*Gasp, gasp, gasp...*
Connor and Alvin fell to the ground as their Master Familiar Connections canceled. The Flying Magic beasts that just attacked them weren't anything impressive. If anything, they were much weaker than the Earth Fishes -like Magic Beasts they defeated before.
However, they attacked a huge group. The Level Two Maguses and Familiars had no issues dealing with them... which wasn't something Alvin and Connor could say themselves. The two guys then looked at Linfel, who floated there as if nothing had happened.
Although Linfel didn't kill as many of these Magic Beasts as the Level Two Maguses, he wasn't that far behind. As to why Alvin and Connor were that weak... "Linfel, did you need to send so many of these things after us?"
Linfel had Alvin and Connor fight four or five of the Flying Magic Beasts at once. Both Alvin and Connors had several scratches and nearly escaped serious injuries. "Too many? Come on, they were so weak! Look at you two. Even though you have no experience whatsoever, you managed to deal with them with just some small scratches. You are doing great! Believe in your own potential!"
"Yes, master! Believe in your potential!" Felia repeated.
"Yes, master! Believe in your potential!" Tratil was no different regarding Connor.
Alvin and Connor bitterly smiled. They didn't know their Familiars liked to fight that much? Could it be they were being influenced by Linfel? Well, not really. Familiars are born with a set of knowledge, and ultimately, they were created for battle above all else. It is only normal that they get more excited during such moments.
*Shuuuu...*
Suddenly, a gust of wind carried Alvin and Connor's bodies, forcing them to stand up once again. It was Linfel once again. "Enough rest. We need to keep going if we want our bonuses."
"We are tired!" Alvin and Connor complained.
Yet, Linfel pointed at the Donfin, Miranda, and the other Levle Two Maguses and Familiars. They were all looking at Alvin and Connor, not feeling very pleased that they weren't moving forward already. "Well, you can ask them if they want to wait."
Alvin and Connor wanted to cry again. First of all, aren't these Classes A and B guys following them because they want? It is not like Alvin and Connor were holding them back, right? Too bad the two were too afraid to say that on those strong students' faces.
"I... I think I rested a lot," Alvin forced himself to stay up.
Connor wasn't different. "Yes, what are just some small Flying Magic Beasts to us? Hahaha!" He wasn't very convincing...
Linfel smiled and quickly dashed forward as everyone followed closely. Little did they know, but they were indeed quite far ahead in the exam. While others had to explore, Linfel's group was truly making a beeline to the depths of the Dark Cayons.
Fourth Flag, Fifth Flag, Sixth Flag, Seventh, Eight, Ninth... As much as Alvin and Connor hated it, they were truly improving at a very fast pace, being forced to fight to protect their lives. Of course, Linfel and the other Level Two Maguses were there. If things got too dangerous, they intervened.
Why did the Level Two Maguses intervene? Because Linfel would probably leave the exam if Alvin and Connor suddenly got taken out of the exam. They couldn't possibly let that happen. But at the same time, they respected Linfel's wishes to not step in unless it was truly necessary.
That left Alvin and Connor on their wits end. Why? That's because of Linfel's words. "I'm helping you if I see you are truly in danger, and these guys seem to want to help, too. However, since we will only intervene when you are at risk of dying, perhaps we will be too late. So... I truly wouldn't put all my coins on the fact that we will help you. I definitely wouldn't. Hahaha!"
How could Alvin and Connor not do their absolute best like that? To scared cats like them, any small chance of dying was enough to fight with everything they had.
"Oh!" Donfin looked ahead, and his eyes lit up. "The tenth Flag! How long has it been since we started the exam?"
"Two hours and fifty-seven minutes," Miranda quickly checked her MCOM, feeling just as excited. The record of the exam was ten hours, and they already got more than half of the path covered.
Donfin and their group immediately jumped out in the open, dashing to the Flag. They were aware that some Magic Beasts might be present, but they didn't care. Nothing until now posed any threat to them whatsoever. The important thing was to be one of the first ten students to get the Flag.
*Rumble...*
Yet, before they could get anywhere close, something entered their visions. A giant ball came rolling in their direction at huge speeds, startling these Level Two Maguses and Familiars. The path wasn't big, so that thing alone left no space for them to dodge.
Their Magic Energy immediately activated, and they all connected to their Familiars. Right after, they all attacked that rolling rock.
*Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...*
Five Level Two Maguses connected to their Familiars wasn't a joke. The rolling rock was blasted back by the attacks instantly... or so they all thought it would happen.
Yet, that rock suddenly opened, jumping high and dodging all the attacks at once. From above, they could all see that it was not a rock but a Magic Beast, and not a weak one. "It's a Rock Breaker!"
