Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 326: Level 20 Mage? I thought it was a speed bump

At this moment, the situation on the field for both sides was as follows:

On the side of the Doria Kingdom Academy, four students including Milan had already left the stage. Those remaining on the field were Lin Mo, Finnie, Eve, Sherfilia, Ellie, and the two instructors Flora and Amy. Meanwhile, there were still two more instructors waiting offstage.

On the side of the Lonia Kingdom Academy, the number of students who had left the stage had already reached six—one of them had just been injured by Eve and carried off. This also meant they'd better not let any more of their own students be defeated, otherwise, if the number of defeats reached seven, the final two instructors of the Lonia Academy would also take the stage, which would put them in a very unfavorable situation.

Fortunately, the remaining four students on the Lonia Academy side weren't particularly strong. With Finnie's support, Eve, Sherfilia, and the currently slacking-off Lin Mo could easily keep them entangled, ensuring neither victory nor defeat.

The focal point of the battlefield naturally became the three 15-level combatants versus the two 16-level instructors from the Lonia Academy.

The difference between Level 15 and Level 16 was only one level, with not a huge gap in attributes. So normally, it was obvious the three Level 15s held the advantage.

But the Lonia Academy instructors weren't worried at all; they were even quite confident.

Because in their view, Ellie had already been fighting for a while and must have expended some energy. Furthermore, while they were Level 16, they were actually not far from Level 17. What seemed like a one-level gap was closer to a 1.5-level difference. Not to mention, they were older and had much richer combat experience.

Dealing with three young girls, it wasn't impossible to win!

Therefore, an instructor with the Warrior profession confidently initiated an attack, targeting Ellie directly.Ellie showed no fear, raising her sword to meet him.

The two clashed head-on, and Ellie was immediately forced back several meters before steadying herself.

After all, there was a real gap in their levels, so in terms of pure strength, she was inferior to her opponent.

Seeing this, the instructor revealed an "as expected" expression, growing even more confident. He attacked again, this time using a skill.

Ellie's gaze sharpened. The next moment, a biting chill emanated from her body.

A layer of semi-transparent ice armor materialized around her, and even the sword in her hand was coated with a layer of frost.

"Bloodline ability? Hah..."

The ice armor looked merely a thin layer, so the opponent obviously didn't take it seriously, delivering a heavy, powerful slash.

Ellie pretended to block it, but just as their weapons were about to collide, she suddenly changed her move. Twisting her wrist, her Silvermoon Blade slid past her opponent's sword and went straight for his neck!

The instructor was instantly horrified. This little girl, what a vicious fighting style! Was she aiming for mutual destruction?

If that's the case, then bring it on!

Being an academy instructor after all, his reaction was also very swift. He adjusted his posture to avoid a vital spot, allowing the sword blade carrying a shocking coldness to strike his chest.

"Gah—!"

The intense pain that followed left him bewildered.

How could this be...?

The armor he wore was mid-tier Exceptional-Grade. Even a high-tier Exceptional-Grade weapon shouldn't be able to pierce it directly.

An Epic-Level weapon?!

And not only that, a wave of cold seeped into the wound, slowly invading his limbs and bones at an extremely slow pace, making his body and even his thoughts feel somewhat stiff.

Meanwhile, his own attack, landing on that seemingly fragile ice armor, barely managed to shatter it. But by the time it reached her body, it was nothing more than a light tap, leaving only a faint white mark on her armor.

"Level 16 is only this much..."

Ellie's voice fell. She then pulled her sword back and retreated, sending a Frost Slash straight for her opponent's face.

The instructor was furious, but his entire body felt icy cold. He even felt the circulation of his Qi and Blood seemed a bit slower. He barely managed to unleash a Sword Energy, but it failed to completely block this attack. The remaining Sword Energy struck him again, leaving a deep mark on his armor.

"Void-Slashing Sword!"

A dignified Level 16 instructor, how could he be defeated so easily? He roared angrily, unleashing a powerful Sword Energy slash and following up immediately.

However, Ellie dodged his Sword Energy by a hair's breadth and engaged him in close combat.

In terms of pure strength, she was inferior. But Ellie had significant advantages in speed and Constitution. So, although she was at a disadvantage during the clashes, she suffered less from the recoil force. Simultaneously, her sword speed was noticeably faster than his. While she seemed suppressed momentarily during the clashes, she quickly gained the initiative and instead forced her opponent into a defensive posture.

