Having received approval from his superior, Kenan glared fiercely at Jiang Lin and barked, "Take us to your training grounds then. I want to see exactly what you're so arrogant about!"
Jiang Lin nodded, then added after a thought, "Wait for me for a few minutes. I need to grab something before we go."
With that, Jiang Lin jogged away.
In less than a minute, he returned to the office holding a necklace and an iron sword.
The necklace, of course, came from Anya; it was the level-suppression necklace she had snagged from her swordsmanship teacher.
As for the iron sword, it was the one he had bought that morning to prepare for the mid-term exam the day after tomorrow.
He was taking this opportunity to get a feel for the iron sword's weight ahead of time.
Seeing the necklace in Jiang Lin's hand, Kenan recognized what it was. The boy clearly feared he wouldn't follow the rules and would use power exceeding the agreed-upon level.
He grew incensed again. "Are you looking down on me? I am a member of the Temple who has sworn an oath under the statue of the God of Arcane! I would never resort to such filthy, lowly tricks!"
Jiang Lin remained silent, only asking the man what his level had been when he was fifteen.
"At fifteen, I was at level 7, which is four levels higher than you are now! It's not too late to regret this!"
Jiang Lin nodded, his gaze sharpening slightly.
After all, he would have to face many opponents like this the day after tomorrow. He didn't yet know the true strength of opponents at that level, so testing it now would give him a baseline for the mid-term exam.
'Well, I'll just give it my all!'
'It's not like I'll lose my life if I lose.'
Class teacher Lake watched the scene, somewhat unable to process it.
Since when did this kid Jiang Lin... become so bellicose?
......
Eventually, the group arrived at an empty training hall in the school.
Though reluctant, Kenan still put on the necklace Jiang Lin handed him.
Instantly, his aura receded step by step, returning to the level 7 range.
However, while his level and physical stats were suppressed to level 7, his experience with various skills remained. Facing Jiang Lin, he still held a massive advantage.
Jiang Lin raised his longsword, facing Kenan as if confronting a formidable foe.
He held the iron sword high above his head. Divine golden light gathered on the blade, bursting into a brilliant radiance while emitting a terrifying pressure that seemed capable of tearing everything apart.
Witnessing this, everyone present was stunned. They hadn't expected Jiang Lin, who was only level 3 at fifteen, to be able to use a skill with such power.
Judging by the magic essence fluctuations, this was definitely a high-level skill. And those shining stars... wasn't that the high-tier combat technique called 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】?
'Isn't this guy a loser? How could he learn such a powerful skill?'
It was said that this combat technique was extremely difficult to practice, but its power was staggering once mastered. Furthermore, the more stars present in the sword's glow, the higher the proficiency.
However, there was only one star in Jiang Lin's sword light, so he was likely just initiated. The power shouldn't be too overwhelming.
The people present were quite experienced, and since 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 was relatively famous, they all recognized Jiang Lin's opening stance.
But for Jiang Lin to open with an ultimate move without holding anything back—he likely wanted to end it quickly.
That thought surfaced in everyone's mind.
After all, in their eyes, a high-tier skill was definitely an ultimate for a level 3 like Jiang Lin, both in terms of difficulty and the toll it took on the body.
......
"Using a high-tier combat technique? For a level 3 adventurer, that is indeed quite good," Kenan evaluated.
"But your proficiency is too low; it's impossible to use effectively in actual combat."
"If this is the source of your pride, then unfortunately, you won't be able to defeat me."
As he spoke, Kenan also released his skill.
Specks of light elements converged toward him as complex magic paths manifested in the air, condensing almost instantly.
High-tier defense magic, 【Saint Brilliance·Light's Blessing】!
As the magic formula was completed, a barrier made of light-attribute energy appeared before him.
Since light was one of the nine conventional elements and didn't have a glaring elemental disadvantage, using a light-attribute defensive skill against a light-attribute attack offered a clear advantage.
Of course, that was only if the proficiency levels were equal.
