Chapter 16 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

Facing the enraged Berserk Bear, it was impossible not to feel afraid or nervous.

On the contrary, Zhang Ye was so nervous that his body was trembling, and he was so afraid that his breathing had become incredibly rapid.

But fear was fear, and nerves were nerves; he knew he had to face this.

The path to becoming stronger in the future would surely be full of obstacles. If he couldn't even handle a single Tier Five Berserk Bear now, how could he talk about dominating this other world later?

How could he ever get Leona to give herself to him?

So, although he was nervous and afraid, he did not back down.

“Calm down! Calm down!” Zhang Ye took deep breaths, repeatedly telling himself in his mind.

His current advantage lay in the high-level magic he had just copied from Leona.

At Tier Four, he had five Copy Slots. Among them were one Tier Four spell, one Tier Six spell, two Tier Seven spells, and one Tier Eight spell.

The reason he hadn't copied a Tier Nine spell was that, considering his current mana reserves, even if he copied one, he wouldn't be able to support its release. A Tier Eight spell was already enough to drain almost all of his mana.

However, with a Tier Eight spell in hand, he should be able to deal damage to the Berserk Bear.

Moreover, although Leona had disappeared, she was definitely watching him from the shadows. She wouldn't just stand by and watch him get killed, so... what was there to be afraid of?

Just do it!

“ROAR!!” The Berserk Bear let out a furious roar, its massive frame lunging directly at Zhang Ye. The mountain-like pressure made Zhang Ye’s breath hitch.

Tier Seven—【Flame Power Rampage】!

Instantly, blazing flames ignited on Zhang Ye’s body!

Normally, the consumption of a Tier Seven spell was more than three times that of a Tier Six one. However, because Zhang Ye’s mana was extremely pure, in his hands, a Tier Seven spell only consumed twice as much as a Tier Six one!

Even so, the mana consumption was severe. A single 【Flame Power Rampage】 instantly drained two-fifths of his mana reserves!

If not for Zhang Ye’s incredibly pure mana and high mana conversion rate, combined with the fact that his mana reserves were larger than those of a Tier Six mage, he probably wouldn't have been able to support the release of a Tier Seven spell at all.

Immediately after, Zhang Ye felt a surge of powerful strength within his body!

The effect of Flame Power Rampage was the possession of fire power, greatly enhancing physical functions and increasing the power of fire-attribute combat techniques to a certain extent. This was a spell used by someone like Leona, who practiced Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation; ordinary mages wouldn't bother learning a spell that enhanced the physical body.

With his physical attributes greatly improved, his speed increased. Facing the Berserk Bear’s swift pounce, Zhang Ye didn't even think before diving to the side. He jumped nearly ten meters away, instantly putting distance between himself and the beast.

“So strong!” Zhang Ye exclaimed, feeling the surging power in his body and the explosive speed he had just displayed.

However, in the next moment, he lost his balance and rolled several times on the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt.

His strength and agility had increased, but because this enhancement wasn't something he had built up through training bit by bit, he couldn't fully control it yet. He had used too much force and ended up face-planting.

“Pah, pah, pah!” He hurriedly scrambled up, his body swaying. He barely managed to stabilize his unsteady frame before the Berserk Bear roared and slammed its hind legs onto the ground. A shockwave expanded outward with the bear as the center.

Tier Five innate magic—【Shockwave】!

Zhang Ye was shocked and quickly raised both arms in front of him to defend. But the shockwave was too powerful, directly blasting his body backward and slamming him into a tree trunk.

He felt a jolt inside his body, and pain radiated through him as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

If 【Flame Power Rampage】 hadn't strengthened his physique, that single shockwave might have incapacitated him, leaving him at the bear’s mercy!

“Awoo!” The Berserk Bear then lunged straight at Zhang Ye, dark red mana condensing on its massive paw.

【Dark Claw】!

Sensing the surging mana on the Berserk Bear, Zhang Ye knew that if he took this hit directly, even Flame Power Rampage wouldn't save him!

He hurriedly reached out his hand.

Tier Three—【Earth Steps】!

The ground around him immediately rose in layers of steps. By the time it reached beneath him, the steps had lifted him five meters high. In the next instant, the Berserk Bear’s claws struck the Earth Steps made of soil and rock. Instantly, the earth exploded, and Zhang Ye hurriedly jumped.

Tier Three—【Slow Fall】!

His body became like a feather in the air, descending slowly. But having missed its strike, the Berserk Bear had already stood up on its hind legs, waiting for him below.

No, if this continued, it would be a dead end!

Zhang Ye gritted his teeth and extended both arms. A massive flaming lion’s head condensed in front of him.

