122 Level-13

Under the Hysteria Spell, the King Wolf went completely out of control.

In that moment, it resembled a pale streak of lightning that brought about foul wind and rain of blood among the pack of terrorized wolves. The Three-eyed Blood Wolves became bits and pieces of flesh strewn all over in a sea of blood. The savage killing continued, turning the tranquil and peaceful jungle into a terrifying ground for ruthless slaughter.

In front of their raging king, no wolf dared to oppose it. The movement of the gray bolt of lightning left behind trails of blood. Between its light fur were stains of red blood and flesh, and in its eye was madness and thirst for blood.

After he was done with all these, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. The success of these three spells was as though a death sentence to the King Wolf. The Spell of Hysteria would continue for 15 seconds. With this duration, the contribution from Orrin and Mason would suffice even if they recited a level-10 spell.

Yet, after he wiped off his cold sweat, he realized that these two fellas had forgotten to recite any spells, staring at him in a daze.

"F*ck, what are y'all doing?"

"O-oh…" muttered the two men as Lin Li's shout brought them back to reality. They hurriedly grabbed onto their magic staffs and started another long recital.

After calculating the duration left for the Spell of Hysteria, Lin Li felt more relaxed. Although there was still 10 seconds left, and hence enough for them to finish their recitation, Lin Li could not help but grumble, "Are they not afraid to be killed by the bite of mana when they zone out at this crucial moment?"

Right after his comment, both men completed their recitation.

Two spells were summoned. One was the Spell of Flaming Storm, while the other an Icy Spear.

These two level-eight spells that were contradictory in nature inflicted a huge magical wave among the trees. Blinding sparks flew all over, and bitterly cold air filled the surroundings.

"Bang!" A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the jungle. Magical elements stirred so violently that the ground was trembling as well. Countless sparks scattered everywhere like resplendent fireworks in the night sky. Concurrently, a beam of blue light also struck the lifeless body of the King Wolf like a bolt of lightning…

"Arwooooo!" The cry of the King Wolf was filled with endless despair.

Immediately thereafter, the two spells coiled around the throat of the King Wolf. There was a loud blast, and everything went back to normal as well, reverting to the peaceful state from before at once.

That was the terrifying force of the two most powerful spells. Although the spells were at a lower level in relation to the level-12 King Wolf, it would not have escaped its inevitable doom since it had not yet reached the next stage at level-15.

Behind the remnants of the sparkles, Lin Li could clearly see a piece of black coal lying in the place where the King Wolf was. In the middle on the coal stood an Icy Spear…

All of the other wolves froze. The death of the King Wolf sent them into disarray. Without their leader, they would not have any chance of defeating any opponents. Furthermore, it was the three monsters before them who had their King slaughtered so brutally. Therefore, these wolves chose to retreat instinctively.

Just as how they initially entered the scene like a flashing flood, when the wolves backed away, they resembled the fast declining of water level as well.

"Phew…" When the last wolf left their sight, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. Yet, his legs turned into jelly when he tried to walk forward, and he fell onto the ground helplessly.

He had exerted all of his strength in that grueling battle. Lin Li had a limit to his huge mental capacity too. First, he compressed the recitation of a level-four spell by half. Then, he cast two spells of level-two and level-three consecutively. Throughout this, the persistent struggle with the bite of mana was real. It was almost suicidal…

Lin Li felt as tense as a bow that had been drawn to its limits. The arrow was only released when everything got sorted out. Then, he just felt like a deflated balloon, losing all his energy.

"Felic, how are you feeling?" asked Mason in a concerned tone as he ran over to him.

"No worries… I am just exhausted. A little rest and I'll be fine…" Lin Li replied as he tried to smile, and shook his head weakly.

Mason was not convinced. He asked again, "Let's go back now and see what that old dude says?"

"Idiot," commented Orrin. Every time when Mason said anything foolish, Orrin was bound to suddenly appear behind him like a ghost.

"Bastard…!" Mason cried out in agitation.

"Not happy?"

"I'm going to beat you up one day! Just you wait…!"

"Moron…" Orrin shot Mason a scornful glance before kneeling down before Lin Li. A strand of genuine concern was reflected on his signature poker face.

"You should take a break first. Leave the rest to us."

It was natural that a level-eleven Magic Shooter had more discernment as compared to a level-nine Mage. Orrin knew that Lin Li was really worn out just by looking at the cold sweat on his forehead. Furthermore, if he was still not exhausted from summoning such a series of extreme spells, Orrin would not know how to describe his teammate anymore…

The state of being tired proved that this man was still a human being after all…

"Alright," replied Lin Li as he nodded. After passing the abstract piece of map to Orrin, he leaned against a tree, and closed his eyes in fatigue. He was really tired. His limits were continuously challenged in that battle. No matter how much mental strength he had within him, he could not support it any longer.

Slowly, the footsteps of his teammates faded away. The silence that filled the atmosphere was eerie. Apart from the sound of the cold wind, the only thing Lin Li could hear was the sound of his pumping heart. The smell of the corpses of the wolves that were strewn around in a mess emitted a really foul stench in the stale air. However, these did not disgust Lin Li at all. He just closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree as though he was asleep…

Although his body was completely out of energy, his jolting mind was still in a constant state of excitement.

At this moment, Lin Li was immersed in an intriguing realm.

The course of the battle he had been in just then continued to replay in his mind. It was as though every minute detail of the different battle techniques was replayed in slow motion. Everything was reflected with amazing clarity—even the most subtle flow of mana was not missed.

In such a magical realm, Lin Li could even attempt to simulate the strategies he'd used repeatedly. From the Spell of Frost to the last three Mental Spells, Lin Li never had to worry about the bite of mana. Without the fear of any more lurking Three-eyed Blood Wolf, what he wished to do was to reattempt those spells over and over again, and to feel the flow of mana time and time again.

It was as though deeper knowledge and insight were gained every time he conscientiously reviewed the spells.

That was a worldly sensation that Lin Li could never describe with words. Lin Li, however, knew that he was not far from that tightly shut door.

In that instance, it was as though time had lost its meaning.

Lin Li just sat there peacefully, taking in whatever benefits he had gained from that battle. As time trickled, he knew that he was getting closer and closer to the door…

When he finally arrived before that door, everything seemed so simple. The only thing Lin Li did was to reach out and give the door a gentle push…

Afterwards, he felt a sudden sense of enlightenment.

"Old Grimm was right…" said Lin Li with a smile as he got up from the ground. There was no strand of fatigue left on his face. The smile that he gained from the battle allowed him to feel energized at once.

This was all due to the breakthrough he just had.

Having been stuck at the level-12 for such a long period of time, he finally got to the level-13 through that battle.

Lin Li clearly remembered that when he was still at Jarrosus, Old Grimm had once told him that the fastest and only way to progress was through continuous battles.

Based on the numerous research and countless experience that that legendary Mage had accumulated, the real breakthroughs and realizations could only come from the struggle on the verge between life and death. Only had one gone through such a profound experience would he be able to scale greater heights as a Mage.

Under the pressure of death and the stress from summoning extreme spells, Lin Li had been living on the edge between life and death. Yet, that also paved his way towards enlightenment and breaking through.