"Meteor Thrust!"

Ellie struck again, using another skill she had painstakingly learned from Lin Mo, and her proficiency with it was already quite high.

This move precisely targeted a gap in her opponent's defense, piercing through the chest armor once more and leaving a wound several centimeters deep.

Up to this point in the fight, Ellie remained completely unscathed, with only a slight tear at the base of her thumb and some minor internal injuries. In contrast, the instructor opposite her had already become a bloody mess.

On the other side, the other Level 16 Mage instructor was also struggling hard.

Although he was stronger, he was fighting one against two, especially against Flora, whose magical talent was formidable and whose elemental attribute was the highly aggressive fire element. The barrage of various spells left him utterly miserable. Amy, fighting alongside, was also no weakling. While the power of her magic was somewhat inferior, it was more well-rounded, with no obvious weaknesses.

Under the combined assault of the two, his Mana was already more than half depleted, and he had narrowly avoided having his barrier broken and being taken out several times.

A Mage's physical durability couldn't withstand direct hits from skills... Once his Mana output couldn't keep up and his protective barrier shattered, the fight would pretty much be over.

He could only pin his hopes on the other side winning quickly and coming to help him.

After all, it was one-on-one, Level 16 versus Level 15. Surely nothing could go wrong, right?

Yet, after waiting for a long time, there was no movement. Stealing a glance in his busy fight, his face instantly darkened.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Are you acting? You can't even beat a little girl?!"

"Damn it, if you think you can do better, you come try!"

Seeing their own instructor at a disadvantage and even starting to argue, the remaining students of the Lonia Academy weren't completely foolish. They quickly seized an opportunity to forcefully get themselves eliminated from the stage.

Off the stage, the Lonia Academy side could no longer bear to watch. Their last two instructors, extremely anxious, hurried onto the stage, wanting to join the battle.

However, the moment they stepped onto the platform, a figure suddenly appeared, blocking their path.

"You two, where are you planning to go?"

Lin Mo leisurely took out the Frost Dragon Scale Sword from his Portable Space and looked at them.

"They're having a great fight over there. It wouldn't be good to disturb them now, don't you think?"

"Kid, looking for death!"

The two instructors, however, didn't take him seriously at all. After all, Lin Mo had disguised himself well before. In their eyes, this kid only had the strength of Level 13. Among students, he might be considered relatively strong, but in the eyes of them, the instructors, he posed absolutely no threat.

So, the Level 18 Assassin instructor didn't even bother using stealth skills. Holding a short sword, he charged straight at Lin Mo.

In his view, this student brat couldn't possibly react to his speed. He probably wouldn't even realize what happened before being sent off the stage.

However, just as he felt he was about to succeed with one strike, Lin Mo suddenly moved.

He didn't use the sword in his hand. Instead, he raised his empty hand and threw a punch.

[Void-Shaking Fist]!

The Assassin instructor, looking down on Lin Mo too much, attacked in a straightforward manner without any thought of feinting, thus colliding head-on with Lin Mo's punch.

The next moment, he let out a scream and was sent flying backward, directly out of the arena's boundaries.

"What?!"

In that instant, the entire venue was shocked.

Many people stood up directly, looking at the scene before them in disbelief.

A Level 18 instructor! Even if he was somewhat careless and didn't use his full power, that attack just now should have had at least Level 16 strength. Yet he was defeated so decisively?

Moreover, looking at the instructor's condition after landing, he seemed quite injured, directly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The instructor's companion, the strongest instructor of the Lonia Academy, was also dumbfounded.

What happened? Wasn't this kid a Swift Warrior? Wasn't he Level 13? During the previous fights, he had still been like that. How suddenly...?

"Hiss—!"

The offstage crowd finally reacted. "This kid, was he hiding his strength all along?"

"Damn it, he hid it really well!"

"His true strength is probably at least Level 18, the same as that instructor!"

"No way, is he really from a small kingdom? He doesn't even look twenty yet, does he?"

This time, the place truly erupted.

Even Ellie, with her Level 15 strength appearing in a small kingdom, was already shocking and barely within the realm of reason. Placed in the team of a top-two Empire academy, she'd be at a medium to slightly above-average level.

But Level 18 was different.

The strongest student in the Violet Empire's Second Academy was only Level 18!

In the Violet Empire's First Academy, only two students had reached Level 18 or above!

