.
The fire giant at his side had the power of a high-level apprentice. Every movement radiated elemental energy. If it exploded, it could level hundreds of meters of terrain.
How could a mid-tier apprentice control something like that?
"Ah, so you're Lady Susanna's apprentice," Hodor frowned slightly.
If Elia had been someone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to attack. But Susanna? She was one of the few dual-discipline Mages in the academy, trained in both Curse and Evocation.
Hodor had once heard that Susanna possessed a spell called Cursed Flame. If it touched you, it wouldn't stop until your soul and body were reduced to ash.
He just didn't know if Elia had inherited it.
…
"Mind Shield, huh? Alchemy students really are loaded."
The blind apprentice realized his mental intrusion had failed and said this with a hint of disappointment.
If it had worked, he would've been guaranteed a top-three leaderboard spot.
Still, he wasn't too discouraged. A single Mind Shield wasn't unbeatable, he had other ways to break through.
Edwyn said nothing, merely pulled out two magic stones and began drawing power.
Anger hadn't clouded his reason. Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion uses full strength. And this guy wasn't a rabbit.
He stared at the blind apprentice coldly: "You'll be Moony's snack later."
Overhead, the mosquito monster seemed stuck in a loop, flying in frantic circles. The blind apprentice watched it with mild regret.
The creature's low intelligence made it easy to trick with illusions, but its mental strength had reached 40 due to the feedback loop. He, with only 30+ mental strength, couldn't control it.
If he could, he'd have no other rival but Hodor in this whole exam.
"Relax, that was just a joke earlier," the blind apprentice said casually, trying to ease the tension.
But just as he spoke, both of Edwyn's Mind Shield rings lit up.
Twice. In a row.
The blind apprentice lost his cool.
"Two Mind Shield Rings?! How rich are you?!"
He scowled. As a soul mage, he hated running into students like Edwyn. Just one or two mind-protecting items could render his magic useless.
And mental defense gear was elite tier, at least 3,000 ManaStones each. Even crafting one cost about 500.
But this guy had two.
Damn it. Alchemy students really were loaded.
And if he had two of those, he probably had plenty of other defensive items. His pouch must be stuffed with magic stones.
If he could kill Edwyn, this haul might be worth more than his entire exam earnings.
The blind apprentice licked his lips greedily.
Two layers of mental defense? He had ways to break them.
But first, he had to stop the black-scaled giant charging him with a massive sword.