After walking for a while longer, Zhang Ye encountered another Fanged Rabbit. This one was busy gnawing on a large beetle. When it saw Zhang Ye, its four ears perked up, and it stared at him warily.
Zhang Ye’s expression also turned solemn.
He had to succeed this time!
Currently, the longest-range spell he could cast was the Tier Three light-type magic—【Light Ray】.
【Light Ray】 involved condensing a light orb the size of a marble. In the next instant, the orb would transform into a beam of light as thick as a chopstick, hitting the designated target at the speed of light. Of course, its power was limited; its single-target damage was half a grade lower than an Exploding Fireball, and it lacked the explosive area-of-effect. However, it made up for it with long range and innate piercing power.
The maximum range of a Light Ray could reach over a hundred meters, though at that distance, its damage would decay to roughly that of a Tier Two Great Fireball.
That should be enough!
Zhang Ye was currently about thirty to forty meters away from the Fanged Rabbit.
To ensure this hunt was a success, Zhang Ye was extremely cautious. He spread his hands, immediately condensing twenty light orbs around his body.
Seeing this display, the Fanged Rabbit’s fur stood on end. It immediately turned tail to run.
But how could Zhang Ye let it escape?
“Light Wings, Unfold!” Zhang Ye shouted. Twenty light rays shot out from behind him. From the front, it truly looked like the “Light Wings, Unfold” from a certain game; the visual effect was incredibly cool!
“Squeak, squeak!” The Fanged Rabbit shrieked in terror and tried to dodge, but the rays moved at the speed of light. No matter how fast it was, it couldn't outrun light.
Under Zhang Ye’s Perfect Mastery, the twenty light rays blanketed the area where the Fanged Rabbit was in a matter of seconds, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A moment later, the dust settled. The Fanged Rabbit lay in the middle of it, covered in blood. Its body had been pierced by several wounds, and it was stone-dead.
Instantly, Zhang Ye felt an invisible surge of energy flow into his body. It replenished some of his spent physical strength, made his body feel more powerful, and cleared his mind slightly.
This must be the enhancement effect from killing monsters!
Zhang Ye thought happily. He had finally successfully killed a Tier One Fanged Rabbit!
Watching from the side, Ella couldn't help but comment, “Was it really necessary to release twenty Tier Three spells to kill a single Tier One Fanged Rabbit?”
Zhang Ye grinned. “Of course it was. Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit.”
Just then, a lizard crawled out from the nearby grass. Zhang Ye immediately analyzed it.
【Green Forest Lizard: Tier One poison-type magical beast!】
Without a word, Zhang Ye raised his hand and fired another twenty 【Light Rays】. They blanketed the Green Forest Lizard’s position with lightning speed. A moment later, the Green Forest Lizard was dead!
Green Forest Lizard: I was just going for a stroll...
Ella: “...”
Well, this kid clearly had a terminal case of fear of insufficient firepower, and it had already metastasized.
However, there were indeed benefits to his approach. By going all out and ensuring the damage was overkill, he greatly reduced the possibility of any accidents.
He ran over to inspect the corpses.
The bloody remains made Zhang Ye frown, feeling a bit nauseous, but the impact wasn't too great. He could handle it.
Zhang Ye knew he was a newcomer on the path of seeking power. In the future, he would definitely face even bloodier and more cruel battles, so he had to adapt as quickly as possible.
This was a quality a protagonist should possess!
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
Then, he quickly picked up the corpses of the Fanged Rabbit and the Green Forest Lizard, tossing them into a vine basket he had condensed with magic, intending to bring them back for dinner.
“Do these magical beasts have magic cores inside them?” Zhang Ye asked.
“No. The probability of a Tier One magical beast forming a magic core is very low. It’s slightly higher for Tier Three, and only those at Tier Five or above are guaranteed to have one.”
“I see.” Zhang Ye nodded and continued walking through the forest, hoping to see if he could encounter a Tier Three magical beast to try and kill.
“Roar!” Suddenly, a furious roar echoed from the forest ahead. Zhang Ye froze and listened intently.
“Roar!”
“Awoo!”
There were two different roars. One sounded like a wolf, and the other like a bear. Hearing those powerful bellows, one could easily imagine that the creatures making them were quite formidable.
“It looks like two magical beasts are fighting up ahead. According to the tropes, this is a perfect chance for the fisherman to reap the rewards!” Zhang Ye said, his eyes gleaming.
With a wave of his hand, a green light flashed over his body.
The Tier Three wind-type magic 【Haste】 could reduce wind resistance for a short time and enhance leg strength, making him very fast.
This way, if things went south, he could make a quick getaway.
He hopped in place to get used to his increased leg strength, then began to cautiously creep toward the source of the roars.
“Roar, roar!”
“Awoo!”
The two magical beasts seemed to be fighting fiercely. Zhang Ye drew closer and finally caught sight of them.
One was a giant azure wolf, and the other was a giant black bear.
Zhang Ye was currently about forty meters away from them. He didn't dare get too close, as this distance was near the limit of his mana perception.
An ordinary Tier Three mage had a mana perception range of thirty meters, but Zhang Ye’s could reach fifty.
Within his mana perception range, he could analyze anything at will.
Analyze!
