Chapter 316: Ice Howler

The way Lin Li meditated was different from other mages’. No one would believe that this Archmage who had already broken to level-16 would be like a mage apprentice, still drilling on the fundamental magical practices. He was very consistent in doing so, and never broke his routine. He knew that that was the only way he could patch his weakness up.

That was right. Although he seemed to have perfected his mental strength and magical ability, and was thus envied by many, Lin Li knew that he had an extremely weak foundation. Other mages who had similar abilities as him had either grown up in a magic-oriented culture, or had the coaching from esteemed mentors since a young age. To Lin Li, however, learning magic was like a mid-life career change.

Despite being exposed to magic only when he was reaching the age of 20, he took merely half a year to rise to where he was now. His powers had been increasing exponentially as he journeyed through the Sunset Mountains and then to the Breezy Plains, where he soared from a rookie who knew nothing to a powerful level-16 Archmage. The reason behind his growth was not just his little bit of talent, but more so the luck that helped him along the way.

This was the fact that struck Lin Li after he sat down to think about it properly.

His luck had been really great…

A lot of mages would take their whole lives to grow from a level-1 Mage Apprentice to a level-16 Archmage. He, however, only used half a year to achieve all these. The rapid growth would naturally bring much weakness to his foundation. At the start, such weakness would not be significant. Yet, it would be too late to regret if it were to haunt him in the future.

Actually, Andoine had seen this problem after the gathering at the Pharmacists Guild. But, being a Legendary-mage, he thought of a way to patch things up by throwing him into Cinder Woods. He made use of the special environment and the need to partake in strenuous battles there to reinforce Lin Li’s shaky foundation. Lin Li did not even realize that he was in a grave situation then…

It wasn’t until the recent month that Lin Li made some time to contemplate and had the chance to understand the core magical mantras better. He gradually realized that his situation was not as optimistic as it seemed.

Yes, he was indeed powerful now—even mightier than Macklin.

But, without much technical knowledge on Magic, as well as with the lack of experience in a comprehensive set of magical practice, the mana within him was like a time bomb which might explode at any moment. That it had not exploded yet was due to his huge mental strength. With that, he was able to balance out the violent mana inside him. However, when that balance was broken one day, it would mean terrible trouble.

Once the mental strength failed to repress the violent mana, it would be a devastating issue to any mage, especially Lin Li—a man with unlimited mana. It would be particularly destructive if the tragedy were to land on him. He would lose everything—even his Spiritual Brand…

But, the good thing was that it was not too late for him. Such consistent practice might seem really boring, but it was the only way through. Taking these baby steps—polishing the rough edges and building up the magic system within him—would bring about a huge improvement to his ability as well. Lin Li believed that he was not far from that day. He could faintly feel that the unsettled mana was gradually integrating with his body…

“Mr. Felic, may I come in?”

After finishing the last mana practice, he heard Jason’s footsteps outside his tent. Lin Li could not help but feel surprised. Why wasn’t Jason asleep at such an ungodly hour? Lin Li ended his meditation doubtfully.

“Sure. ”

The man who came in was indeed Jason. There was an apologetic expression on the face of this top adventurer of Doland. “Mr. Felic, hope I didn’t disturb your rest?” asked Jason.

“It does not matter. I don’t have a habit of sleeping early, either. But, Mr. Jason, what brings you here?”

“Erm, it’s nothing much. I just couldn’t fall asleep, so I was wondering if I could have a chat with you,” Jason said after looking around Lin Li’s tent curiously.

“Is that so…” Lin Li pursed his lips. Although the smile on his face did not fade, he had already started to lash out at Jason internally. Goddammit, why would you want to chat at such a timing? Besides, both of us are men—do you think I’m such a casual person?

“Although I’ve known you for a while, I realized that I still do not know your occupation…” Jason said casually. “Erm, I’m just asking. You can choose not to tell me if you are uncomfortable with it.”

“Hehe, there’s nothing to be uncomfortable about…” Lin Li laughed, and did not conceal it from Jason. “I’m a mage.”

“Oh, you are a mage! Apologies for the rudeness…”

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“I’m just an incompetent mage. There’s nothing to be proud of.”

“Hehe, Mage Felic, you are too humble…” Although Jason was complimenting Lin Li, he could not help belittling him. He had been in Doland for many years. How could he not know all the skillful mages who had already gotten the permission to enter Doland’s library? Since he had never seen Felic there, Felic had to be a really incompetent mage…

If it had been before, Jason would not have minded Lin Li’s competency. As long as he would not prevent him from attaining wealth, it would not matter if he was a cripple. Yet, the problem now was that Lin Li had promised a task that was worth 300,000 gold coins, and it entailed ensuring Lin Li’s safety.

What was the most scary thing in this sort of mission? The employer. Those that did not have any ability but were determined to travel to dangerous places. These people dared to go everywhere with the thought that they had the protection from Adventurers. In the end, not to mention that they would lose their lives in the process, they would implicate the adventurers too…

Jason was not worried about the safety of them three, though. Since they were all level-15 Adventurers, they would always have the means of ensuring their personal safety. However, if this useless mage were to lose his life, whom should he find to claim the remaining 20,000 gold coins?

Just when Jason was having a splitting headache over this issue, they heard footsteps outside the tent.

“Come out, Jason! I think there’s something there!”

That voice belonged to Bandit Weathor. Lin Li frowned. Since Bandit Weathor was in charge of safety tonight, it meant trouble if he were to call Jason at such a timing.

The two men went out of their tent in a hurry, and saw Weathor running towards them frantically. “Jason, trouble’s big!”

“Calm down and tell us slowly.” Jason frowned. It was as though he had been used to his teammate’s anxiety.

“Y-you, you… Listen to me…” The Bandit took in several deep breaths. “Around half an hour ago, there was a… there was an adventuring team that went into that forest in front…”

“Continue.” Jason’s expression turned into that of concern. Why would there be an adventuring team in a place like the Dragon Mountains, which humans would not usually visit?

Weathor swallowed his saliva. “Then… Then, I think they had provoked an Ice Howler…”

“Sh*t!” Jason cursed. To an Adventurer, this was a very tricky situation. It was not them who committed any mistake, yet despite having avoided almost all the danger zones, they were still endangered by other reckless Adventurers. It was like sitting at home comfortably but getting killed by a meteorite that fell from the sky for no reason…

The disaster that landed on them due to others…

“What should we do, Weathor? Should we…” Weathor did not continue his speech. But, as he spoke, his gaze had already fluttered to the path back home. He wanted to ask Jason if they should escape now…

“Erm…” Jason hesitated.

Lin Li laughed to himself. What a joke Weathor was! Ice Howlers were level-17 magical beasts that usually lived and slept in caves. Despite being lazy and retarded, they could be really deadly once provoked. If there really was an Ice Howler in the forest, where would they be able to escape to? Unless they had the ability to teleport, they would still be found by the determined Ice Howler…

Furthermore, it was more dangerous to run off in the Dragon Mountains at such a dark night as compared to battling an Ice Howler. No one knew what other things were hiding in the dark.

“No, Weathor. Let’s get ready for battle.”

It was fortunate that Jason did not waste time hesitating. He knew that it was obviously unwise to escape in such conditions. There were too many lurking dangers in the night in the Dragon Mountains. These dangers would overweight the danger brought about by a single agitated Ice Howler.

“Oh, Mage Felic. We might not be able to help you much in the battle later. So—”

“Yeah, I understand. Don’t worry, I will take care of myself.”