How could someone with this level of strength appear in a small kingdom? If the resources of a small kingdom could make him this strong, then what if he could obtain resources from a large kingdom or even an Empire-level...?

It was simply unimaginable!

The tall, Level 20 Mage from the Lonia Academy looked at Lin Mo before him, his face full of astonishment.

Such talent was truly wasted in a small kingdom!

However, before he could ponder further, Lin Mo had already taken the initiative to attack.

His expression quickly calmed as well. No longer underestimating his opponent, he raised his hand and cast a protective spell—[Frost Barrier].

Lin Mo's sword landed on the opponent's magic barrier, causing only slight ripples.

Purely in terms of the Warrior profession, his strength was indeed only around Level 18. And this was because of his numerous attribute bonuses. In terms of pure level, his Warrior profession had just reached Level 14.

This strike allowed him to roughly gauge his opponent's strength.

He had originally thought to hide his magic a little longer, but upon careful thought, since he had already made a move, there wasn't much need anymore.

After all, his biggest opponents, the Imperial First Academy side, probably already knew about his magic... since Finnie's sister, Nuolun, was studying at the Violet Empire's First Academy.

The next moment, Lin Mo swung his sword again. A blood-red Sword Energy shot out at extreme speed and struck the opponent's "Frost Barrier."

Immediately, fine, dense cracks appeared on the barrier, startling the Mage once more.

What a powerful attack!

However, it ultimately failed to break the protection. The cracks on the barrier also quickly repaired under his continuous Mana output.

"I must admit, your strength far exceeds my expectations... With your talent, given another year or two, I'd probably have a hard time defeating you. But unfortunately, that will have to wait until the next competition."

As his words fell, surging Ice Element gathered at an astonishing speed, transforming into a giant ice bird that shot toward Lin Mo.

"Ice Falcon Assault!"

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

The next moment, he suddenly tossed the sword in his hand, withdrawing it into his Portable Space.

Then, he extended his palm. Bright flames converged in his hand.

"What?"

"Ma... Magic?!"

"Isn't he a Warrior?"

This time, the offstage area completely exploded. More than half of the audience stood up in shock, as what was happening before their eyes had exceeded the bounds of their common understanding.

"It really is true!"

The students and leading instructors of the Imperial First Academy, who were also watching, widened their eyes.

"I didn't believe it when Big Sis Nuolun told me before... So there really are people in this world who can master both Qi and Blood and Magic!"

"Now I'm starting to believe we might encounter this team later."

"We will definitely encounter them."

Nuolun crossed her arms and gave a light hum, her voice carrying a hint of pride. "And as expected, we'll meet in the finals."

The instructors beside her glanced at her. They wanted to say it wasn't necessarily true but ultimately didn't dare speak up.

This one was famously known in the academy as the "Demon Pill."

Top-tier talent, powerful background, and incredibly vindictive. Previously, when the Academy Head offended her, she found an opportunity to pull out half of his beard...

So, whatever she said went. No point in contradicting her.

Besides, if they could defeat the Lonia Kingdom, and with a bit of luck in the subsequent draws, this possibility did indeed exist.

...

On the field, seeing the flames in Lin Mo's hand, the instructor opposite him was clearly stunned as well.

He was close and could feel it most acutely.

Why did the other's Mana seem stronger than his?

Was that even reasonable?

Before he could regain his composure, the next moment, Lin Mo's [Blazing Sky Fire Spear] had already taken form and shot out rapidly.

The fire spear and the ice bird collided. There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor a stalemate of mutual resistance. The moment the two spells touched, the fire spear rapidly melted the ice bird away.

The instructor's feeling wasn't wrong. Lin Mo's Mana was indeed stronger than his, and by more than just a little...

The stacked bonuses from multiple professions, especially the additions from the two special professions, Spellsword and Paladin, meant that although Lin Mo's Mage level was only 18, his total Mana attribute had now reached 540 points! Generally, a Level 20 Mage's total Mana attribute was only around 450 points.

Coupled with the fact that fire and ice elements inherently counter each other, and with fire being strong against ice, there was no suspense at all. It was completely one-sided.

"This... this is impossible?!"

The instructor was clearly questioning his life, to the point he forgot to continue casting spells to defend. The Frost Barrier was consequently shattered by the fire spear, and the scorching spear directly pierced through his abdomen.

Lin Mo shook his head. It seemed he had overestimated his opponent.

A Level 20 Mage was only this much? He thought it would be more of a speed bump...