Although Kenan had earth-element defense magic with higher proficiency, he wanted to defeat Jiang Lin in his most familiar field, so he chose this skill.
He had originally thought Jiang Lin would need a long time to charge up, but to his surprise, the boy completed the skill condensation in an instant. This level of proficiency didn't look like someone who was just initiated at all.
The moment Kenan's light-attribute shield condensed, Jiang Lin's sword qi arrived with a ferocious roar, crashing into the shield.
With a sharp crack, the shield shattered like paper, and the biting sword qi showed no sign of stopping.
If Kenan took this hit without any protection, given the physical stats of a level 7 mage, he would definitely end up severely injured!
Watching from the side, Forest was also highly focused, ready to step in and save Kenan at any moment.
Kenan's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the light-attribute sword qi closing in on him.
'They're both high-tier skills, so why is this sword qi so powerful?!!'
At the same time, his instincts as a rank-2 adventurer kicked in, allowing him to rapidly release his earth-element defense magic with the highest proficiency.
High-tier earth magic, 【Barrier·Indestructible Protection】!
A split second before the sword qi reached him, earth elements surged across his body, and a hardened shield condensed on his skin, blocking the remaining force of the slash.
For a moment, cold sweat soaked Kenan's back.
If he had been any slower, Jiang Lin's slash would have definitely left him heavily wounded!
And because his level was restricted by the necklace on his chest, he couldn't even draw out more power for defense!
'Does this kid have some kind of grudge against me? Why did he open with an ultimate move trying to kill me?!'
Thinking back to how the boy had deliberately provoked him and demanded he wear the level-restriction necklace, Kenan was convinced Jiang Lin was intentionally trying to harm him.
He looked at Jiang Lin with indignation.
However, to his surprise, Jiang Lin was looking at the destruction he had caused with equal shock, seemingly completely unaware he could cause such damage.
He muttered to himself, though his voice reached everyone's ears clearly:
"A level 7 mage... is actually this weak?"
Hearing this, Kenan's face instantly went dark.
But seeing Jiang Lin's serious expression, he didn't seem to be joking at all.
'So he just miscalculated my strength and didn't mean to kill me?'
'Or maybe he's just acting calm?'
After all, as a level 3 paladin, his stamina and MP couldn't possibly support multiple attacks like that.
Kenan thought.
'He's probably drained all his mana now, and this act is just to scare me into surrendering!'
Seeing the other man's strained defense, Jiang Lin was about to ask if he could continue when he saw circles of fire runes manifest on Kenan's body.
At the same time, Kenan's lips moved slightly. Jiang Lin couldn't hear the specific incantation, but he could tell this was a magic spell of significant power.
Fierce flames coiled around the white mage robes, charging up as Kenan chanted. Within a few seconds, they took the shape of a fire dragon.
High-tier fire magic, 【Fire Dragon's Breath】!
It wasn't that he didn't know stronger attack magic, but in a one-on-one situation, this was the fastest spell he could use.
This was the characteristic of the mage class.
High attack, low defense, and a long casting time.
Watching from the sidelines, Lake broke into a sweat for Jiang Lin. He glanced at Forest from the Temple; if the man showed no intention of stepping in, Lake would have to save Jiang Lin himself if things got dangerous.
Forest, meanwhile, sharpened his focus, ready to terminate the duel at any moment.
Clearly, both men shared Kenan's thought—they believed Jiang Lin was at the end of his rope and that the previous attack was his full power.
However, to everyone's surprise, Jiang Lin showed no intention of defending. Instead, he raised the iron sword again, and a 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 with fluctuations identical to the last one was released once more.
A brilliant golden light flew off the blade again, whistling toward the fire dragon that was still condensing.
Seeing that Jiang Lin still had the strength to use this high-tier skill, Kenan's pupils shrank, and he released his charging high-tier magic prematurely.
"Boom!"
The flaming dragon dove forward, colliding solidly with the sword qi. Although the dragon was mostly dissipated, it still retained a bit of lingering force.
Just as Kenan was feeling secretly pleased, a scene appeared before him that he would never forget for the rest of his life.