Tier Six—【Lion Fireball】!

The flaming lion’s head let out a roar and then bit down directly at the Berserk Bear below. Seeing this, the Berserk Bear roared, air currents billowing as a blood-red light rose from its body.

Tier Five innate magic—【Bloodthirsty Berserk】!

“BOOM!!!” In the next moment, the Lion Fireball hit the Berserk Bear head-on. Like a high-explosive grenade detonating, the massive shockwave pushed the floating Zhang Ye further away. He wobbled and finally landed, then frowned as he looked at the rising dust and smoke.

“The 'Smoke without injury' law... this Berserk Bear definitely won't be hurt. So... time to scram!” With that, he took off running, not forgetting to analyze the 【Bloodthirsty Berserk】 before he left.

Ella: “...”

Sure enough, just as he left, a roar erupted from the smoke. A wave of air surged, instantly clearing the smoke and revealing the Berserk Bear’s figure.

Its fur was slightly scorched, and its forelimbs were charred black, but it was certain that it hadn't suffered any serious injuries!

The burns on its body completely enraged the Berserk Bear. After its roar, it moved its four limbs and chased after Zhang Ye like a tank, the ground trembling as it ran.

Zhang Ye was working hard to adapt to his skyrocketing strength to avoid losing control and tumbling away. But then he heard the commotion behind him. He looked back and instantly broke into a cold sweat.

The Berserk Bear was less than thirty meters away, and the distance was constantly shrinking!

Without a second thought, he sprinted with all his might.

The forest terrain was rugged, and with his physical attributes having surged so suddenly, he couldn't move quickly at all. His steps were uneven, and after running dozens of meters, he would often trip and fall.

If he could perfectly control his increased strength, he could have completely toyed with the Berserk Bear using his speed, rather than being in such a pathetic state where he could barely maintain the same speed as the bear even while running at full tilt.

Watching this scene from the shadows, Leona shook her head.

“His body control is too low. Although his adaptability is decent, he has almost zero combat experience. The only thing halfway decent... is his brain.” She looked at the disheveled Zhang Ye fleeing below, her lips curling up.

If Zhang Ye hadn't decisively fled just now, he probably would have been caught by the Berserk Bear by now.

However, with the way Zhang Ye was stumbling as he ran, he probably wouldn't cover more than a few li before he ended up covered in injuries from falling. At that point, being caught by the Berserk Bear would only be a matter of time.

“So... what will you do?” Leona hovered in the air, watching the scene, her eyes flickering with interest like jumping flames.

As he continued to flee, Zhang Ye began to gain control over his body, but he paid a significant price for it—his knees and elbows were scraped and bleeding, he had abrasions all over, his face was covered in dirt, and even his pants were torn, revealing his bright red underwear.

Furthermore, this stumbling flight was draining his stamina severely. If this continued, his stamina would be exhausted within five or six li at most. By then, he would definitely not escape the Berserk Bear’s clutches.

While he knew Leona certainly wouldn't let him die, Zhang Ye understood that she had put him in this practical combat to both train him and see what he was capable of.

If he did nothing but run and was eventually caught and saved by Leona, she would surely be very disappointed, wouldn't she?

That wouldn't do!

Losing favor with the female lead right from the start—how was he supposed to win her over later?

The key point was that this bold, spirited, and heroic Leona was exactly his type!

No, for the sake of his future happiness, he couldn't let Leona be disappointed no matter what.

Moreover, at this moment, the stubborn streak in him that refused to lose began to flare up.

He also wanted to see just how much he could achieve!

His mind began to race.

Fortunately, when he was copying skills, he hadn't just picked whatever seemed powerful; he had a plan.

He had figured that after copying the skills, he would go out to hunt monsters and level up, so the skills he copied covered various aspects.

For instance, the Tier Seven 【Flame Power Rampage】 was to give himself a powerful physique so he could run away if he couldn't win.

Another Tier Seven spell was 【Flame Snake Binding】!

This was so that while hunting monsters, he could use this spell to bind the target and give himself enough time to release the Tier Eight spell 【Fire Rain from the Heavens】, completing a combo!

That was his strategy for offense!

So, what he needed to do next was find an opportunity to bind the Berserk Bear with 【Flame Snake Binding】 and then release 【Fire Rain from the Heavens】. But before that, he had to test something.

How long could 【Flame Snake Binding】 hold the Berserk Bear?

He looked back; the Berserk Bear was pursuing closely, the distance remaining under thirty meters. Meanwhile, his mana had fully recovered during his flight.

The higher the tier of a copied spell, the shorter its duration. The Tier Eight spell only had about ten minutes left, so he had to resolve this Berserk Bear within ten minutes!