【Azure Blade Wolf: Tier Three metal-type magical beast!】
【Berserk Bear: Tier Two dark-type magical beast!】
Tier Three versus Tier Two?
Zhang Ye was a bit surprised.
The Azure Blade Wolf before him had a shoulder height of one and a half meters. It was larger than a Siberian tiger on Earth and looked like it wasn't to be trifled with.
The Berserk Bear was even more impressive. It was pitch black with red X-shaped stripes on its chest, and it stood nearly three meters tall!
Currently, the Azure Blade Wolf was locked in a struggle with the Berserk Bear. The wolf would occasionally condense metal blades to slash at the bear, but those seemingly razor-sharp blades only barely broke through the bear's defense. Meanwhile, a dark-red light shimmered on the Berserk Bear’s body, and a single swipe of its paw could tear a large chunk of flesh from the wolf.
Surprisingly, the Tier Two Berserk Bear was actually suppressing the Azure Blade Wolf! The wolf was clearly at a disadvantage.
“That’s a Berserk Bear cub,” Ella said. “Berserk Bears are extremely violent magical beasts and are among the stronger existences in the monster world. Ordinary beasts of the same tier find it difficult to stand against them. So, even though this cub is only Tier Two, its strength is even greater than that of the Tier Three Azure Blade Wolf!”
Zhang Ye nodded. He could sense the surging mana within the Berserk Bear; it was much more powerful than the wolf’s.
The dark-red light on its body was likely magic, right?
Zhang Ye immediately began analyzing.
【Azure Blade: Tier Three metal-type innate magic. Condenses an azure blade for lethal damage!】
【Berserk: Tier Four dark-type innate magic. Greatly enhances the physical body and significantly reduces pain!】
Zhang Ye was surprised that a Tier Two Berserk Bear could use Tier Four dark magic.
Ella explained, “Magical beast magic is different from human magic. It’s innate magic, mastered at birth, and doesn't have such clear level restrictions as humans do. This Berserk Bear is only Tier Two right now, so it can only use the Tier Four Berserk. If it reaches Tier Five, it can use the Tier Seven 【Bloodthirsty Berserk】. At that point, even an ordinary Tier Seven magical beast wouldn't be its match.”
“An adult Berserk Bear is an existence with at least Tier Seven combat power!”
“No wonder the Azure Blade Wolf is being suppressed.” Zhang Ye nodded, then asked, “Can humans cast magic beyond their tier?”
“Of course, but the conditions are quite harsh. First, one must have an extraordinary understanding and mastery of magic. Second, one must have enough mana to support the higher-tier spell, and the mana quality cannot be low. Meeting these three requirements allows one to release magic beyond their tier.”
“Those who can cast magic beyond their tier are usually genius-level figures.”
Zhang Ye grinned. “Figures like me!”
Without another word, he began analyzing the magic!
The analysis time for the Tier Four magic 【Berserk】 was ten hours. After ten hours, he would be able to cast it.
With Perfect Mastery, he could cast it even though he was only Tier Three!
This was the advantage of system analysis!
Seeing that the Berserk Bear possessed Tier Four magic, Zhang Ye wanted to see if it had mastered anything else, so he used 【Copy】 to check its list of spells.
Unfortunately, magical beasts weren't humans; they only had a few innate spells. Currently, the only Tier Four magic the Berserk Bear had was 【Berserk】, along with one Tier Three spell.
【Dark Claw: Tier Three dark-type innate magic. Condenses dark-attribute mana onto the claws for lethal damage!】
As for the Azure Blade Wolf, it only had the Tier Three magic 【Azure Blade】 and the Tier Two magic 【Sharp Blade】. Zhang Ye didn't miss those either, copying and analyzing them both.
Currently, Zhang Ye’s analysis conditions required the target to either release the magic or for him to have enough magical parameters, such as a magic book or grimoire. If neither was available, he could only rely on checking the spell list after copying to perform the analysis.
“Roar!!” Just as Zhang Ye finished copying the magic, the Berserk Bear suddenly let out a furious roar. A dark-red light appeared on its massive paws, which then condensed into dark-red claws several dozen centimeters long. It sent the Azure Blade Wolf flying with a single strike.
The Azure Blade Wolf was heavily wounded, with a deep gash on its shoulder that exposed the bone.
But this strike also caused the wolf to completely lose its reason. After scrambling up from the ground, it howled toward the sky. Its mana surged violently, and a three-meter-long giant Azure Blade condensed above the Berserk Bear’s head.
“It’s concentrating all its mana into one spell for a final, desperate gamble,” Ella said solemnly.
Zhang Ye watched the scene, marvelling at the sight.
The Tier Three Azure Blade, condensed with all of the wolf’s mana in a life-or-death struggle, was likely comparable to a Tier Four spell.
“Roar!” Facing the massive Azure Blade, a fierce light flashed in the Berserk Bear’s eyes. It didn't choose to dodge; instead, it roared at the blade and charged forward.
“Holy crap, this young bear!” Zhang Ye exclaimed. “This cub is way too reckless!”
In the next instant, the giant Azure Blade came crashing down. The Berserk Bear’s claws also shimmered with black-red light—Dark Claw!
The two spells collided, erupting with a fierce gust of wind that bent the surrounding plants. Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes.
This time, the Berserk Bear won.
A narrow victory!
...
...
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