The sword qi he had considered Jiang Lin's ultimate move was followed by countless more, as if they were being copy-pasted!
Sword qi after sword qi flew toward him as if they cost nothing. At a glance, there were at least a dozen of them, and each one was just as powerful as the first. The brilliant light and holy light elements almost illuminated the entire training hall.
This sight scared the wits out of Kenan.
The lingering force of his fire dragon, which was still charging forward, was like a child meeting an adult. With just a light tap, it was ruthlessly crushed by the subsequent sword qi and vanished into the air.
'What kind of monster is this?!'
Kenan now wished he could slap himself for the big talk he had spouted a few seconds ago.
'Of all people to provoke, I had to provoke this guy?'
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "I surrender! I surrender!"
Simultaneously, he ripped the necklace off his neck and frantically released his highest-proficiency defensive skill in the blink of an eye.
High-tier earth magic, 【Barrier·Indestructible Protection】!
With the necklace's restriction gone, his mental power returned to the rank-2 level, and the mana he could mobilize increased drastically. In an instant, layer upon layer of earth-element barriers appeared around him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of continuous collisions rang out. Jiang Lin's sword qi slammed into Kenan's shields. This time, they didn't shatter them like before; instead, they burst into brilliant light upon impact, allowing the light elements within the sword qi to dissipate into the air.
The hardened earth shields shuddered and swayed slightly under the impact.
However, as a rank-2 mage's specialty defense magic, Jiang Lin's sword qi failed to break through.
With that, the duel officially ended.
Kenan looked at Jiang Lin as if he were seeing a ghost. He found it hard to imagine that such an attack could be released by a level 3 paladin, let alone released at such a high frequency.
"You're definitely not level 3! Are you hiding your level?!" Kenan roared at Jiang Lin, unwilling to accept it.
However, Jiang Lin shook his head.
"I'm not. My level is indeed level 3. It's just that your vision is too narrow; you've never seen a genius refined by time."
As Jiang Lin spoke, he pulled out his little grudge-keeping notebook.
"I told you, you're only a few years older than me. It won't take long for me to surpass you, so you aren't worth recording."
He flipped to the page from earlier and used a pen to cross out that line of small text, as if crossing out the disdain Kenan had shown him at the beginning.
Seeing Jiang Lin like this, Kenan's face turned beet red. But as a proud mage of the Temple, he naturally couldn't bring himself to bully someone younger, so he could only silently accept his loss.
'What the hell is a genius refined by time? Is he really a genius?'
Then, the system made its judgment.
【Easily humiliated the opponent. Quest complete.】
【Reward: Upgrade a designated skill to perfect level.】
Next, the list of selectable options appeared.
This was the second time Jiang Lin had received this reward, and this time, there were many more options available.
In addition to several skills that hadn't reached perfect level yet, several skills that were already at perfect level also appeared in the list.
Without exception, they were all labeled as "limit-breakable" and divided into three tiers.
The first tier was for no-rank skills: 【Basic Swordsmanship (limit-breakable 0/1)】
The second tier was for low-tier skills: 【Low-level Healing (limit-breakable 0/2)】
The third tier was for high-tier skills: 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash (limit-breakable 0/8)】
The reason there were no mid-tier skills was that among the skills Jiang Lin had learned, there were only no-rank, low-tier, and high-tier categories.
However, this didn't stop Jiang Lin from deducing that there was likely another level above superlative. To break through to that level, one needed extra upgrade opportunities, and different grades of skills required different amounts of upgrade opportunities.
Even the most fundamental 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 was categorized under the no-rank skill tier and could also break through its limits.
Jiang Lin looked at each skill and ultimately chose to use this opportunity on the high-tier skill he had just learned, 【Light Blade】.
After all, the mid-term exam was the day after tomorrow. The higher his combat power, the more opponents he could defeat, and the more system rewards he could obtain.
He would just wait until the next time he could designate a skill for an upgrade to break the limit of the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】.
Rate on N.U.