Linfel couldn't help but shake his head. His Magic Sensitivity only reaches ten meters or so of distance. Donfin and the others dashed ahead because of the Flag, so he obviously wasn't able to tell it was there in time.
The Magic Beast they called Rock Breaker looked like a mix of Armadilho and Lizard. It fell right in the middle where Donfin and the others were standing, forcing them all to jump away.
*Bang!*
The Rock Breaker crashed against the ground, not hitting anyone at first. Yet, the exact moment it fell, its body rotated, using its enormous tail to sweep everything around.
*Bang, Bang, Bang!*
In that single moment, the Rock Breaker sent three of the Class A and B students flying!
One of them crashed to the ground, his body convulsing violently before finally stilling. The other two were thrown against the walls, spewing mouthfuls of blood in an instant. As Linfel and the others beheld this carnage, they realized with a jolt that their adversaries were not mere Level One Magic Beasts. No, this was a Level Two Rock Breaker, and a particularly formidable one at that.
At that moment, Linfel noticed a yellow light enveloping those three Maguses. It also covered their Familiars, who had their connections canceled by force after the impact. Before anyone or the Rock Breaker could do anything, those Maguses and Familiars' bodies shot to the skies, disappearing from view in a matter of seconds.
'The extraction system...' Linfel thought back to the travel to this place. In the Airship, the instructor gave the maguses only a collar each. It had a weird transparent stone with many Magic Diagrams inside. The instructor mentioned to them that if they were considered not fit to continue the exam anymore, these collars would activate the Magic Diagrams inside and take them away. That was the extraction system.
However, it wasn't something that could truly save anyone. It offered no protection whatsoever. Simply put, they obviously didn't activate before those three Maguses were hit. If they had died during those attacks, that was basically it. The collar would still activate, but only three dead bodies would be brought back.
Donfin and Miranda's expressions immediately changed as they ignored the maguses who were taken away. They observed the Rock Breaker, who also paid close attention to them.
"I didn't expect to find a Rock Breaker so soon, and this one is definitely quite strong within them. Those three couldn't even react in time before they were sent flying," Miranda commented.
Donfin nodded. "I'm not the type who likes to join forces, but I feel like we don't have much choice now."
Miranda and Donfin nodded and immediately... turned around and ran away! Fight this thing? Ridiculous! Linfel and the others were much better prays, and they had come this far, so it was better to simply sacrifice the Rank F Students. While the Rock Breaker dealt with Linfel's group, they would leave the area. They still had a good chance of being the first ones to reach the last Flag now that Linfel got them here so fast.
The Rock Breaker saw that but did not give chase. It's not like it wasn't interested in Dofin and Miranda. Instead, it simply wasn't the only one here.
*Roar!*
Before Miranda and Donfin managed to walk more than a few tens of meters, another huge rock came rolling in their direction. Those two weren't idiots. It looked exactly the same as the previous Rock Breaker. It immediately opened itself, landing in front of Miranda and Donfin, blocking their path.
"Fuck!" Miranda grasped her Collar. It could be activated at any time, not only when you get disabled. However, activating it on purpose would also mean you failed the exam.
However, Donfin stopped her. "Not yet, look!"
Miranda took a good look at the Rock Breaker coming their direction. It was still a Level Two Magic beast, but this one was a lot smaller than the previous one behind. "We should be able to deal with this one if we join forces."
Miranda narrowed her eyes. Especially because she knew she couldn't easily trust Donfin either. He would probably run when the first chance appeared, even if it meant leaving her behind. Donfin is a Class A student while Miranda is a Class B, so he was indeed stornger since he was there. Her chances were smaller. Besides, what if the other Rock Breaker suddenly decided to attack from behind? She gave a quick glance and noticed that the Rock Breaker had indeed gone after Linfel's group. "Fuck! Let's do this!"
Donfin smiled, and the two joined forces to attack that Rock Breaker.
While Miranda and Donfin struggled to fight against the smaller Rock Breaker, the bigger one came straight for Linfel and the others. Alvin and Connor were petrified due to their fear. Their hands trembled as they reached for the Collar on their necks. Even Felia and Tratil understood they weren't that thing's match.
"Oh! Finally, something interesting to fight!" Yet, Linfel was nothing but excited. Horan had truly shaped this Wisp differently from the others. "Alvin, let's go!"
"What?!" Alvin almost vomited blood. "There is absolutely no way I'm fighting this thing! It's a Level Two Magic Beast!"
"Stop complaining! I need your help and Felia's. Only my own Magic energy won't be enough. I'm connecting with you two again."
"Wai-" Before Alvin could stop Linfel, Linfel had already moved his core to Alvin's body. His own Magic Energy and Soul Waves matched Alvin and Felia like they did last night, and Linfel got access to all the Magic Energy in both their cores. Not only that... but Linfel took control over Alvin's body!
'Alvin, Felia, pay close attention to how I control Magic Energy to use my skills. This will be of great help for you in the future,' Alvin's voice echoed in Alvin and Felia's minds, much to their surprise. They had never communicated with anyone like that.
Alvin's body fell forward as merged Magic Energy concentrated on the legs.
*Bang!*
Alvin shot forward like a bullet, going straight for the Rock Breaker, who was only a few meters away from them. The Rock Breaker didn't have intelligence. However, as a Magic Beast that fought for many years in its territory, its instincts were definitely sharp. It instantly understood the enemy coming in its direction wasn't weak either.
Its mouth opened, and Level Two Magic Energy gathered into it. In the next second, a Red Blast of Magic Energy and Earth Elements shot in Alvin's direction from its mouth. It was a little similar a Dragon's Breath, but different...
Linfel had used Alvin's body and shot straight at the Rock Breaker, so even though Alvin couldn't control his body, he was still very well-conscious of everything. Seeing that Blast coming in his direction, Alvin already accepted his death. How could he escape such a wide-range attack while his body was moving straight at it? Even if he could take control of his body back, it was too late.
Yet, in that last moment, Linfel only snorted. 'Ha! That's what I call a suicide attack!'
In the next moment, all the Magic Energy from Linfel, Felia, and Alvin were used at once. Alvin's body then pounced straight into the Rock Breaker's attack, much to Alvin's despair. However, he didn't die as he expected. All that Magic Energy created another Element Spear, very similar to the Fire Spear Linfel used against those Earth Fishes in the past. It's just that this one was much bigger, completely covering the flying body of Alvin in front... and made of Lightning Element!
'Go!'
Alvin's fist then punched forward as if pushing the rear of the spear.
*Kabrum!*
Linfel's plan was very simple. The Rock Breaker attack was powerful enough to cover a wide area. However, it lacked the strength to fight against an attack focused on a single point. Alvin's... Linfel's Lightning Spear just pierced through this single point, creating a hole in the Rock Breaker's attack.
Most of the Rock Breaker's wide area attack was completely ignored; only a small part of it was nullified. Yet, that was enough. The Lightning Spear, carrying all of Alvin, Linfel, and Felia's Yellow Magic Energy, got through the blast and entered the open mouth of the Rock Breaker.
It no doubt had a huge defense on the outside. However, its insides were still soft like most creatures. The Lightning Spear pierced many organs, and the Lightning Element increased the damage to the rest of the body even more.
*Bum!*
The Rock Breaker's body then fell to the ground as Purple Blood came out of its body. It was as dead as it could possibly be.
*Plin!*
Felia and Linfel then separated from Alvin, who kneeled on the ground while gasping for air. All three of them were now feeling quite tired, having used all their Magic Energy at once. Their Cores were completely empty.
*BANG!*
Back in the Airship in the skies, the old man's fist hit the table in front of him, turning it to dust as he looked at what had just happened. "Double Master Familiar Connection! That Magus can use Double Master Familiar Connection!"
There was one huge monitor in that room set at the center of the thousands of monitors used to watch the exam. Because Linfel's group was the first one to encounter a Level Two Magic Beast, it automatically changed to them and showed the entire event.
"Impossible! Only Level Six and above Maguses can do it, and trying it at Level Six is already extremely dangerous to the soul!" Another one of the workers there couldn't help but exclaim.
Yet, there Alvin was, kneeling on the ground, only looking tired. There was no doubt. All their sensors over the area said that both Felia and Linfel were connected to Alvin.
The old man then sat on his chair once again, although the table was now gone. His eyes turned to the people in the room, who didn't know what to do. In the next moment, his fingers flickered.
Several rays of Blue Light shot out, giving no one in the room the chance to dodge. They all hit the many instructors' heads. In less than a second, the room was left with only three people alive. One, obviously, was the old man. The other two were his closest aids. None of the three showed the least bit of emotion to what just happened.
"Wipe out the logs, find some reason for their deaths, you know what to do," said the old man.
"Yes, Principal Xalafel!" His two aids quickly acknowledged the order and started to work.
Xalafel then looked at Alvin on the monitor and murmured, his eyes now betraying a little bit of excitement. 'Sorry for thinking you were a disappointment. This old man was wrong.'